Crossing the Palace Fighting Fox Harem

Chapter 195: The Palace of Idleness

Ji Anni put her ear to Yizhen's door and listened. The room was quiet and she didn't know whether Yizhen was there.

He knocked on the door and called out, "Yizhen."

Only then did I finally hear some movement in the room. It was the sound of Yizhen running quickly to open the door.

From the hurried and chaotic footsteps, I could tell that my appearance really scared Yizhen.

How strange! Didn't Yizhen know that she was demoted back to concubine? Didn't Die'er and the others move their luggage here early in the morning? Yizhen lived next door, didn't she hear anything?

Just as she was thinking, the door opened. Yizhen stared at Ji Anni in surprise and called out, "Xiao Zhao?"

"Hehe." Ji Anni smiled at her and squeezed past her into the room.

"Xiao Zhao, why are you here?" Yizhen followed behind Ji Anni.

From Yizhen's surprised expression, it can be seen that she really knows nothing.

That's right. I just received the Empress Dowager's decree last night and came back early this morning. The time was too short and the news couldn't spread that fast.

Huarong and Die'er also walked into the room and stood on the left and right behind Ji Anni, like bodyguards.

Ji Anni felt that the atmosphere was a little off. They were not here to chat with friends, but to negotiate with enemies. So she sent Huarong and Die'er away: "Huarong, Die'er, go back to your room and help me pack my luggage. I'll come over later."

Huarong and Die'er were both smart people. They knew that Ji Anni wanted to talk to Yizhen alone, so they bowed and left the room together.

Ji Anni and Yizhen were the only ones left in the room. The atmosphere suddenly became relaxed and it felt like they could have a chat.

Yizhen still had only one question in mind: "Xiao Zhao, why did you come back so suddenly? Are you here to see me? Is there something wrong?"

Ji Anni laughed dryly a few times in embarrassment, stuck out her tongue and said, "Yizhen, actually...actually...actually I was demoted by the Queen Mother, and from now on I will be a concubine again. Last night I went to the West Palace for a walk, and returned to the right courtyard in the evening. As soon as I arrived at the gate, I felt that the atmosphere was not right. It turned out that the Queen Mother had been waiting for me in the room with the eunuch who announced the decree. Alas..."

"Oh my God... How is this possible? How can I be demoted just like that?" This bolt from the blue frightened Yizhen so much that she turned pale.

Ji Anni was also a little surprised and asked, "Don't the other concubines in the courtyard know about it? How come you don't know anything? When Die'er and the others came to deliver things this morning, didn't you hear the noise next door?"

Ji Anni felt that Yizhen must be a very hardworking person, so she wouldn't sleep so deeply, right?

Yizhen said, "I went out early in the morning."

Ji Anni asked curiously, "What were you doing?"

Yizhen seemed unwilling to talk more, so she changed the subject and said, "Oh, let's not talk about me, let's talk about you first, Xiao Zhao, how did the Queen Mother demote you back to a concubine?"

Ji Anni sighed, lying weakly on the table, and sighed: "Alas, how else can I be demoted? Isn't it just the troubles I caused? The Queen Mother has charged me with three crimes in total: disturbing the execution ground, slandering the late emperor, and staying out of the palace at night. Each one is more serious than the other, killing me three times is enough. Now she just demoted me back to a concubine, I am already very grateful for her grace."

Yizhen stroked the back of Ji Anni's hand and comforted her, "Xiao Zhao, I heard about your disturbance of the execution ground. I saw that the Queen Mother had not made any move for so many days, so I thought she had let you go. I didn't expect that... you still couldn't escape this disaster."

As the saying goes, one can escape the death penalty but cannot escape the living punishment. In fact, Ji Anni has already been content.

However, I still feel it is a bit strange. On that day at the execution ground, the Queen Mother clearly wanted to behead myself and Yun Zhen together. Why did she suddenly forgive me later?

I don’t know if it’s my illusion, but I always feel that she is much more tolerant towards me…

If other concubines committed the same misfortune, would the Queen Mother treat them with such leniency?

Or...what does the fox that suddenly appeared on the execution ground that day have to do with the Queen Mother's change of attitude?

The clues were cut off at this point, and I only vaguely felt that there must be some relationship between the Queen Mother and the fox...

"By the way, Yizhen, I just ran into Shui Furong outside."

Instead of worrying about Fox and Queen Mother, it is better to worry about the immediate crisis of Water Lotus. After being demoted to concubine, I probably won't have much chance to see Fox and Queen Mother again, but as for Water Lotus, I will have to see her every day in the future...

Ji Anni herself was not afraid of Shui Furong, but she was more worried about Yizhen.

On the first day of entering the palace, Shui Furong and Yizhen had a feud.

Yizhen is such a soft persimmon that is easy to bully. Who else can Shui Furong bully if not her?

Ji Anni said: "Shui Furong is still the same, her temper hasn't changed at all, she didn't bully you, did she?"

Yizhen smiled gently and said, "Xiao Zhao, you are overthinking it. Concubine Shui Cong is very busy, so she has no time to bully me."

"Busy? What is there for her to be busy about?" Ji Anni didn't believe it and thought Yizhen was lying on purpose to reassure herself.

Yizhen said, "Concubine Shui doesn't often stay in the Concubine Palace, but often goes to the Xian Palace. She always comes back very late, and we can't even meet each other. How can she bully me?"

Yizhen spoke very sincerely, and it seemed that she was telling the truth.

If it's true...it's even more strange, why does Shui Furong like Xian Gong so much?

Ji Anni suddenly had an idea and immediately got it. She pulled Yizhen and asked, "Yizhen, do you know Concubine Yu?"

"Empress Yu?" Yizhen was stunned, as if she was unfamiliar with the title.

Ji Anni explained to her: "Empress Yu was the concubine of the previous emperor. She was a strong candidate for the throne. But after the emperor ascended the throne, she moved to Xian Palace. I heard that she used to be a very arrogant person, but three years ago, she suddenly changed her personality and became very quiet and taciturn, as if she had suddenly seen through the world. Shui Furong often goes to Xian Palace. Is she going there specifically to find Concubine Yu?"

Yizhen shook her head. She only knew that Shui Furong often went to Xian Palace, but she didn't know who Shui Furong went to see.

Yizhen thought for a moment and then said, "By the way, Concubine Shui Cong often goes to the Li Palace."

"Li Palace? What is that place?" Ji Anni had never even heard of it and wondered why the places Shui Furong went to were all so strange.

Yizhen said, "The Li Palace is where the history books are stored in the Wenhua Courtyard. Only those with the status of a noble concubine or above can enter. Shui Congfei went there several times, but I heard that she was stopped outside by the guards every time and was not allowed to enter."

Ji Anni thought about it and realized that although she had never heard of Li Palace, she had heard of Wenhua Courtyard.

Three years ago, Hua Rong's father Xi Jinde was the Grand Secretary of Wenhua Academy.

Since Xi Jinde's death, Wenhuayuan has been controlled by Changsun's family, who are affiliated with the An family.

Could it be that Shui Furong wanted to find some clues from the Calendar Palace?