When Fang He was training the hotel staff, she already knew that when a person stands at a high position, they can easily see everything below—whether someone is whispering, making faces, or pretending to read a serious book while actually enjoying a novel.
Due to the angle, as long as one pays attention, nothing escapes their sight; it all depends on whether they choose to take issue with it.
Even though she lowered her head and let her gaze fall to Liang Jiugong’s feet, trembling slightly, Liang Jiugong himself, bent over and looking down, couldn’t see her expression—but Kangxi could see everything clearly.
With his level of composure and insight, there was no way he wouldn’t notice that Fang He was afraid of Liang Jiugong.
He half-lowered his eyes, casting a disinterested glance at Fang He, but he didn’t bother to take offense at her ignorance of proper decorum.
When ants annoy him, even acknowledging them with a dismissal is a favor.
Most of the time, he doesn’t even spare a thought for their every move.
Setting down his teacup, he instructed Liang Jiugong to attend to his rest, not sparing Fang He another word.
Fang He wasn’t surprised.
She knew that, at the moment, she was nowhere near Liang Jiugong’s level of importance in Kangxi’s eyes.
So, she remained quietly kneeling for a moment.
When Liang Jiugong impatiently waved her away, she obediently got up and left the sleeping quarters with perfectly measured steps.
However, what she didn’t know was that while Kangxi didn’t care about ants, he also wouldn’t allow them to become unpredictable variables.
If an emperor couldn’t even control what happened in his immediate surroundings, how could he possibly govern an entire empire?
After Liang Jiugong lowered the golden-yellow canopy, a faint command came from within—
“Look into it.”
No details were given—what to investigate, where to look—but Liang Jiugong understood immediately.
He bowed in acknowledgment, and once the steady rhythm of breathing came from within, he silently exited the hall.
***
As soon as he stepped outside, Liang Jiugong saw Fang He, who had just been flattering the emperor inside.
He paused for a moment before stepping forward, greeting her with a fake smile that didn’t reach his eyes.
“I must have underestimated you before, girl. You’ve got quite a sharp tongue. You’re fit to serve in front of His Majesty—why belittle yourself?”
Fang He looked up in confusion, her large, deer-like eyes full of puzzlement as she pushed her bangs aside.
“Why would you say that, Liang An Da? My aunt always says I have a clumsy tongue and that I never know when I might offend someone. She told me to stay quietly in the tea room—if I were to upset His Majesty, wouldn’t that be disloyal?”
“I’m just following my aunt’s advice. Liang An Da, please don’t flatter me—I’m afraid people might say you’re blind for doing so.”
Liang Jiugong: “…Just go. You don’t need to stand here.”
Just looking at this foolish girl annoyed him!
As Fang He obediently turned and returned to the tea room, Liang Jiugong became about seventy percent certain—this girl really was stupid.
But there was still a thirty percent chance of uncertainty, and as the head eunuch, he wouldn’t leave things unchecked.
The next day, when Cuiwei reported for duty, he ordered Li Dequan to go ask her about Fang He’s behavior over the years.
Cuiwei found it an odd request.
To be honest, she had lived with Fang He for over seven years, and for the first seven years, she barely had any impression of her.
Fang He was too obedient, rarely spoke, and did whatever she was told—just like an inanimate object with no thoughts of her own.
It was only in the past six months that Cuiwei had started noticing her, but her impression of Fang He remained the same—an unambitious, passive person.
In fact, sometimes when their eyes met, Cuiwei even felt a strange sense of camaraderie with her.
Finding a roommate who did more than she said, didn’t stir up trouble, and even had similar interests—how rare!
Cuiwei, who had once looked down on Fang He, had somehow grown to appreciate her over time.
So when Li Dequan came asking, she simply recounted the changes in Fang He before and after she had injured her head.
“She’s a bit stubborn, doesn’t understand indirect speech well, but she’s simple-minded and does her work well. Even Aunt Qin has praised her.”
Cuiwei didn’t care why Li Dequan was asking and never even considered badmouthing Fang He to get rid of her.
What if they replaced her with someone troublesome?
Life was finally becoming more comfortable—she wasn’t about to let someone else mess that up.
Li Dequan returned to his godfather to report back, still feeling puzzled.
“If we hadn’t inquired about her before, I wouldn’t have even remembered that girl’s name. She doesn’t seem to have any promising future—why are you asking about her?”
Liang Jiugong sneered.
“If she had a bright future that you could see, then I wouldn’t need to trouble myself over it. Her future is inside.”
Li Dequan was taken aback.
His eyes widened as he asked, “Godfather, you mean His Majesty…?”
“Oh no! Wei Disheng’s godfather is Madam Xu’s partner, and given their relationship, if Fang He gains favor, wouldn’t that put us at a disadvantage?”
In truth, palace eunuchs and maids forming partnerships was against the rules because, officially, all palace maids belonged to the emperor.
This also meant eunuchs often viewed them with a certain degree of respect.
Daring to “compete” with the emperor for women was a grave offense.
But Xu Mama and Qiao Cheng were different.
Their relationship had been personally approved by their superiors.
Back when His Majesty had just ascended the throne, during the mourning period for Emperor Shizong, a group of anti-Qing rebels used the chaos and infiltrated the palace to attempt an assassination.
At that time, Xu Mama was just a cleaning maid, and Qiao Cheng was a lowly eunuch in the Office of Internal Affairs.
By sheer fate, they found themselves in the middle of the attack.
Without hesitation, Qiao Cheng shielded Kangxi with his own body, while Xu Mama swung a broom to block a blade meant for him, getting stabbed in the shoulder in the process.
Later, as Xu Mama recovered, Qiao Cheng personally tended to her, and over time, the two developed feelings for each other.
When the Empress Dowager and Kangxi learned about it, they teased that they might as well let the two loyal servants be together, as a reward for their devotion.
And so, they were allowed to become partners.
The higher-ups never openly endorsed their union, since it technically violated palace rules, but they privately rewarded them, which was an implicit approval.
Most of the old servants in the palace knew about it.
If not for their heroic act, Xu Mama, a low-ranking palace maid with no background, could never have climbed to her position as head of palace cleaning.
And Qiao Cheng, who lacked political cunning, would never have become Deputy Supervisor of the Palace Halls.
As for Wei Disheng, he was even luckier than his godparents—he had caught Gu Wenxing’s eye and even received a promotion in front of the emperor.
Liang Jiugong would never allow someone under Gu Wenxing’s influence to take his place.
Managing the Office of Internal Affairs was already a privilege—did Gu Wenxing really think he could reach the heavens?
Seeing Li Dequan’s troubled expression, Liang Jiugong sneered.
“I told you to investigate, so you better dig up everything about her.”
“Not just anyone can serve before His Majesty. For the safety of our sovereign, we must not allow any ill-intentioned people near him.”
His tone grew sinister when he emphasized “ill-intentioned.”
Li Dequan immediately understood.
Whether Fang He actually had hidden motives or not, it wouldn’t be difficult to “find” something suspicious.
After a moment of hesitation, he gestured at his neck with his hand and asked, “Godfather, should we also take care of Wei Disheng…?”
Liang Jiugong smacked him on the back of the head.
“Idiot!”
“His Majesty only just glanced at him, and you already want to kill his sworn brother? Are you in a rush to fill up the mass graves?”
The longer Liang Jiugong served Kangxi, the clearer he understood: though the emperor seemed gentler and more tolerant than Emperor Shizong, he never let anything slip past him.
His tolerance only extended to things he had already noticed.
How many spies His Majesty had planted, Liang Jiugong didn’t dare to guess.
Kangxi might not concern himself with court disputes or harem conflicts, but did he need to act magnanimous towards rootless servants like them?
Li Dequan, rubbing the back of his head, dared not say another word.
Liang Jiugong shot him a look of disappointment.
“His Majesty will be taking the crown prince and his ministers on a hunting expedition at Liaoying Terrace soon.
The rules in the summer palace are still somewhat lax—especially over at Anping Hall, which isn’t even within the main grounds. There’s a chance someone could exploit this.”
“Go to Lord Suo and arrange for the guards to tighten security early. It’s best to be extra cautious—for the safety of His Majesty and the Crown Prince.”
Li Dequan suddenly understood.
Right!
Wei Disheng had been beaten badly—if he couldn’t receive proper medical treatment and was given poor food and drink, who knew if he would even survive?
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