After returning to the post station, Mingxiu had someone clean up the fish that Kangxi had caught. After explaining how to handle it, she went back to her room.
Kangxi went to his study, thinking that the Grand Tutors who had gone out on errands should have returned by now.
Mingxiu returned to her room with Green Bamboo and Yulan, and lay down on the table, not forgetting to ask someone to put the flowers she had brought back in a vase.
Seeing how tired her mistress looked, Green Bamboo felt a pang of sympathy and went over to massage her shoulders.
Mingxiu hummed contentedly.
After Mingxiu recovered, it was time for dinner. Looking at the table full of delicious food, Mingxiu sat down and rubbed her rumbling stomach.
Ask where the Emperor is now.
“Your Majesty, just now a eunuch from the Emperor’s side came to deliver a message, saying that he won’t be coming over for dinner tonight. He’s eating with some officials upstairs, so Your Majesty doesn’t need to wait for him,” Yu Lan said as she walked in.
Mingxiu nodded. "Okay, if you don't want to eat, then you don't have to. You guys go ahead and eat. Just come back and clean up after you're done."
"Yes," Green Bamboo and Yu Lan exchanged a glance, nodded, and withdrew.
I am well aware that my empress has never liked having anyone serving her while she eats.
After everyone had left, Mingxiu secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Looking at the table full of food, there was a fish soup for dinner. The fish soup was made with fish that the Emperor had caught. Mingxiu had a portion of it, but the majority of the food should have gone to Kangxi and the Grand Tutor. There was also a steamed minced meat and egg dish, stir-fried watercress, Yunnan ham slices, and a pickled silver fish.
Mingxiu slumped her shoulders, completely relaxed, looked at the delicious food in front of her, took a deep breath, picked up her chopsticks, and began to eat heartily.
After finishing her meal and washing up, Mingxiu saw Kangxi come over, and the two talked for a while in the room.
Mingxiu sat somewhat bored in Kangxi's lap, idly stroking the rope in its hair. She didn't want to read any storybooks right now.
Emperor Kangxi sat on the couch reading a book.
Mingxiu wrapped her arms around Kangxi's neck, kissing his chin from time to time, and then kissing his bare chest from time to time.
This left Emperor Kangxi somewhat helpless.
He couldn't bear to read the book anymore, so he put it on the table, grabbed her chin with one hand, turned her face towards him, and kissed her on the lips.
Mingxiu's hands caressed his firm chest, sliding over his abdominal and pectoral muscles, responding to his kisses incessantly.
Her clothes naturally slipped off her body.
The room was filled with the warmth of spring, and even the moon seemed to blush and hide behind the clouds.
Shy sounds occasionally drifted from inside the room. After an unknown amount of time, the water that Liang Jiugong had boiled was heated again and again. Only then did the sounds cease, followed by the sound of someone calling for water.
These past few days, Mingxiu has been living a leisurely life again. During this time, the wives of various officials came to visit her, but she was turned away by the excuse that she was not feeling well.
During the day, Mingxiu either goes out for a stroll or stays at home reading storybooks or playing mahjong with Luzhu and the others, living a very comfortable life.
However, Emperor Kangxi was often so busy during this period that he was nowhere to be seen.
Not many days had passed when a big piece of news came from the front. Mingxiu listened with curiosity as her subordinates reported on what Kangxi and his men had been doing during this time.
I would have completely forgotten about Liang Tianqing and Liang Jiuheng if I hadn't suddenly heard Luzhu and the others mention Mingxiu.
"Has the Emperor decided how to deal with them?" Mingxiu asked curiously upon hearing these two long-unseen names.
"According to what Eunuch Liang said, it seems that the Emperor suspects that Liang Tianqing, a mere county magistrate, could not possibly be so domineering in Hangzhou without anyone intervening. He must have someone behind him, so he wants to use him to get rid of that person."
"Unexpectedly, they caught the Commander-in-Chief, the same Lord Yu we met later," Green Bamboo said. "The two of them were in cahoots. The Emperor somehow made Lord Yu believe that Liang Tianqing had betrayed him, and Lord Yu actually dared to assassinate Liang Tianqing, only to be caught by the Emperor."
Mingxiu nodded thoughtfully. She knew that Liang Tianqing had someone behind him, but she hadn't expected it to be Lord Yu.
When Mingxiu heard that Green Bamboo had fallen silent, she looked up and gestured for her to continue.
"Your Majesty, you have no idea how despicable these two men are. They not only forcibly abduct women and force them into prostitution, they even buy and sell women," Green Bamboo said angrily. "Many of them are girls from good families, and they were forcibly sold into brothels. And that Liang Jiuheng is utterly inhuman. He not only forcibly abducts women, but every time he's done with them, he throws them out, leaving the women with nowhere to go and no way to survive. In the end, they all jump into the lake or hang themselves."
Mingxiu's face darkened. "Has His Majesty said how to deal with them?"
Green Bamboo nodded. "In the end, all three of them were executed, and all their wealth was confiscated and used to subsidize the families they had harmed."
Mingxiu nodded upon hearing this. Although she knew that those who had died could not be brought back to life, it was still good to provide some comfort to their surviving family members.
Green Bamboo glanced up at Mingxiu before speaking, "Your Majesty, it seems that Lord Yu and Lord Cao, whom we met before, sent two women to the Emperor, but the Emperor did not accept them." As Green Bamboo spoke, seeing that Mingxiu's behavior was not quite right, she quickly defended her Emperor.
"Whether he accepts it or not is none of my business. If he wants to quit, then forget it," Mingxiu said angrily.
"Your Majesty, don't worry, the Emperor didn't say anything about them. It's said that Lord Cao and Lord Yu kept it from the Emperor. They sneaked into the Emperor's room while he was taking a bath and left two women there, but the Emperor kicked them both out," Green Bamboo said anxiously.
Mingxiu nodded. She was already used to Kangxi having many concubines, so she didn't really care. However, if she accepted them here, it would easily remind Mingxiu of something unpleasant.
The thought that Emperor Kangxi might have a relationship with the "slender horses" of Yangzhou made Mingxiu's face turn green immediately.
Thankfully, thankfully, Emperor Kangxi did not take those two women as his concubines, otherwise Mingxiu might have developed psychological trauma.
This Cao Yin is really sick. He has nothing to do all day and just sends random things. Mingxiu thought that Cao Yin is probably too idle and really needs to be given something to do.
Before Mingxiu could cause trouble for Cao Yin, she received news that they were preparing to return.
They've been out for almost three months now, and it really is time for them to go back.
It's not good for the emperor to be away from the palace for too long.
Although they didn't take a boat when they came, they did take a boat back. After packing their things, Kangxi and Mingxiu sat on the boat and began their journey back to the palace.
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