kingnovel Chapter 456 Return in full
Chapter 456 Return in full
Xiaoxue pushed Concubine Gan away like a frightened rabbit and hid in the corner, saying, "It's nothing, it's nothing, I just fell accidentally."
She looked flustered, and it was obvious that she was lying. Concubine Gan, who had never had a temper, rushed over angrily and grabbed her tightly, "Who said it's okay? You must be hiding something from me!"
With a "hiss", Xiaoxue's sleeve was torn by Concubine Gan, leaving an inch-long cut, revealing a black bruise.
Concubine Gan, who was most afraid of seeing scars, was stunned and speechless.
Xiaoxue hastily pulled her hand back, covering the bruise, and said, looking down at the floor, "My Lady, since Xiaoxue has returned safely, please don't ask any more questions."
Concubine Gan choked up and looked at Xiaoxue sadly. Although Xiaoxue kept avoiding her gaze and refused to look directly at Concubine Gan, her expression showed some determination.
Whenever Xiaoxue showed such an expression, Concubine Gan knew that it was impossible to change her decision. Helplessly, she had to give up and sighed softly, saying, "Okay, since you don't want to tell me, I won't ask. But Xiaoxue... we are good sisters. No matter what happens, I will help you... Don't bear everything by yourself, it will make me feel bad..."
Xiaoxue's eyes turned red, and she bit her lips tightly, not making a sound.
Prince Ming, who was standing by, could not find a chance to interrupt, and was even more sad because of being moved. Xiaoxue was also a monster, but she was as close to Concubine Gan as a sister; she and her father clearly had an indelible blood relationship, but he cruelly abandoned her...
On the other hand, in the General’s Mansion, Ji Anni in fox form was locked in a three-layer iron cage.
The cage was covered with a thick black cloth, blocking out all light. Ji Anni didn't know how long she had been locked up, the darkness made her lose the ability to calculate time. Yun Zhen used magic to turn her into a fox, but she didn't know how to return to human form. If she couldn't find Yun Zhen, would she be a fox forever?
But this is not the most terrible thing. The most terrible thing is that when she wanted to leave the palace to save Prince Ming, she happened to meet Hua Rong. She trusted Hua Rong wholeheartedly, but she didn't expect Hua Rong to betray her and hand her over to the general for disposal. Ji Anni, who fell into the hands of the general, knew that she was in danger and had already prepared herself to see the King of Hell. Unexpectedly, the general just locked her up and didn't execute her directly, which surprised her a little.
From the conversation between Hua Rong and the general, Ji Anni heard that Hua Rong revealed her secret of being a fox demon in order to make the general cancel the engagement between Kang Xiaorong and Princess Tianning. Maybe Hua Rong still loves Kang Xiaorong, maybe Hua Rong knows that Kang Xiaorong and Princess Tianning can't be happy... No matter what the reason, Ji Anni couldn't bear to resent her betrayal, and felt more sympathy in her heart.
When she was first locked in the iron cage, Ji Anni tried every way to escape. She bit the iron bars with her teeth and hit the cage with her body. But the unbreakable iron cage was not something she could destroy with her body. After being exhausted and almost fainted, she lay helplessly in the iron cage and silently told herself: Forget it, just leave it to fate...
At this moment, voices were heard outside the iron cage.
The visitors were two palace maids. They just happened to be standing outside the room where Ji Annie was hiding and had no idea of her existence.
Ji Anni immediately pricked up her ears and eavesdropped on their conversation.
"This palace is too full of evil spirits. A few days ago, there was a sudden earthquake for no apparent reason. The emperor has decided to move the palace."
"I heard about it too. Is it just in the last few days?"
"The Emperor just summoned the General this morning. The matter of moving the palace must be imminent."
"What should we do here? Many places are in ruins after the earthquake."
"Alas, who knows... Anyway, who would dare to live here with so much evil spirit? Maybe it will be just like the demon-suppressing temple back then, let it be abandoned like this..."
Then they talked for a few more sentences, but Ji Anni was no longer in the mood to listen.
Long Mohan abandoned Prince Ming, abandoned himself, and now decided to move to another palace and abandon everything. Is he so afraid of anything related to monsters? Is he so unloving that he plans to forget everything and start over?
Even if he could just leave, what would happen to Yun Zhen who was buried under the rubble?
After the Road of Life and Death collapsed, Ji Anni and Yun Zhen completely lost contact.
Although she always comforted herself that Yun Zhen must still be alive. However, whenever she thought of the scene of the sky collapsing and the earth breaking under the lightning that day, her body began to tremble slightly. If it were someone else, they would have died five or six times. Even if Yun Zhen was not an ordinary person, could he really be lucky enough to survive such a terrible disaster? The more she thought about it, the more scared she became.
I really want to go to the ruins of the Road of Life and Death immediately to look for Yun Zhen’s trace instead of wasting time locked in a cage.
In another part of the General's Mansion, under the shady locust tree, there is an exquisite hexagonal pavilion built beside the water. Under the water, red carps huddle together, just to compete for the bait thrown by the pavilion. Two palace maids stand outside the pavilion, quietly, without making a sound. The afternoon sun becomes soft under the shade of branches and leaves, and the quiet environment makes the summer heat gradually fade away.
There were two people in the pavilion, a man and a woman. The man was Kang Xiaorong and the woman was Princess Tianning.
After the Queen Mother passed away, Princess Tianning and the fake Princess Yanniang exchanged identities again. Yanniang left the palace, and Tianning returned to the palace. But the palace was just a sad place for her. Staying alone in the deserted Princess Mansion, it was easy to recall the pain of this period.
In order to prevent her from having wild thoughts, Kang Xiaorong always liked to ask the maid to take her to the general's mansion as a guest. Firstly, it was to kill time, and secondly, it was to comfort her. When she couldn't see Tianning, Kang Xiaorong would be distracted, fearing that she would be upset and hurt herself.
Kang Xiaorong, who lost his position as a captain, was idle at home, with nothing to do. He would not feel bored if he could accompany Tianning and see that she was safe and sound, even if he did not say a word. But as long as he could not see her, he felt as if he was troubled by a hundred claws and could not bear it.
Tian Ning's position in his heart has long been extraordinary, but whether this is love, he himself is not quite clear. The desire to protect Tian Ning is very strong, so strong that it occupies his whole body and mind, so he can't feel whether he still has sympathy and love for Tian Ning in his heart. Maybe it's just a simple desire to protect, and he doesn't want this poor girl who has been hurt by fate and himself to encounter any misfortune again.
This day, like usual, he spent time with Tianning in the pavilion.
The sky gradually darkened and before we knew it it was already evening.
The last ray of sunlight that had lost its warmth faintly colored the horizon, and the wind blowing on the face was slightly chilly.
Tian Ning habitually raised her head and looked at the gravel road leading to the pavilion. At this time in the past, the sedan chair that came to take her back to the palace should have arrived long ago. Although she often went to the general's mansion to play, she never stayed overnight, as if she was deliberately drawing a clear line between herself and Kang Xiaorong. She never mentioned the engagement, as if she had long forgotten the marriage that was almost perfect, and her desire to be with him.
"Why hasn't the sedan come yet? Go and hurry it up." Kang Xiaorong whispered to the servants around him. As if to atone for his sins, he obeyed Tian Ning almost everything, never did anything that embarrassed Tian Ning, and never made a decision that embarrassed Tian Ning. Since Tian Ning wanted to leave, he would never keep her, and unconditionally obeyed all of Tian Ning's wishes - if this could be compensation, he was willing to pay.
As soon as he finished speaking, the familiar sedan chair team appeared on the stone path, and the leader was a small leader of the imperial guards that Kang Xiaorong was familiar with. When Kang Xiaorong was a captain, the small leaders of the imperial guards under him were all his familiar confidants.
There was a silver bell hanging on the sedan chair, and the melodious sound of the bell could be heard from more than thirty steps away.
Tian Ning turned her head subconsciously, her eyebrows knitted unconsciously. When she saw two eunuchs holding wooden boxes walking with the sedan chair team, she had a bad feeling, but Kang Xiaorong didn't notice it. He was not as sensitive as Tian Ning, perhaps because he didn't care as much about what would happen next as Tian Ning did.
After a while, the sedan chair stopped in front of Tianning.
After the chief bowed, he said to Kang Xiaorong, "I have been ordered to take the princess back to the palace."
As soon as he finished speaking, two eunuchs holding a box came up from behind. Kang Xiaorong then realized that the situation had changed, as if there was some special arrangement. He showed a surprised expression, stared at the wooden box in the eunuch's hand suspiciously, and asked the little leader: "What is this box?"
The little leader did not answer, his slightly sad expression revealed his helplessness and awareness.
He waved his hand, signaling the eunuch to open the box.
It was very quiet all around, so quiet that even the birds' chirping had disappeared. The breeze blew across her face with a hint of coolness, freezing her bones like frost and snow. Tian Ning couldn't help but shiver, and subconsciously moved closer to Kang Xiaorong, holding his hand tightly. It seemed that if she didn't do this, she wouldn't have the courage to see what was in the box.
Kang Xiaorong put his arm around her thin shoulders and stared at the slowly opening box without blinking.
In the almost suffocating tense atmosphere, the items in the box appeared before everyone's eyes.
In the first box was a glass of wine, and in the second box was a dagger.
The others looked at each other, not understanding the meaning of the two items. Only Kang Xiaorong's mouth twitched and he sneered. How similar was this scene to when the Queen Mother forced him to marry Tianning?
It was also a cup of wine and a dagger, as well as dazzling mountains of gold and silver, and the imperial decree that conferred him a title read by Eunuch Lian. Drinking the toast was equivalent to agreeing to the marriage, and not drinking would result in the punishment of the dagger. The thing called the "Sword of Broken Love" would end Hua Rong's life.
"Did Dad ask you to deliver it?" Kang Xiaorong picked up the little leader and dragged him in front of him. Even though he tried to suppress his anger, the roar still frightened the others to their knees.