Chapter 71: Alone
The night is slightly cool.
Kangxi, Liang Jiugong and others were on the way back to Qingxi Book House.
Just now, he said goodbye to the prince and turned back to Qingxi Study. He noticed that most of the concubines who had finished the banquet were walking together in twos and threes. Then he remembered that except for a few people from Changchun Palace, Yuying didn't seem to be close to other concubines in the palace. And it happened that no one from Changchun Palace came with her to the garden this time.
Afraid that she would be alone, Kangxi decided to wait for her to go back together.
"Your Majesty?" Yuying asked in surprise.
Kangxi was standing in the backlight, so if you didn't look carefully, you couldn't see it. If Lu Chen hadn't been sharp-eyed and reminded Yuying just now, Yuying would have missed it.
Kangxi heard Yuying's voice, slowly walked out from the darkness, stretched out a hand, and raised the corners of his mouth slightly, "Aying, come here."
Yuying was stunned for a moment, but Qingtao said with a smile: "My lady, the emperor wants you to come over."
Yuying then took a few steps forward and stood beside Kangxi.
Kangxi waved his outstretched hand, "Aying, don't you plan to hold my hand?"
Yuying lowered her head and looked at Kangxi's hand. They had clearly done more intimate things before, but now it was just a simple hand holding, yet Yuying hesitated.
After a long time, perhaps because of Kangxi's serious attitude and his reluctance to take back his hand, Yuying solemnly placed one of her hands in Kangxi's palm. Kangxi held it tightly, and the two walked side by side on the way back to Qingxi Book House.
As a concubine, Yuying was not allowed to walk side by side with Kangxi. But Yuying had always been unruly in front of Kangxi, so over time, she didn't care so much.
The two of them walked forward slowly as if taking a stroll.
Kangxi's hands were so big that they could wrap around Yuying's hands. Yuying felt the dry warmth from Kangxi's palms and turned her head to look at Kangxi's profile carefully.
Qingtao behind him wanted to continue following, but was stopped by Liang Jiugong and Lu Chen.
Liang Jiugong knocked Qingtao on the head with his whisk, "You ignorant girl, the emperor wants to be alone with the young lady. If you dare to go up and ruin the emperor's mood, I'll see if the emperor will punish you."
Lu Chen also explained to Qing Tao, "Let the emperor and the young lady be alone for a while. The emperor and the young lady are both busy these days. It's rare for them to have some free time to talk. We can just follow them from a distance."
Qingtao nodded, not quite understanding.
So, the three of them followed far behind and could only see the backs of Kangxi and Yuying but could not hear their voices.
The moonlight peeked out from the dark clouds and shone on the two of them, so that they had long shadows behind them and they leaned against each other intimately.
"Why didn't the emperor go back to Qingxi Book House first?" Yuying was the first to break the silence.
"Of course I want to see Aying earlier. Doesn't Aying want to see me earlier?" Kangxi teased.
Yuying really didn't know how to respond to this. If she said she had thought about it, she really hadn't thought about it; but if she said she didn't, it seemed impolite.
Yuying could only remain silent.
[Can you chat? Chatting like this will kill the world.]
Yuying secretly complained in her heart.
Fortunately, Kangxi was not obsessed with Yuying's answer, and instead brought up other things, "The matter concerning Tsarist Russia will soon come to an end. I promised Aying that I would teach her how to ride a horse, and now we can finally put it on the agenda."
Yuying was surprised, "So fast?"
"After the Wanshou Festival, the army led by Tong Guogang will set out tomorrow."
"That's great!" Yuying smiled brightly, "Your Majesty, we will definitely win this battle!"
Yuying said it with certainty.
Kangxi, who knew Yuying's inner thoughts, naturally knew that Yuying was speaking from the heart. He looked at Yuying steadily and said, "Then I will borrow Yuying's good words."
The night breeze was blowing, and Yuying couldn't help but wrap her cloak tightly around herself.
Noticing Yuying's little movement, Kangxi took the initiative to turn sideways to block most of the cold wind for Yuying.
Feeling that the wind blowing from the lake was blocked, Yuying looked at Kangxi in surprise, as if she had not expected him to do such a thing.
Although it was already March, the wind still brought a chill at night, especially in Changchun Garden, where there was a lot of lake and flat terrain without the protection of palace walls. For the sake of Kangxi's health, Yuying suggested: "Your Majesty, why don't we hurry back to Qingxi Book House?"
Kangxi squeezed Yuying's hand and asked, "Why are Ah Ying's hands still so cold? Are you wearing too few clothes? Why don't the palace maids bring a hot water bottle when you go out?"
"Come, put this on too." Kangxi took off his cloak and put it on Yuying.
Yuying glanced at Kangxi, and her eyes clearly showed whether it was appropriate for her to wrap herself like this.
Is Kangxi determined to imitate other young couples and walk down the street with her?
As if he had noticed Yuying's unhappiness, Kangxi finally did not hesitate and took Yuying back to Qingxi Book House.
After returning to Qingxi Book House, there was a charcoal brazier burning inside and the whole room was warm. Yuying quickly took off the cloak she was wearing and put it aside.
After the maids helped the two of them wash up, Kangxi dismissed everyone. Only then did he realize that Yuying had quietly left the room at some point.
He sat by the bed curtain, casually fiddling with the tassels on the curtain, quietly waiting for Yuying to come back.
Yuying walked in slowly from outside, holding a small cake with a candle on it.
It turned out that she was still thinking about the fact that Kangxi ate cake on his birthday but didn't blow out the candles, so she specially asked the small kitchen to make a new cake to give Kangxi the sense of ritual.
Yuying squatted in front of Kangxi holding the cake.
"Your Majesty, please close your eyes and make a wish. Wishes are most effective when made on birthdays."
She raised her head, and in her clear eyes the candlelight and the bright yellow figure of Kangxi flickered.
Kangxi could not help but stare in amazement.
Seeing that Kangxi didn't respond, Yuying thought that he didn't believe in such an illusory thing, so she spoke again: "You can make any wish you want. For example, Your Majesty can wish for a great victory in the war with Tsarist Russia, or don't emperors all hope to live a long life? Your Majesty can also wish for a long life. In short, you can make any wish you want!"
Kangxi looked at Yuying, who was squatting beside him and carefully protecting the candle flame. Emotions surged in his eyes, and then he calmed down again.
He simply reached out and pulled Yuying up, sitting on the bed with him. Then, under Yuying's burning gaze, Kangxi slowly closed his eyes.
He already knew that the war with Tsarist Russia would be won, and he did not necessarily ask for a longer life. If this wish of his could really come true, he hoped that she would be healthy and accompany him for a long time.
After making the wish, Kangxi opened his eyes again.
"Blow out the candles quickly! Blow out the candles quickly!" Yuying urged.
With a "whoosh", the candle went out.
Kangxi reached out to take the cake, placed it on the tea table, and then impatiently pulled Yuying onto the bed.
The bed rocked loudly all night long.
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