kingnovel Chapter 337 Bridesmaids
Chapter 337 Bridesmaids
Ji Anni and Liu Guang have similar personalities. They are both outgoing and cheerful, and can talk to anyone. I am afraid that they will hit it off and become friends. Even if they are really innocent, who would believe that they are innocent?
"By the way, where is Princess Tianning now?" Ji Anni suddenly wanted to visit Princess Tianning. Anyway, her house arrest order had been lifted, so there was no need to go back to Wenhuayuan obediently.
"Your Majesty, you don't want to visit Princess Tianning, do you?" Hua Rong saw through Ji Anni's thoughts at a glance.
"What's wrong? Is it not possible?" Ji Anni saw Hua Rong's troubled look and didn't know what she said wrong.
Hua Rong said, "My lady, Princess Tianning is in Tianning Mansion right now. She will be married tomorrow and has many things to prepare today. Please don't disturb her."
"But if I miss today, I'll never see her again." Ji Anni was reluctant to part with Princess Tianning.
"That's not necessarily the case. If you really miss Princess Tianning, you can go to Dongdu to visit her. Princess Tianning is deeply loved by the Queen Mother. After Princess Tianning got married, the Queen Mother was the most lonely. She either often summoned Princess Tianning back to the palace or often went to Dongdu to visit the princess."
"That's easier said than done..." Ji Anni sighed, and suddenly remembered what Princess Tianning had asked her to pass on to Huarong when she said goodbye to her last night. "Oh, Huarong, the princess had something to tell you last night."
"Really?" Hua Rong's expression was obviously tense for a moment, and she asked, "What did you say?"
"The princess asked me to thank you."
"thank?"
"Thank you for your help..."
Hua Rong immediately understood and sneered, "Help me? Haha, I'm just telling the truth, I'm not trying to help anyone."
"Tian Ning said that she could see that you still like Kang Xiaorong."
"Impossible, I...I don't like him at all." Hua Rong screamed like a kitten whose tail was stepped on. She was always calm and rarely had such an excited expression.
Ji Anni was stunned for a moment, and then said, "I am just delivering a message for Tian Ning, so don't argue with me. Whether you like it or not, only you know it in your heart. Outsiders' guesses are just guesses after all. Whether they are accurate or not, only you know." After a pause, after a little hesitation, she added, "...It's easy for you to lie to us, but it's hard to lie to yourself."
Originally, Ji Anni stood on Hua Rong's side, hoping that Hua Rong and Kang Xiaorong could have a perfect ending. Now that Princess Tianning and Kang Xiaorong's marriage is a foregone conclusion, she hopes that Hua Rong and Kang Xiaorong can break up cleanly as Hua Rong said. Otherwise, not only will Princess Tianning be hurt, but Hua Rong and Kang Xiaorong will also be charged with unpleasant crimes.
Hua Rong stopped arguing with Ji Anni and lowered her head silently.
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Ji Anni followed Hua Rong's words and did not go to Tianning Mansion to visit the princess, but returned to Wenhuayuan Taoyuan obediently. Fortunately, Concubine An was not in the garden today. She must have gone to congratulate her cousin Princess Tianning. Ji Anni felt a lot more relaxed when she didn't see Concubine An. After returning to the room, she found that her ears were much quieter. After sitting on the bed for a while, she realized that Prince Ming was missing.
"By the way, Huarong, where is Prince Ming?" Ji Anni looked up and asked Huarong. Princess Tianning will be married tomorrow, and Wenhua Academy will be busy drafting letters to be sent to envoys from various countries and local governments, and also to announce it to the world, so there probably won't be time for classes. Since there are no classes, where can Prince Ming go?
Seeing Ji Anni was anxious, Hua Rong comforted her, "Don't worry, Your Majesty. Prince Ming is probably in the Li Garden next door, with Zhuang Xiaomeng and the youngest grandson."
"Oh, that's good. It's always good to make more friends." Ji Anni was too lazy to go to Taoyuan to catch him. She lay on the bed with her back facing the sky, closed her eyes and took a rest.
When Ji Anni was poisoned and recuperating in the Imperial Hospital, Prince Ming could not sleep under the care of Concubine An. Fortunately, two children from Li Yuan came to comfort and encourage him, which allowed Prince Ming to fall asleep.
Although Prince Ming also wanted to visit Ji Anni in the Imperial Hospital, he was not allowed to do so. Concubine An kept Prince Ming under strict house arrest and did not allow him to leave her sight.
If Prince Ming had not pretended to be sick today, he would have been taken to Tianning Mansion by Concubine An to express congratulations.
As soon as Concubine An left, Prince Ming sneaked to the next door Li Garden. Now there were no guards guarding outside Taoyuan, so he did not encounter any obstacles and went straight to Li Garden.
When the three little guys were discussing how to sneak to the Imperial Hospital to visit Ji Anni, they heard a strange sound of footsteps outside the door. At first, they thought it was Concubine An who had returned, and they were scared to death. But when they carefully came to Taoyuan and looked inside, they found that the person who returned was not Concubine An, but Ji Anni, and they were relieved immediately.
Before Ji Anni went to Li Garden to look for Prince Ming, Prince Ming himself excitedly rushed into Ji Anni's room.
"Mother!" Prince Ming was so excited that it was as if he saw Ji Anni come back to life. "Mother... are you okay..."
"Of course I'm fine. Mother is blessed by heaven. Why are you worried?" Ji Anni helped Prince Ming wipe away the tears from his eyes. She had made him sad again.
Zhuang Xiaomeng and Zhang Sun Mingri, who came with her, pestered Ji Anni with questions: "Concubine Zhao Cong, I heard that you were poisoned..."
"You're impolite." Hua Rong knocked each of them on the head, "You should call her Empress Zhao Congfei."
Hua Rong deliberately pretended to be fierce just to drive the two little guys away, otherwise they would keep pestering Ji Anni with questions. Ji Anni, who could not lie, would be in trouble if she let the cat out of the bag and said something she shouldn't.
The two little guys were not meant to be scared. They realized that Hua Rong was not really angry with them, so they pretended to be pitiful and retorted, "We are just asking, Concubine Zhao Cong, oh no, Concubine Zhao Cong Niangniang, we heard that you were poisoned. What happened? Did someone poison you on purpose?" They obediently changed their address from "Concubine Zhao Cong" to "Concubine Zhao Cong Niangniang", thinking that this way Hua Rong would not have any complaints.
"What do you mean by poisoning? It's just food poisoning. There aren't so many poisoning cases in the palace. How can you be so complicated at such a young age?" Ji Anni imitated Hua Rong's behavior and knocked on their heads. I didn't expect them to ask the question "deliberately poisoning". When I was their age, I didn't even know about "poisoning".
It seems that children who grow up in the palace are different. The vocabulary they learn and are exposed to is richer, more thrilling, more stimulating, and more bloody than when they were children.
Zhuang Xiaomeng and Chang Sun Mingri saw that Ji Anni was in high spirits and did not look like she had just been poisoned, so they held her tighter.
"Okay, okay, Zhao Congfei just came back and needs to rest. Please don't disturb her here."
Hua Rong drove them outside like she was chasing chickens. Just when they were about to reach the door, she suddenly heard a burst of orderly footsteps coming from the gate of Taoyuan.
Unexpectedly, someone would come to visit. Hua Rong, Zhuang Xiaomeng, and Zhang Sun Mingri were all stunned at the door. Their noisy voices suddenly stopped. Ji Anni knew something was wrong and subconsciously leaned towards the door. At this time, the group of unexpected visitors had already arrived at Ji Anni's door.
Hua Rong bowed respectfully to the visitor and said, "This servant greets Eunuch Lian."
Although Zhuang Xiaomeng and Zhang Sun Mingri were just children, they knew that Eunuch Lian was a favorite of the Queen Mother and a person with weight of influence in the harem, so they obediently stepped aside to make way for him.
After hearing Hua Rong's greeting, Ji Anni and Prince Ming in the room realized that it was Eunuch Lian who had come. He must have come to convey some imperial decree on behalf of the Queen Mother.
Ji Anni and Prince Ming came to the door one after another to greet Eunuch Lian.
When Eunuch Lian saw Ji Anni's figure, he immediately shook the scroll in his hand and said in a gloomy voice, "Concubine Zhao, kneel down and receive the Queen Mother's order."
Ji Anni was not surprised at all to hear the expected words, but her heart was still beating very fast. She couldn't guess what was written in the brocade book.
Looking at Eunuch Lian's expression, although it is not full of joy, it is not cloudy either. It doesn't seem that he is here to convey bad news.
While comforting herself in this way, Ji Anni knelt down obediently to receive the order.
Eunuch Lian opened the brocade letter and read out, "The Queen Mother has decreed that Princess Tianning will be married tomorrow, and Concubine Zhao Ji and Concubine Zhao will accompany her to see her off. First, she will be given a set of brocade clothes and a set of embroidered patterns. She must report to Tianning Palace on time at 3:00 am tomorrow morning. If she is late, she will be severely punished."
This... what is this? Ji Anni was completely dumbfounded after hearing this. Could it be that she was asked to be Princess Ning's bridesmaid that day?
Not to mention Ji Anni, even Hua Rong, who was always smart and clever, raised her head in surprise, looking at Eunuch Lian in disbelief as he was about to hand the brocade letter to Ji Anni after reading the imperial edict.
Eunuch Lian had already closed the brocade letter and came to Ji Anni. Ji Anni was so frightened that she forgot that she should raise her hands and solemnly receive the imperial edict.
"Zhao Congfei?" Eunuch Lian bent down and glanced at Ji Anni's slightly stiff expression, and asked in confusion, "Zhao Congfei doesn't want to accept the order? Your Majesty, this is a great honor bestowed upon you by the Queen Mother. Usually only the Imperial Concubine and the Imperial Concubine are qualified to see the princess off when she gets married. This time, the only Concubines allowed by the Queen Mother to see the princess off are you and Concubine Liu from the West Concubine Palace. This is a rare opportunity that many people want but can't get. Are you still going to refuse?"
Father-in-law Lian's words were sincere, as if he really cared about Ji Anni. He became a popular figure in front of the queen mother because he looked like he cared about others.