"Master, Prince Yong has already entered our ambush zone," a man in black said to Shi Bingde, who was sitting behind his desk writing.
Shi Bingde pondered for a while and then asked, "Has the fodder been delivered to the stables yet?"
The man said, "It's already been sent in. I've instructed him to feed that grass specifically to those horses."
Shi Bingde nodded and said, "No rush, let's wait and see. We'll decide after I've met with the Emperor."
After glancing at Shi Bingde a few times, the man lowered his head and retreated.
Shi Bingde looked at the words he had written in his hand, then smugly blew on them to dry them quickly. He then rolled them up and tucked them into his embroidered robe.
Shi Bingde stood up and gestured to a maidservant to help him straighten his official robes and hat ornament. As officials serving the emperor, they could only wear official robes.
Shi Bingde stepped out of his tent and strode toward Kangxi's imperial tent.
Inside, Emperor Kangxi was resting, and several palace maids and eunuchs serving him stood silently in the corner like stakes. Years of serving others had honed their ability to remain silent. When their master ordered them to leave but not to go far, they would stand not far away like ghosts, ready to be summoned at any moment.
"Your Majesty, Lord Shi requests an audience!" Liang Jiugong stood guard at the door, acting as a shield for Kangxi, blocking out those he didn't want to see and announcing those he could.
Emperor Kangxi was lying in bed pretending to be asleep when he heard Liang Jiugong's report. He immediately sat up and said, "Tell him to wait a while and help me change my clothes first."
His original purpose was to stand in for the real Emperor Kangxi and see what the Shi family and the Crown Prince would do. Therefore, his main role was to serve the Shi family. When Shi Bingde came to see him alone, he stood up as if facing a formidable enemy.
“Your Majesty, this servant will be by your side to attend to you. If you need to leave, please excuse yourself to use the restroom or change clothes,” Liang Jiugong said.
Emperor Kangxi nodded, and then allowed the palace maids to help him change his clothes.
Shi Bingde lowered his head and walked to Kangxi's desk, patted his horse-hoof sleeves, and bowed, saying, "Your subject pays respects to Your Majesty."
"Minister Shi, what brings you here?" Emperor Kangxi asked.
"Your Majesty," Shi Bingde said, "I have heard that Your Majesty has recently taken a fondness for calligraphy. I have just copied a piece of calligraphy by Dong Changzhi. I have come to discuss it with Your Majesty. Your Majesty used to enjoy discussing things with me."
Liang Jiugong frowned. Although this "fake Kangxi" had crammed a lot of knowledge, it seemed that he hadn't crammed on his discussions with Shi Bingde about calligraphy. Even he himself didn't know what they had talked about or what insights they had on calligraphy research.
Kangxi gave a barely audible "okay," and then gestured for Liang Jiugong to take the scroll of paper that Shi Bingde had taken out of his sleeve.
Liang Jiugong quickly stepped down and took the so-called rubbing from Shi Bingde.
As the finest Xuan paper was slowly laid out before "Kangxi," Shi Bingde slightly raised his head to look at Kangxi, seemingly trying to discern something from his face. Liang Jiugong had already noticed this; he turned slightly to the side, effectively blocking Kangxi's view so that Shi Bingde, standing below, could not see Kangxi's head.
Shi Bingde, however, refused to give up. He actually walked to the other side and said to the "Kangxi" who was looking at his calligraphy, "Your Majesty, do you think my copy of this calligraphy is decent?"
Liang Jiugong had already read through the text on the paper, but couldn't find anything. He didn't know what Shi Bingde's purpose was in showing his calligraphy to Kangxi at this moment.
"My dear minister, your calligraphy copy is not very accurate, but the structure of the characters is somewhat similar, especially the character '为'. Didn't I tell you last time that this character is the most difficult to copy? You're still doing the same thing as last time," said Emperor Kangxi.
Shi Bingde's brow twitched, a strange light flashed in his eyes, and then he lowered his head and said, "Your Majesty is indeed discerning. This time, I have tried my best to write something that is close to his, but Your Majesty still saw through it."
"Hahaha, Minister Shi, go back and write another one. I'll punish you by making you keep writing this character '为'! Go!" Emperor Kangxi laughed heartily.
Shi Bingde accepted the poorly written calligraphy that "Kangxi" had thrown at him and left.
Liang Jiugong waited until Shi Bingde's footsteps had faded into the distance before personally lifting the tent flap to take a look. He then turned and said to "Kangxi," "How could you know all this? He was clearly here to test us!"
"Kangxi" curled his lips and said, "I spent several days and nights on the matter Your Majesty instructed me to handle. I even know everything about Shi Bingde's ancestors for eighteen generations. Your Majesty specifically had all of his quirks written down. Among them, it was said that Shi Bingde loved to copy calligraphy, but he was arrogant and thought his calligraphy was very special. He often wrote in a very messy and disorganized way. Although Your Majesty didn't tell me about this, I guessed it just now from that record describing his temperament. Perhaps I guessed right."
Liang Jiugong wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and said, "Sir, you are truly a remarkable person. I saw the look of disappointment on his face just now, but I am now completely convinced."
“Shi Bingde is a suspicious man by nature. Continue to send people to keep an eye on him,” said Emperor Kangxi.
Meanwhile, Shi Bingde returned to his tent, his face filled with disappointment and suspicion. He had already suspected that "Kangxi" might have done something underhanded, but when he tested the emperor with his own calligraphy today, he felt that the person sitting behind the imperial desk was indeed Kangxi himself. Besides him, who else could know so well the tricks he had played with those calligraphy pieces?
Shi Bingde sat behind his desk in deep thought for a long time before saying to the person who had been waiting quietly beside him, "Go, proceed according to plan. Tonight, if we can get Prince Yong dead there, not only that, but leave no survivors. And don't let them find any clues."
"Yes, I'll go right away." The man seemed to have been waiting for this order for a long time, and immediately turned and left with a resolute air.
Shi Bingde had indeed just used that rubbing to test "Kangxi," and he had sensed some doubt in Lord Qiu's words. He himself felt that Kangxi seemed a little different from usual, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what was different. So he made a copy of the rubbing and showed it to Kangxi. To his disappointment, he didn't find anything wrong with it, and he even revealed a little secret that only he and Kangxi knew.
At this moment, Shi Bingde had no more doubts; he was certain that the person sitting behind the imperial desk was indeed Emperor Kangxi himself. He was now like an arrow on a bowstring, ready to be released at any moment.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
