Chapter 73 Kangxi: I know I was wrong

Jiang Nan put down her chopsticks and nodded, deliberately putting on an obedient look.

"Yes, yes, I understand. Next time I want to punish someone, I will definitely write a memorial first and send it to you by express mail. I will wait for your approval before taking action. Is that alright?"

Emperor Kangxi was amused by her reckless attitude and rubbed his temples.

“I’m being serious with you. Your temper… Your grandmother is right. You should cultivate your character, read more classic texts, and temper your temper.”

"read?"

Jiang Nan immediately adopted a politely declining expression.

"What's the use of studying? The classical Chinese? The eight-legged essay? Oh, just thinking about it gives me a headache. I have Your Majesty protecting me, and I'm quite content eating and drinking, meddling in other people's business, and having some fun. Please don't make me study."

Seeing that Kangxi was about to start lecturing, she quickly changed the subject, leaning forward slightly and speaking in a more serious tone.

"Your Majesty, do you think I acted on impulse when I took action against Feng Yuheng? The Imperial Household Department is rife with corruption and embezzlement; how could I not know about it?"

She paused, then continued.

"Your Majesty, I only punished one chief steward and also promoted the seemingly clever deputy chief steward. I didn't want to make a big fuss. I gave those parasites a good beating to make them behave, but I didn't completely overturn the table. I left them some room to maneuver."

She picked up a spoon, stirred the soup in the bowl, and continued her analysis.

"This is just right, a warning to others. Let them know that if they dare to cut off their allowances and let concubines starve or freeze to death again, they might be the next ones to lose their heads. This also saves you from the feeling of being incompetent if you find out one day that someone is quietly missing from the harem, which would make you look... uh, a bit... well, isn't it?"

He swallowed the word "can" back before he could say it.

Emperor Kangxi was taken aback by her twisted logic.

Upon closer reflection, it actually made some sense, and I couldn't help but laugh in exasperation.

"So I should thank you for worrying about me? You dare to insult me? Only you would dare to talk about me like that."

Jiang Nan proudly raised her chin.

"Of course, Your Majesty, I have worried myself sick for you and for the sake of the Qing Dynasty."

Changing the subject, she leaned forward again, her voice carrying a seductive undertone.

"However, Your Majesty, I feel that although you now hold power, sometimes you lack a bit of the decisive and domineering spirit to kill."

Kangxi raised an eyebrow at her.

"Oh? How am I lacking?"

"Look."

Jiang Nan counted on her fingers as she spoke.

"After you assumed power, you dealt with Ao Bai and his group. Although you stabilized the situation, some people felt that you were young and valued balance, and wouldn't easily take real action. For example, regarding the Imperial Household Department, if someone from the previous dynasty had actually submitted a memorial attacking the officials and concubines on behalf of Feng Yuheng, you should have arrested the most vocal one and dealt with them to death, reduced the concubines' allowances, and almost caused the death of the mistress of the harem. That reason would be enough to behead them, wouldn't it?"

She got more and more excited as she spoke, her eyes sparkling.

"That's how you should do it. You should hang a sword over the heads of those ministers so they know that although you are young, you will not show mercy when you have a valid reason. You must be unforgiving when you are in the right. Only then will they both respect and fear you. In the future, when they collectively oppose you, you should seize the ringleader and destroy him. Do it a few times, and see who dares to be the first to speak up in the future."

After listening, Kangxi remained silent for a moment.

He looked up at Jiang Nan, his eyes filled with complex emotions, and after a long while, he slowly spoke.

"Nan Nan, are you teaching me how to be an emperor?"

Jiang Nan blinked, inwardly complaining that those pedantic scholars could teach, but she couldn't—what kind of logic was that?

Just because she's a woman?

She pretended not to understand and acted as if it were perfectly natural.

"Yes, haven't I taught you well? Isn't this much more practical and forgiving than the benevolent governance that those old scholars keep talking about?"

Looking at her smug little face, Kangxi cursed himself for overthinking things.

Finally, he couldn't help but laugh out loud, shook his head, and said in a tone full of doting helplessness.

"You... you're only good at figuring out these things. But governing a country and maintaining peace isn't something that can be achieved just by killing and fighting. Water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it. The balance and degree of control involved are very complex."

Even so, he had to admit in his heart that...

Jiang Nan's simple and blunt words hit the nail on the head regarding the key to establishing authority in the art of rulership.

However, when and how to use it still requires deeper consideration.

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Kangxi's scrutiny and probing just now made Jiang Nan feel somewhat uncomfortable, and her gaze fell on the bridge of Kangxi's nose.

I used to be too shy to look at them casually and didn't care about those acne scars, but now that we're so close...

His light brown acne scars became more prominent.

No wonder later generations called him Kang the Pockmarked, but these little dots did not obscure the heroic spirit between his brow bones.

Coupled with the physique he developed from years of wrestling with the young Kubu, his shoulders and back are as straight as a pine tree, making him look even more handsome.

Jiang Nan thought to herself that these few acne scars were the aftereffects of Kangxi contracting smallpox in his childhood.

Thinking about smallpox, there was no such thing as vaccination back then.

Smallpox was a deadly killer. It was a miracle that Emperor Kangxi survived, but how could ordinary people have such luck?

"emperor."

Jiang Nan's eyes darted around, and she suddenly spoke.

"I have a way for you to quickly establish your prestige and win the hearts of the people, but I don't know if you would like to hear it."

Upon hearing this, Kangxi looked at her, and interest immediately surfaced in his eyes.

"Oh? Tell me about it."

Jiang Nan, however, was in no hurry. She slowly picked up a handkerchief and wiped her hands, deliberately speaking in a sarcastic tone.

"Alas, Your Majesty, I dare not speak. I am but a woman, how could I be worthy to advise Your Majesty to be emperor? Your Majesty is so wise and powerful, why would I need to offer such unsolicited advice?"

Kangxi then realized that she still remembered what had just happened.

He couldn't help but chuckle softly, moving closer to Jiang Nan with a slightly intimate tone.

"Nannan, are you even going to hold my petty grudges against me?"

"That's natural."

Jiang Nan raised an eyebrow, making no attempt to hide her feelings.

"I am a woman, and I am very petty. Anyone who offends me must be made to pay for it, even if it is you."

Emperor Kangxi shook his head helplessly at her vengeful nature, his tone softening further.

"It was my fault. I shouldn't have spoken carelessly, and I shouldn't have forgotten that my beloved concubine was a hero who helped me get rid of Ao Bai. You are my confidante and my wise and capable assistant."

When Jiang Nan heard him admit defeat, she immediately smiled.

"That's more like it. If you ever dare to give me the cold shoulder again, I'll just stay in the palace and wait to die. When my son grows up, I'll let him support his mother, and I'll move out of the palace with him. From now on, I'll never concern myself with your affairs again."

No, no, no.

Emperor Kangxi quickly begged for mercy.

"I know I was wrong, and I will never dare to do it again. Tell me quickly, what method can win back the hearts of the people?"

Seeing that Jiang Nan had come to her senses, and that the time for her to reprimand him was about right, she dropped her joking expression, leaned forward, and asked.

"Your Majesty, do you still remember when you had smallpox as a child?"

Kangxi nodded, a hint of reminiscence flashing in his eyes.

"Of course I remember. Back then, my grandmother sent me out of the palace to recuperate in order to protect me. During that time, I was able to get through it safely thanks to Sumala'enie's meticulous care."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Nan chuckled and exclaimed, "Good heavens!"

Sumala Ene?

She remembered that "Ene" in Manchu means mother.

So it seems that Emperor Kangxi truly regarded Sumala as his mother.

On second thought, it makes sense. Sumala had never had smallpox, and she could have been infected at any time while taking care of her, yet she didn't care about her own safety at all.

At that time, Emperor Kangxi was still young. Such a life-risking tenderness would be something anyone would remember for a lifetime.

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Anyone here have watched it twice? Anyone here have listened to audiobooks? What was your experience listening to them like?