Rong Fei is not honored

Although it was unexpected, especially for Granny Li, who thought her mistress would inform the Emperor immediately, the group obediently kept the matter to themselves.

"Master, what exactly are you trying to do?" It wasn't that Granny Li was timid or afraid of trouble, or that she was so anxious because of a lie. It was just that she didn't know her master's purpose and was unsure of herself.

It was the master who said to use a self-inflicted injury to undermine the enemy's strength, and it was also her who said to find that little eunuch to carry it out, and in the end, she made herself pretend that she didn't know that the little eunuch had a problematic background.

And things did indeed unfold exactly as the master had predicted, but Granny Li just didn't have the confidence to back it up.

Ji Nai couldn't help but laugh out loud and asked, "Does Granny think I'm playing a grand scheme?"

Is not it?

"I just don't want to cause trouble. How many people can actually get their hands on the Qianqing Palace? With His Majesty standing in front, why should I get involved?"

Furthermore, Yinreng's incident served as a reminder to me that once the Crown Prince officially enters the Imperial Study next year, the palace intrigues will only intensify. I am indeed favored now, but who knows what the future holds?

Since His Majesty thinks I'm a fool, then I'll be a simple, easy-to-understand fool. Although I have some cunning and methods, I'm not enough to escape his control.

Emperor Kangxi was an extremely possessive man. Just by looking at how he controlled his beloved son Yinreng in his previous life, one can glimpse his true nature. In this life, Kangxi loves her, so naturally he will want to possess and control everything about her.

From being jealous of the children to now placing more and more of his own people in Zhongcui Palace, Kangxi is gradually revealing his fangs. How could Ji Nai not notice the signs?

The female protagonists in some stories are indeed a match made in heaven with the gloomy and obsessive male protagonists. They not only do not feel suffocated, but also enjoy the control they have over each other.

But reality is not a storybook, and Ji Nai is not the heroine in it. She is just an ordinary person with a strange encounter. She chooses to accept it only to deal with the possible appearance of a suspicious and ruthless old emperor in the future.

Granny Li visibly breathed a sigh of relief. She didn't necessarily need to know what her master was plotting; she was just worried that one person's scheme wouldn't be thorough enough, even though she knew her master was no ordinary person.

After putting her mind at ease, Granny Li's tone became much more relaxed. "In that case, we should also tell the princes that since the Crown Prince has entered the Imperial Study, they will have more contact with him. They need to be careful about their attitude. If they get too close or too distant, people will gossip."

After thinking for a moment, Ji Nai instructed Yu Qing to go to the small kitchen and get a bowl of mung bean soup.

"Is Your Highness going to send it to the Imperial Study? But isn't the mung bean soup a bit too simple?"

“Mung beans are good for cooling the body; I’m afraid His Majesty wouldn’t be able to eat anything else.” With that, Ji Nai got up and had someone change his clothes, saying, “I will personally deliver it to him.”

Granny Li and the others were taken aback, but then they all sprang into action.

Others would frequently send things to the Qianqing Palace and try to sneak in whenever they could, but their master only instructed Liang Jiugong to take good care of His Majesty, and he rarely went to the Qianqing Palace in the past ten years.

Clearly, His Majesty was very happy on those occasions; in fact, they could tell that His Majesty didn't object to his mistresses having women by his side. But in recent years, His Majesty has spent most of his time holed up in Zhongcui Palace, ignoring His Majesty's explicit and implicit cues.

Since their mistress was finally willing to take the initiative to "invite favor," they naturally couldn't hold her back and had to dress her up beautifully.

Ji Nai stopped Yu Qing from sticking the hairpin into her hair, and said helplessly, "Alright, my neck isn't made of iron. It's just going to Qianqing Palace to deliver a bowl of soup. There's no need to make such a fuss."

Feeling uncomfortable in the sedan chair, Ji Nai could only walk step by step towards the Qianqing Palace under the blazing sun. Before she had even reached the halfway point, she regretted it. She should have had Xiao Anzi invite Kangxi to the Zhongcui Palace; it was too hot.

Although he regretted it in his heart, he didn't show it on his face at all.

Ji Nai knew that countless eyes were watching her from behind those tightly closed palace gates, and she couldn't show any weakness. Luckily, she hadn't listened to Yu Qing and the others, otherwise she would have been covered in graffiti by now.

Ji Nai's prediction was correct; indeed, many people were watching her closely.

Some were resentful, dissatisfied that they were treated like prisoners while Consort Rong could move around freely; others maliciously hoped that Consort Rong would be reprimanded by the Emperor or the Empress; but some thought more deeply, that if Consort Rong could open a door, they could also change their situation.

Kunning Palace also received the news, and Granny Yang said with dissatisfaction, "Consort Rong is far too disrespectful to you."

"Didn't you see that she went in the direction of the Qianqing Palace?"

Yang Mama was even angrier when she heard this. Yes, everyone knows that Consort Rong is favored. Even if she openly defies the order, as long as His Majesty doesn't care, can her master still pursue the matter?

The Empress immediately saw through the wet nurse's unease and said with amusement, "Does the wet nurse think that Consort Rong is going to Qianqing Palace at this time to curry favor?"

"Is not it?"

“If she were that stupid, she wouldn’t have gotten this far. I’ll bet you, Consort Rong’s trip to Qianqing Palace was definitely for the Crown Prince.”

“The Crown Prince? But…” Consort Rong has her own son. Even without the grudge of Empress Hesheli poisoning Prince Chengrui, she couldn’t possibly wholeheartedly wish for the Crown Prince’s well-being.

"Whether it's genuine or feigned, and whatever the purpose, Granny, Consort Rong has truly been helping me this time."

Logically speaking, if something happens to the princes and princesses, I, as their legal mother, should say a few words of advice. However, since the Crown Prince is the son of both the prince and princess, I cannot say much in order to avoid suspicion.

However, others don't care whether you're trying to avoid suspicion or not; they only see my inaction and might even maliciously speculate that I'm deliberately watching coldly, enjoying seeing the Crown Prince make a fool of himself.

Intervening is wrong, ignoring is also wrong. Being a stepmother is not easy, especially for the imperial family. But if Consort Rong resolves this matter, wouldn't you say she's relieving my burden?

Therefore, I don't care what others think, but this matter is forbidden to be discussed in Kunning Palace, and even more so, disrespect towards Consort Rong is strictly prohibited.

"Oh, my lady, don't worry. Even if I have grievances in my heart, I will only say a few words to you. But to outsiders, I will be exactly the same as before and must follow the rules."

"I naturally trust you, Granny, but the people below still need you to keep them in check."

Ji Nai was unaware that Empress Niohuru had specifically reprimanded the servants in her palace for her sake. All she wanted to do now was to quickly go inside, wash up, and change out of her sweat-soaked clothes.

"Oh dear, Consort Rong, what brings you here at this hour?" Liang Jiugong wished he could personally help Consort Rong up.

"Is His Majesty meeting with his ministers? If it's inconvenient, I'll wait in the side hall for a while."