Crossing the Palace Fighting Fox Harem

"Your Highness, you may not know this since you just entered the palace. You cannot eat the fruits in this garden casually. You will be punished." Lai De stepped forward and said in a low voice, "Fortunately, the person your Highness met was me. I will not tell anyone. I will take your Highness out now."

As he said this, he led the way for Ji Anni.

"You look silly, but you have a good heart." Ji Anni followed him, but suddenly, she found that Lai De's trouser pocket was bulging, as if there was something hidden.

Ji Anni looked into Lai De's trouser pocket, and as she looked, she found a small grape sticking out of the pocket.

I understood everything at once. You are such a good fellow, Lai De. You didn't allow me to steal grapes, but you stole them yourself. I will not let you off.

Thinking of this, Ji Annie jumped forward and slapped Lai De's trouser pocket.

With a "pop" sound, the bunch of grapes that Lai De had hidden in his trouser pocket turned into grape juice and flowed down his trouser legs.

Lai De wiped his pants and asked with a bitter face, "Oh, my lady, what are you doing?"

"What? Of course I'm teaching you a lesson for stealing grapes!"

Upon hearing that he was exposed, Lai De hurriedly hushed Ji Anni a few times and said, "Madam, keep your voice down. If others find out that we are in this orchard, we will be finished. We will be dragged to the torture room and beaten with a stick."

“Is it really that strict?”

"Of course, the fruits in this orchard are all grown to honor the gods. They are tribute fruits and cannot be eaten."

"So you're still cheating?"

"I was looking at the fruits in this garden. Each one is so good. If we don't eat them, they will go bad. It would be such a pity if they go bad. Every year, many fruits go bad in this garden. I feel sad when I see them, so I just... just... I can't help but run in and steal a few."

"Ha." Ji Anni couldn't help but laugh, thinking that Lai De was a bit like herself, who would risk his life to see something delicious. Even though he knew that these fruits could not be picked, he still ventured in to pick them.

"Lai De, you are really brave." Ji Anni patted Lai De's shoulder generously.

"My lady... please stop making fun of me."

"This is not a joke, I am really praising you. You even dare to eat the fruit offered to the gods, aren't you brave enough?"

"To be honest with you, my mother died early. I remember that her last wish before she died was to eat a grape. I ran all over the city but couldn't buy any. Later, I saw a carriage on the road, which was full of grapes, so I secretly took a bunch from the carriage. Although some of the grapes were rotten, they were still edible. But when I rushed home with the grapes, my mother had already passed away. Later, I learned that the grapes on the carriage were pulled from the palace. Because they were not delicious when ripe, they were transported to the mountains and thrown away. I felt so sorry for those grapes at the time. Those grapes that my mother was still thinking about before she died were transported to the mountains and thrown away just like that..."

At this point, Lai De sighed deeply and added, "So now when I see grapes, I think of my mother. When I see the grapes in the orchard are ripe, I want to pick a few bunches for my mother."

Ji Anni then realized that she had done something wrong. She had damaged the grapes that Lai De had picked for his mother. She felt a little embarrassed and lowered her head and said, "I'm sorry, I didn't know that the grapes were..."

"Oh, how dare I ask the queen to say sorry." Lai De almost knelt down to Ji Anni.

"Don't be so polite. Didn't you say I'm a female knight? Female knights are not particular about trivial matters. So please don't be polite." Ji Anni gently pushed Lai De away and treated this young guard like a brother.

Lai De seemed very happy as well. While leading Ji Anni, he asked, "By the way, Madam, what was that 'Annie' that you asked me to call you before?"

Unexpectedly, Lai De still remembered this name. Ji Anni couldn't tell the truth, so she had to make up a lie: "Well... this 'Annie' is a way of greeting people in the underworld, and it can also serve as a comfort. For example, when I am unhappy or sad, as long as I hear someone call me 'Annie', my mood will slowly get better."

"Is it really that magical?" Lai De couldn't help but widen his eyes, it seemed that he already believed it 80%.

"Of course." Ji Anni suddenly found that teasing Lai De was interesting and she was addicted to it. She put her hands behind her back, raised her chin and said, "Can the words of this concubine be false?"

"Yes." Lai De nodded and bowed hurriedly, "Of course what your majesty said is true, I am just surprised by what I have seen so little."

"Hmph, you're full of flattery again." Ji Anni curled her lips, but she didn't find it annoying.

As they were talking, they had already left the orchard.

Ji Anni then remembered that she wanted to go find Yun Zhen, so she pulled Lai De and asked, "Lai De, do you know where Taoist Master Yun Zhen lives?"

"Master Yunzhen?" Lai De asked curiously, "What does the Queen want to see the Imperial Master for? Is it because of evil spirits?"

"Can't we go find the Imperial Master if we haven't encountered evil spirits?" Ji Anni put her hands on her hips, pretending to be angry.

Lai De lowered his head in fear and said, "I am too nosy. I shouldn't have asked too many questions. Please forgive me, Madam."

"Alas." Ji Anni poked Lai De's forehead. "If you keep on being like this, saying 'forgive me, forgive me' all the time, I will really punish you. In the future, you don't have to worry about so many rules in front of me. Just treat me as your brother. You can make trouble when you want to, laugh when you want to, and joke when you want to. It's so free. Lai De, I think you are a good person. I already treat you as a brother. You are not allowed to treat me as your queen anymore."

Ever since she heard Lai De call her "Annie" several times in Renhe Hall last time, Ji Annie's affection for this little guard has grown by leaps and bounds. Because it was this little guard who encouraged Ji Annie when she was most confused and helpless, so that Ji Annie finally found her own existence and did not get lost. Lai De helped Ji Annie so much, but he was completely unaware of it. He was a little timid when he saw Ji Annie, fearing to offend her. Whenever Ji Annie thought of Lai De's cautious look, she found it a little funny.

At this time, Lai De said, "Your Majesty, the Imperial Master lives in the Xianke Pavilion in the west. You just need to walk around the West Palace and it will take about half an incense stick of time to get there. Your Majesty, I really wanted to send you directly to the Xianke Pavilion, but I have to be on duty today and report to the South Palace Gate soon, so..."

"I understand." Ji Anni did not embarrass him and said very straightforwardly, "Just go and report. I can't get lost alone. By the way, you just said to walk along the west palace."

Ji Anni was afraid of getting lost, so she confirmed the route again.

Lai De nodded and said, "Yes, go straight ahead along the West Palace. There is only one right way and Your Majesty will definitely not get lost. Otherwise, ask the maids of the West Palace to lead the way for Your Majesty. They are very familiar with the way to the Immortal Pavilion."

"Oh." Ji Anni heard some deeper meaning and asked, "In other words, the maids from the West Palace often visit the Xianke Pavilion?"