Youqing accepted Madam Yang's attentiveness without question, listening to her with a smile. After all, no one can complain about too many nice words, but she didn't agree with them.
Madam Yang didn't mind, after all, she knew her own limitations, and she was already very grateful that the Empress was willing to listen to her.
The two of them are still getting along quite well.
On the other side, Emperor Kangxi went to the appointment with his sons.
When they arrived, Prefect Yang had already been waiting for them for quite some time.
"Your Majesty, I have met the Crown Prince, and I have met..."
Kangxi waited for him to speak before saying, "Get up."
Prefect Yang invited Kangxi and the others to sit down, and then ordered people to serve wine and dishes. Kangxi didn't drink much, so he didn't touch the wine and didn't dare to urge them to drink. However, the Crown Prince and the others all took a sip.
Halfway through the meal, Prefect Yang looked at everyone at the table and quietly gave an order. A moment later, Yang Qing brought in a plate of snacks.
Originally, Prefect Yang intended for her to serve wine, but knowing that Emperor Kangxi did not drink alcohol, he changed it to snacks. It didn't matter what she served; what mattered was the person serving it.
Yang Qing was undoubtedly beautiful. She had been raised in luxury since childhood, and her temperament was also quite remarkable. She was no less beautiful than the delicate beauties of the Kangxi Emperor's harem. Not to mention, she also possessed the unique softness of a Yangzhou girl, which was something that girls in the capital did not have. Her arrival made the entire private room much brighter.
Yang Qing entered with her head slightly bowed. As soon as she entered, she was greeted by Prefect Yang and made to stand next to Kangxi, so she did not see the Crown Prince, but the Crown Prince did see her.
Seeing that she had found her way to Kangxi's side, the Crown Prince was not stupid and naturally understood why. He felt very uncomfortable, but he did not take his anger out on Yang Qing. The Crown Prince also knew that this matter was probably the idea of Prefect Yang.
The Crown Prince's dissatisfaction was directed at Prefect Yang. Despite boarding his ship, Prefect Yang had sent his daughter to his father, the Emperor. The Crown Prince felt that Prefect Yang's actions were extremely dishonest.
Yang Qing approached Kangxi and carefully placed the pastries down. Kangxi smelled the unfamiliar scent of cosmetics and found it cloying and uncomfortable, so he looked up at Yang Qing.
Yang Qing was startled by the sight, and her hand trembled so much that she almost overturned the plate of pastries she was holding.
Seeing this, Prefect Yang quickly said, "My daughter is clumsy and has disturbed Your Majesty. Please forgive her."
Yang Qing looked terrified at this moment, her eyes timid as she looked at Kangxi, like a fawn in the forest. An ordinary man would surely have come to her rescue.
But was Emperor Kangxi an ordinary man?
He is not.
Although Yang Qing was beautiful, she was still no match for Consort Liang, who had given birth to the Eighth Prince. Faced with such a beauty, Kangxi was completely unmoved.
Emperor Kangxi frowned and said, "What's wrong with this restaurant? Doesn't it even have anyone to run errands or serve you? It's making a prefect's daughter work like a servant. Prefect Yang, what kind of restaurant did you choose?"
These words weren't just words of pity; the mere mention of "making a prefect's daughter work like a servant" brought tears to Yang Qing's eyes.
Prefect Yang was also taken aback by Kangxi's reaction and was momentarily stunned, unsure of what to say.
He would naturally not treat his daughter like a servant; this was a common practice. However, Kangxi was unwilling to follow these rules, even though he was the emperor.
Seeing Yang Qing on the verge of tears, the Crown Prince felt a pang of heartache; it wasn't her fault.
"Prefect Yang, why aren't you letting anyone take your daughter out?"
"Yes, yes, the Crown Prince is right."
This was a way to get Yang Qing out of a tight spot. The Crown Prince spoke up, and Yang Qing was grateful. She looked over in the direction of the voice and saw the Crown Prince's face. Wasn't this her benefactor?
The thought that she had just done all this right under her benefactor's nose made Yang Qing feel extremely ashamed and angry.
But according to her father, her benefactor was actually the Crown Prince!
Yang Qing left the private room with a belly full of worries.
The meal was not so pleasant after that, especially for Prefect Yang, who ate it with extreme caution, as if walking on thin ice.
Emperor Kangxi did not intend to punish Prefect Yang directly, so he kept him in the cold and did not say or do anything. Even so, Emperor Kangxi's attitude still gave Prefect Yang a fright.
He ended up losing more than he gained by trying to steal a chicken.
Prefect Yang also noticed that the Crown Prince's gaze towards him was not gentle, which was yet another headache for Prefect Yang.
After returning from the restaurant, Prefect Yang took his daughter back, his expression not very pleasant, which made Yang Qing, who originally wanted to inquire more about the Crown Prince, dare not say anything more.
After Kangxi finished his meal, he went back home. Not long after he returned, Youqing came back as well.
"What did Prefect Yang say today?"
Kangxi shook his head: "He didn't say anything useful. He brought his daughter with him to today's meal."
Youqing understood then.
"Does Prefect Yang not know about the affairs of the capital?"
Logically speaking, this shouldn't be the case! Nowadays, there's no one left in Kangxi's harem except for her, the Empress. It's impossible for a prefect to be unaware of such a major event.
"How could I not know? I was just overconfident."
Kangxi was confident that he, like most men in the world, had flaws, and he was also confident that no man could resist his daughter's beauty.
"So, it seems that Prefect Yang's daughter really is a beauty that could topple kingdoms?"
Kangxi shook his head: "I haven't looked at it much, so I don't know."
Youqing was taken aback when she heard this, then smiled.
"You really didn't watch it?"
Upon hearing this, Kangxi smiled and said, "What, do you want me to take a few more glances?"
Youqing didn't mean that.
She shook her head and said, "Don't slander me, but speaking of which, what Prefect Yang did was not exactly ethical."
Madam Yang was praising her to the skies, while Prefect Yang was trying to steal her away with his daughter – that was just unethical.
"This person is indeed a bit scheming, but this incident also shows that Prefect Yang is not honest. We need to have someone investigate him more thoroughly later."
Honest people wouldn't think of such unorthodox methods, especially given Kangxi's reputation for favoring the Empress.
Prefect Yang had no idea that the more mistakes he made, the more suspicious Emperor Kangxi became. Fortunately, he was unaware of this, or he would have been spitting blood.
At this moment, Prefect Yang was very unhappy. He originally thought that even if Kangxi did not accept the daughter, he would still be kind and gentle. After all, when faced with beauty, a man with a little manners would not go too far. But Kangxi spoke without any regard for propriety.
They directly referred to the daughter of a prefect as a servant.
He didn't dare to refute it.
Yang Qing also felt wronged. Although she knew that the person was the emperor, those words were indeed very humiliating to her. A proper young lady from an official family was described as a servant who served tea and water. How could she be happy?
At the same time, she felt a little embarrassed and annoyed. After all, she had finally met the Crown Prince. Before, she didn't know his identity and only felt a little romantic but nothing in particular. Now that she knew the Crown Prince's identity and that he had helped her out of the predicament today, Yang Qing's heart was finally at ease and settled on the Crown Prince.
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