Chapter 110 Kangxi: Nannan, you go first.

Emperor Kangxi, dressed in casual clothes, stepped into the side hall with a solemn expression.

The palace was filled with kneeling palace servants, and the air was thick with a mixture of tension and resentment.

The scene of utter chaos ignited his anger, but he had to suppress it.

"Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"

The crowd greeted them in unison, their voices trembling to varying degrees.

Kangxi's gaze first fell on Jiang Nan, who was standing straight with her pregnant belly, and his brows furrowed.

His tone was tinged with helplessness and reproach.

"Nannan, what are you doing here? You're pregnant, and Kunning Palace is a dangerous place these days. What if you offend the young prince?"

His words were half concern and half warning.

I really have a headache dealing with her tendency to flock to wherever there's excitement.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Nan rolled her eyes without any politeness, her tone as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"Your Majesty, if I hadn't arrived in time, your harem would have been missing a concubine. Look at what happened to Sister Niohuru after the Empress beat her!"

She turned to the side so that Kangxi could see Niohuru's condition clearly.

Kangxi then turned his gaze to Niohuru, who was kneeling on the ground.

Her cheeks were swollen, bloodstains remained at the corners of her mouth, and her hair was slightly disheveled.

Although kneeling, his back was straight, and his eyes were calm but with a hint of humiliation and stubbornness.

He sighed inwardly and looked at the Empress again.

The red marks on her cheeks were still visible, the clear fingerprints indicating that she had just received a vicious slap.

Without a doubt, the only person in the palace who dared to slap the Empress so brazenly was Nan Nan.

If this matter were to leak to the previous dynasty, it would surely cause a huge uproar.

At that time, rumors and gossip will flood in, and the verbal attacks in the court will likely overwhelm Nan Nan.

He remained calm and deliberately ignored the glaring mark, and said in a deep voice.

"Your Majesty, what exactly is going on? Why must things have escalated to such an unbearable state?"

When the Empress saw Kangxi asking her questions, she grasped at a straw.

She quickly knelt down and took two steps, her voice trembling with sobs and accusations.

"Your Majesty, I am wronged! I was only disciplining Niohuru according to palace rules. She...she dared to commit murder in my Kunning Palace, killing my personal maid. She was caught red-handed, and everyone in my palace can testify to this. I only acted out of anger because she refused to confess and had a terrible attitude...Your Majesty, you see, the maid died with her eyes wide open in disbelief."

She pointed to the corpse in the corner.

Kangxi looked in the direction she pointed.

Upon seeing Granny Jing's corpse, his brows furrowed even more.

He looked at Niohuru.

"Niohuru clan, what do you have to say?"

Niohuru kowtowed, her voice clear but weary.

“Your Majesty, I was summoned to Kunning Palace by the Empress under the pretext of inquiring about palace affairs. When I entered this side hall, Granny Jing had already been murdered. I did not kill anyone; this is a complete fabrication.”

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Kangxi suddenly felt a headache and irritability.

He was so shrewd that he saw through the trap at a glance.

What reason would Niohuru have to come to Kunning Palace to kill an old nanny? There is no motive whatsoever, and the story is full of flaws.

This was clearly a clumsy trap set by the Empress due to her unbalanced mindset over the Chenghu matter.

The problem is that this matter has gradually become public knowledge and will inevitably reach the previous dynasty.

He's convicted? The Niukulu family will surely turn against him.

How could such a clumsy scheme force an emperor to kill his own concubine?

His courtiers would surely laugh at him in private, damaging his prestige.

If he does not convict them, the Hesheli family of the previous dynasty will certainly not let the matter rest.

He could foresee that rumors about him protecting criminals from the Niohuru family would spread from the previous dynasty to the entire Qing Dynasty.

He paused for a moment, then spoke to the Empress in a gentle, reassuring tone.

"Empress, I know that the matter of Chenghu has caused you great grief. But the death of a maid in the palace is a trivial matter. Why make such a fuss? I am busy with state affairs and have no time to worry about such trivial matters in the harem. Your most important task now is to recover your health. You will be in charge of the affairs of the harem in the future. Nannan is only an assistant and is pregnant with the emperor's child, so her energy is limited. As the Empress, you should be tolerant and not always dwell on the mistakes of the concubines. Harmony is the priority."

He phrased it tactfully, but his meaning was clear: he wanted the Empress to calm things down and stop making a fuss.

However, the queen was blinded by hatred and could not hear any of the attempts to appease her.

Seeing that Kangxi intended to protect her, she felt even more resentful.

“Your Majesty, I did not wrong her. So many eyes in the palace saw it. It was Niohuru who killed Granny Jing. How can this be a small matter? Granny Jing was my mother’s dowry. She died in the palace without a clear explanation. We must give the Hesheli family an explanation.”

When Kangxi saw that she was so ungrateful and insisted on making a big fuss, his anger flared up.

He slammed his hand on the table beside him, making a loud bang that startled everyone in the hall.

"Empress!"

Kangxi's voice carried the unquestionable majesty of an emperor.

"Are you really determined to go your own way and make me investigate thoroughly, so that everyone will lose face?"

These words were a very strong warning, implying that he had seen through everything.

The Empress was so frightened by Kangxi's thunderous rage that she trembled.

But when she thought of her son Chenghu, whom she could never raise and who was suffering every day, her heart felt like it was being pierced by steel needles again and again, and the pain made it hard for her to breathe.

Furthermore, this matter has completely severed ties with Niohuru.

If she withdraws, will Niohuru clan not retaliate against her in the future?

With a steely resolve, he gritted his teeth, lowered his head, and used silence to express his resistance.

Determined to offend Emperor Kangxi, he wanted to make Niohuru pay for Chenghu's life first.

An awkward silence immediately fell over the scene.

Qin Huai'an and the others, kneeling on the ground, trembled like leaves, fearing that the emperor's wrath would affect them.

Jiang Nan watched coldly, inwardly sneering. This Hesheli clan was truly hopelessly stupid.

Kangxi offered her a way out, but she wouldn't accept it; she insisted on making Kangxi completely dislike her before she was satisfied.

Kangxi stared at the Empress's stubborn and unyielding face.

I'm so angry I could explode, but reality is holding me back.

Using imperial power to suppress others, crushing this palace intrigue would be a piece of cake.

Drag all those gossiping palace servants from Kunning Palace out and beat them to death, then accuse them of falsely accusing their master.

Once the witness is gone, everything is gone.

While this tactic could quickly end the farce, it was hard to guarantee that the Queen wouldn't be unwilling to accept defeat and might incite the Hesheri family to cause trouble.

If this matter were to reach the previous dynasty, his reputation as a wise ruler and his imperial authority would be ruined by this operation.

He absolutely cannot do such a losing business.

He unconsciously turned his gaze to Jiang Nan, believing that Nan Nan could suppress the Empress and end this farce.

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Seeing the troubled and pleading expression on Kangxi's face.

Jiang Nan knew it was time for her, the famous detective Jiang Nan, to make her appearance.

With her pregnant belly protruding, she walked to the Empress again, supported by Fang Ruochunlan.

His eyes scrutinized the Empress again without any attempt to conceal it, his tone filled with undisguised sarcasm.

"Your Majesty, you are still so muddle-headed and clumsy in handling cases. I am truly worried for you. You were just as indiscriminate in the drowning case in the Imperial Garden. So much time has passed, and I have told you to study more, but you have not made any progress at all!"

The Empress's heart sank as soon as she heard Jiang Nan speak.

Jiang Nan's tone, which suggested he had everything under control, instantly filled her with panic.

That bitch, she always manages to ruin things every time she shows up.

She felt anxious and resentful, and a deep sense of powerlessness washed over her.

Could it be... could it be that even after all I've sacrificed, I still can't avenge Chenghu?

When Kangxi saw that Nannan had finally stepped forward, he felt relieved and was happy to see her suppress the Empress's arrogance.

He was furious at the Empress's reckless and foolish behavior, and he wanted Nan Nan to teach her a lesson.

Seeing that the Empress's eyes were flickering but she did not answer, Jiang Nan continued to speak slowly and deliberately.

"Your Majesty, His Majesty just tried to persuade you to give him a way out, but why are you so ungrateful? Why do you insist on going down this dark path? Fine, fine, since you don't appreciate it, then don't blame me for making you look bad."

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Emperor Kangxi: Close the door and release Nan Nan.

Why are you guys so calm and quiet while watching something enjoyable? I'm starting to question my existence.

I tried so hard to come up with some satisfying moments of face-slapping, but not a single one popped up.

Where are the paragraph comments and critiques? Where are the accompanying pictures? Where is the book review?