"This servant greets Your Highness."
When Hongye saw the Fourth Prince come out, she took the opportunity to greet him.
The Fourth Prince's hurried steps stopped because of Hongye's deliberate greeting. He glanced at her and waited for her to speak.
"Master, Princess Song is here today..."
After Li Tiao's nose cleared, she got out of bed to get some water. Hearing Hongye's voice outside, she paused for a moment, realizing what Hongye wanted to say, and quickly called out, "Hongye, Hongye..."
Although she hadn't finished speaking, Hongye quickly curtsied to the Fourth Prince and went inside.
"Master, why are you on the ground?"
I'm thirsty.
There was a fire burning inside, with hot water on it. Hongye poured some water for Li Tiao and handed it to her, saying, "Master, you're not well yet. If there's anything you need, just tell me."
"I was about to call you, what are you doing?"
Seeing Hongye's somewhat embarrassed expression, Li Tiao paused for a moment and softened her tone: "From the first day you came to serve me, I knew you were the Fourth Prince's person. To say that I don't mind at all would be a lie, but there's nothing I can do about it."
Now that we've spent a lot of time together and gotten to know each other well, I don't want to switch to anyone else.
Besides, only by having you by his side can the Fourth Prince feel at ease, knowing that I have no intention of harming him…
"Master, this servant is not... this servant is..."
Li Tiao raised her hand to stop Hongye: "Let me finish what I have to say. I don't mean to blame you. What I want to say is... when you were relaying messages to the Fourth Prince, some things were said and some things were left unsaid."
For example, just now... if I hadn't called you, would you have said that Princess Song came to see me today?
It was indeed embarrassing for Hongye to be caught by Li Tiao passing on a message to the Fourth Prince.
However, after understanding Li Tiao's meaning, Hongye felt indignant on Li Tiao's behalf: "My lady, I just can't stand it, Song Gege, she..."
"You have to swallow your anger. Besides, Song Gege is from the Fourth Prince's residence. If you tell the Fourth Prince about this, people will think I'm doing something to him. You know my situation better than anyone else. I can't afford any mistakes. If I make the slightest mistake, those who wish me dead will probably be throwing knives at me."
Once they got a chance, they all pounced on me in a flurry...
Therefore, I cannot give others the opportunity to stab me in the back.
"Your Highness, I understand what you're saying, but the Fourth Prince is no ordinary person..."
“How can he not be someone else?” Li Tiao muttered.
“My lord, the reason why Consort Song came to see you is clearly because she is jealous of you. Why is she jealous of you? It’s because the Fourth Prince has deep feelings for you. So how could the Fourth Prince be anyone else?”
Because of Hongye's words, Li Tiao, who was playing with the snuff bottle, couldn't help but clench her hands tightly. The cool snuff bottle instantly neutralized the heat in Li Tiao's palms.
The tighter you grip, the more comfortable your palms, which are burning from the cold wind, feel.
But it's only temporary, a temporary fix, not a cure. Only when the cold is completely cured will the palms stop burning so much and the temperature drop.
The Fourth Prince may have offered her warmth in her current situation, but what about afterwards?
This warmth was merely a temporary fix for Li Tiao; how could someone who had been ordered to divorce by Emperor Kangxi possibly still have any connection with the Fourth Prince?
Suppressing her inner turmoil, Li Tiao released the snuff bottle from her hand and looked at Hongye.
"Of course he is someone else. Don't forget, the Emperor has already removed me from the Imperial Register, which means that I am now a stranger to the Fourth Prince."
"But Master..."
Li Tiao looked at Hongye seriously, and her serious gaze made Hongye swallow all the words she was about to say.
Seeing that Hongye had stopped talking, Li Tiao slid down a bit, lay down sideways, closed her eyes, and looked like she was about to sleep.
Hongye couldn't say anything more. She tidied up the charcoal fire in the room, then quietly closed the door and went out.
Perhaps because of the fire in the house and the courtyard gate, Li Tiao felt stuffy and her nose started to get blocked again. She instinctively reached under her pillow, took out her snuff bottle, unscrewed the cap, and put it under her nose. Suddenly, Li Tiao opened her eyes and stared at the snuff bottle in her hand for a long time.
Finally, she steeled herself, closed the lid, and stuffed the snuff bottle under her pillow.
It was clearly just a cold, but perhaps because of her mood, Li Tiao acted as if she had a serious illness and stayed in bed for almost five or six days.
During this time, Hongye tried to talk to Li Tiao about the situation outside and about the Fourth Prince... Every time she did this, Li Tiao would interrupt Hongye.
Li Tiao lived in the same courtyard as Su Mala Gu. Su Mala Gu wanted to visit her several times, but Li Tiao had Hongye block Su Mala Gu from entering each time.
Colds are contagious, and Su Ma La Gu is quite old. Li Tiao was afraid that she would catch Su Ma La Gu and then something bad would happen.
After the explanation was clear, Su Ma La Gu understood and felt even more sorry for Li Tiao.
Just as she was starting to feel a little better and Li Tiao thought she should pull herself together, the Emperor arrived.
When she heard the eunuchs outside shouting "The Emperor has arrived!" in a shrill, piercing voice, Li Tiao felt as if a knife was cutting through glass; it was chilling.
Out of the corner of her eye, Li Tiao caught sight of the equally tense Hongye and said, "What's meant to happen will happen, there's no escaping it. The sooner it dies, the sooner it's over."
"Pah, ptah, ptah, Master, you should also spit it out. What are you saying about dying? It's bad luck."
"That's feudal..." Before Li Tiao could finish saying the word "superstition," there was a noise outside her house. Li Tiao gestured for Hongye and herself to go out and greet them.
Although we don't know what Master Kang really means, we can't afford to give Master Kang any reason to criticize us when it comes to etiquette at this critical juncture.
"Li Tiao greets Your Majesty, wishing Your Majesty ten thousand years of good fortune and peace."
"Get up, how are you feeling?" Kangxi asked as he entered and sat on the chair that the eunuch had specially placed behind him.
"Your Majesty, I am much better. Thank you for your concern."
Although Li Tiao didn't dare to look up at Kangxi, she could still feel his gaze fixed on her, which made her, who was already under a lot of pressure, even more uneasy and anxious.
"You look quite well." Kangxi finally withdrew his gaze, his tone indifferent.
Li Tiao didn't respond, mainly because she didn't know what to say and was afraid of saying the wrong thing.
Master Kang didn't seem to point at Li Tiao or say anything; he just said to himself, "What are your plans after you recover?"
"Plans?" Li Tiao was taken aback and finally looked up at Kang Shifu: "Your Majesty, what do you mean?"
"I am going to lead the expedition in person, and I will be away from the capital for quite some time. Now that you and the fourth prince are no longer related, you should at least plan for your future."
"While I'm still in the capital, I thought I'd take care of settling your affairs before I leave."
These words sounded like concern, and even very considerate concern, but they left Li Tiao feeling like she had a fishbone stuck in her throat.
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