Crossing the Palace Fighting Fox Harem

Chapter 194 Reunion after a long absence

Ji Anni stood outside the gate of the East Concubine Palace and took a deep breath.

Although I don't hate this place, it takes some courage to step into this threshold again.

Because he would not be coming back to "visit relatives" this time, but was demoted by the Empress Dowager's imperial decree, which was not a glorious thing.

Although Yizhen would not despise herself, what about the other concubines? How would they view herself?

Ugh……

I sighed in my heart and tried to tell myself not to care.

Ji Anni took a step forward and finally stepped into the concubine's palace.

Opposite the entrance is a large courtyard, and on both sides of the courtyard are the rooms of the concubines, a total of thirty rooms.

Now there are only fourteen rooms occupied. After Ji Anni returns, there will be fifteen rooms.

Although there were twenty palace maids in the right courtyard, except for Huarong and Die'er, the others were rarely seen. But it was different in the Concubine Palace. Although there were only fifteen concubines, they lived together and were all neighbors. They would see each other every day and would often bump into each other.

So objectively speaking, the number of people in Concubine Hall is less than that in Pianyou Courtyard, but from a feeling point of view, Concubine Hall is much more lively than Pianyou Courtyard. Of course, this "lively" is not necessarily a compliment, because lively places often have more gossips...

It was the playtime before lunch, and the courtyard was bustling with people, some concubines were playing on the swings, some were chatting in the pavilion. Some others were not seen, and they must be resting in their rooms - such as Yizhen.

Yizhen seemed a little unsociable. Ji Anni had never seen her get close to anyone other than herself.

I have been the imperial consort for ten days. Yizhen must be very lonely living alone in the concubine's palace, right?

At this time, several concubines who were chatting in the pavilion saw Ji Anni and stopped talking as if they saw a monster. Then the concubines who were playing on the swings also stopped and stared at Ji Anni for a few seconds.

Then, they began to discuss something in twos and threes.

Firstly, they were quite far away, and secondly, they spoke very softly, so Ji Anni couldn't hear anything.

Even if I couldn't hear them, I could guess from the contemptuous look they gave me from time to time that they were probably laughing at me. Well, let them laugh, since I didn't expect them to line up to welcome me anyway.

Thinking back to ten days ago, when I was first named Zhao Fei, their attitude was so enthusiastic...

Now there has been a 180-degree reversal.

Although Ji Anni had been mentally prepared, she still couldn't help but sigh that the world was bleak and people's hearts were no longer the same. No matter which world, there would always be a group of snobbish villains...

No matter how snobbish you may be, neighbors are still neighbors. It seems a bit unreasonable not to say hello when you meet again after a long separation.

So Ji Anni smiled, waved to them, and greeted them warmly: "Long time no see, how are you?"

She thought the other party would wave back at her out of courtesy, but the group of concubines all looked at each other, exchanging glances, and no one spoke, making Ji Anni, who was waiting for their response, feel very embarrassed.

At this time, a familiar voice came from behind Ji Anni.

"Empress Zhao, oh, no, it should be 'Empress Zhao Congfei'... Congratulations on your return home in glory."

The voice was raised a little high, so it sounded full of sarcasm, and she deliberately called her "Empress Zhao" and then changed it to "Concubine Consort". Even a deaf person could hear the sarcasm in her words.

You can guess who the person is without looking back...

Apart from the little Empress Dowager Shui Furong, who else in the concubine palace is so wicked?

Ji Anni turned back reluctantly, forced a smile at Shui Furong, and greeted, "Shui Congfei, how are you?"

Shui Furong responded, "Thank you, Concubine Zhao. Oh no, thank you Concubine Zhao for your concern..."

It's not enough to ridicule once, you even said it twice! Do you really think I'm old and hard of hearing? Ji Anni felt even more depressed.

Shui Furong's sweet and charming smile was reduced to a sneer in Ji Anni's eyes.

"Empress, please go back to your room first." Hua Rong urged in a low voice behind Ji Anni.

How could Ji Anni not know her intentions? She was just afraid that she and Shui Furong would quarrel...

Humph, I'm in a good mood today, so I won't bother with Shui Furong.

"Mizunohime, I'm still busy. We can talk later."

Ji Anni was about to say goodbye and leave, but Shui Furong refused to let her go easily and continued to sarcastically say, "Oh, Concubine Zhao, you have become so arrogant after being a concubine. You want to bring two maids with you when you return to the Concubine Palace? Are you trying to scare the sisters?"

Unexpectedly, she would use Huarong and Dier to make a fuss. Ji Anni was unhappy in her heart, but she didn't show it on her face. She explained with a fake smile: "Dieer is just helping temporarily, only for today, and I will let her go back tomorrow."

After saying that, he didn't want to argue any further and turned to leave. However, he didn't walk fast enough and still heard Shui Furong's sneer.

Alas... Shui Furong is still the same as before. It seems that life in the Concubine Palace will not be easy in the future...

Your Majesty, Your Majesty, you see that Shui Furong is also a great beauty, you should make her an imperial concubine or a noble concubine as soon as possible, and let her move out of the Concubine Palace as soon as possible. Otherwise, I will get sick from being angry every day...

Ji Anni walked forward hurriedly, as if someone was chasing her.

In fact, it was not a person who was chasing her, but the eyes of the concubines in the yard.

The people who were swinging stopped moving, and the people who were chatting stopped talking. Everyone stared at Ji Anni as if they were looking at an alien, staring at her so hard that she felt like she was on fire.

Hua Rong complained and whispered in her ear: "My Lady, do you still remember when you first became the Imperial Concubine? That time when you returned to the Concubine's Palace, I tried my best to persuade you not to go back to your room because it was a bad omen, but you refused to listen... Now it has come true, right? You have been demoted again."

"Oh, Huarong, why are you so superstitious..." Ji Anni glanced at her.

In fact, Ji Anni knew that Hua Rong just wanted to say that as long as she listened to her, she could avoid disaster.

But what about avoiding disasters? If it is a blessing, it is not a disaster, and if it is a disaster, it cannot be avoided.

Could it be that if I had been obedient and not entered the room, I would have avoided being exiled? That's impossible.

On the contrary, it was because I entered the room that I saw the strange scene of the fox stealing the fragrance. Maybe this was the clue?

As I was walking, I heard Huarong behind me shouting, "My Lady, you've gone too far."

They had already arrived outside Ji Anni's room, but Ji Anni kept moving forward.

"I'm going to go see Yizhen." Ji Anni didn't just walk by, but did it on purpose.

Yizhen lived next door to her, just one room away.

As soon as he came back, he was so angry with Shui Furong that he had to find Yizhen to talk to her and seek comfort.