freenovelworld Chapter 267: Nanxi Reflection Bureau has been set up
Chapter 267: Nanxi Reflection Bureau has been set up
Hongying and Nanny Yang were both stunned, with a look of disbelief on their faces.
It is true that Xixi is the emperor's cat, but the emperor sent her to accompany the empress because he felt sorry for her loneliness in the palace. Her name is taken from the homonym of the last character "Xi" in her maiden name. It can be said that Xixi is evidence of the empress's favor.
But what did they hear now? The Emperor had Xixi taken away. Did this completely piss the Empress off?
For a moment, both of them were a little uneasy.
In comparison, Shi Nanxi still looked indifferent, but if you looked closely you could see that her knuckles were white as she held the book.
Unlike Nanny Yang and the others, she immediately knew that Kangxi was deliberately forcing her. Yes, he wanted to force her to bow her head.
Which concubine is not afraid of falling out of favor? Taking Xixi away is a warning to her and a reminder!
She is just a concubine. She cannot be angry with the emperor and go against his will!
At this moment, the inequality in status between emperors and concubines in ancient feudal society is vividly reflected. When you are in it, you cannot control your own destiny, nor can you have any thoughts of inequality or resentment towards the emperor, let alone dissatisfaction.
Otherwise, it will be like the situation now, he can give you favors and then take them back, under the imperial power, you have to bow your head, otherwise, you will fall heavily from a height and die without a burial place.
Shi Nanxi felt as if a basin of cold water was poured over her. She suddenly woke up and closed the small crack in her heart that had been opened for Kangxi.
It was her fault. She had agreed to be three parts sober and seven parts affectionate. But she didn't know when the three parts of sobriety were corrupted by the so-called exclusive favor, attention and protection, and she gradually crossed the line.
Yes, even if she needed to spread the rumors about Kangxi and Chen Da Ying to attract other people's attention, and even if she did have some resentment towards Kangxi, she could not forget that this was the feudal ancient Qing Dynasty, Kangxi was the emperor, and she was just a concubine.
She had been successful all the time and had become arrogant without realizing it, but now that things had come to this, she could no longer give in.
Not only would it hinder subsequent plans, but more importantly, if she gave in now, next time something happened, Kangxi would still not take the problem seriously. He would still use other concubines to provoke her and threaten her with things she cared about. She had to stop Kangxi from having such thoughts.
In the nearly suffocating atmosphere, Shi Nanxi had an idea in her mind, but after she came to her senses with a stunned look on her face, she said to Xiao Ruzi calmly:
"I understand." After saying that, he picked up the book and started reading again.
Xiao Ruzi waited for a while, but the queen didn't say anything. She was dumbfounded. Why didn't the queen ask any more questions and just... returned Xixi to the emperor?
He couldn't help but look at Yang Ma and Hong Ying for help. Please speak up! Do you really want to return Xixi to the emperor?
Nanny Yang and the other two were also filled with shock and confusion, but seeing how the Empress was concentrating on reading, they could only swallow their words and shook their heads helplessly at Xiao Ruzi's rescuing look.
Finally, Xiao Ruzi returned to the flower hall with a heart full of anxiety and uneasiness. In the flower hall, Li Dequan was sitting on a chair. When he saw Xiao Ruzi coming back, he immediately put down the teacup and stood up.
"Eunuch Xiao Ruzi, Empress Xian...what do you say?"
There was a subtle expectation in his tone. No one knew that although the emperor seemed to be accepting everyone these past two days, in fact, every time he went to visit a certain empress, he would deliberately let someone leak the news to Concubine Xian in the East Courtyard.
At first he didn't understand the emperor's intention, but later he saw that the emperor gave the same instructions to every concubine, so even the dumbest man understood that the emperor wanted to make Concubine Xian jealous, so it would be best for her to go and seize the emperor's favor. Unfortunately, Concubine Xian never went once.
The Emperor, who did not wait for Empress Xian's arrival, seemed to be still chatting and laughing with the ladies, but his hands behind his back were clenched into fists.
This discovery made him have even more respect for Empress Xian. He had never seen the emperor care so much about a concubine, and he did not believe a single word of the rumors that the emperor was angry with Empress Xian and that she had fallen out of favor.
Therefore, even though he came here on orders to take Xixi away, which was seen by others as proof that Empress Xian had fallen out of favor, he did not dare to be negligent towards Empress Xian in the slightest, because he knew that the Emperor took Xixi away on purpose in order to stimulate the Empress to submit voluntarily.
However, he was destined to be disappointed this time. After listening to Xiao Ruzi's words, he couldn't help but say:
"What did you say?"
Seeing this, Xiao Ruzi had no choice but to repeat his words:
"The Queen said she understood."
"Only know?" Li Dequan said sharply. After saying that, he realized that he had lost his composure. He held the whisk, took a deep breath, and said slowly:
"What we mean is that Empress Xian...didn't say anything?"
Xiao Ruzi shook his head.
At this time, Qing'er, who got the news, came over carrying Xixi. When Xixi saw the unfamiliar Li Dequan, she meowed. Li Dequan looked into Xixi's round, clear cat eyes for a while, and then had to bite the bullet and carry Xixi away.
Xiao Ruzi felt very nervous as she watched Li Dequan leave.
"Xiao Ruzi, the Queen summons you." Suddenly, Hongying came over.
In the study, Xiao Ruzi didn't know why the empress summoned him until he heard the empress's instructions. He was so shocked that he almost bit his tongue.
"…Madam, did you ask me to contact Chief Steward Liang privately to come see you?"
That's Eunuch Liang, the chief eunuch in front of the emperor, the emperor's most trusted confidant, and the harem is most averse to concubines colluding with such a eunuch in front of the emperor?
Shi Nanxi didn't explain, but just nodded slightly.
"He will come."
Liang Jiugong was the chief steward in front of the emperor. Even the cabinet ministers had to be polite to him when they met him. It can be seen how glorious he was. However, all this glory was in the hands of Kangxi. Once he lost the emperor's favor, he would be trampled down and crushed to pieces by the evil spirits hidden in the dark.
Xiao Ruzi licked her lips, hardened her heart, and nodded heavily.
Soon Xiao Ruzi passed the message to Liang Jiugong, and Liang Jiugong, as Shi Nanxi expected, quickly found an opportunity to meet with Shi Nanxi.
Few people knew what the two talked about. All they knew was that when Liang Jiugong left, his limping figure seemed a little more relaxed.
On the other side, Li Dequan nervously carried Xixi back to Yanbo Zhishuang Palace. Kangxi seemed to be concentrating on reading a book and did not even look up when Li Dequan entered the room.
However, after hearing what Li Dequan said, he froze, his face turning pale and blue. Fortunately, the servants could not look directly at the emperor, so no one saw him and he was able to escape. Kangxi put down the book, stared at Li Dequan, and said in a strong tone:
"Are you sure Concubine Xian didn't say anything when you took Xixi away?"
Li Dequan's forehead was covered with cold sweat, but he didn't dare to lie. He knelt down with Xixi in his arms.
What was there to not understand after seeing this? Kangxi was shocked and angry. No one had ever dared to disobey him. He had already lost face twice, but Shi Nanxi still had such a lukewarm attitude.
Could it be true, as Concubine Nianhulu and Concubine Hui said, that Shi Nanxi was spoiled and arrogant, and her temper became bad, and she no longer took him seriously?
The emperor's self-esteem and face made Kangxi extremely angry at this moment. At the same time, there was a sense of inexplicable panic in his heart, as if he was about to lose something.
However, the dignity of an emperor suppressed this panic. At this moment, he made up his mind that unless Shi Nanxi bowed her head, he would never retreat for the third time. Otherwise, what would become of him as an emperor?
Xixi hadn't seen its male owner for several days. It was originally listless, but now it has become more energetic. However, it keenly sensed something was wrong even before it was called.
With the reaction of a cat to a crisis, Xixi immediately stopped her actions and lay obediently in Li Dequan's arms.
Kangxi's face was gloomy, and his eyes seemed to be filled with violent storms. Until his sight fell on Xixi, he paused suddenly, and the longing scene when the little girl in Yuqing Palace peeked at the prince's cat emerged in his mind.
His tense expression suddenly relaxed, and he suddenly said:
"Give Xixi to me."
In this way, Xixi was held in the arms of the male host, and only when Kangxi held Xixi did he feel that his empty heart seemed to be filled a little.