Chapter 355: Chapter 355

"A prince of the realm, enjoying the highest honors of the empire, if he cannot withstand even these small waves and unexpected events, how will he stand firm in the court in the future?"

And how could he assist Bao Cheng in stabilizing the state?

As if discerning her thoughts, lightly twirling the teacup in his hand, Kangxi slightly raised his brows and spoke in a voice that seemed perfectly ordinary.

Indeed, the legendary number one tiger dad in the world truly lived up to his reputation!

Thinking of this so-called 120-repetition memory technique, and the current extremely terrifying schedule system in the imperial study, even An Ning couldn't help but shudder.

That wasn't all—they also had to endure daily verbal jabs from their strict father, who would intentionally or unintentionally dig huge pits right in front of them.

Leaning lazily on the soft couch, An Ning couldn't help but think to herself:

No wonder they fought so fiercely later—not competing would simply be letting down all these years of extreme pressure!

Just imagine over a decade of plus-version high school senior year—who wouldn't develop some ambition!

Otherwise, this urge to stab someone would be completely uncontrollable.

"What nonsense are you spouting again!"

Clearly not grasping the underlying meaning of her words, out of long-standing habit, Kangxi opposite her only habitually frowned without taking it to heart.

Instead, he brought up another matter:

"Your noble consort ceremonial robes were already ordered to be expedited by the Imperial Household Department earlier. After the new year begins, I will most likely lead the expedition personally. At that time, the palace will still require A-Ning to put in some extra effort..."

In her position, she should fulfill her duties!

Considering the decent salary, An Ning had no objections and gave an almost imperceptible nod.

After thinking for a moment, she still offered rare concern:

"Leaving the battlefield aside for now, the northwest environment is harsh with extreme temperature differences between day and night. You should take more care."

Don't actually get killed—so far, she still didn't want to challenge hard mode.

Unfortunately, the moment the words left her mouth, An Ning immediately regretted it.

The next instant, she heard the person before her chuckle softly, his voice clearly carrying some pleasure as he said:

"Since my beloved consort shows such concern for me, why not leave the arrangements for the upcoming journey to you, A-Ning..."

Putting everything else aside, you're truly something else!

While the two were speaking, in the princes' residence, holding the newborn second young lady, the Eldest Princess Consort, Lady Irgen Gioro, similarly couldn't help but sigh to the maid beside her:

"That is the legendary Consort Chen..."

What mother said earlier was true—such grace and bearing made even her, a woman, feel her heartbeat quicken considerably.

Inside the room, Lady Irgen Gioro unconsciously covered her chest.

Although she had been married for nearly two years, due to mostly being physically unwell or it coinciding with mourning periods, this was Irgen Gioro's first time being so close to this consort mother.

Actually, she had seen her the day after her wedding during the morning greetings, but back then, having just entered the imperial family, she was both exhausted and nervous, not daring to lift her eyes randomly. She only vaguely remembered a somewhat cold voice.

Even so, that fleeting glimpse remained unforgettable to this day.

No wonder even the usually strong-willed mother consort spoke of this one with such caution...

And earlier, in a room full of imperial princes, aside from the younger ones, the others hardly dared to lift their heads more than necessary.

"Princess Consort, what were you all talking about? I seemed to hear Consort Chen Mother..."

While Lady Irgen Gioro was privately sighing with her confidante, a somewhat rough voice suddenly came from the room. Seeing her husband enter, the Eldest Princess Consort quickly collected herself:

Taking the Shu brocade cloak from him, as she stood up, Lady Irgen Gioro unconsciously showed a slight smile:

"Nothing much, just sighing with Xiangyun. To tell the truth, in all my life, I've never seen anyone like Consort Chen Mother who..."

Recalling the scene earlier, after thinking for a moment, the Eldest Princess Consort still smiled and uttered the words "peerless elegance."

"It's just a pity that this Consort Chen Mother doesn't seem to enjoy going out much."

Lady Irgen Gioro couldn't help but sigh.

The information mother gathered earlier was correct—this one truly has a cold temperament. Every year during festivals, gifts sent to her receive only ordinary returns, making it hard to discern her preferences.

But considering her status, she probably lacks nothing...

This was indeed true. After a brief moment of distraction, Yinzhi said as if casually:

"Of course, Consort Chen Mother has enjoyed favor for many years—what treasures in this world hasn't she seen? It's said that even His Majesty's private treasury is generally available for her use..."

However, Yinzhi obviously didn't find this problematic. For such a stunning beauty, if it were him...

Thinking of those youthful fantasies, the Eldest Young Master couldn't help but cough lightly and turned to his princess consort:

"Although that's true, while Consort Chen Mother is cold, she has always been fair. We shouldn't show the slightest neglect in our daily interactions. Besides..."

Thinking of the news from the Imperial Household Department earlier, Yinzhi's gaze momentarily became complex:

"It's possible that soon, we'll all have to change how we address her to Noble Consort Mother..."

"Ah? Noble... Consort Mother..."

This left the Eldest Princess Consort completely stunned.

In fact, thanks to Emperor Kangxi not deliberately concealing his actions, soon enough, news of An Ning's promotion from Consort Chen to Noble Consort spread like wildfire.

Regarding this, aside from several consorts falling briefly silent—with Noble Consort Wen subsequently acting more cautiously and paying less attention to the Tenth Prince's usual fooling around with the Ninth Prince—most others shared similar thoughts with the Eldest Young Master: "No matter how rational His Majesty is, he's still ultimately a man!"

Being promoted to noble consort despite low birth and having no sons, while somewhat irregular, when thinking of that person, everyone inexplicably felt it wasn't entirely unreasonable.

As long as there were no imperial relatives causing trouble, and no sons of favored consorts disrupting court affairs.

Under the current situation of highly centralized imperial power, the court ministers wouldn't stubbornly cause trouble for His Majesty. Although the Niohuru clan initially voiced slight objections, these completely disappeared after the Duchess of Imperial Favor visited the palace one day.

This astuteness even made An Ning somewhat admire them.

If there was anyone who found this difficult to accept...

In Yonghe Palace, listening to the occasional discussions nearby, staring blankly at the empty room, Lady Guargiya's gaze grew increasingly vacant.

Especially seeing the increasingly silent Eighth Prince before her, her heart felt as if being sliced by knives...

"Mother, does... does His Majesty not like me?"

The child, not yet nine years old, said with a darkened expression.

Why could even the mischievous Ninth and Tenth Brothers occasionally bring some smiles to His Majesty's face? Even after Fourth Brother caused that incident earlier, His Majesty still frequently inquired about his studies.

Among all the brothers, only he—no matter how hard he tried or how well he performed—received only ordinary treatment from His Majesty, ranking lowest among his brothers.

Even when he deliberately wrote in extremely messy handwriting, aside from a meaningful glance, His Majesty's attention never lingered on him longer.

Clearly, for an ambitious imperial prince, the greatest pain wasn't reprimand, but neglect...

Perhaps because accumulated dissatisfaction had grown too much, the Eighth Prince had too many questions he wanted to ask at this moment.

However, seeing the all-too-obvious pain and confusion on his mother's face, and constrained by filial piety, Yin Si ultimately didn't voice his questions.

The half-grown child slightly lowered his gaze, looking at his mother before him, the resentment in his heart growing stronger...

Actually, he had one more question he wanted to ask: Is it because of you, Mother...