Crossing the Palace Fighting Fox Harem

Lai De said, "I have only heard that Concubine Bao and the Imperial Master are good friends and often visit each other."

Ji Anni nodded to show that she knew. She had also heard from Concubine Baogui. Yun Zhen's father was the governor of Shuntian Prefecture, and Concubine Baogui's father was the Minister of War. The two families had always had a good relationship. After Concubine Baogui entered the palace ten years ago, Yun Zhen also followed. Three years ago, in order to help Concubine Baogui exorcise the demon, Yun Zhen's hair turned silver. The relationship between the two of them should be considered very deep.

However... there is one thing that is very strange. After all, Concubine Baogui is a concubine. Isn’t she afraid of being gossiped about by being so close to Yun Zhen?

Oh, and the most important point is, since Concubine Baogui was the concubine of the previous emperor, how did she become the imperial concubine of the new emperor?

Ji Anni couldn't figure it out, so she pulled Lai De aside and asked, "By the way, Lai De, do you know how Concubine Baogui became a concubine? Wasn't she the concubine of the previous emperor? Now she is the concubine of the new emperor, serving two generations of monarchs. This... this..."

"Hush!" Lai De quickly put a finger to his lips, signaling Ji Anni to be quiet. He looked around anxiously, and after making sure that no one else heard him, he finally breathed a sigh of relief and said, "My queen, even if you are a female hero, you should know that there are two things in this palace that cannot be discussed. The first thing is that Baogui Concubine was possessed by evil spirits three years ago, and the second thing is that Baogui Concubine served two generations of kings."

"Why?" Ji Anni was very confused and wondered why these two things that could not be told were related to Concubine Baogui.

Lai De said in embarrassment: "My queen, please don't embarrass me. If I talk too much, I will lose my head."

"Lai De, if you don't tell me, you don't treat me as a brother." Ji Anni put her arm around Lai De's shoulders.

Lai De quickly dodged and said, "How dare I treat the queen as my brother? I only treat the queen as the queen."

Ji Anni began to speak angrily: "Well, you won't tell me? Then I will tell you about your sneaking into the orchard today and give you a good beating. You will not be able to get out of bed for three months."

"Empress..." Lai De frowned anxiously, and seemed a little scared.

"You still haven't said anything?"

"Okay, I'll tell you..." He looked around again, and after making sure that no one was passing by, he whispered in Ji Anni's ear, "The Queen Mother asked Concubine Bao to stay and continue to be a concubine."

"Empress Dowager?" Ji Anni was stunned. This palace is really weird. Who becomes the imperial concubine is not decided by the emperor, but by the Empress Dowager. But the weird thing is that the Empress Dowager and Concubine Baogui should be of the same generation, right? In other words, Concubine Baogui is not only the imperial concubine of the Empress Dowager's man, but also the imperial concubine of the Empress Dowager's adopted son. And the most incredible thing is that it was the Empress Dowager who took the initiative to ask Concubine Baogui to be the imperial concubine of her adopted son. Isn't this... a little too weird?

Ji Anni couldn't help but ask, "Why?"

"Oh, my queen, please stop asking. How could I possibly know these things? If you want to ask, go ask the Queen Mother. The answer to this question is probably only known by the Queen Mother herself in the entire palace."

"Well, I won't embarrass you, but you have to tell me why the incident of Guibao Fei encountering evil spirits three years ago is also taboo?"

Lai De said: "It's mainly because of the coincidence of time. Three years ago, a concubine who was pregnant with the previous emperor's child had just died, and Concubine Baogui was possessed by evil spirits, so everyone privately discussed that Concubine Baogui was possessed by the deceased concubine. What's more terrifying is that I heard from some old palace maids that when Concubine Baogui was possessed by evil spirits, she kept shouting..."

Having said this he suddenly stopped talking and only revealed a very horrified expression.

Ji Anni stretched her neck and waited for Lai De's next words. Seeing that he suddenly shut up, she couldn't help but patted his shoulder hard and said anxiously, "Hurry up and say it!"

Lai De cried out in pain, hesitated for a while, and then said to Ji Anni in a low voice: "Don't talk nonsense about this matter, or you will be beheaded. When Concubine Baogui was possessed...she kept shouting that it was Concubine Zhuang who killed her."

"Empress Zhuang?" Ji Anni was stunned. Who is this person? How come she has never heard of him?

Lai De said: "Noble Consort Zhuang is the current Empress Dowager. Her real name is An Yiru, and she was named Noble Consort Zhuang by the late Emperor. Noble Consort Zhuang became Empress because she adopted the little prince left by the concubine as her adopted son."

"Could it be that the deceased Concubine was killed by the Queen Mother?" Ji Anni's heart suddenly tightened, and she suddenly realized that she seemed to have heard a very scary story. Concubine Zhuang killed Concubine, adopted Concubine's child, and became the Queen, but Concubine's child also died three months later... Then, could the poor little prince also be killed by the Queen Mother?

The more she thought about it, the more horrible it became. Ji Anni couldn't help but shudder.

She had always felt that those palace mysteries and the harem's competition for favor were far away from her, but now after listening to Lai De's story, she felt that it was very real and very scary. The reason why it was scary was that several of the protagonists in the story were people she knew. When she thought about the many terrible things that happened around them three years ago, Ji Anni was horrified.

"Your Majesty, what I said to you today is just for your ears, and you must not tell anyone else, and don't say that I said it. Otherwise, my life will be in danger." Lai De pleaded with Ji Anni in fear.

"Okay, I understand. I won't tell anyone." Ji Anni gave Lai De reassurance.

"By the way, Your Majesty, since you know that these two things are taboos in the palace, you should avoid them if you can and never mention them." Lai De came to admonish Ji Anni like a senior.

Ji Anni's mind was full of those strange things that happened three years ago. She just ignored Lai De's words and waved her hand, saying, "Lai De, aren't you in a hurry? You go first."

"Well, your majesty, I'll take my leave now. Please be careful on your way." Lai De respectfully bowed to Ji Anni again and then hurried to the reporting place.

Ji Anni looked at his back, still thinking about what happened three years ago.

If the Queen Mother was really the murderer, then she was really terrible. She was ruthless and would do anything to get the position of Queen, and even murdered two people. And now, Shui Furong, the sister of the deceased concubine, actually came to the palace. Although Shui Furong did not say it clearly, based on her various behaviors before and after entering the palace, she came to the palace for the unjust death of her sister three years ago.

How would she react if she knew the Queen Mother's connection with this matter?

Although Shui Furong's father was the Grand Commander of Qingzhou, the other party was the Queen Mother after all. Even if the truth was found out, could she get justice for her sister? However, with Shui Furong's unyielding temper, she would never give in easily even if the other party was the Queen Mother.

So after much consideration, for the sake of the peace of the harem and Shui Furong's safety, Ji Anni decided not to disclose what she heard today. If Shui Furong had the ability, she could investigate it slowly by herself. One day, she would be able to find out the truth about the Queen Mother. Then she would see what she would do. Whether she lived or died had nothing to do with Ji Anni.

Whenever Ji Anni thought of Shui Furong's attitude when she bullied Yizhen, she hoped that she would be beaten dozens of times by the Queen Mother.