Chapter 16 The Empress Walks into Kangxi's Trap

Inside the warm pavilion, Emperor Kangxi was gathered with several carefully selected young leaders of the Buku tribe and their trusted guards.

They discussed in hushed tones the details of how Jiang Nan had carried out his underhanded tricks, the atmosphere both tense and exciting.

The sudden loud noise and the intruder interrupted everything.

Kangxi's brows furrowed instantly, a hint of displeasure and anger flashing across his face as he was interrupted. Without even raising his head, he rebuked him.

"Liang Jiugong! How could you possibly be in such a position? Didn't I already say..."

His words came to an abrupt end.

Because what he heard was not Liang Jiugong's voice apologizing, but a woman's voice filled with sobs and endless grievances.

"Your Majesty, it is your concubine."

Emperor Kangxi looked up abruptly and saw Empress Hesheli standing at the entrance of the warm pavilion.

Her eyes were red-rimmed, her chest heaving with rapid breathing, and she was looking at him with a gaze that was a mixture of grievance and anger.

The young boys and guards around him knelt down in panic.

Kangxi's gaze instantly turned cold.

"The Empress?"

His voice was devoid of emotion, but those who knew him well could sense the storm brewing beneath the calm.

"What are you doing? Trespassing into the Qianqing Palace, is this the rule of your Hesheli family? Is this the demeanor of the Empress Dowager?"

Hesheli was momentarily speechless at Kangxi's emotionless questioning, and her momentum faltered slightly.

But then an even greater sense of grievance welled up inside me.

She quickly stepped forward and knelt down directly in front of Kangxi, her voice trembling and choked with sobs.

"Your Majesty, I...I had no choice. I have suffered a great injustice and lost all face. If I cannot see Your Majesty immediately and beg Your Majesty to redress my grievances, how can I have the face to govern the six palaces? I might as well just kill myself in this Qianqing Palace."

She raised her tearful eyes, pointed outside, and her voice grew increasingly agitated.

"Your Majesty, do you know that this morning during the audience, Consort Jiang of Yongshou Palace, that lowly servant girl from the bondservant family, she... she dared to openly insult me ​​in front of all the other concubines. Her words were vulgar and offensive, each one piercing my heart. She called me vicious, hypocritical, and unworthy to be Empress. She even brought up the matter of the harem's offspring to slander me. Consort Jiang has committed such a grave crime of disrespect. If you do not punish her severely, where is the law of the land? Where are the palace rules? Your Majesty, you must do justice for me!"

She cried with tears streaming down her face, as if she had suffered a great injustice.

Kangxi listened to her sobbing without expression, but felt utterly disgusted.

So that's what it was all about...

Jiang Nan's words may have been harsh, but weren't they all true?

If it weren't for your excessive actions, Hesheli, why would she have been forced to confront you directly?

He suppressed his anger and waited for Hesheli's crying to subside before speaking calmly, his tone still indifferent.

"Didn't I send Liang Jiugong to tell you that I would visit you at Kunning Palace later? How dare you barge in like this? What kind of behavior is this? Didn't Liang Jiugong deliver the message?"

He deliberately steered the question toward Liang Jiugong in an attempt to divert attention.

As soon as Hesheli stopped crying, she raised her head, her eyes brimming with tears, and looked at Kangxi with a hint of stubbornness and disbelief.

"Your Majesty, I cannot wait any longer. Jiang Nan is probably in the palace right now, gloating and mocking my incompetence. The longer I wait, the more the Empress loses face. Your Majesty, you must give me an explanation now and severely punish that insolent wretch."

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Kangxi looked at Empress Hesheli, who was kneeling before him, weeping with tears streaming down her face, yet every word she uttered carried a coercive tone.

The last bit of patience and tolerance in my heart was completely exhausted.

He had originally planned to appease her temporarily in order to keep the Sony faction in check and to advance his grand plan of eliminating the threat.

But she was so ungrateful, openly barging into the palace and using her power to coerce others.

His words even subtly conveyed doubt and threat towards imperial power.

This has crossed the line that he, as emperor, cannot tolerate the most.

"presumptuous!"

Emperor Kangxi slammed his hand on the desk, making a loud noise!

He suddenly stood up and looked down at Hesheri, whose crying had stopped abruptly in fright.

His eyes were icy cold, radiating an unprecedented imperial aura.

"Empress! Are you forcing me? Do you still respect me as the emperor? Do you still have any regard for the distinction between ruler and subject?"

His voice wasn't loud, but every word struck Hesheli's heart like a hammer blow.

Hesheri was so frightened by this sudden outburst of fury that he trembled and his face turned ashen.

She had never seen Kangxi so angry with her, and she was stunned for a moment.

Kangxi stopped looking at her and instead shouted sternly at the outside of the hall.

"Someone come here!"

Already alerted by the commotion inside the hall, the imperial guards standing outside the door immediately responded and entered.

The clanging of armor instantly filled the entire warm pavilion with a chilling aura.

Kangxi's gaze swept coldly over Hesheli, who was kneeling on the ground trembling, and the Kunning Palace eunuchs behind her who were equally terrified. His voice was devoid of any emotion.

"Immediately bring the Empress back to Kunning Palace. Without my decree, no one is allowed to enter or leave Kunning Palace. I want to see who dares to let her out again."

He paused, his gaze returning to Hesheli's pale face, his tone chilling.

"Empress Hesheli has disobeyed Your Majesty by trespassing into the Qianqing Palace and shouting before the Emperor. I will spare you this time, considering it is your first offense. You shall stay in the Kunning Palace and reflect on your actions. I will only consider lifting your confinement once you have figured out where you went wrong and when you know how to be a dutiful and obedient Empress."

"!!!"

Empress Hesheri suddenly raised her head, her eyes filled with disbelief, horror, and immense humiliation.

She was insulted by Jiang Nan, and the Emperor neither paid any attention to her, offered no comfort, nor punished the culprit.

Now... he's actually scolding her for that bitch's sake?

Confining her to her quarters? Making her stay home and reflect on her actions?

This was an utter disgrace, a humiliation she had never experienced since entering the palace.

Liang Jiugong finally broke free from the eunuchs' control in Kunning Palace and quickly stepped forward, giving a wink to the imperial guards.

The guards understood and stepped forward. Although they did not make a move, their stance was clear.

As Hesheli watched the approaching guards, he suddenly came to his senses, and a surge of immense grief, indignation, and stubbornness welled up in his heart.

She struggled to her feet and pushed away the guards who tried to help her.

His voice trembled violently with extreme anger and resentment.

"Get out of my way, I can walk by myself."

She straightened her back, and despite her pale face, she tried her best to maintain her last bit of dignity and pride.

She stared intently at Kangxi, her eyes red-rimmed, tears welling up but stubbornly refusing to fall.

"emperor!"

Her voice carried a desperate accusation.

"Today, for the sake of a lowly servant girl of bondservant birth, you treat me so badly, disregarding my dignity and authority, and ignoring palace rules and regulations. Your favoritism today, your... folly, what will the court officials think? What will the people of the world say? You will bring shame upon the entire Aisin Gioro imperial family. You... you will definitely regret it!"

After saying that, she turned around abruptly without looking at Kangxi's reaction.

Escorted by the imperial guards and surrounded by terrified eunuchs and maids from the Kunning Palace, he walked quickly out of the Qianqing Palace without looking back.

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Silence returned to the warm pavilion, but a sense of oppression permeated the air.

Kangxi stared expressionlessly in the direction where the Empress had disappeared, his fist slowly clenching in his sleeve.

regret?

He will not regret it.

He would never regret eliminating Ao Bai and purging the harem in order to truly seize this supreme power!

However, today we have completely broken ties with Heseri and Sony's faction.

But it's alright. Once we get rid of Ao Bai, this major threat, what about Sony? He's too old and doesn't listen to us anymore.

Then let's just deal with it all at once.