His gaze lingered on the unusually dark circles beneath her eyes, but Emperor Kangxi ultimately said nothing.
Whether it was his own irritation or the fact that she was sleeping far too peacefully and serenely, within the sa room, the fear of confronting death earlier gradually dissipated.
The morning sun rose, casting a faint glow on the green chrysanthemums on the windowsill that hadn't yet dried.
Perhaps the scene before him was too enchanting; despite his recent sleepless nights, for so reason, Xuanye felt a familiar wave of drowsiness wash over him...
When An Ning woke up, the sky outside had completely darkened. Rubbing her sore eyes, she tried to get up but her legs imdiately went weak. A sudden, sharp pain mixed with a cool sensation on both sides instantly wiped away the last remnants of sleepiness from her mind.
Especially when she saw the clearly changed qipao she was wearing, and the bare legs underneath it.
"You're finally awake!"
Under the dim candlelight, the man on the couch slightly raised his eyelids, shifting his gaze from the morial in his hand to casually glance at the sowhat dazed face of the person opposite him.
He then snorted with a light laugh:
"Sleeping for most of the day like this—those who know would say my beloved consort ca to serve , but those who don't would think you ca specifically waiting for to serve you instead."
"I've gone to all the trouble of welcoming an ancestor from afar!"
Having no ti for the sarcasm from the other side, feeling the intermittent stinging between her legs, An Ning couldn't help but hiss in pain. She instinctively supported herself on the table, preparing to get up and head to the inner chamber.
The hand of the person opposite her, flipping through morials, paused briefly:
"No need to go check specially. I already had soone apply dicine and treat you earlier."
"Just half a day's journey and you managed to ruin your legs like this? Clearly, you haven't put in any real hard work on a regular basis. You're not even as good as Old Four, who's only twelve or thirteen."
Finally, he couldn't resist glancing at her again, his tone carrying a lecturing quality:
"Don't always rely on being clever and learning everything quickly without knowing the value of diligence and hardship. Developing such a lazy character, little do you know..."
An Ning: "..."
Is there no end to this!
"So you actually took what I said that day to heart!"
Sitting back down in her spot, An Ning couldn't help but complain.
"What?" Kangxi was also taken aback.
"For example, treating your servant like a son!"
An Ning's tone remained as light and cheerful as ever.
Sitting back down in her spot, An Ning couldn't help but complain.
"This is utter nonsense!"
Lifting his eyes to glance at her, and seeing no response from the other side, after a mont, the man on the couch lightly coughed again:
"Didn't I have an imperial procession prepared for you earlier?"
Imperial procession? That sounds nice.
Casually picking up a book from the table, An Ning inwardly scoffed. Would he believe that if she had actually dared to co slowly in a sedan chair today, with his petty nature, he would absolutely keep a full ntal record of it—the kind he'd frequently pull out later to repeatedly criticize...
Shooting an annoyed glare across the room, An Ning simply settled back onto the couch:
"Looking at how vigorous you sound, it seems your health has pretty much recovered, right!"
This ti, Kangxi across from her really had nothing to say.
Admittedly, after relaxing and having a comfortable sleep, aside from so lingering weakness, his symptoms had indeed improved significantly.
And the room's arrangent, though largely unchanged, sohow felt more soothing.
Of course, it was undeniable that a certain soone's presence did add considerable color to this room.
But thinking about her earlier act of just lying down directly still irritated him sowhat. He casually tossed the morial in his hand aside and glanced at her sideways:
"Now you know how to show concern? My beloved consort was sleeping so soundly earlier, you even slept through having dicine applied..."
An Ning: "..."
Sure enough, she shouldn't have taken the bait from the start.
In the following days, using her leg injury as an excuse since it wasn't healing quickly, An Ning continued to lazily stay on the couch, unwilling to move.
As for attending to the sick—with several precious sons practically waiting on him day and night, diligently serving him, what need was there for a semi-disabled person like her?
Perhaps if she went, these few might even resent her for disrupting their path to advancent.
Watching the extrely filial sons coming and going behind the screen every day, An Ning lay down even more thoroughly.
It wasn't until the day the troops set off that she barely managed to walk on her feet.
This serious illness had occurred just as the army was returning. Since the Emperor had just recovered from a major illness and wasn't suitable for long journeys, except for the Crown Prince who had returned to the capital early to handle governnt affairs, the procession moved quite slowly along the way.
In November, the air in the northern regions already carried a slight chill.
Yet, looking through the curtain at the several young princes riding horses outside the imperial tent in such cold weather, even soone as cold-hearted as An Ning couldn't help but gasp in surprise.
Casually placing a piece on the chessboard:
"The Eldest Young Master is one thing, after all he's older. But the Third Prince and Fourth Prince are still so young..."
"Young? Where are they young? In a year or two, they'll be at the age to start families and enter court. How can jade beco valuable without cutting and polishing? They're nothing more than unrefined stones!"
The person opposite clearly didn't care in the slightest, not even pausing his hand while moving chess pieces.
For a true tiger dad, these were just basic operations.
Fine, then keep polishing them!
Anyway, she was just making conversation. These imperial aristocrats might actually enjoy it, thinking it's a test from their dear father!
While An Ning was letting her thoughts wander, the chess ga before her quickly reached its end. As usual, An Ning won this ga with a three-stone handicap advantage. She expected the other side to darken his expression as usual, but instead, she saw him lightly sip the clear tea beside him, then casually remark as if unintentionally:
"Has the injury on your leg gotten better?"
An Ning: "..."
Hah~
***
"Third Brother, what were you looking at just now?"
"If I rember correctly, the Emperor should be with Consort Chen Mother right now..."
The sudden voice in his ear gave him a real fright. The Third Prince, lost in thought, nearly went weak in the legs and fell off his horse.
After seeing who it was, he relaxed and instinctively lowered his voice: "It's... it's nothing, older brother was just worried!" Thinking of the scene earlier, he specifically explained:
"Well, since Consort Chen Mother arrived at the detached palace, she hasn't co out to move around. It seems she got injured on the way here.
That... that, Fourth Brother, do you think the Emperor might think we didn't take good care of her?"
Is that so! Yin Zhen looked at him suspiciously but, for so reason, didn't expose him. Instead, following the other's lead, his face—increasingly tanned recently—showed little expression as he said:
"Third Brother needn't worry. The Emperor shouldn't bla us unfairly like that..."
Besides, having experienced horseback riding injuries himself, anyone could guess what happened just by thinking about it. Recalling the earlier scene, Yin Zhen unconsciously tightened his grip on the reins again.
"Yeah, ha... haha..." The Third Prince sowhat awkwardly scratched his head.
Then he suddenly thought of sothing: "Hey, Fourth Brother, have you heard? They say that in the next imperial selection, Consort Chen Mother's niece will be participating."
They say nieces resemble their aunts. Who knows, ah...
It's just a pity her family background isn't very good.
Having seen a true peerless beauty since childhood, the Third Prince felt his standards had subtly risen quite high. He sighed inwardly.
Why does the Emperor have such good luck!
Yin Zhen: "..."
"Third Brother, this matter should be left to the Emperor and Consort Chen Mother to decide."
Sensing what the other might be thinking, Yin Zhen felt sowhat speechless.
In this world, those truly beautiful to the extent of Consort Chen Mother are exceptionally rare. If that Miss Lu bore even a third of the resemblance, her reputation would have spread long ago.
Moreover, after the previous incident, the noticeably more mature Yin Zhen keenly sensed that regardless of Miss Lu's character or appearance, she likely wouldn't enter any of their princely mansions.
Not to ntion that with Consort Chen Mother's personality, she clearly wouldn't get involved in this ss—probably the Emperor himself wouldn't allow it either...
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