The prince only allowed me to have a baby, so the pressure is a bit high!

Chapter 71: Listen to Mother

Faced with the Empress Dowager's cordial invitation, Kangxi froze, unsure what expression to use. Wouldn't most people, upon seeing such a scene, listen attentively? Why was his own Empress Dowager acting out of the ordinary?

However, the Empress Dowager has always been like this, carefree and cheerful all day long. It is not surprising for Kangxi to see her behave like this.

Unable to refuse the Empress Dowager's kindness, and since Kangxi's dinner was indeed not very tasty and he was really a little hungry, he reached into the box and grabbed a handful.

I imitated the empress dowager and placed a melon seed between my front teeth. I pressed down gently and cracked it. The melon seed split into two halves, and the milky-flavored kernel inside fell directly into my mouth.

This was the first time Kangxi cracked melon seeds by himself. Needless to say, this little thing was quite challenging. Kangxi immediately became interested and ate more than a dozen seeds before he learned how to crack them quickly and without hurting the insides.

Unconsciously, the two sat opposite each other, eating a handful of melon seeds, and Kangxi finally realized that he had something to discuss with the Queen Mother today. However, Kangxi also realized that the Queen Mother gave him the melon seeds to let him calm down first, and then speak after he calmed down.

Sure enough, after eating a handful of melon seeds, Kangxi's mood was no longer as irritable as before he came. His brain also packed up and organized what he wanted to say, and now his thoughts were much clearer.

After eating a handful of melon seeds and feeling a little thirsty, Kangxi picked up his teacup and took a big sip before speaking to the Empress Dowager, "My Queen Mother, if someone who was originally sincere to you and whom you regarded as a family member suddenly betrayed you, what would you do?"

The Queen Mother pulled herself out of her melon seed world and said, "Your Majesty, what you want to know is my attitude. So, I tell you, I must first understand why the other party betrayed me. Only then can I make up for the shortcomings in that area and prepare for future troubles. As for the betrayer, once unfaithful, you will never be used again in your life. Whatever punishment is appropriate, it should be directly punished."

Kangxi: "Wouldn't that be too heartless? And that person is someone you consider a relative?"

The Queen Mother sighed, "I considered her a relative, but what about her? Perhaps she considered me a relative before, but at the moment of betrayal, didn't she already make a choice? Didn't she abandon me? In fact, no matter what the reason, betrayal is betrayal. Can we just let this matter go just because the other party had their reasons? Can the harm done to me be ignored?

Besides, before this incident was discovered, I always treated her as a family member. How could I have wronged her? If you do something wrong, you should be punished accordingly. Fairness and justice, isn't that the meaning of the law?

After hearing this, Kangxi remained silent, and the empress dowager stopped eating melon seeds. Instead, she picked up a piece of mung bean cake beside her and slowly ate it.

She knew who Kangxi was troubled by, and she was also angry. She had chosen Guaerjia in the first place, and had thought she was honest and simple-minded, but she didn't expect that she was actually cunning. She had endured for decades, and finally her fox tail was revealed in her old age.

At that time, she felt bad when the emperor kept her instead of sending her out of the palace like other wet nurses. However, the emperor was in a good mood at that time, and the empress dowager also said that it was okay. Because she was only the emperor's biological mother and would have to rely more on the emperor in the future, she did not argue.

Apart from her status, the treatment that Guaerjia received in the palace was not inferior to hers. As far as she knew, the emperor would always make up for Guaerjia in other aspects as long as he had something.

During that time, every time she heard the news, she felt so angry that her teeth itched. Who was she? She was the empress dowager of the current dynasty. What was her status? She was just the emperor's wet nurse. How could they be compared?

If Buerhe hadn't noticed that she was in a bad mood and got her some mahjong to help her relieve her mood, she would definitely have found a way to fight her.

After calming down, she realized that it was fortunate that Buerhe had intervened. Otherwise, given the emperor's feelings for her, she, a nominal mother, might not have been able to defeat him. Even if she had won, she would have hurt her own side by a thousand. Her status in the emperor's heart would have certainly declined.

At this time, Kangxi really listened to the words of the empress dowager. He thought about the meticulous care his wet nurse had given him when he was a child. However, that was her duty. If she was not diligent, the Royal Madam and the Empress Dowager would definitely find someone else to take care of him.

Thinking about why she was unwilling to go home and had been staying in the palace, it was because the wet nurse's child was taken away by her mother-in-law and raised in her care as soon as it was born. The relationship between the wet nurse and her husband was not good, so even if she went back, her life would not be easy. It would be better for her to stay in the palace and gain a good reputation for being loyal and protecting her master.

Another reason was that she was not used to going home and wanted to stay with the emperor. In fact, Liang Jiugong had said long ago that the wet nurse's son had become bad since Tukshen's death. He often went to brothels and casinos and spent money like water. All of this was supported by the wet nurse.

He remembered telling the wet nurse that if she had no other choice, he could put him in the military camp. At least there, the wet nurse's son would not turn bad and could grow up to be a man of integrity. However, the downside was that it would be very hard.

The wet nurse said at the time that she would go back and persuade her son. As a result, she came back the next day and said that her son had changed and would never touch those things again. He would live a good life at home and would not have to go to the military camp.

At that time, he was just the wet nurse's son, so he didn't take it seriously and didn't pay any attention to it. Now it seems that the wet nurse's words were no longer true from that time on.

After thinking carefully about his wet nurse and himself, Kangxi found that it was just as the Empress Dowager said. He had never treated his wet nurse badly. Even when he came to the garden this time, he kept her in the deep palace after asking for her opinion.

From the beginning to the end, it was just as the Empress Dowager said. She had already made the choice at the moment of the betrayal, but before she gave up her family, and now she is giving up me.

Half an hour later, after the Empress Dowager had eaten three pieces of mung bean cakes, two pieces of sachima and a small pile of melon seeds, Kangxi finally figured it out. He stopped worrying about the wet nurse and turned his attention back to the Empress Dowager. Only then did he realize that half of the snack plate in front of her had been eaten, and the Empress Dowager had obviously eaten too much and now had some indigestion.

Kangxi looked back and saw Nanny Naren looking at him with a look of concern and condemnation. Her concern was directed at the empress dowager, fearing that she would not be able to sleep well tonight due to indigestion, while her condemnation was purely directed at Kangxi. If she had not been afraid of disturbing Kangxi's thoughts, she would have stepped forward to stop her master when he took the first piece of mung bean cake.

Kangxi touched his nose, feeling a little embarrassed. It was not his fault. The Empress Dowager couldn't control herself, and he was just an implicated person. Thinking of this, he glared at Liang Jiugong fiercely, and his eyes seemed to say: Why didn't you stop it!

Liang Jiugong was in tears. He was just a small fry among a group of big guys. What could he do in this situation?

The Queen Mother also saw the look Naren was giving her and could not help but look away. Kangxi reluctantly stood up and went to the Queen Mother to help her up, "My Queen Mother, the moonlight is beautiful tonight, let's take a walk!"

Poor me, I didn’t eat much for dinner, and now I have to go for a walk. Otherwise, if the Empress Dowager really gets overeaten tonight, I will definitely be condemned by my conscience.

It's all Liang Jiugong's fault. He didn't persuade me to eat more for dinner, and he didn't stop the Queen Mother from eating more just now. He is really unacceptable!

(Liang Jiugong: So this is all my fault! Yes, I have a mouth but I can’t speak, damn it!)

It was almost half past the hour of Xu. Although it gets dark late in the summer, many people had already gone to sleep. The young eunuchs led the way, and Kangxi followed, supporting the empress dowager.

The two did not walk far, but walked back and forth on a road in front of Zen Mountain Residence, talking about interesting things that happened recently, and spreading laughter along the way.

However, the road that looks tree-lined during the day is actually a bit eerie at night. The shade of the trees blocks half of the moonlight, making some places look pitch black.

After walking for about a quarter of an hour, the empress dowager felt sleepy and prepared to go back to sleep. Seeing the emperor accompanying her, the empress dowager asked him to stay: "Your Majesty, why don't you stay in the side room of Zen Mountain Retreat tonight? Haven't you decided to rest tomorrow? Going back now would be too much trouble. It would be better to rest here and have breakfast together tomorrow."

After a night of guidance from the Empress Dowager, Kangxi's respect for his biological mother reached a new level. He did not refuse the invitation, but after sending the Empress Dowager back to the main room, he followed the guidance of the Empress Dowager's palace maid to the side room to rest.

While the Empress Dowager and the Emperor were strolling, Yinreng and Buerhe in the Qingfeng House had not yet fallen asleep. After some adult exercise, Buerhe lazily lay in Yinreng's arms and asked, "What do you think the Emperor will do tomorrow?"

Yinreng didn't even think about it: "What else can I do? Given how much the Emperor likes that girl, I'll definitely make a big deal out of a small matter." After all, wasn't that what he did in his previous life?

Buerhe objected: "I don't think so. This time the incident has caused quite a stir. You haven't seen the extravagant things. I heard that those things in the deputy steward's room are just ordinary. If they are really confiscated, it will definitely open the eyes of the emperor. Then the emperor will definitely not be able to handle them lightly. Those are all his personal belongings."

Yinreng thought about the several large boxes he saw during the day and began to agree with what Burhe said. He could tell the valuables inside with just a glance. In addition, the emperor fainted from anger today. He thought that he should be severely punished as Burhe said?

Buerhe was still curious: "I wonder what the emperor will be able to find out by then?"

Yinreng's lips curled up. "I actually know about this. There's gold, jewelry, banknotes, and even precious medicinal herbs. I accidentally saw it when I went to Qingxi Book House today."

Buerhe hadn't seen it with his own eyes and didn't know the quantity, so he didn't react much when he heard this. But when he heard that there were several large boxes filled with these things, and that the boxes were twice as big as ordinary boxes, Buerhe took a breath. Those slaves were really bold!

Bull and his companions: "I'm really looking forward to seeing how the Emperor will deal with those people tomorrow. Do you think we'll know the answer tomorrow?"

Yinreng replied, "I am looking forward to it too, but I don't think it will happen that soon. It's too late. I don't want to think about it anymore. I'll see tomorrow. Let's go to sleep." After that, he kissed Buerhe's forehead and closed his eyes. The couple hugged each other and fell asleep soon.