Crossing the Palace Fighting Fox Harem

Chapter 251 White Bird and Blue Sky

Ji Anni's mouth twitched upwards, revealing a smile, and she pointed at the painting and said, "I know, this one must be Zhuang Xiaomeng's."

The emperor nodded, smiled faintly, and said, "Yes, that child is very clever. He said that he drew a picture of an honest official named Bai and Bird."

Zhuang Xiaomeng's father is the Minister of Justice, so he must have had a special understanding of words like "clear sky" since he was a child.

The remaining two pictures are much more regular, both of them depict white birds and blue sky, but the momentum is very different.

In one painting, a white bird flaps its wings, soaring into the clouds like an eagle. But in another painting, under the vast blue sky, there is only a small white dove pecking at food alone.

It is easy to tell who the author is.

Ji Anni's heart felt as if it had been stabbed, and her eyes fell on the little white dove. The weak figure of the white dove was just like the prince of Ming Dynasty, and against the dazzling blue sky, it added a sense of weakness and helplessness.

For the same topic, why can Zhangsun Mingri be painted with lofty ambitions, but Prince Ming can only be painted with loneliness and self-pity?

What on earth was that child thinking? Ji Anni felt a little heartbroken, and her brows tightened unconsciously.

No wonder the emperor deliberately brought me here today. It turned out that he wanted me to see the inner world of Prince Ming...

"Zhao Ji, look at these again." Long Mohan unfolded three more scrolls.

The theme this time is "Red Sun on the Sea".

The most special one is still the work of Zhuang Xiaomeng, and the special thing is that there is no horizon line in the painting.

The other two pictures have a straight sea level line in the middle. With the sea level line as the dividing line, the sky is above and the sea is below, which is very consistent with the title "Red Sun on the Sea", but it is also a very ordinary composition.

However, Zhuang Xiaomeng's perspective is quite unique, there is no horizon in his paintings, only a quiet sea surface. It is like a person floating in the air looking down at the sea, seeing the reflection of the sun on the sea surface.

Simply put, this painting is like the Japanese flag. There is a red sun in the middle, surrounded by a sea of ​​blue. The composition is very simple, but very unique. I don't know if he was just being lazy or if he really has some talent.

The remaining two pictures are of Changsun Mingri and Ming Huangzi. The most obvious difference between the two pictures is that one is a sunrise and the other is a sunset. The sunrise picture is full of vitality and hope, but the sunset picture is lifeless, depressing and decadent.

"Why..." Ji Anni was in a heavy mood, bitter and depressed. She originally thought that Prince Ming was shy, so he was introverted and taciturn, but now it seems that this is not just a matter of shyness. If this continues, will he develop "autism"?

In fact, if the paintings of Prince Ming are viewed individually, the problem is not serious. But if compared with the works of Grandson Mingri, the difference in temperament and mind is immediately apparent. Although the little grandson is a little arrogant and proud, he has a broad vision and a kind of aura of being able to care about the world and make decisions. If he is well educated, he will be a pillar of society. If he is not well educated, he will be a little angry young man with lofty ambitions.

But the prince of Ming is just the opposite. The world he painted is always peaceful and lonely, and he does not fight with the world. As a prince, I don't know whether such a character is good or bad. But as a five-year-old child, the lack of vitality is a big blow.

"Actually, there is another set of pictures..." Long Mohan said as he unfolded the last scroll.

There are still three pictures with the same theme, but this time the title is quite grand. It is not about natural scenery, but "ruling the world".

The most creative one was Zhuang Xiaomeng. He drew the entire territory of the Tianyou Holy Dynasty, like a map, and then stamped a big red stamp on the map, using the stamp to announce the ownership of this territory to the world.

Both Chang Sun Mingri and Emperor Ming painted the coronation ceremony.

Chang Sun Mingri's painting shows the emperor looking down at the overall situation, so the picture is filled with densely packed officials kneeling, creating a magnificent atmosphere.

But the Ming prince painted the emperor with the eyes of an official looking up at him, so the only person in the picture was the emperor in his imperial robe and crown. The atmosphere was still dead and gloomy, as if the sky was about to fall.

"If I hadn't seen these paintings, I wouldn't have thought Ming'er's heart was so gloomy." Long Mohan slowly put away the scroll and put it back to its original place. "It's my fault. After returning to the palace, I was busy with work and neglected to visit him... I cared too little about him..."

"No, it's Zhaoji who's in trouble... Zhaoji neglected Prince Ming..." Ji Anni's mood also darkened, "Your Majesty, can Prince Ming live with Zhaoji?"

This was the best compensation she could come up with right now.

"In fact, I have the same idea..." Long Mohan sighed. If he had not been moved by this intention, how could he have brought Zhao Ji here to see the paintings? But now he was just willing but unable to do so. In fact, before this, he had begged the Queen Mother several times to allow Prince Ming to return to Zhao Ji. Although the Queen Mother agreed, Concubine An was still unwilling to let him go.

So the person who is now preventing Prince Ming from returning to Ji Anni is not the Queen Mother, but Concubine An.

"Why does Concubine An insist on keeping Ming'er by her side?" Long Mohan murmured in a low voice and shook his head slightly.

"If Concubine An didn't have Ming'er in her hands, would you still go to her East Palace?" Ji Anni asked back.

In fact, the person who is most likely to become the queen in the harem is Concubine An. Not only does she come from a prominent family, but she also has the support of the queen mother. She doesn't have to do anything to become the queen. But now, she is obviously too active.

After the incident between Concubine Baogui and Yun Zhen, Concubine An actually had no need to force Concubine Baogui to take medicine to have an abortion. Even if Concubine Baogui really gave birth to the child, she would never become the queen. What Concubine An did was like crazy jealousy.

"Your Majesty, have you ever thought about this..." Ji Anni actually felt that her idea was a bit absurd, but she couldn't help but say it out loud, "...Maybe Concubine An really likes you. It is precisely because she likes you that she cannot tolerate other women giving birth to children for you, so she is determined to force the child in Concubine Baogui's belly to death... This is her terrible jealousy..."

"No." Long Mohan shook his head calmly and denied, "Noble Concubine An cannot have any feelings for me, because I didn't know her before I ascended the throne, and she didn't know me either. If they don't know each other, where does the feeling come from? Even if everything is as you guessed, and Noble Concubine An can't tolerate others giving birth to a child for me, then why does she care so much about Prince Ming?"

Although Concubine An was mean, she never treated Prince Ming badly. On the contrary, she treated Prince Ming as her own son, which was a fact that everyone in the palace could see. If not, Long Mohan would have taken Prince Ming back by any means necessary. It was precisely because he felt that Concubine An cared deeply for Prince Ming that he did not force him to take him away from her by force, so the matter had been delayed until now.

Ji Anni said: "Maybe she wants to take Prince Ming for herself..."

When Concubine An showed off her title of "concubine from the same mother" in front of Ji Anni, her smug expression and behavior had already made Ji Anni think that she wanted to take Prince Ming for herself.

"But you are the mother of Prince Ming..." Long Mohan was a little confused. The blood relationship between Prince Ming and Zhao Ji could never be erased. Since it could not be erased, then no matter what Concubine An did, wouldn't it be useless?

"If..." Ji Anni lowered her voice and glanced at Eunuch Hua outside the door. After making sure that Eunuch Hua was not eavesdropping, she spoke slowly word by word, "If, if... Zhao Ji died?"

Death? After hearing this word, Long Mohan's body stiffened obviously.

That's a terrible thought.

In fact, Ji Anni didn't want to think so, but since there was a precedent of Baogui Concubine being bitten to death by a poisonous snake, she felt that she might become the second Baogui Concubine.

"Your Majesty, this kind of thing is nothing new. Didn't it happen three years ago?"

Three years ago, Shui Furong's sister died after giving birth to the little prince. Concubine Zhuang, now the empress dowager, adopted the little prince and became the queen.

By analogy, if Ji Anni died, Concubine An could naturally be promoted from the "common mother concubine" to the "mother concubine" of Prince Ming.

After hearing what Ji Anni said, Long Mohan suddenly realized the terrible situation. He had always thought that Concubine An's concern for Prince Ming was a good thing, but he didn't expect that there might be a sinister murderous intention hidden in it.

"Zhao Ji, has Concubine An done anything to you?" Long Mohan asked vigilantly.

"Your Majesty, don't worry. Zhao Ji knows how to take care of herself." Ji Anni smiled very easily.

Anyway, she knew on the first day she entered the palace that the palace was full of dangers and she could lose her life if she wasn't careful. However, the reason that could cause her death changed from the monster at the beginning to Concubine An. After knowing who the other party was, she was not afraid anymore.

If it were in the past, Ji Anni could have persuaded the emperor to make Concubine An the empress as soon as possible. As long as Concubine An got what she wanted, she would not do evil everywhere. But just a few days ago, Hua Rong told Ji Anni that if Ji Anni could not become the empress, Long Mohan might be in danger of his life. So now, Ji Anni did not know what to do.

I used to think that everything would end after the September crowning, but now it seems that September is just a new beginning.

No matter who the queen is in the end, those who have been silently watching the changes in power in the palace will slowly surface.

"Zhao Ji..." Long Mohan suddenly hugged Ji Anni tightly in his arms and said with his eyes closed, "I am really getting more and more scared. I am afraid that I will not be able to protect you..."

He was so flustered that even his voice was trembling.

Ji Anni was stunned, too stunned to struggle.

She felt that Long Mohan had become a different person. She still remembered when she was taken by Long Mohan to pay homage to Concubine Hui, Long Mohan murmured confidently in the carriage, "Seventy days left, which is enough."

But now, the confidence I had at that time has disappeared, leaving only guilt, self-blame, pain and helplessness.

In fact, when they were at Huangling Mountain, Ji Annie had already guessed that Long Mohan must be secretly planning something, but judging from Long Mohan's reaction now, that plan must not have gone smoothly, otherwise he would not have suddenly hugged her tightly, nor would he have suddenly felt scared.

Ji Anni was unable to move in his embrace, and tried to push him away, saying hurriedly: "Your Majesty, didn't Zhao Ji say that you don't have to worry, Zhao Ji knows how to take care of herself."

"No." Long Mohan hugged her tighter, as if he wanted to embed her into his body. "Taking care of you is my most important responsibility. Letting you take care of yourself is my dereliction of duty... I can't keep dereliction of duty..."