"Okay! I'll head over now!"

After Kangxi left, Harigana played with the two little ones for a while before going to the Palace of Tranquil Longevity.

Even if she didn't go, the Empress Dowager would have taken care of all the trivial matters. Her saying she was going was just to put Emperor Kangxi at ease.

After sitting in Ning Shou Palace for about half an hour, Harigana returned to Qingxi Palace, taking a large pot of milk tea with him as he left, much to the Empress Dowager's dismay.

"Your Majesty, is there any difference between the milk tea here from the Empress Dowager and ours?"

I've tried Dulan before, but I didn't taste anything different about it.

Isn't it the same process of first frying rice in butter, then adding milk and water, and finally brewing it with tea leaves?

They do the same thing at Qingxi Palace.

"Little Dulan! Everything always smells better when it's someone else's. Even if you have the same thing, someone else's will always smell better than yours."

Harigana shook his head and looked at Dulan with a profound and inscrutable expression.

Dulan choked, thinking to herself, "What kind of twisted logic is this beautiful princess learning now?"

Sure enough, she said the emperor wasn't a good person; just look at his princess, she'd been corrupted.

Just as he reached the vicinity of Qingxi Palace, he saw Xiao Li running towards him.

"What's wrong?"

Harigana felt a chill run down his spine. Could something have happened?

As he bowed and greeted them, Xiao Li explained the whole story.

"Your Majesty, Lady Tongjia has committed suicide."

Little Li cursed inwardly, "Why did they have to do this on such a great day?"

Fortunately, those people were all carefully selected and sent by his master. If they were the previous servants, they would probably be afraid of being punished by her and dare not approach the palace gate, thus allowing her evil scheme to succeed.

"What? How is the person?"

Harigana was also impressed by this Tongjia woman.

Isn't it better to be honest and straightforward?

As the emperor's cousin, even without his favor, if she were more obedient, Kangxi would certainly not mistreat her.

The fate of the Tongjia clan is already precarious, and she is only making things worse!

If a concubine commits suicide, her entire family (up to nine generations) will be executed.

"Your Majesty, the person is out of danger for now. The servants found him in time, and the imperial physician is currently treating him."

The Emperor is currently receiving his ministers in the outer court; this servant dares not presume to report this to my master.

Harigana thought to himself that today's events absolutely must not be spread, otherwise it would surely arouse speculation among the people.

It's unrealistic to keep it from getting out; there are no secrets that stay hidden forever.

"Go and invite the Empress Dowager to Chengqian Palace."

"I'll go first. This matter must not be spread for now. We'll discuss it with the Emperor before making a decision."

Little Li responded and turned to run towards Ning Shou Palace.

Harigana didn't even enter the gates of Qingxi Palace, but went directly to Chengqian Palace.

At this moment, Chengqian Palace was completely silent.

The few servants had been locked up in the side hall by Little Li, leaving only two eunuchs guarding the door.

Upon seeing Harigana, he immediately knelt down to pay his respects, his eyes filled with fear.

They were just unlucky; they encountered this kind of thing only a few days after arriving.

In case they want to cover up royal secrets, their bodies will end up in a mass grave tomorrow.

"Get up, all of you. Guard the gate. No one is to be allowed to approach except for the Empress Dowager."

Harigana had already made plans on his way here.

The fact that someone committed suicide cannot be hidden, but the timing can be faked.

Just move this matter forward by two or three days; it won't affect the joyous occasion of the army's return to the capital. Everything else is up to you.

The affairs of the Tongjia clan were no secret; neither the court officials nor the common people would have any other thoughts even if they knew.

However, these matters still need to be discussed with Emperor Kangxi, and it is unknown whether he will have any better solutions.

"Yes! This servant obeys!"

The young eunuch immediately responded, and only dared to raise his head after Harigana entered the room.

Upon entering the hall, a strong smell of blood wafted through the air. He frowned and did not go any further.

She was only there to handle some business, not to visit a patient. Besides, she didn't want to see Tongjia at all.

Sitting in a chair, he summoned his personal maid and learned that Lady Tongjia had actually cut her wrists.

How are people doing now?

Having read so many novels, I've seen people hang themselves, drink poison, jump into wells, and slit their throats, but in ancient times, cutting one's wrists was truly rare.

"Your Majesty, the person is out of danger, but is still unconscious. The imperial physician said that she needs to be well cared for."

Harigana sighed inwardly, thinking how lucky he was; in ancient times, excessive blood loss would have been fatal.

However, according to the historical timeline, her lifespan has not yet ended, so no matter how much she causes trouble, nothing will really happen.

"Okay! Go and take care of her, but be careful."

The young palace maid quickly acknowledged and withdrew, entering the hall to serve Lady Tongjia.

The Empress Dowager arrived very quickly, unlike Harigana who walked; she arrived in a sedan chair.

"Mother!"

He stood up and walked to the store entrance to greet people.

The Empress Dowager's brow was furrowed deeply. She had just dealt with the Borjigit clan's matter a few days ago, and today the Tongjia clan had pulled this stunt.

That's absolutely disgusting!

"It's alright, don't worry!"

The Empress Dowager patted Harigana's hand and sat down with her in a chair, seemingly not intending to go in to see her.

"At the time, Emperor Xuan Ye did not intend to let her enter the palace."

Harigana was planning to wait for the imperial physician to finish decocting the medicine and come in so he could take his pulse again, make sure there were no major problems after taking the medicine, deal with the servants, and then retreat.

Just as he was about to speak to the Empress Dowager, he heard her whisper something like this.

"ah?"

Harigana didn't react for a moment, but when the Empress Dowager gestured towards the inner room, he realized who she was talking about.

They stared at her expectantly, wanting to hear her continue, but the Empress Dowager immediately retreated, leaning back in her chair as if nothing had happened.

He remained calm and composed.

"Think for yourself, I'm old and can't handle everything for you."

The Empress Dowager intentionally pointed out that it is better to teach a man to fish than to give him a fish.

She knew that Harigana was young and had not been with Kangxi from the beginning, so he did not know much about the causes of many things.

So she stopped there, wanting to see if Harigana could figure out the key point on his own after her guidance.

Besides, unless the emperor dismisses the harem, it's practically a formality; who knows what might happen one day?

She is already over forty years old. If she were still alive, she could protect him at all times.

But what if she doesn't live long? Then Harigana will have no one to rely on.

While helping her in everything was an act of care, it was also subtly harming her.

"Mother, let me think about it."

She understood the Empress Dowager's meaning somewhat, but she still needed to consider it carefully.

Unlike others, even when she was in a hurry to deal with something, Tongjia needed to be cautious.