Crossing the Palace Fighting Fox Harem

Chapter 192: Sudden Demotion

When leaving the West Palace, Ji Anni couldn't help but look back and take a deep look. This place was filled with too many of her memories, which should have been full of happiness, but now, because of the passing of Baogui Fei, it was covered with a layer of gloomy shadow.

I followed the Qinglan River back to the right courtyard, and as soon as I reached the door, I felt that the atmosphere was not right.

It feels like a dark cloud is pressing down on the sky, making it hard to breathe.

Ji Anni and Die'er looked at each other, and both of them sensitively smelled something strange, and they always felt that something happened in the right courtyard...

At this moment, a burst of hurried footsteps was heard. After a while, Hua Rong ran to Ji Anni.

"Empress, something bad has happened..." Hua Rong lowered her voice and looked serious.

"What's wrong?" Ji Anni asked anxiously. Looking at Hua Rong's expression, she knew something was wrong. She didn't know what had happened to make the usually calm Hua Rong panic.

"My queen," Hua Rong's eyes flashed with a trace of anxiety, and she said solemnly, "...it's too late."

"Empress Dowager?" When Ji Anni heard these two words, her face suddenly became longer than a bitter gourd.

The Queen Mother was like a ghost that wanted to kill Ji Anni. Whenever she heard the word "Queen Mother", she couldn't help but turn around and try to escape. She was afraid that if she ran too slowly, she would be thrown into the oil pan and fried and eaten by the Queen Mother.

"Your Majesty, the Queen Mother doesn't look well..." Hua Rong looked more and more frightening as she spoke.

Staring at Hua Rong's expression that was even more terrifying than in a horror movie, Ji Anni felt uneasy and said self-deprecatingly, "Alas... why would she come to me when she was in a good mood? I just returned to the palace and didn't cause any trouble... Why did she come here?"

"I don't know." Hua Rong shook her head and emphasized, "Your Highness, I see that the Queen Mother's face is very dark, and the eunuch Lian who came with the Queen Mother is holding a scroll of brocade in his hand. I think he is here to announce some imperial decree. Your Highness, you must not speak nonsense in front of the Queen Mother later. Just bow your head and admit your mistakes."

"Okay, okay, I got it..." He agreed quickly, but his heart was already in chaos.

I don't know how ugly the Queen Mother's expression was to make Hua Rong look so panicked...

Following Huarong and Dieer, Ji Anni gritted her teeth and walked towards the room where the Queen Mother was.

The feeling of impending death is really no different from being executed by guillotine...

As soon as she arrived at the door, she was overwhelmed by the gloomy atmosphere coming from the room. Ji Anni was so scared that she didn't dare to go inside. She stood at the door and bowed, saying obediently: "Zhao... Zhao Ji greets the Queen Mother..."

Her voice was a little stuttering and even the tone of her voice changed.

The Queen Mother was like a nuclear reactor without any protective facilities. Not only was she undergoing fusion and fission inside her body, she was also radiating energy outward. Ji Annie was almost melted by the super energy she radiated.

Every step closer means risking your life.

"Zhao Ji, you've kept me waiting for so long, why don't you come in quickly?" The Queen Mother glanced at Ji Anni with a fake smile.

"Zhao Ji must remember to come back earlier next time..." Ji Anni smiled sweetly and lovely, thinking that this would alleviate the Queen Mother's anger. She moved in step by step, and it took a long time to move in front of the Queen Mother.

The Queen Mother glared at her angrily and shouted, "What are you still standing there for? Why don't you kneel down and accept the order?"

As he spoke, he glanced at the brocade book in Eunuch Lian's hand, reminding Ji Anni why they came today.

"Oh, oh..." Ji Anni had been taught a lesson by the Queen Mother several times, and knew how powerful she was, so she didn't dare to confront her. After being scolded by the Queen Mother, she knelt down obediently, waiting for Eunuch Lian to announce the decree.

Eunuch Lian opened the brocade letter, stood in front of Ji Anni, and read aloud: "In compliance with the will of Heaven, the Empress Dowager's decree: Concubine Zhao disturbed the execution ground, slandered the late emperor, and did not return to the palace at night. She is now demoted to a concubine and ordered to move out of the right courtyard within two days and return to her old residence in the East Concubine Palace."

Demoted to a concubine? Return to the old home?

Ji Anni felt dizzy as if she was hit on the head with two sticks.

The Empress Dowager listed three major charges against her, and she admitted to the first two, disrupting the execution ground and slandering the late emperor.

What does the last sentence "Night Palace" mean? Could it be referring to the night I stayed in Liu Mansion yesterday?

That was approved by the emperor himself... When did it become my crime?

"Zhao Ji, why don't you accept the imperial edict and express your gratitude?" Seeing that Ji Anni had no reaction, the Queen Mother glanced at her with contempt.

Although Ji Anni felt wronged, she had no choice but to endure it. She raised her hands above her head and said sullenly, "Zhao Ji accepts the decree and thanks you."

Then Eunuch Lian placed the brocade book in her hands.

"Zhao Ji, do you feel wronged?" Seeing Ji Anni's face full of resentment, the Queen Mother sarcastically said, "Disturbing the execution ground, slandering the late emperor, and staying out all night, which of these three charges is not enough to banish you from the palace? As for you rushing into the Imperial Horse Courtyard to grab the horse, I am magnanimous and will not bother with you. Now I will only demote you to a concubine to serve as a warning to others. This is my greatest gift to you. What else are you dissatisfied with?"

"Zhao Ji has nothing to be dissatisfied with. Zhao Ji thanks the Queen Mother for her gift." Ji Anni said hypocritically.

"Hmph." The Queen Mother snorted coldly and stood up. She seemed to be irritated by Ji Anni's unrepentant attitude and warned her sternly, "Zhao Ji, I will allow you to stay in the right courtyard for one last night. Tomorrow morning, you will pack up your things and move out!"

After saying this, the Queen Mother waved her sleeves and left angrily, with the eunuch following behind her in a hurry.

Alas, the relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law has always been a difficult problem to solve... Ji Annie shook her head helplessly.

After the Queen Mother left the right courtyard, Huarong and Die'er dared to surround Ji Anni.

"Empress, sigh..." Hua Rong was unable to say anything and sighed heavily.

Die'er was afraid that Ji Anni could not bear the blow, so she kept looking at her worriedly.

Although Ji Anni was hit hard, it was not as serious as Die'er thought.

Whatever, when she broke into the execution ground, it was as if she had died once...

Although she has been demoted back to a concubine, at least she is still alive.

The right courtyard was too quiet, and Ji Anni, who liked the hustle and bustle, had always felt a little uncomfortable living there.

She had long wanted to move back to Concubine Palace and live with everyone.

After calming down and thinking about it, I suddenly realized that being demoted back to a concubine was not a big deal. Isn't it just the difference between "concubine" and "concubine"? I don't want to wear this heavy crown of a concubine on my head...

And she could live with Yizhen again, she was so happy.

I just feel a little sorry for Emperor Long Mohan, who spent so much effort to make Zhao Ji the imperial concubine, but unexpectedly, the Queen Mother issued an imperial decree to demote Zhao Ji back. It seems that if Long Mohan wants to overthrow the oppression of the Queen Mother, he still needs to work harder...

Facing Dier who was worried about her, Ji Anni comforted her: "Dieer, it's okay. Isn't it just being demoted to a concubine? It's not like you're going to go to the guillotine."

"Your Highness, why aren't you anxious?" Hua Rong couldn't bear to listen any longer, her brows furrowed, her words became fierce, "The Emperor was willing to offend the Empress Dowager in order to make you a concubine, just to let you have your own palace as soon as possible, so that he could bring Prince Ming back to his side. Now, the Empress Dowager has issued an imperial decree to demote you back to the Concubine Palace, and Prince Ming has no choice but to continue to be fostered by Concubine An..."

The Empress Dowager's action was indeed a slap in the face to the Emperor.

At first, the emperor made Zhao Ji the imperial concubine without the queen mother's permission. Now the queen mother also demoted Zhao Ji from the imperial concubine to the concubine without the emperor's permission. This was undoubtedly a provocation to the emperor, warning him not to act recklessly and forget that there was still the queen mother above him.

Ji Anni curled her lips, feeling that she was somewhat sorry for the emperor's painstaking efforts...

Now that things have come to this, what else can we do? I have received the imperial decree. I will sleep well for the night and move tomorrow.