Chapter 341: Chapter 341
The sarcastic tone of "beloved consort" made An Ning jolt, and she paused her intended action of summoning someone.
"In that case, Your Subject will take it as you complimenting me!"
Not wanting to speculate whether this was due to his pettiness or some paranoid episode resurfacing, An Ning smoothly changed the subject:
"By the way, how is Your Majesty so free today? Weren't you said to be extremely busy recently?"
"It couldn't be that you were worried about me and came specifically for that reason!"
To be honest, she didn't quite believe that.
The person on the couch didn't answer, only sweeping his slightly darkened gaze over the woman's particularly ethereal makeup today before casually setting down the half-read scroll in his hand. He looked at her with ambiguous meaning:
"You are exceptionally bold!"
"Do you know how the Grand Empress Dowager treated the Late Emperor's consorts back in the day? The long-remembered Donggo clan was merely one among them."
An Ning pretended not to notice, still fiddling with the earrings in her hand. Under the sunlight, the exquisite purple jade shimmered with flowing light, making the beauty in the mirror appear even more dazzling.
Only the words this beauty spoke weren't so pleasant to hear.
Soon after, her voice came through light and cheerful:
"There's no helping it, you know my temperament. Compared to being slowly worn down day after day by soft knives, I'd rather have a clean break!"
"At least it can be considered straightforward and decisive!"
"What straightforward and decisive? You're clearly seeking momentary satisfaction, acting recklessly without considering the consequences!"
Pretending not to hear the reprimand from across, An Ning's expression remained completely unchanged. She simply found a comfortable position nestled on the other side of the soft couch, picked up the storybook left on the table earlier, and continued flipping through it:
"Look at what you're saying, as if some matters could be decided by a mere minor consort like me. If I were to encounter misfortune today or in the future, it would only indicate one thing..."
Without the slightest pause, turning another page of the storybook, An Ning spoke directly:
"That would be Your Majesty's insufficient authority..."
Your Majesty's insufficient authority...
Outside the room, Liang Jiugong, who faintly overheard something, felt his legs go weak. The next moment, before his vision could darken, he hurriedly waved his hand to shoo away several unfortunate apprentices standing not far away.
Internally, he repeatedly chanted Amitabha Buddha.
Master Chen, sometimes if you don't want to speak, you can actually keep your mouth shut.
Yet unexpectedly, this lord didn't get angry this time. He merely glanced at her indifferently before lying back down on the soft couch covered with cool jade matting that An Ning had arranged to be extremely comfortable.
Only after a while came his clearly deep and low voice:
"You truly dare say anything. When I say you're audacious to the extreme, have I wronged you in the slightest! You're only taking advantage of my indulgence toward you. Do you know that if anyone else had spoken these words today..."
A hundred heads wouldn't be enough to chop off.
An Ning subconsciously completed the thought in her mind, though she didn't take it seriously.
What kind of talk was that? If she weren't bold, this mess in the rear palace wouldn't have fallen to her.
With his temperament, she would basically have been destined to remain a low-ranking Noble Lady forever.
And today's situation—what was it really about?
Indulgence? Tch, nice words, but that didn't stop him from originally having no intention of promoting her rank, nor did it stop him from unhesitatingly pushing her forward as a pawn to balance the rear palace.
Only after a while came his clearly low voice:
Perhaps because she wasn't in a particularly pleasant mood today.
Not wanting to pay attention to the occasional gaze falling upon her from beside, continuing to nestle on the couch, An Ning soon switched to a travelogue.
However, as time passed minute by minute and seeing that it was getting late with no sign of him leaving, just as An Ning was about to order someone to serve the meal, she heard the person on the couch suddenly turn over, the eighteen-bead bracelet in his hand making crisp sounds:
"Some time ago, didn't I order the Imperial Household Department to send over a batch of jewelry? Why haven't I seen you wear any of it?"
"Does it not suit your taste?"
Jewelry—An Ning subconsciously froze for a moment. It took her a while to dig out the memory. Recently, it seemed to be a complete set of emerald jewelry, with both color and quality being excellent, and the kingfisher feather inlays on the headpiece were perfectly appropriate.
It was said the materials used were this year's new tribute from the south, and the design was quite distinctive too.
She did genuinely like it, but why bring this up out of nowhere?
Thinking this, An Ning simply asked outright.
"Why are you suddenly concerned about this?"
Precisely because the other person was so suspicious, An Ning usually preferred not to speculate about this emperor's thoughts. It was mentally exhausting, and forming the habit made it extremely easy to step on landmines.
As long as bottom lines weren't crossed, maintaining surface harmony was sufficient.
Thus her question now was quite casual, yet unexpectedly, after she spoke, Kangxi's expression across from her instead darkened further, and the book in his hand had been set down at some point.
After a long while, just as An Ning thought he wouldn't speak again, she heard him say with ambiguous meaning:
"You're quite smooth about taking things from me all day, yet I haven't seen you use them much."
"So, Your Majesty, are you feeling distressed about those precious items of yours?"
Jewelry—An Ning subconsciously froze for a moment. It took her a while to dig out the memory. Recently, it seemed to be a complete set of emerald jewelry, with both color and quality being excellent, and the kingfisher feather inlays on the headpiece were perfectly placed.
There was no need to guess what his expression was like.
Casually picking up a piece of dried apricot from the table and placing it in her mouth, An Ning now completely stopped talking.
After an unknown period of silence, glancing at the person opposite, An Ning finally spoke, making a reluctant attempt to remedy:
"Yes, it's true that I do love those beautiful jewelry pieces, but as you know, I've never been fond of going out. I can't possibly dress myself up like a jewelry box all day at home either!"
"Besides being cumbersome, just putting on and taking off everything daily requires considerable effort..."
Who asked these Qing dynasty Manchu headdresses to be so annoyingly troublesome.
If he weren't still here, and to avoid being overly impolite, she would have long changed out of this cumbersome attire.
How she behaved privately, Kangxi naturally knew. His gaze swept around the bedchamber.
On the window near the soft couch, fine fragments of colored glass were sparsely embedded. Though not as bright as Bao Cheng's place in Yuqing Palace, it still had its own unique charm.
"So, Your Majesty, are you feeling distressed about those precious items of yours?"
To make herself more comfortable, someone had indeed spared no effort...
Yet even so, the displeasure in Kangxi's eyes still hadn't faded much.
Lifting his gaze to look into the other's still clear and bright eyes, after a moment he picked up the long scroll in his hand again and said lightly:
Casually picking up a piece of dried apricot from the table and placing it in her mouth, An Ning now completely stopped talking.
An Ning knew this meant the matter ended here.
After an unknown period of silence, glancing at the person opposite, An Ning finally spoke, making a half-hearted attempt to remedy the situation:
After the midday meal, seeing that he still showed no intention of leaving, as if remembering something, An Ning suddenly tugged at him, her eyes shining brightly.