Chapter 15 The Emperor is nowhere to be found? I don't believe it.

After finishing her makeup, the Empress looked at herself carefully in the mirror and took a deep breath.

She stood up, taking the hand of a palace maid, and resumed her usual dignified gait.

Surrounded by a group of eunuchs and palace maids, they made a grand entrance towards the Qianqing Palace.

This entourage clearly indicates they're going to settle scores and demand answers.

Outside the Qianqing Palace, Liang Jiugong stood with his hands at his sides.

He was still pondering Consort Jiang's shockingly cunning schemes and the Emperor's unusually excited reaction.

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of the Empress's entourage.

His heart skipped a beat. Coming to see the Emperor at this hour? He figured it was to complain.

He had personally witnessed Consort Jiang's special place in the Emperor's heart.

He was a divine figure who could slam his fist on the table and glare at the emperor, yet still make the emperor humbly take notes.

The Emperor was preoccupied with figuring out how to kill Ao Bai.

They don't have time to deal with all the messy, petty squabbles in their harem.

The Empress's arrival at this moment is clearly a case of walking into a trap.

But while you may have the desire, you must put on a good show.

Liang Jiugong immediately put on a respectful smile, quickly stepped forward, and gave a crisp bow.

"This servant greets Your Majesty the Empress. Long live Your Majesty."

Empress Hesheri stopped and glanced at him coldly, without immediately calling him to rise.

Instead, he asked in a distant and aloof tone, maintaining an air of superiority.

"Chief Steward Liang, I wish to see the Emperor. Go and inform him."

Liang Jiugong inwardly groaned, but dared not show it on his face, and continued to smile apologetically.

"Your Majesty, His Majesty is currently discussing extremely important state affairs with several trusted ministers and has specifically instructed that he will not see anyone for the time being. Your Majesty, would you please wait a moment? Once the discussion is finished, I will inform you immediately?"

His words were half true and half false; the Emperor was indeed discussing important matters.

But it wasn't some courtier, but rather a young boy named Buku and how he carried out underhanded tactics.

Upon hearing this, Empress Hesheli's eyebrows immediately furrowed.

She thought to herself, "What a cunning servant! How dare he stop me?"

She was already seething with anger and resentment, and being stopped at the door by a eunuch made her feel even more humiliated.

The emperor has not yet come to power, and the affairs of state are handled by the regents.

What urgent matter could possibly require discussing it behind closed palace gates at this moment?

It's obvious that this eunuch is opportunistic. Seeing that Jiang Nan is favored, he dares to deliberately make things difficult for me!

Thinking of Jiang Nan's arrogant face and the humiliation she had just suffered, she felt a surge of anger rising to her head.

If she doesn't see the Emperor immediately and deal with that vile woman right away, where will her dignity as Empress be? How will she be able to govern the six palaces in the future?

"How dare you!"

Empress Hesheri suddenly shouted angrily, her voice filled with undisguised rage.

"Liang Jiugong! You rootless wretch, you've served the Emperor for so long, and now you really think you're half a master? You even dare to make decisions for the Emperor?"

"I am the Empress, the mistress of the inner palace. Do I need the permission of a lowly servant like you to see the Emperor? You dare to lie and claim that the Emperor is not seeing anyone without even announcing your presence? I think it's not that the Emperor is not seeing anyone, but that you, this eunuch, are deliberately obstructing me because you are abusing your power."

Each baseless statement, "eunuch," was like a poisonous needle, piercing Liang Jiugong's heart.

This was his deepest pain and shame as a eunuch.

Liang Jiugong's face instantly turned bright red, and the veins on his forehead throbbed. The immense humiliation and anger almost burst out of his chest.

But he gritted his teeth and endured it.

At this moment, you must not contradict the Empress.

He knelt down with a thud, bowing his head deeply, his voice trembling slightly as he tried to suppress his emotions.

"Your Majesty, please calm your anger. This servant would never dare to do such a thing. This servant deserves to die. This servant... this servant will go in and inform Your Majesty immediately. Please wait a moment, Your Majesty."

When Empress Hesheri saw him yield, she snorted coldly, her anger subsiding slightly, but her demeanor remained arrogant.

"Hmph, that's more like it. Go ahead, I'll wait here."

"Yes, sir!"

Liang Jiugong kowtowed, stood up, and almost staggered as he turned and quickly walked into the hall.

His back view conveyed a sense of dishevelment and suppressed humiliation and hatred.

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Upon entering the warm pavilion, Liang Jiugong knelt down again with a thud, his voice still filled with excitement and grievance that had not yet fully subsided.

"Your Majesty, the Empress has arrived. She is currently outside the palace gates, speaking vehemently and insisting on seeing you immediately. This servant... this servant is powerless to stop her."

Kangxi's brows immediately furrowed tightly.

He certainly knew why the Empress had come.

They were simply lamenting how Jiang Nan had committed such a heinous act and demanding severe punishment.

Normally, he might have offered a few perfunctory words of comfort, but at this moment…

He glanced at the young Buku leaders and trusted guards who had been urgently summoned beside him, then touched the piece of paper in his sleeve that contained various underhanded schemes.

His heart was filled with eagerness and focus for the grand plan that was about to unfold.

Hesheli is really clueless, she had to cause trouble at this time!

A strong sense of disgust welled up inside him.

But he was, after all, the emperor, and he still retained his rationality.

He knew that he must not completely provoke Hesheli at this moment.

Although Sony's faction is not as powerful as Aobai's, it is still deeply entrenched, and we cannot afford to add any more variables before removing Aobai.

Forcibly suppressing his anger, Kangxi rubbed his temples and said to Liang Jiugong in a deep voice.

"Go out and tell the Empress that I am currently discussing a very important matter concerning the foundation of the nation with my senior ministers and am simply unable to attend to it. Let her return to the palace first, and I... will visit her at Kunning Palace later."

He planned to use delaying tactics to keep her calm.

Upon hearing this, Liang Jiugong felt a pang of bitterness in his heart.

He had just experienced firsthand the Empress's aggressive demeanor and sharp, sarcastic words.

If this gets out, will the Empress believe it? Will she be willing to go back?

But he dared not say more and could only bite the bullet and agree.

"Yes, Your Majesty... Your Majesty, ...

Liang Jiugong bowed and withdrew, his heart filled with unease.

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Liang Jiugong braced himself and walked out of the Qianqing Palace, arriving in front of Empress Hesheli.

He bowed deeply again, a smile more painful than a grimace plastered on his face, and carefully repeated Kangxi's edict.

"Your Majesty, please calm your anger. His Majesty... His Majesty has instructed me to report to Your Majesty that His Majesty is currently preoccupied with extremely important matters concerning the foundation of the nation, and is truly... truly unable to attend to them. Please return to the palace for now. His Majesty promises that he will personally visit Your Majesty at Kunning Palace later..."

"Later?"

Upon hearing this, Empress Hesheri's suppressed anger finally erupted.

She suddenly raised her voice and questioned sharply.

"When is 'later'? An hour? Two hours? Or until tomorrow? Is Your Majesty trying to fob me off?"

She thought of Jiang Nan's arrogant and domineering face, and how she had lost face in front of everyone today.

She thought about how Niohuru and the other concubines might be laughing at her incompetence behind her back.

She couldn't wait a moment longer; every moment of delay meant a loss of dignity as empress.

"I don't believe it!"

She interrupted Liang Jiugong sharply, her eyes piercing.

"Major affairs of state are handled by the regents. What important matters of state could His Majesty possibly be that even I, the Empress, cannot see? It must be that you, my servant, are being disobedient, or... His Majesty has been bewitched by some vixen and is deliberately avoiding me."

She became more and more agitated as she spoke, her chest heaving violently, her last shred of reason burned away by anger and humiliation.

She turned around abruptly and shouted at the trusted old nanny from the Sony family behind her.

"Granny, stop these clueless servants for me."

Immediately, she disregarded everything and rushed inside.

"I must see His Majesty today. I want to see with my own eyes which important minister His Majesty is discussing important matters with, and that even I, the Empress, am not allowed to enter."

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty the Empress, this is unacceptable! This is unacceptable!"

Liang Jiugong was terrified and rushed forward to try to stop him.

However, several strong eunuchs around the Empress grabbed his arms without any politeness and pressed him firmly to the side.

The other eunuchs guarding the gate looked at each other in bewilderment and panic.

The other party was the Empress, the head of the harem. How could these servants dare to actually take action to stop her?

They could only watch helplessly as the Empress pushed open the palace doors and stormed inside.