kingnovel Chapter 190 Good intentions
Chapter 190 Good intentions
After paying homage to Concubine Hui, it was already evening when we returned to the palace.
The emperor personally sent Ji Anni to the right courtyard gate before reluctantly saying goodbye and leaving.
During the whole journey, Ji Anni was always worried, fearing that she would be exposed in front of the emperor and reveal her true identity. Fortunately, the emperor did not doubt her and was still as friendly to her as usual.
As soon as I stepped into the gate of the right courtyard, Hua Rong came to greet me.
It seemed as if she had already calculated when Ji Anni would come back, and Ji Anni couldn't avoid her even if she wanted to.
Ji Anni had been with the emperor all day, feeling nervous and exhausted. Now she finally returned to the right courtyard, and just wanted to find a quiet place to have a good rest. But when Hua Rong came, she knew that her ears were not quiet again.
"Your Majesty, it was the Emperor who sent you back just now, right?" Hua Rong asked excitedly.
"Didn't you see it all?" Ji Anni replied wearily. Since she had seen it all, why bother asking more questions? What else could she hide from Hua Rong?
Ji Anni walked along the corridor towards her room, and Huarong followed closely behind her, saying as she walked: "My queen, I heard that the emperor went out of the palace to pay homage to Concubine Hui today, and I knew he would take you with him. My queen, did the emperor say anything to you?"
I wonder what Hua Rong is expecting? Does she think the emperor will promise to make her the queen?
What made Ji Anni feel even more strange was why Hua Rong knew that the emperor would take her to pay homage to Concubine Hui? Wasn't it a coincidence that she ran into the emperor's carriage on her way back to the palace today? Why did she feel that someone had deliberately arranged it after hearing what Hua Rong said...
Thinking of this, Ji Anni stopped and asked, "Hua Rong, how did you know that the emperor would take me to pay homage to Concubine Hui?"
Hua Rong smiled and replied, "Your Highness, the Emperor has already made arrangements, otherwise how could he let the imperial concubine stay overnight? The Emperor allowed you to leave the palace yesterday to escort the coffin of Concubine Baogui back to the palace, and also allowed you to stay overnight, just to calculate the time and meet you by chance halfway the next day, and then use the excuse of "chance meeting" to "take you by the way" to pay homage to Concubine Hui..."
"Is it necessary..." Ji Anni was a little unconvinced. Isn't it just to pay tribute to her biological mother? Is it necessary to spend so much time on it?
"Your Highness, you don't understand this. Concubine Hui is the emperor's biological mother. The emperor took you to pay homage to Concubine Hui, which means that he regards you as a close relative. Why don't you understand the emperor's painstaking efforts?"
"If he wanted to take me to pay homage to Concubine Hui, wouldn't he have just come to the right courtyard to pick him up openly? Is it necessary to go to so much trouble? And pretend to meet by chance..." Ji Anni thought Hua Rong was overthinking.
Hua Rong was a little anxious, frowned and said: "Your Highness, if the Emperor deliberately took you out of the palace to pay homage to Concubine Hui, how many concubines in the palace would be jealous of this? The Emperor dare not show his love for you too obviously, for fear of arousing the jealousy of other concubines. He loves you very much, but he dare not get close to you, for fear of bringing disaster to you and Prince Ming... The Emperor has good intentions, why don't you understand, Your Highness?"
After hearing what Hua Rong said, it seemed to make some sense.
Just like what happened with Concubine Baogui, the Emperor made Concubine Baogui pregnant just to protect Zhaoji and Prince Ming.
Because of this incident, Ji Anni always felt resentful towards the emperor.
Is it possible to use everyone else just to protect Soji?
Although the emperor seemed weak and easy to bully, his behavior was ruthless and cruel. How could such a person be content with the status quo and willing to rely on the An family? Now he was just hiding his strength and waiting for the opportunity to make a big fuss in the Heavenly Palace.
"Your Majesty, the Emperor and the late Emperor are actually very similar..." Hua Rong spoke again.
"How do they resemble each other?" Ji Anni was a little curious.
"My Lady, do you know Queen Wang?"
"Queen Wang?" Ji Anni shook her head.
Hua Rong said, "Queen Wang is the queen of the late Emperor Hui Wang who passed away three years ago. She was not from one of the eight great families, and her family had no power, but the late Emperor went against all odds and made her the queen, which shows how much he loved her. However, there are many other beauties from aristocratic families in the palace. If they are neglected, I'm afraid people will gossip that Queen Wang is the only one favored. In addition, Queen Wang never gave birth to a son or daughter for the late Emperor. In order to prevent Queen Wang from becoming a thorn in the eyes of those wealthy and prominent families, the late Emperor had to balance the rain and dew and occasionally favor other concubines. But three years ago, after Queen Wang died, King Hui had no intention of making anyone else the queen, so he made the hasty decision of "whoever gives birth to a dragon first will be made the queen."
"So, the late emperor was quite loyal?" Ji Anni made a casual comment as if it had nothing to do with her.
Hua Rong said: "Your Majesty, in fact, the emperor is just like the late emperor, he is also a devoted person. He clearly loves someone, but dare not show it too obviously, for fear of hurting the person he loves..."
"Okay, okay, I get it. I'm sorry to the emperor, okay?" Ji Anni interrupted her hastily, not wanting to discuss this issue any further. Although the emperor liked Zhao Ji, Zhao Ji was dead, and she was not Zhao Ji. She entered the palace only to return to her original world, not to comfort the infatuated emperor on behalf of the dead Zhao Ji.
"By the way, Huarong, what's going on with Concubine Hui? Why did she go crazy?" Ji Anni treated Huarong like an encyclopedia and asked her questions no matter what problems she encountered.
Hua Rong said, "My lady, no one knows how Concubine Hui became crazy, but according to some clues, it is speculated that Concubine Hui's madness should be related to the little prince's fall into the well three years ago. Because she became crazy not long after the little prince died. After being crazy for a year, she suddenly said that she wanted to go to the well to save the little prince, and then jumped into the well and committed suicide."
"Does Concubine Hui love the little prince very much? Otherwise, why would she go crazy because of the little prince's death?"
Hua Rong thought for a moment and said, "It seems that Concubine Hui has no feelings for the little prince. She was originally a maid of Concubine Yu. After she became pregnant with the dragon more than 20 years ago, she was envied by Concubine Yu and almost lost her life. Fortunately, Queen Wang was kind and virtuous, and took her to the Queen's Palace to take care of the pregnancy. After the birth of the prince, the two of them took care of him together. So when the emperor was a child, he was raised by Queen Wang and Concubine Hui together."
"Who is Concubine Yu?" Ji Anni heard an unfamiliar title.
"Empress Yu is the daughter of Duke Tang, the governor of Zhongzhou. After entering the palace, she always wanted to become the queen, but unfortunately she failed to become the queen."
The Tang family is also one of the eight major families and the most powerful one among the three dukes.
The governor of Zhongzhou, whose surname is Tang, is the relative of Concubine Yu Guifei; the governor of Qingzhou, whose surname is Shui, is the relative of Shui Furong; the governor of Cangzhou, whose surname is Liu, is the relative of Liu Yingying. It is really lively, the daughters of the three dukes have all gathered in the palace.