Rebirth Plan to Save Leader

Chapter 6

“The Emperor is truly kind to Baocheng.” Li Mu propped her cheek in her hand, staring unblinkingly at the Emperor. It was a pity that Yinreng had already been carried away; otherwise, she could have let the Emperor bond with the child personally to strengthen their father-son relationship.

However… amidst her bashfulness earlier, she had caught the Emperor’s gaze. It was even gentler than when he had looked at her in the delivery room. Li Mu muttered to herself, wondering if the Emperor particularly enjoyed these outward expressions of emotion.

Thinking of this, Li Mu suspected she had found the reason. She knew that people in ancient times were reserved, especially when it came to expressing love. Even the concubines of the harem wouldn’t talk of “love” with the Emperor; after all, there was a vast difference in status. A lower-ranking concubine was essentially only “half a master” in the palace and had to be extremely cautious around the Emperor.

In the entire palace, the only two whose status didn’t seem so disparately lower than the Emperor’s were the Empress and Noble Consort Niuhuru. But she knew the original owner of this body had a steady, serious temperament; she had been entirely focused on being a perfect Empress and would never have said such things to the Emperor. As for Noble Consort Niuhuru, even without the original memory, Li Mu could tell from her observations in the delivery room that the woman was definitely not the “passionate” type.

Therefore, she could try to lean into this approach. At this thought, Li Mu’s tone softened significantly. “I was just wondering what name the Emperor would give Baocheng, and it turns out Your Majesty had already decided. Tell me, Your Majesty, doesn’t this mean we share a soul-to-soul connection?”

Even if it wasn’t a “soul-to-soul connection,” she had to force the narrative! She didn’t believe she couldn’t figure out exactly what kind of woman the Emperor liked. For the sake of a peaceful life in the decades to come, she felt she could put in the effort. After all, she was just a “task-taker,” not someone with a cheat code.

Kangxi looked at her with amusement. Did the Empress forget he had been present earlier? He had overheard her previous grumbling about “when the Emperor would finally name the little Prince.” He was used to the Empress’s usual indifferent side, but after accidentally witnessing her private persona, he found it unexpectedly interesting.

Perhaps the Empress usually lived too much like “The Empress” and never acted like a wife toward him. Or perhaps he had never seen her with such a lively expression before and had forgotten that she was roughly the same age as him. Even he would occasionally leave the palace in disguise to visit ministers and find some fun; the Empress must have had a young girl’s temperament before she was married, so why should she change her entire demeanor in front of him?

It was only to be blamed on the fact that they had married too young. As for the change in her now, perhaps she was simply afraid; anyone might change after standing at the gates of life and death.

Thinking of this, Kangxi nodded. “I am your husband, and you are my wife. It is only normal for us to be of one mind.”

Normal? The Emperor’s gaze was a bit strange; for a moment, she couldn’t tell which way his thoughts were drifting.

Li Mu felt a bit uncomfortable and shrunk her neck slightly, testing the waters: “Then, can Your Majesty come to see me often? I am in confinement, and both Baocheng and I miss Your Majesty terribly.” She really wanted him to drop by with some good food or toys. During her confinement, her servants had nagged her countless times to eat bland food, and Yinreng had so few toys that she didn’t have enough to play with herself.

Kangxi said somewhat helplessly, “You are my Empress; why are you acting like a spoiled child with me?” In his mind, this was the kind of thing the concubines in the harem would do, though none of them were actually bold enough to go to this extent. Even the younger Lady Guo Luo, whom he had been quite fond of lately, didn’t have the nerve.

“Fine, I will forgive you this once. Don’t let it happen again.”

Li Mu silently complained in her heart. She wasn’t acting like a spoiled child; she was making a request! Where was the Emperor’s mind wandering? But she simply asked, “Is Your Majesty not staying?” Was he leaving so soon?

Kangxi stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the Empress. He had intended to leave directly, but seeing her disappointed eyes, he explained: “I must return to handle government affairs.” He wasn’t going to another concubine’s palace.

So that’s how it is. Li Mu breathed a sigh of relief. Even though she was in confinement and the Emperor couldn’t stay the night, if he had stepped out of the Kunning Palace only to head straight to another concubine’s quarters, where would that leave her dignity as the Empress?

Kangxi frowned, dissatisfied with the Empress’s reaction. Even if he was her husband, he wasn’t only her husband. It wouldn’t do for the Empress to become jealous; he would have to have the Empress Dowager advise her more in the future.

Kangxi walked quickly out of the Kunning Palace, with Liang Jiugong hurrying behind him. Seeing the Emperor’s furrowed brow, the eunuch didn’t dare make a sound. It wasn’t that he thought the Emperor was angry; having served him for many years, he sensed that the Emperor’s mood was actually quite good. However, since he hadn’t been by the Emperor’s side just now, he didn’t know what had been said between him and the Empress. He wanted to find a topic to talk about but feared flattering him the wrong way, so he remained silent.

After the Emperor left, Li Mu’s expression immediately became much more languid. Her eyes narrowed like a little fox. She had a rough idea of the Emperor’s mood before he left, but she didn’t think she had done anything wrong. As an Empress, she wasn’t supposed to show unnecessary emotions, but she had to correct the Emperor’s perception. The Empress was not just the Empress; she was also a wife. As the Emperor’s wife, why couldn’t she care about his harem?

She couldn’t let the Emperor only get used to her “Empress” identity without realizing her identity as his “wife.”

“Snow Lotus, spread the word that our little Prince has been named. It is Baocheng’s blessing that the Emperor came specifically to name him.” Li Mu guessed that since the Emperor was showing such blatant favoritism so soon after the birth, he might be considering naming Yinreng the Crown Prince. Even if not, the status of the legitimate son was definitely special in the Emperor’s heart.

She had to let the concubines know this. At the very least, before and after those other princes were born, no one would dare shake Yinreng’s position.

Thinking of the princes and princesses who would be born one after another, and how those princes might threaten Yinreng’s position once they grew up, Li Mu’s eyes darkened. Over these past few days, as she watched Yinreng grow day by day, coupled with the memories and emotions left by the original owner influencing her constantly, she had long since regarded Yinreng as her own flesh and blood. And indeed, he was her child now.

There was also the news she had heard from her family—the Emperor’s maternal cousin, the lady from the Tong family, was about to enter the palace. Her status wouldn’t be that of an ordinary concubine. If her status hadn’t been insufficient back then, the Tong family would have surely wanted a piece of the Empress’s throne.

“Yes, Your Majesty.” Snow Lotus nodded. Naturally, their little Prince of the Kunning Palace had been named; how could they not announce it? It would be a disservice to his status as the legitimate son of the First Wife.

When the concubines learned that the Empress’s legitimate son had been named, some indeed had a strong reaction. But currently, there were only two surviving princes in the palace, and the legitimate one was particularly precious. They could only watch helplessly as the legitimate son received a name. Some reacted indifferently, merely saying that because his status was noble, it was only right for the Emperor to value him so highly.

However, one thing became a consensus in the harem: the princes of concubine birth, even the Fifth Prince (Baoqing) who was the Emperor’s eldest surviving son, had not been named by the Emperor to this day—he only had a childhood nickname. Yet the legitimate prince, who was only half a month old, was held in such high regard, even more so than when the Empress had given birth to her first-born son… he was a presence they could not contend with.

Consequently, the pregnant concubines in the palace became exceptionally low-key. The Fifth Prince’s status in the palace was indeed no longer as prominent as before.

As the one-month banquet for the legitimate prince approached, the Emperor ordered the Imperial Household Department to organize a grand celebration. The Empress also finished her confinement period. On the day she emerged, to show his regard for her, the Emperor stayed at the Kunning Palace that night.

It was then that they formally discussed his focus on Yinreng and the future of Baoqing.

Lately, the Empress had been showing more and more affection for him. Seeing her like this, although he had been unaccustomed to it at first, after a month, he could naturally accept her sweet smiles. The thought of having the Empress Dowager “reason” with her had long since been pushed to the back of his mind.

All in all, the Empress’s change wasn’t a bad thing. At the very least, she now acted the way a wife should toward her husband.

After much consideration, Kangxi decided to tell the Empress about Baoqing’s future placement, and that the promotion of the harem concubines should be put on the agenda.

“Your Majesty, are you saying you intend to have Baoqing raised under my care?” Li Mu said hesitantly. Was the Emperor joking? Setting aside the fact that Baoqing’s birth mother had plotted against the original Empress and nearly caused her death, knowing how Baoqing would covet Yinreng’s throne in her memory, wouldn’t raising him herself give him “half-legitimate” status and essentially train an enemy for Yinreng?

Furthermore, the Emperor kept saying Baoqing would be a “virtuous official” in the future, but the Emperor would have many sons; Yinreng wouldn’t lack subordinates. Why would she need to raise Baoqing personally?

The more Li Mu thought about it, the more her teeth itched with annoyance. But the man in front of her was the Emperor. Since he had made this absurd suggestion, she would have to solve it using unconventional means. She wasn’t one to suffer in silence.

She looked at the Emperor and said, “Your Majesty wants to keep Baocheng by your side to watch over him constantly. I would have the heart to focus on Baoqing, but I usually have to manage palace affairs, and the little Prince needs to be raised with great care. I fear I wouldn’t do a good enough job. And…”

Kangxi’s eyes were fixed on her.

Li Mu’s face turned slightly red, as if she were embarrassed. “And lately, I think of Your Majesty every single day. I only think of how to be better to Your Majesty…” Her focus clearly wouldn’t be on Baoqing.

If you insist I raise him, then I’ll just neglect him, she thought.

Besides, there were so many concubines in the harem. Once they started getting promoted, it wasn’t certain that Baoqing would still belong to her.

While Li Mu was thinking of how to dump Baoqing onto someone else, Kangxi looked at her and felt a bit of a headache. It wasn’t that he thought she was still dwelling on what Baoqing’s mother, Lady Ulanara, had done; he just felt that after giving birth, her whole heart was suddenly focused on him.

He had never experienced the “youthful infatuation” stage. Born into the imperial family, he knew only intrigue; genuine emotion was rare. Even with three thousand concubines, few were sincere toward him. He didn’t see this as a problem; as long as they served him well and bore him children, that was enough.

He thought he didn’t care about such things, but seeing the Empress now—combined with his pity for her nearly losing her life and the way she looked at him expectantly—he felt a bit awkward. According to his usual temperament, he should have reprimanded the Empress, but by some strange turn of events, he remembered how she had sent messages, soups, and dishes every few days even during her confinement, telling him to mind his health.

Fine. He was going to bring up the harem promotions anyway. If the Empress was focusing on palace affairs and worrying about him and Baocheng, she truly wouldn’t have the energy to look after Baoqing. There would be high-ranking concubines later; it wouldn’t be too late to discuss it then.

With that thought, Kangxi nodded. “Then it shall be as you wish.” The boundaries he had previously held firm were slowly shifting.

Li Mu smiled serenely, her eyes never leaving the Emperor. She felt a subtle shift—why did it seem like the Emperor was becoming easier to talk to? It seemed this path was actually working. She would have to keep it up.