kingnovel Chapter 158: Clouds and Mists
Chapter 158: Clouds and Mists
Thinking about everything that happened in Huangjiao Xiyuan just now, I still feel a little scared.
Although I don’t know why the Queen Mother suddenly changed her mind and didn’t want to kill them, at least they survived the disaster and saved their lives...
Ji Anni clasped her hands together and thanked God.
The last time she was imprisoned was because the Queen Mother said that her playing cards were against the law and that burning the Three Treasures was blasphemy against Buddhist scriptures. At that time, she could still cry out that she was wronged, but this time, she also knew that she had caused a big disaster.
Last time, Yun Zhen came to visit the prison, but this time, even Yun Zhen was locked up.
I still remember that I asked Yun Zhen why he didn't take Concubine Bao away. Yun Zhen said that he respected all the choices of Concubine Bao. I also said that after I was released from prison, I would ask the emperor to let Yun Zhen and Concubine Bao leave. Who knew that the next day after I was released from prison, I heard the news that Concubine Baogui was pregnant.
Everything seemed to be predestined.
Concubine Baogui was unable to leave the harem, and when Yun Zhen decided to take her away, he only ended up in a fatal disaster.
However, the strangest thing is the Queen Mother.
Today at the execution ground, the Queen Mother was clearly trembling with anger. Why didn't she order the execution on the spot when Yun Zhen and I were exhausted and unable to resist? Did she want to lock me up in the dungeon and torture me? Ji Anni thought for a long time but couldn't come up with a reason.
***
Meanwhile, the Queen Mother had returned to her own chambers.
After sending away all the maids, she walked towards the deep inner palace alone.
After passing through a winding corridor and pushing open a stone door, a hot spring pool shrouded in thick white mist appears before your eyes.
The pool was originally formed naturally, but when the temple was built later, a circle of stone walls were built around the pool to make it an enclosed bathing pool for recuperation.
Beside the pool stood a stone tablet with the three large characters "Zhi Ning Quan" inscribed on it in cinnabar.
This stone tablet is much older than this palace. It is said that this stone tablet existed when Emperor Taizu moved the mountain and built the palace.
Although this natural hot spring was later converted into an artificial bath, the original stone tablet was well preserved as a decorative memorial. The water of the Zhining Spring has a miraculous effect on relieving fatigue and delaying aging, and is said to be able to treat various wounds. Originally, this hot spring was the exclusive property of Emperor Taizu. It is said that it was haunted for a period of time, so Emperor Taizu ordered it to be closed.
After several generations, this place was converted into the Queen Mother's Palace, and the once haunted Ningzhi Spring was also repaired and brought back to light.
Gradually, the story about the haunted Ningzhi Spring was forgotten by the palace people.
The Queen Mother closed the stone door and stood by the pool. The room was filled with milky white mist. The white mist blocked the view, and only a small area around could be seen clearly. In the thick fog, a faint sound of water came from the direction of the hot spring.
The Queen Mother slowly approached the edge of the pool and saw the blurry silhouette of a woman.
The figure seemed to have heard the Queen Mother's footsteps. He turned his head slightly and glanced at her.
At this time, the Queen Mother had already come to the pool, squatting beside the bubbling hot spring, and asked the back figure, "How is the wound?"
The figure poured water on his body and replied softly, "I'll be back soon."
The Queen Mother asked, "Kang Xiaorong's sword was not light, was it? Why did you block the sword for Zhaoji?"
The figure behind him not only did not answer, but asked, "Where is Soji?"
The Queen Mother sneered and said, "How dare I kill the people you are trying to protect even if it means drawing thunder from the sky to shatter the execution platform? ... Zhao Ji is still alive, imprisoned in the dungeon awaiting punishment. Why don't you let me kill them? ... Why?"
The figure behind him said, "It's not that you are not allowed to kill them, but you are not allowed to touch Zhao Ji's body."
"What are you talking about?" asked the Queen Mother in a deep voice.
The back figure said, "I don't care how you deal with Yunzhen or Baoguifei, but you can't harm Zhaoji's body - you should order Zhaoji to be released as soon as possible. I'm worried that something strange will happen if you keep her in the dungeon."
"Why!" The Queen Mother couldn't understand.
"Don't ask me why. I'm also looking for the reason... Soji is very strange now, like a different person. But no matter whether she is a different person or not, her body is still Soji's body. You can't touch a hair of that body, understand?" The back figure turned around and looked seriously into the Queen Mother's eyes.
The Queen Mother looked away and said thoughtfully, "Today, Zhao Ji said something very strange at the execution ground."
"Oh?" The figure replied softly, pouring water on his smooth shoulders. Where the spring water flowed, the wounds healed quickly without leaving any traces. After a while, the skin of the figure's entire body was smooth as satin again, without any scars.
The Queen Mother said, "Today, Zhao Ji held the golden medal of immunity from death given to her by the Emperor and told me that as long as she, Ji Anni, is still standing here, I will never be able to confuse right and wrong or black and white - who is Ji Anni?"
The situation was urgent at the time, and even Ji Anni herself did not realize that she had let the cat out of the bag, but every word she said was deeply imprinted in the Queen Mother's mind.
So far, there are five people in the palace who know the name "Ji Anni".
The first one was Yun Zhen. On the first day Ji Anni came into this world, Yun Zhen told her that from now on there would no longer be Ji Anni in the world, only one Zhao Ji.
The second one is Yizhen. When Ji Anni met Yizhen for the first time and introduced herself, she inadvertently said her name was "Annie".
The third one is Lai De. When she was punished to kneel in Renhe Hall, Ji Anni asked Lai De to call her Anni.
The fourth one was Concubine An. After discovering the poisonous sting on Wunie's hoof, Ji Anni went to Concubine An to question her. During her impassioned rebuke, she accidentally revealed her real name.
The fifth one was the Queen Mother, who had just heard Ji Anni utter the three words "Ji Anni" herself at the execution ground not long ago.
"Who is Ji Anni?" The Queen Mother thought the figure behind her knew something.
"Yeah... who is Ji Anni..."
The figure smiled gently and said nothing more, but seemed to suddenly understand something.
***
On the other hand, outside the dungeon door, Kang Xiaorong had just ordered the guards to keep a strict watch and was about to return to the General Office of the Internal Affairs to report, when he turned around and saw a beautiful figure standing under a poplar tree not far away.
The figure was dressed as a palace maid and should have been inconspicuous, but the figure had an extraordinary temperament. Even if she was just standing quietly, she seemed to be shrouded in an inexplicable aura.
This palace maid is Hua Rong.
She had been looking at Kang Xiaorong for a long time, and only turned and left when she saw Kang Xiaorong noticed her.
Kang Xiaorong realized that Hua Rong had something to say, and hurriedly followed her.
He didn't chase too closely, but just followed from a distance so that others couldn't see that he was following Hua Rong's footsteps.
Hua Rong took him to a secluded corner of the palace and stopped.
After making sure that there was no one around, Hua Rong asked Kang Xiao Rong, "What's the situation?"
Kang Xiaorong immediately understood what she was asking and answered, "I thought she was dead, but she was lucky enough to survive. Although I don't know what the Queen Mother is planning, it seems that... the Queen Mother has some concerns about Zhao Ji."
She paused here and lowered her head, as if thinking about something.
Kang Xiaorong coughed lightly, attracting Huarong's attention, and continued, "Huarong, I didn't understand why you cared about her so much before... But today, I suddenly seemed to understand... When she told me that I was the crazy one, I even felt that my momentum was suppressed by her. Maybe... She is indeed a woman who is truly suitable to stand beside the emperor..."