"Actually, I'm also puzzled." After eating her porridge for so long, I've become curious about this person. Sigh, when did he become so bored, with no end to the affairs of state?
"Ah—" Nan Yi was stunned, staring blankly at Kangxi. He was playing her for a fool. She pursed her lips slightly. No wonder they were father and son, just as unscrupulous as his son.
Seeing that she didn't take it seriously, Kangxi raised an eyebrow and said, "I am different from the fourth prince." He could tell that her thoughts were written all over her face.
"How is it different? Ah—Your Majesty, please forgive me," she suddenly covered her mouth, having interrupted again. That wretched mouth of hers...
Kangxi curled the corners of his mouth and half-closed his eyes. She really wasn't afraid of him. He had heard that she dared to talk back to the Fourth Prince as well. However, this woman was very different from when he first met her. Her temperament had changed drastically. It was indeed due to amnesia.
Whether the change is for better or worse is hard to say, but the way she is now, with her lively, simple, pure, and natural personality, is rather endearing.
Kangxi chuckled and said, "I forgive you for your crime." He added, "If we're talking about differences, I certainly don't have the pettiness of the Fourth Prince."
He seemed to have overheard the thirteenth prince complaining that the fourth prince was extremely stingy, only giving his concubine one hundred and fifty taels of silver for her daily expenses. He chuckled at the news but didn't believe it. Later, after hearing Li Dequan's account, he realized it was true.
“You think so too?” she suddenly looked up, deeply agreeing.
Kangxi nodded slightly and gestured to Li Dequan. Li Dequan turned around and took a small box for her. Nan Yi looked at Kangxi with confusion.
"You'll know when you go back and see for yourself."
Nan Yi carefully held the box, implying that it couldn't be looked at now.
"Go."
"Now you can leave," she said, standing up in a daze. "Thank you, Your Majesty."
Upon hearing this, Kangxi chuckled and said, "That porridge..." The Imperial Kitchen is so incompetent; they can't even make the same taste with the same ingredients. They're truly idiots.
“Every day,” she said with a smile.
"hehe"
Holding the gift from Emperor Kangxi, Nan Yi strolled through the Imperial Garden, oblivious to the surrounding scenery, focused only on the contents of the box, wondering what treasure Emperor Kangxi had bestowed upon him.
The emperor was incredibly bored. He would say a few words, give a gift, and then release the person. He loved to do useless things.
Nan Yi wandered aimlessly, unaware of the time. In Yonghe Palace, Yinzhen waited anxiously. Judging by the time, his father should have finished talking to her. Why hadn't she returned? Had she gotten lost again?
Nara and the others looked impatient, but seeing that the master remained silent, they left it at that.
“Mother, I’m going to check on her. She’s probably lost,” Yinzhen said, getting up.
Consort De was displeased and gave a faint "hmm".
"Nan Yi"
"Nan Yi"
"Huh?" Who is it? They're all so neatly arranged. She turned around slightly.
"Is it really you?" The Ninth Prince suddenly ran forward, grabbed her shoulder, and asked angrily.
The Tenth Prince also wanted to step forward, but his Eighth Brother stopped him and shook his head. He scratched the back of his head, wondering why his Eighth Brother had stopped him. His Ninth Brother had already gone over, but the two of them were just standing there watching. However, he still obediently held back and did not move.
The Ninth Prince gazed greedily at the woman before him. He was still thinking about how his Eighth Brother had told him to follow, but he was wandering aimlessly in the Imperial Garden. When he finally got annoyed, he looked up and saw a familiar figure, the person he had imagined countless times.
He thought he was seeing things. When his tenth brother said he saw her, he didn't believe him. He called out to her carefully just now, and when she turned around, he knew without a doubt.
The Ninth Prince was overjoyed. It was truly Nan Yi. This time, she had not concealed her face and revealed her true appearance. Just as he had imagined, she was extremely beautiful, with a delicate and graceful face. Her beautiful eyes were sparkling, and her pink palace dress made her figure look enchanting and dazzling.
What are you doing here?
Nan Yi was stunned, her mind went blank, and she was even more panicked. She had imagined the scene of their encounter countless times, but she never expected it to be in the Imperial Garden of the palace. She should have been prepared for this. As a prince's concubine, it was normal for her to run into them when she entered the palace.
—But she's not ready yet, God, save her.
But God ignored her cries of pain.
Too sudden. Nan Yi sighed and lowered her eyes, remaining silent. She quickly turned her head, pondering how to start the conversation. How could she explain that she was in the palace, that her name was Nan Yi, yet she concealed her identity as a concubine, that she was clearly a lady from a prominent family but was highly skilled in martial arts, and that she had fabricated a tragic backstory to deceive them, even though it was true?
"She entered the palace with Fourth Brother, am I right, Your Highness? Consort Tong," a calm and restrained voice resounded in everyone's minds. Eighth Prince stood not far away, his voice calm and unwavering.
He gazed at that beautiful figure from afar, and all his speculations came true. His heart shattered into pieces, never to be put back together.
Ninth Prince was startled and turned to look at his Eighth Brother in astonishment, saying, "What Consort Tong? You mean Nan Yi?" How did Nan Yi get involved with Fourth Brother? And who is Consort Tong?
“Yes, there is no Nan Yi, only Fourth Brother’s Consort Tong,” the Eighth Prince said firmly. What can you do with this woman? You can’t blame her, you can’t hate her. She is truly helpless.
But why deceive them and manipulate them?
Nan Yi glanced guiltily at the Eighth Prince, then lowered her head and twisted her fingers. What could she say? He guessed her identity so quickly. What a clever man.
The Ninth Prince was filled with doubt and suspicion, his eyes were dark and deep, and his heart sank into an abyss. He stared intently into her eyes, suppressing the rage in his heart, and still asked softly, "Nan Yi, is what Eighth Brother said true?"
If it weren't true, the Eighth Brother would never speak carelessly, but he wanted to hear Nan Yi tell the story himself. He would never believe it, even if it meant his death. The woman he had chosen in his heart had already married someone else, and even married his own brother. It was utterly absurd.
Nan Yi slightly broke free from his grip, took two steps back, stared solemnly at the Ninth Prince, and slowly and heavily nodded. It was true, but she didn't mean it.
The Ninth Prince's pupils contracted, the air instantly froze, the atmosphere became terrifyingly tense, and no one uttered a sound.
Their unexpected encounter in the capital was completely unexpected. They didn't know each other's identities, yet they got along so well. They treated her so well that she developed genuine feelings for them.
Later—later she accidentally learned their identities, but she suddenly lost her courage. In this unfamiliar dynasty, she was all alone, her heart empty, and her husband in name only seemed to exist. Getting to know them gave her a sense of hope, and her days were no longer so dull and unbearable.
If she were to reveal her true identity to them at that time, would she still be able to interact with them as before, without any ulterior motives? She had no idea.
Upon hearing her confession, the Ninth Prince was deeply shaken, both shocked and pained. He glared at her with a furious expression, his fists clenched so tightly they cracked. After a long while, he finally managed to utter through clenched teeth, "You lied to me?"
“I didn’t,” Nan Yi retorted, looking up.
"Then how do you explain your status as Consort Tong?" he roared, his voice choked with rage, veins bulging on his forehead, looking extremely ferocious. Even now, she was still trying to argue.
Her lies were all exposed, yet she still remained so self-righteous. He really wanted to crack open her beautiful head and see what was inside.
Seeing his uncontrollable rage, Nan Yi lowered her eyes and murmured, "I can't explain it." How could she explain it? What she said was true, but it happened before she transmigrated. She couldn't very well say that she had been reincarnated.
"This is inexplicable," the Ninth Prince stared at her. "Hehe, very good, Consort Tong, excellent, haha—you've deceived me so badly, so miserably. No wonder you've always refused to reveal your identity. So that's why..."
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