Inside the Hall of Mental Cultivation, Kangxi took the small box presented by Zheng Yong, opened it and looked at it. His eyelids twitched slightly, then he closed it and waved to Li Dequan.
Li Dequan put the small box away.
Kangxi asked, "How much did the maid ask you to give it?"
Zheng Yong knelt on the ground and said, "Your Majesty, after returning to the palace, I counted the money and it totaled 368,900 taels."
"The numbers are quite auspicious. Did she say anything else?" Kangxi asked again.
"Your Majesty, Consort Tong once mentioned something, though her pronunciation was unclear, and this servant didn't understand. But Consort Tong said that this item is extremely important, and the unusual movements of the government and the martial arts world in Shanxi and Anhui are all because of it. Moreover, there have been unknown people chasing Consort Tong all the way. This servant dared not delay. As soon as Consort Tong's injuries stabilized, this servant and the others returned to the capital without stopping. Consort Tong said that she would tell Your Majesty about the matter herself."
"Well, if that's the case, then so be it." Kangxi then asked about some other miscellaneous matters, which Zheng Yong answered one by one.
Kangxi ordered Zheng Yong to leave. He wanted Li Dequan to go to Jingren Palace to summon Lady Tong, but after thinking about it, he felt it was inappropriate and simply set off for Jingren Palace instead.
Inside Jingren Palace, Nan Yi was in Consort Tong's small kitchen, where the kitchen staff cooked some seasonal dishes. He roughly counted seven or eight different kinds.
Consort Tong, having heard about it from the maid, came over to join in the fun.
Consort Tong had no children, and apart from the palace maids, nannies, and eunuchs, the palace was usually quite deserted. However, after Nan Yi arrived, Jingren Palace was transformed from its usual quiet state in the past ten days, with everyone from top to bottom wearing smiles.
The fact that Nan Yi was living in Jingren Palace was kept secret from outsiders. Nan Yi spent all her time in her room and kitchen and did not go out. She had nothing to do but send the eunuchs and maids to do all sorts of things. In addition, she was generous and easy-going, so she easily got along with the people below.
Laughter and cheerful conversation filled Jingren Palace, but as soon as Kangxi entered the room, he noticed something was amiss.
Consort Tong had been notified in advance and was waiting at the palace gate. "This concubine greets Your Majesty. May Your Majesty be well."
"My beloved concubine seems to be in a very good mood today," Kangxi said with a smile, his eyes narrowed.
Consort Tong chuckled, "Indeed, there's a little rascal in the palace. She makes me laugh so hard I can't stop, and my back aches from laughing. Your Majesty, please get rid of her quickly, or I'll be reluctant to let her go if we wait too long."
"No, that won't do. I'll have to trouble my beloved consort for a while to keep her company and amuse her, which will help her pass the time."
Emperor Kangxi led Consort Tong into the room, glancing around. "Where's that girl? Is her injury still not healed?"
"She's almost recovered and is currently busy in the kitchen," Consort Tong explained. She beckoned to a maid beside her and instructed, "Quickly go and fetch the concubine. Tell her the Emperor is looking for her."
"Your Majesty, you have no idea, that girl has been clamoring to eat meat every day, but the imperial physician won't let her eat it, saying it's not good for her recovery. Now that's all, it's like a hornet's nest has been stirred up. After she was able to get out of bed and walk around, she seizes every opportunity to argue with Lijuan."
Lijuan was stubborn and determined not to eat, so the girl came up with a wicked idea. She had the maid in the small kitchen prepare a bunch of delicious dishes, piling on as much chili as possible. Lijuan was craving it, but she couldn't eat spicy food. Not only did she sneeze violently, but she also stood in front of the dishes drooling, laughing so hard.
Tong chuckled, and Kangxi laughed along, scolding, "You little devil, how could she come up with such a clever idea?"
“That’s right, that’s what I said about her too.” Madam Tong clapped her hands in agreement.
Nan Yi was sneaking a bite to eat in the kitchen when Leng Bufan suddenly heard the Emperor summoning her. A piece of meat got stuck in her throat, causing her to choke and roll her eyes back. Li Juan was startled and raised her hand to give Nan Yi a hard slap on the back.
Nan Yi spat out the meat, and the nanny beside her hurriedly handed her tea. After rinsing her mouth, Nan Yi glared at Li Juan and said, "I almost lost my life because of you."
Lijuan didn't mince words, "It's in the hands of the meat."
*Cough* Nan blushed slightly, then feigned anger and put his hands on his hips, “How dare you mock the master! You deserve a beating.”
"Alright, Consort, His Majesty is waiting. Quickly come with me to change and wash up. You must not be impolite when you see His Majesty."
Nan sighed. What was bound to happen has happened. Whether it's a blessing or a curse, there's no escaping it. Do with it as you please.
Come on, let the storm rage on!
She strode confidently into the room, washing and dressing herself, and she also had to take her life-saving charm—those two account books.
On his second audience with the Emperor, Nan Yi was much calmer, probably because Emperor Kangxi wasn't as serious as he had imagined. Both times they met, Kangxi seemed quite easygoing.
"Yilan greets Your Majesty, may Your Majesty be well." She kowtowed deeply on the ground, straightened her back, raised her head, and upon seeing the Emperor's face, she fawned over him with a squinting and grinning face.
So silly and naive.
Consort Tong couldn't help but burst out laughing, then turned and buried her head in Emperor Kangxi's shoulder, chuckling softly.
Emperor Kangxi couldn't bear to look directly at her, and his brow twitched slightly. He reached out and patted Consort Tong's back, saying calmly, "Get up, Li Dequan, please sit down."
Li Dequan ordered someone to bring a chair to the middle of the room and invited Nan Yi to sit down.
The chair faced Emperor Kangxi at the head of the table. Nan glanced at it, then took a few steps closer, composed himself, and asked, "Your Majesty, have you received the silver?"
Consort Tong, who had just stopped laughing, started laughing again. She cried out "Ouch!" and had her head maid, Lijuan, help her up. She then apologized to Emperor Kangxi, saying, "I can't stand this girl. She did it on purpose. I'll go out and catch my breath. Your Majesty must help me teach this girl a lesson."
A room full of maids escorted Consort Tong out of the room. Nan Yi immediately understood that Consort Tong wanted to avoid suspicion, so she deliberately found an excuse to leave Old Kang alone to discuss matters.
No wonder he was valued by Old Master Kang; his discerning eye is truly impressive.
After everyone left, only three people remained in the room: Nan Yi, Kangxi, and Li Dequan.
"Zheng Yong said you have something to say to me. Tell me, but don't even think about bribing me with money. I won't fall for that. If you can't come up with a reasonable excuse, I will punish you according to the laws of our ancestors."
The words were spoken lightly, but Nan Yi could still discern a deeper meaning in his eyes.
Does punishing someone according to ancestral family law mean that even if he can forgive her, the ancestral family law will not?
Damn, I'm so scared, really.
Nan Yi swallowed hard, took out two thin ledgers rolled into cylinders from his sleeve, and handed them to Li Dequan.
Li Dequan took it, pressed his fingers on it, and then ran his fingers over the booklet to make sure there were no problems before handing it to the Emperor.
Kangxi picked it up, flipped through it casually, and his expression suddenly became serious. He flipped through a few more pages, then slammed the account book heavily on the table. "This is outrageous!"
He pointed to one of the points and said in a deep voice, "Tell me in detail where you obtained the account books."
Nan Yi shrank her neck and lowered her head to recount the whole story of how she got lost in Qi County.
After she finished speaking, she held her breath and remained silent. The room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. She was still thinking about whether there had been any oversights, and whether Kangxi would punish her for leaving the mansion without permission. If he did punish her, how would she escape?
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