Fang He shrank her neck and peered around like a thief, whispering very quietly:
“I can’t badmouth the boss. I super love him…” and his golden box!
“He’s the most important person in my life!”
Who else could give her a golden box worth 12,000 taels of silver a year?
She was already showing great restraint by not calling him daddy!
Kangxi’s eyes flickered, vaguely understanding the meaning of “boss”.
Ripples spread across the lake of his heart, but he only laughed lightly.
“Then why do you pretend to be stupid in front of me?”
Fang He suddenly stood up excitedly:
“Don’t talk nonsense! How could I do something that hurts the enemy 800 but injures myself 1000!”
What if the stingy boss heard and docked her pay?
Kangxi laughed coldly and was about to speak when he saw Fang He put her hands on her hips, suck in her stomach, and declare resolutely:
“I don’t need to pretend – I’m clearly just truly stupid!”
Kangxi: “…”
With that slurred speech, he could see that.
He reached out to steady the stumbling Fang He, pulling her into his arms and pinching her cheek in frustration.
“You told me yourself there are no fools in the palace, yet you act ignorant in front of me, making a fool of me. If that’s not pretending to be stupid, what is it?”
Fang He pouted pitifully, craning her neck to argue,
“But I just…” had transmigrated so I should be clueless!
But for some reason, that thread in her mind of things she absolutely couldn’t say twitched, and she swallowed the words.
Kangxi was about to ask when Fang He lifted her head and gazed at him.
“I’m only 23, still an innocent child pure as paper. What… what could I possibly understand?”
Kangxi, hit in the face by her alcoholic breath:
At her age, if she had married early, she could be a grandmother in a few more years.
He pondered – perhaps she didn’t understand at first, but after Granny Li taught her she understood, yet still pretended to be stupid?
He calmly pressed down Fang He’s attempts to push him away with turtle fists, coaxing her:
“Didn’t you say you thought I knew you were pretending?”
Fang He tilted her head, thinking hard for a long time, but really couldn’t remember what she had said.
But she absolutely couldn’t offend the boss (and his gold)!
She sighed, taking one of Kangxi’s hands in hers.
“You know my alcohol tolerance. I can very responsibly tell you that I have the best relationship with you!”
Kangxi’s face was expressionless.
Who did this troublemaker think he was earlier?
“Let me tell you something from the bottom of my heart – I’m suffering, boo hoo…”
“I’m counting on you to survive in the future, but you need to have some sense. That stick of yours really hurts when it hits people. I heard it when I was on night duty!”
Kangxi’s jaw tightened as he took a breath.
Fine, even when drunk she didn’t forget to change her words.
His voice lowered, with a hint of mockery,
“You seem to know quite a lot.”
Fang He grinned: “You taught me well!”
“Oh, and Granny Li too. I actually really don’t like lying, which is why I’m honest with you. As for pretending to be stupid, can’t a person save some…hic… save some face!”
Kangxi stared at her steadily before suddenly asking:
“If I’m so important to you, why do you keep trying to leave the palace?”
Fang He was stunned.
After struggling to understand what the person in front of her was saying, her eyes suddenly turned red.
Tears gathered in her eyes and quickly began falling.
Kangxi frowned: “Why are you crying?”
Fang He struggled to stand up.
After getting to her feet, she plopped down on the ground, hugging her knees and sobbing:
“It’s too hard in the palace… waaah no one treats me like a person!”
“I like sleeping in, preferably until the sun shines on my butt before getting up. But since entering the palace, I sleep later than dogs and wake earlier than roosters. It’s too hard…”
“I don’t like feeling hungry, waaah… not at all. But I’ve been hungry so many many many times.”
“The boss taking my dowry is one thing, but he’s also taking my food. He’s trying to kill me, waaah…”
Kangxi listened, wanting to laugh but feeling a pang in his heart.
He had seen many sides of Fang He, mostly when she was being difficult.
This was the first time he wanted to offer her all the good things in the world.
When he was young, others would read a book 100 times, but under his mother’s supervision he had to read it 200 times, studying so hard he vomited blood.
Back then he also wanted to experience what it was like to eat well and be lazy.
When Shizong was still alive, sometimes his mother would only cry and the palace servants didn’t pay attention.
He also knew what it felt like to go hungry.
But he was a prince after all, and understood his responsibilities.
His nature was competitive, so those times were very rare for him.
Fang He had lived like this her whole life.
She… was truly pitiful.
Fang He continued mumbling:
“I want to leave the palace. I want to know what it feels like to be loved. Is that too much?”
“Guoguo… hic… really really wants a home, a home that belongs to Guoguo herself… waaah I want to go home…”
Even if the inheritance was said to repay her parents for giving her life, just thinking about how the several hundred thousand she had saved up would all go to those parents who never cared about her.
This thought made her want to vomit blood!
Kangxi thought, her nickname is Guoguo?
It really is as sweet as to be vexing.
He sighed lightly, the last trace of displeasure in his heart dissipating.
Suddenly he didn’t want to ask her anything else.
His expression unconsciously softened.
He leaned forward, wanting to pull this poor thing into his arms and tell her he could give her a home.
A home with glory and riches, where no one would dare bully her again, indulging her to continue eating well and being lazy.
But just as his hand touched Fang He’s shoulder, she suddenly jumped up and slapped herself twice on the face.
Kangxi: “….”
Fang He didn’t like feeling sorry for herself.
It was useless.
Everything she wanted, she could obtain through her own efforts.
If she couldn’t get it… then she’d just try harder!
After struggling to sober up and stand steadily, Fang He finally noticed Kangxi.
Her face first showed shock, then sudden realization, and finally a burst of energy.
Kangxi: “……”
He suddenly had a bad feeling.
As expected, Fang He grabbed a handkerchief from her clothes and started waving it, stepping back as if looking for support.
Once steady, she opened her mouth and wailed.
“Your Majesty, listen to me! Little cabbage, so yellow in the field… Fang He, without a mother…” [singing]
Kangxi took a deep breath.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to feel sympathy for this rascal, but with nearly a thousand imperial guards stationed on the shore by Alantai, he couldn’t bring himself to care.
Seeing Kangxi frown, Fang He snorted heavily.
How dare he not appreciate her singing?
She didn’t even want to sing for him in the first place!
She suddenly rushed to the window, pushed it open, stuck her head out, and began to sing loudly.
“I want a home, a place that doesn’t need to be too big… Let’s go when we say go, the stars in the sky… Mmm!” [Singing]
Kangxi, startled and sweating, quickly grabbed her waist to prevent her from falling out the window, then covered her mouth.
If she fell, not only would it be embarrassing, but even if the water wasn’t deep, falling from the second floor would surely injure her.
In that brief moment, her howling voice had already reached the shore.
Many of the guards strained their ears to listen, even Alan Tai was no exception.
It was truly an eye-opening experience.
Alan Tai sighed, thinking of his own daughter’s gentle nature.
It was too late to change that now.
Does His Majesty really prefer such a lively woman?
Alan Tai thought of his own family and decided it might be better to let his daughter fail the selection after all.
He didn’t want to be related to His Majesty; his daughter was better suited for a more normal family.
Inside the cabin, Liang Jiu Gong and Chun Lai, startled by Fang He’s singing, entered the room.
Liang Jiu Gong instructed Li De Quan to clean up the mess on the low table, while Chun Lai half-supported, half-pressed Fang He onto the couch to calm her down.
“Young lady, you’re drunk. How about some sobering soup? Otherwise, you’ll have a headache tomorrow.”
Fang He’s eyes were already unfocused, but she obediently sat still for a while before processing Chun Lai’s words.
“No!” she shouted.
“That sour stuff? Even dogs wouldn’t drink it!”
Kangxi, who was standing by the window cooling off, turned around and said coldly,
“If you don’t drink it, you won’t get your monthly allowance this month!”
Fang He froze for a moment before realizing what “monthly allowance” meant.
She suddenly dropped her head in disappointment.
After taking several deep breaths, she slowly looked up at Chun Lai.
“Woof!”
The four of them: “……”
Liang Jiu Gong and Li De Quan didn’t dare to look up.
Li De Quan’s arm trembled as he reached for the tea box.
Chun Lai, trying hard not to laugh, felt her stomach ache.
Even when giving in, the young lady was so stubborn.
She carefully brought the sobering soup to Fang He’s lips with slightly trembling hands.
Fang He silently pouted but eventually drank the soup.
After finishing, she lay down, turned over, and curled up in a corner like an abandoned kitten, refusing to make another sound.
Kangxi also wanted to laugh but felt a mix of frustration and pity.
He pitied this rascal and himself.
Since Fang He arrived at the palace, his ears had never known peace.
Sometimes he wanted to give her a good beating, but she always managed to do something that made it impossible to stay angry.
How had this rascal managed to stay unnoticed in the palace for so many years?
Fang He’s sleep was always sound.
Chun Lai took the bowl of sobering soup out and returned to find Fang He already asleep.
Kangxi, after being attended to by Liang Jiu Gong, saw Chun Lai just finishing washing Fang He and preparing to cover her with a blanket.
He paused, slightly disgusted by the smell of alcohol on her, but after all, it was he who had let her drink so much.
Even though he hadn’t expected her to get so drunk so easily, he couldn’t let her sleep on the narrow couch.
This rascal didn’t sleep peacefully; if she fell off the couch, she’d surely make a fuss tomorrow.
He ordered lightly, “You may leave.”
He needed a few days of peace.
Thinking this, after Chun Lai left, Kangxi bent down and easily carried the alcohol-scented Fang He to the bed.
Only after lying down did he notice that the smell of alcohol on Fang He wasn’t unpleasant; it was mixed with a faint milky fragrance.
Paired with her flushed, tender face, it was somehow more intoxicating than the milk wine.
He hadn’t drunk much, but he felt a slight tipsy relaxation.
He chuckled helplessly, pulling Fang He into his arms.
Fang He let out a couple of soft murmurs.
Without even looking, Kangxi expertly held her small hand, pressed her legs, and gradually drifted off to sleep.
Before falling asleep, Kangxi vaguely decided on Fang He’s rank.
It shouldn’t be too high at first, or she’d struggle to find her footing in the palace.
But since she wanted to raise her own child, the rank of Noble Lady would be suitable.
If she had a child, she could be promoted gradually.
When Fang He woke up, her head wasn’t too bad, but the sunlight made her dizzy, and her whole body felt like it was swaying.
“Young lady, you’re awake?” Chun Lai smiled from the side.
“His Majesty is reviewing memorials and didn’t want to disturb you. He arranged a separate carriage for us, saying to let you wake up before going to attend to him.”
Fang He was stunned.
How had she suddenly ended up in a carriage?
Her clearest memory from last night was swearing in her heart when she realized Kangxi was trying to get her drunk.
After that, she had no memory.
Fang He covered her face and stayed silent for a while, feeling her face a bit swollen-probably from the alcohol.
She tried to recall but only vaguely remembered she had to give Kangxi a gift.
Beyond that, nothing.
Fang He didn’t dwell on it. She held her stomach and asked Chun Lai,
“What time is it? I’m so hungry.”
Chun Lai took a plate of snacks from the side drawer.
“His Majesty said to have a little something first. You’ll have lunch at his side.”
Fang He, with her hangover, had no appetite and wasn’t in a hurry to attend Kangxi.
She nibbled on half the plate of snacks before stopping.
She had always been careful not to ask what happened after drinking to avoid embarrassment.
All her friends had tested her, and she never said anything offensive when drunk-she just loved singing and hearing people praise her.
But here, she had to ask Chun Lai first.
“Last night… Did I anger His Majesty?”
Chun Lai’s expression turned complicated.
After a moment’s hesitation, she said,
“Probably… not?”
After all, His Majesty had only stood by the window for a short while before holding the young lady and sleeping.
That didn’t seem like anger!
For two consecutive days, the young lady had woken up in His Majesty’s bed, completely unharmed.
Chun Lai felt the young lady’s good days were coming.
After all, it wasn’t unusual for a man and woman to sleep together, but it was rare for nothing to happen and still willingly share a bed.
There was some level of care here; His Majesty probably wouldn’t truly get angry.
Fang He sighed in relief.
Seeing Chun Lai about to say more, she quickly raised her hand and said:
“As long as His Majesty isn’t angry, nothing else matters!”
Chun Lai: “……”
Did the young lady barking like a dog in front of His Majesty not matter?
When Fang He went to the carriage where Kangxi was, Liang Jiu Gong and Li De Quan greeted her with broad smiles.
Fang He smiled back.
“Well, looking at the smiles, there must be good news?”
Liang Jiu Gong nodded, trying not to laugh.
“In a few days, we’ll reach Rehe. I’m truly happy.”
Fang He continued to smile, and Li De Quan added, “Young lady…”
“Please just call me by my name!” Li De Quan quickly interrupted, glancing nervously inside the carriage.
“I’m actually three years younger than you!”
Fang He: “……”
Fine, if you insist on being the younger one, I won’t stop you.
But when she entered the carriage and saw Kangxi’s smiling gaze, she suddenly felt something was off.
Judging by Kangxi’s expression, her drunken antics must have been as consistent as ever, and her feigned ignorance had somehow smoothed things over.
But… had she really sung “Ducks Under the Bridge” and counted ducks in a loop last night?
She touched her nose, trying to save face before Kangxi could speak.
“Your Majesty, are you mocking me? I’ve never drunk before and didn’t know my tolerance was so low. I must have done something unseemly. Please forgive me, Your Majesty. I won’t drink again.”
Kangxi inwardly scoffed.
With how smoothly this rascal called him “brother,” she was surely just trying to sweet-talk him.
But aside from Wei Zhu, there was no one else who could be her sworn sibling.
He decided not to make a big deal of it.
So he just nodded with a smile and said,
“It’s fine. After all, it wasn’t me who barked like a dog in front of the guards.”
Fang He: !!!
Did “the guards” include the imperial guards?!