Rong Fei is not honored

She was already physically exhausted from what the other party had done, and now she was suffering mental torment as well. She didn't know if she had accidentally pressed some switch, but Kangxi kept complaining to her about the greed of the Tong family.

Kangxi's incessant talking stopped, and just when Ji Nai thought he could finally get some sleep, Kangxi sighed and said softly, "I can't sleep."

Ji Nai's restlessness from not being able to sleep well suddenly turned into heartache. She touched Kangxi's face and comforted him, "Perhaps your fate with the Tong family is too shallow, so you can't be a loving family."

Emperor Kangxi glanced at Ji Nai sideways and said speechlessly, "I have never been related to the Tong family."

The Tong family were related to the imperial family through marriage, while he belonged to the Aisin Gioro clan; how could they possibly be family?

"Then what's bothering you?"

"What do you mean by feeling uncomfortable? I am clearly angry, angry that the Tong family is pushing their luck and that the Tongjia clan is too ambitious."

Ji Nai sensed something was off. After all, she had served Emperor Kangxi for so many years, and she could tell whether the other person was speaking from the heart or just being stubborn.

"Besides Uya, did something else happen today?"

Kangxi didn't want to talk about this, so he changed the subject, saying, "Wuya is pregnant, why don't you have any reaction at all?"

Ji Nai sighed. Here we go again! He knew perfectly well that this was a taboo topic between the two of them, but Kangxi insisted on testing them again and again. Why did he have to do that?

"What does His Majesty want my reaction to be?"

Kangxi didn't want to look at Ji Nai's expressionless face anymore, so he buried his head in the crook of the other's neck and said in a muffled voice, "At least you should be unhappy, right?"

"Unhappy, and then what? Anger, jealousy, resentment? Sometimes people's hearts are uncontrollable. If you indulge me in taking this step today, I'm afraid you will despise me for being completely different in the future."

"I dislike the Tong family's greed, but aren't I just as greedy? Ji Nai, I want more and more."

To be whole, you need not only your body, but also your mind.

Ji Nai hesitated for a long time, but finally hugged Kangxi's head and spoke her mind. She said, "I am not a saint, and I naturally have desires, but Your Majesty, this first step must be taken by you."

"Hmph!" He knew it. He had been mistaken about Ji Nai loving him to death. This heartless woman was perfectly clear-headed. How could she possibly give him her heart completely?

Although Kangxi refused to tell her, Ji Nai actually understood that Kangxi was hit hard today not only because Tongjia had plotted against him, but also because of the Empress Dowager.

Yuan Xu had previously mentioned that the people in the palace who were associated with the Imperial Noble Consort Yi Jing seemed restless and even plotted against the Empress Dowager through the Shou Kang Palace.

Consort Yijing was no ordinary woman. Although she was dead, the influence she left behind remained. In order to completely eliminate any potential threats, the Empress Dowager would definitely have to inform Emperor Kangxi, and the court and the harem would work together.

It would be a miracle if the Empress Dowager didn't take this opportunity to pin some of her past mistakes on Consort Yijing.

The Empress Dowager and the Tong family were all bad people. For Kangxi, who lost his father and mother at a young age, this was a series of blows. In this light, it's no wonder that Kangxi longed for a complete and sincere heart.

"At worst... I'll give you a little bit of what I've invested in the child?"

Kangxi chuckled and said, "Do you think I would believe that?"

"Why shouldn't I believe you? I've devoted eight-tenths of my heart to you and Chengrui, leaving only two-tenths for myself."

Cheng Rui and Saiyinchahun are men after all, and they can handle everything on their own. Young eagles always have to leave the nest when they grow up, so the share given to them will be less.

With less allocated to them, more will naturally be placed on you. I fear that by then, His Majesty might find me, old and faded, a nuisance.

"Are you willing to let go?"

As for the idea that he would grow old and lose his beauty, Kangxi thought it was impossible from the bottom of his heart. With Ji Nai's face, it wouldn't be hard to see him even when he got old.

Even now, with wrinkles all over his face, Kangxi is confident that he will not despise Ji Nai. He now feels that his past self, who worried that he would fall in love with someone else, was overthinking things.

Can love and pampering be the same?

Moreover, Ji Nai, being in the inner palace, had limited worries, unlike him who was busy with political affairs all day long, and whose face had become much more weathered over the years.

By then, Emperor Kangxi will definitely look older than Ji Nai, who is a year older than him. Who knows who will dislike whom!

"What's there to be reluctant about?" Ji Nai retorted. "What kind of person do you take me for? A wicked mother-in-law who clings to her son and refuses to let go?"

Kangxi became interested and pressed on, "Are you serious? When will that be? After the wedding? Or after the first child?"

"Of course, we should wait until we have children."

Emperor Kangxi praised Ji Nai's idea, saying, "You're right. As you grow up, your heart will naturally turn towards your own family." The implication was that only he would be the one to accompany Ji Nai to the end.

Ji Nai didn't want to expose Kangxi's little scheme. He had only spoken out of pity for Kangxi's shallow kinship, so why should he spoil his happiness?

Unexpectedly, Kangxi went even further, saying, "What about Rongxian? She will also get married in the future and will have her own husband and children."

“Rongxian is different. Even though she is a princess, women are more vulnerable to being taken advantage of. Even if she gets married, I still worry about her and will always have to keep her in mind.”

In particular, she might not be able to stop Rongxian from marrying far away. The Qing Dynasty's policy of sending princesses to serve the Mongols was a national policy. At that time, with the emperor far away, how could Ji Nai feel at ease?

"What if..." If Rongxian were right under their noses, would Ji Nai be less worried?

Kangxi fell asleep contentedly, but Ji Nai couldn't sleep. She stared at him for a long time before finally closing her eyes, her mind filled with the golden words of wisdom Yuan Xu had told her.

"I feel sorry for men who suffer bad luck for the rest of their lives!"

"Emperors are heartless creatures!"

The next day, when Ji Nai finally got up, exhausted, Kangxi had already gone to court, looking very energetic.

Li Mama and Yuqing exchanged a glance, realizing that things couldn't continue like this and they needed to give their master a proper restorative treatment. Otherwise, if he were to faint from the exertions in bed, given his personality, he would surely be too ashamed to show his face.

Ji Nai rubbed her aching temples. That night, the two sentences she had thought of before going to sleep kept playing in her dreams. Although they successfully hardened her softened heart, they also tormented her until she was dizzy and disoriented.

Ji Nai had been listless all day, so when Cheng Rui dropped a bombshell, she thought she had misheard.

"What did you say?"

"Mother, please save me! Father suddenly gave his son a palace maid for some reason."

Ji Nai paused for a moment, and after digesting the meaning of Cheng Rui's words, he still couldn't believe it and hesitated, "Have you misunderstood?"