Harigana sighed inwardly; she had no confidence at all.

Kangxi seemed to listen to her, but for such an important matter, he had already given it careful consideration, and without special reasons, he would not rescind the imperial edict.

"Mother, go in and take a look."

He told Yin Fu what was going on, then walked to the door without knocking, and pushed it open and went in as usual.

When she walked in, the first thing she saw was a man with a tightly furrowed brow standing by the window.

"Jiaojiao, are you going to try to persuade me too?"

He heard it when Li Dequan called out "Your Majesty the Empress".

Looking at the woman who walked in, his voice was very calm, without the slightest ripple.

Harigana did not answer him. He turned around, closed the door, walked to his side, hugged his waist, and leaned against his back: "Xuan Ye, I am not trying to persuade you, but I want to hear your thoughts and also tell you my thoughts."

We're husband and wife, right? While you don't really need to discuss this with me, I still want to talk to you about it.

Kangxi turned around and pulled her into his arms, speaking softly, "Jiaojiao, I said I would take you to see the Qing Dynasty's land, and I want to make that happen as soon as possible."

After saying that, he grabbed her shoulders and pushed her away slightly before looking down into her eyes: "Jiaojiao, I'm forty years old. I look healthy, but I can feel that my strength is not as good as before each year."

Our son is doing very well now. He is hardworking and intelligent. I believe that the Qing Dynasty will be even better after he ascends the throne.

Besides, I'm just stepping down. If he really encounters any difficulties, he can still come to me, his father.

After saying that, he led her to the desk, picked up a memorial and placed it in her hand: "Look, this is our son's annotation. It's very good, much better than mine was back then."

Harigana took the imperial edict, opened it, and glanced at it. The characters were personally taught by Emperor Kangxi and were beautifully written, no less so than his own.

The annotations above are also concise and clearly state the central idea.

"Jiaojiao, do you know how difficult it was for me to sit here back then?"

My grandmother was a woman. Although I had the support of the Khorchin, there were many people in the court and the palace who were watching me.

Therefore, I thought it best for our son to ascend the throne as soon as possible, so that at least I could still help him and prevent him from experiencing the hardships I faced at the beginning.

Harigana was not unfamiliar with history books, although he may have exaggerated them somewhat, portraying figures like Aobai as very powerful in order to highlight Kangxi's abilities.

Even if one uses exaggerated techniques in writing, one cannot forget that Kangxi was only eight years old when he first ascended the throne.

“Xuan Ye, I never intended to persuade you to give up.”

To be honest, I would have felt more at ease if Yinfu had ascended the throne earlier.

but,"

Harigana placed the memorial in his hand on the table, looked directly at him, and said with a solemn expression: "After Yinfu ascends the throne, you will be the retired emperor. There are many things you can no longer interfere with, and they may even be dealt with by Yinfu before they reach your ears."

Perhaps what he does is different from what you expect, and it may not meet your expectations.

Will you regret it then? Will you think about taking the throne back?

"Xuan Ye, you're only in your forties. Are you really willing to give up this supreme power and go out with me to be an ordinary couple, living a very simple life?"

Kangxi chuckled softly after hearing her words: "Jiaojiao, you've finally said what's on your mind?"

Harigana knew what he was talking about. What she had always been worried about was whether Yinfu could ascend the throne smoothly and whether Kangxi would change his mind.

But now that things have come to this point, she has nothing to worry about.

"Yes, that's what I've been worried about all along."

It's not that I don't trust you, but that I don't trust the heart of an emperor.

I know you love me, but I'm afraid. I'm afraid that if our paths become one-way, I'll be the one you abandon.

Therefore, I never dare to gamble on this.

I cannot lose you, and I do not value power or position.

Over the years, I have been careful not to inquire about these things, for fear that an emperor might become suspicious and feel that I am testing him.

Harigana turned and walked to the window, looking at the officials kneeling outside: "Xuan Ye, from the very beginning when I decided to be with you and realized my own heart, I never thought it would develop into what it is today."

My possessiveness towards you is real; I don't want anyone else to touch my people or my things.

But I also fear an emperor, and I don't think this idea is contradictory.

Kangxi walked to her side and hugged her from behind: "Jiaojiao, I understand."

That's why I decided to do it.

I want you to be completely at ease.

Life is too short. I want to give you the rest of your life a completely peaceful and secure one.

I was truly deeply moved by Harigana.

Since he has made his decision, and it is also what she wants, there is no need to persuade him otherwise.

"Xuan Ye, are you saying you'd rather love a beauty than the throne?"

Upon hearing her teasing, Kangxi knew she had agreed and would not try to dissuade him further.

Only at this moment did he realize that Harigana truly accepted him from the inside out, and no longer had to put on a fake mask every now and then when facing him.

"Well, between power and beauty, I still prefer beauty."

Who could blame me? This beauty, standing by the riverbank one summer more than a decade ago, captured my heart completely.

Harigana nudged him with her elbow: "Then you used a scheme to ruin my blind date, and even pretended to be a hero to save the damsel in distress, and then you barged into my tent and took liberties with me like a lecherous scoundrel."

Under her probing, the events of that year were pieced together and reconstructed in their entirety.

After saying that, he chuckled and said, "Xuan Ye, there's something I've never told you before."

She turned around, looked into his eyes, and her face was full of mockery.

"What?"

Emperor Kangxi didn't want to engage in the conversation; it was always his fault when this topic came up.

As they talked, they would inevitably bring up that damned Batu, and finally mention those hundred Mongolian warhorses.

But her words were so alluring that he wanted to hear them.

"Actually, when you saved me that year, you uttered the word '朕' (zhen, meaning 'I, the emperor').

Later he changed his address to "Grandpa," but I still heard him.

Kangxi's eyes widened as he instantly recalled that cunning look he had described as that of a little rabbit.

It turns out she already knew back then.

"So now you know why you went on blind dates? Didn't you say you liked me back then?"