Chapter 5 – The Little Cat

After Kangxi departed, the news that the Emperor had come to Changchun Palace only to leave in anger quickly spread throughout the harem. Everyone was waiting to see Changchun Palace become the laughingstock.

But inside Changchun Palace, no one had the leisure to care about that. Having provoked the Emperor’s displeasure, an air of unease blanketed everyone in the palace.

Zhangjia Shi had never witnessed such a scene. She had always served the Emperor with the utmost respect, terrified of arousing his annoyance. She had never seen him directly fling his sleeve and walk out. At this moment, she was so frightened that she started to tremble.

“My lady… His Majesty… His Majesty…” she stammered, unable to string together a complete sentence.

Lady Concubine An only felt her chronic headache starting up again.
“All right, enough—everyone get up first,” she said.

She turned to ask about Yu Ying. After all, she and Kangxi had heard her clearly from outside. She’d still been inside only moments before—how could she have disappeared in the blink of an eye?
“Qingtiao, where is your mistress?”

Qingtiao, flustered, sank to her knees again.
“Replying… replying to My Lady… our mistress… she jumped out the window.”

Qingtiao pressed herself flat against the floor, not daring to look up and see Lady Concubine An’s expression. Even she hadn’t expected her mistress would actually jump out the window.

As expected, Lady Concubine An’s face darkened even more. Her head was truly starting to ache. Calling that girl simple-minded was too generous—she was clearly an utter fool!

But thankfully, she still had her reason. As the one everyone in Changchun Palace looked to for guidance, she absolutely could not panic.

“Zhangjia Shi, why are you just standing there? Hurry and tidy up this room! Look at this mess—what does it look like?”

“Qingtiao, quickly bring your mistress to the main hall to see me!”

After giving her orders, Lady Concubine An turned and left the hall. She needed to think carefully about how to appease the Emperor’s anger. She couldn’t allow Changchun Palace to truly become a Cold Palace.

Meanwhile, Kangxi, who had returned to Qianqing Palace, sat on his couch with an unreadable expression. In truth, he wasn’t nearly as angry as everyone in the harem imagined.

All these years, he had long since learned to bury his emotions deep inside, so that no one could read them, and no one could guess the Emperor’s mind. Only Liang Jiugong, who had served him for so many years, could more or less sense a hint of what he felt.

After presenting the tea, Liang Jiugong stood respectfully to the side, stealing a glance at the Emperor’s face. He considered the incident from earlier—well, how should one put it? It could be called serious, or trivial. Everything depended on how His Majesty viewed it.

His Majesty had likely been a bit intrigued, but hadn’t expected he wouldn’t even get to see her, which had momentarily annoyed him.

Liang Jiugong had served the Emperor since he was young, and he’d seen countless women in the harem. Which one hadn’t rushed forward joyfully to greet His Majesty? But this one—good heavens—she hadn’t even shown her face and had hidden somewhere. No wonder the Emperor was vexed.

Yet some people—when you can’t see them, your curiosity only grows stronger.

Kangxi was a man who valued propriety. Since ascending the throne, he had never encountered anyone so daring, so brazen as to scorn the Emperor’s majesty. Someone so reckless ought to be dragged out at once and executed.

But for some reason, he thought of the voice he had heard by that back hall door. Clear and cool, yet full of a vitality none of the other women in the harem possessed. Even when telling an obvious lie, it hadn’t been irksome. Paired with that soft, sweet tone, it inexplicably reminded Kangxi of the kitten he’d raised as a child.

It had been a long time since Kangxi had thought about his early years. Back then, he hadn’t pleased his royal father, and his mother had died young. If not for his grandmother’s protection later, he would have had no happy memories to speak of.

That kitten had been his only comfort in those days. It had a poor temper and was spoiled. It never let anyone approach it but him. Whenever he was around, it wouldn’t leave his side for even a moment, rolling over to show its belly and acting spoiled. But the moment he left, the kitten ran wild, and none of the servants could do anything with it.

Later, after he ascended the throne, his grandmother said that as Son of Heaven he must not show such attachments, and ordered the kitten to be disposed of.

At that time, Xuanye, sitting on the Dragon Throne, ruling all under Heaven, should have been the most exalted man alive. Yet deep inside, he still felt anxious.

The court was controlled by others. His grandmother’s word was law. He had no power to resist. He couldn’t even protect a single little creature he liked.

From that point on, he learned to endure—and how to become a competent Emperor.

But now was different from then. Today, with full power in his grasp, surely he could protect a kitten if he wished.

Perhaps it was time to raise another kitten.

Kangxi absently rubbed his fingers together, as though he could still feel the kitten’s soft fur beneath them.

He thought again of the figure slipping agilely out the window—wasn’t she just like a little cat?

And remembering the peculiar instinct he’d had when passing Changchun Palace earlier, Kangxi felt it was fate.

With this in mind, he no longer hesitated. He turned and ordered Liang Jiugong, who was standing like a statue nearby:
“Liang Jiugong—go investigate.”

“Your servant obeys.”

There was no need to state explicitly what to investigate. Liang Jiugong naturally understood.

He withdrew respectfully from the hall and beckoned over his young apprentice to issue instructions. As the chief eunuch by the Emperor’s side, he hardly needed to handle such trifles himself—he had plenty of underlings for that. Even entrusting the matter to his own apprentice was considered giving the boy a chance to prove himself.

Liang Jiugong glanced up at the sky. Not bad—a fine day. Without daring to linger, he turned back inside. His Majesty could not be left unattended.

At that moment, Kangxi was already immersed in state affairs again.

Seeing this, Liang Jiugong didn’t dare disturb him. He simply lowered his head and stood by, ready to serve at any moment.

A long time passed.

Liang Jiugong checked the time and finally stepped forward, cautiously speaking:
“Your Majesty, it is time to order the meal.”

Only then did Kangxi lift his head from the flood of government documents.
“Very well. Bring it.”

Once the young eunuchs from the Imperial Kitchen had arranged the meal, Liang Jiugong helped Kangxi to his seat.

Just then, Wei Zhu—the apprentice who had gone without word for so long—returned and stood to the side, signaling quietly.

Kangxi noticed and waved his hand to have the meal cleared away.

After washing his hands and rinsing his mouth, he called the boy forward.
“Have you found out?”

“Replying to Your Majesty—today in Changchun Palace, the one who never appeared was Attendant Wei,” Wei Zhu hastily reported, kneeling.

“Attendant Wei?” Kangxi thought a moment but came up empty.

Perhaps sensing his confusion, Wei Zhu quickly continued,
“Your Majesty, Attendant Wei entered the palace during the small selection in the twenty-second year. That year, you personally selected only her.” In fact, in the selections for several years running, she was the only one you picked. The entire harem had been on edge, but then you seemed to forget all about it. “On her second day in the palace, Attendant Wei fell ill. I heard it took more than half a year for her to recover.”

“Fell ill?” Kangxi frowned. “Was it a real illness or a feigned one?” Remembering the words he’d overheard that day, he thought this claim of illness needed verification.

“Your Majesty, the illness was genuine—very severe, in fact. Attendant Wei nearly died,” Wei Zhu hurriedly explained everything he’d learned. “It was Lady Concubine An who specially summoned Physician Wang. After a few prescriptions, she finally improved.”

Wei Zhu didn’t mention that although she survived, it had damaged her health so much that she was unlikely to bear children and might even have shortened her lifespan.

“Oh? Concubine An is always eager to play the good person.” Mentioning her made Kangxi feel displeased. “And this Wei…”

Before he could decide how to deal with Wei, a young eunuch entered to report:
“Your Majesty, Eunuch Gu from the Household Department has arrived.”

“Enough—tonight arrange for this Wei to attend me. There’s no need to have her carried—just settle her in the back hall first,” Kangxi said with a wave of his hand, no longer pondering it, and motioned for everyone to withdraw.

This was an extraordinary favor. Normally, when a concubine attended the Emperor, she would be carried by the eunuchs of the Household Department into Qianqing Palace to await His Majesty’s arrival. Having her come on her own was quite different.

“Old brother—old brother—what is His Majesty’s plan today?” Gu Wenxing pulled Liang Jiugong aside, eyes shining with curiosity. “This Wei—who exactly is she? Please give me a hint.”

“You rascal—always trying to curry favor,” Liang Jiugong teased him, though he didn’t really mind. He finally explained, “Do you know where His Majesty came back from today?” He didn’t expect Gu to know, so he didn’t keep him guessing. He simply pointed toward the Eastern Six Palaces, his expression inscrutable: “Changchun Palace.”

And with that, he said no more.