Crossing the Palace Fighting Fox Harem

Ji Anni sighed hypocritically and said, "I'm sorry, Queen Mother... I'm afraid Zhao Ji's answer will disappoint you again, because there is no mark on the arrow feathers... at all."

"This is impossible." The Queen Mother stared at Ji Anni's face.

Ji Anni responded calmly: "It was me who saw the mark, not the Queen Mother. How does the Queen Mother know that it is impossible? Now the physical evidence has turned to ashes, and I am the only witness. Now the Queen Mother doesn't even believe what I, the only witness, say. How can we continue to investigate the case? Queen Mother, listen to Zhao Ji's words, let this matter pass, and don't pursue it."

Ji Anni's little trick made the Queen Mother so angry that she was speechless.

Concubine An, who had been standing behind the Queen Mother, interrupted anxiously, "Nonsense, the markings on the arrow feathers clearly say..."

At this point, Concubine An's voice stopped abruptly. If she said now that the label was Bao's red, it would involve the harem again; if she said it was black, it would expose the relationship between Hua Rong and her; if she said it was any other color, it would be a fabrication. As long as Ji Anni didn't admit it, she and Ji Anni would stick to their own opinions and the matter would not end.

After thinking it over for a while, Concubine An finally chose to remain silent. She only cursed Hua Rong and Ji Anni in her heart. First, she cursed Hua Rong for not confirming that Ji Anni had dyed the mark black before reporting to her, and second, she cursed Ji Anni for some unknown trick and not listening to Hua Rong's opinion.

Seeing that Concubine An was silent, the Queen Mother asked again: "Zhao Ji, since you insisted that there was no mark on the arrow, why did you break the arrow at that time?"

Ji Anni said nonsense: "I probably wanted to pull the arrow out, but it was too painful. Not only did I fail to pull the arrow out, but I broke the arrow feathers instead."

"What nonsense!" The Queen Mother had gradually lost her patience with Ji Anni's nonsense and her shouts became louder and louder.

The other concubines who had returned from Renhe Hall gathered outside the door to watch the excitement. Ji Anni looked up inadvertently and saw Yizhen's worried face. Ji Anni looked over the shoulders of the Queen Mother and Concubine An and gave Yizhen a comforting look, as if to say, "It's okay, I'll take care of them right away." But Yizhen's frowning eyebrows were still not relaxed, she was worried and scared.

In order to get the Queen Mother and Concubine An to return home as soon as possible, Ji Anni said, "Queen Mother, even if there is a mark on the arrow feather, it cannot prove who shot the poison arrow. If you were the criminal, would you be stupid enough to use an arrow that can prove your identity to kill someone? This is obviously a frame-up. Now that the arrow feather is destroyed, please don't pursue this matter, Queen Mother, and let this matter end."

The Queen Mother sneered, "Zhao Ji, you are clearly shielding a criminal!"

Ji Anni said sincerely, "Queen Mother, Zhao Ji is definitely not shielding the criminal. I was the one who fell off the horse, and I was the one who was shot by the arrow. I want to know the real identity of the criminal more than anyone else. But if my curiosity will make innocent people bear the blame and cause unrelated people to be implicated, I have no choice but to restrain my curiosity. Now even I, the victim, don't want to investigate, why do you still insist on investigating?"

To put it bluntly, this is called "The emperor is not in a hurry to kill the eunuchs" and Zhao Ji is not in a hurry to kill the empress dowager.

The Queen Mother said, "Okay, Zhao Ji, even if I stop the investigation as you wish, what will happen if you are killed again next time? If someone wants to kill you, they will try to kill you a second time if they fail once. Aren't you afraid of death?"

"Of course Zhao Ji is afraid of death, but she is more afraid of wrongly accusing good people."

"How do you know that I can't catch the real murderer? How can you be sure that I have wrongly accused a good person? Zhao Ji, I am thinking about your safety and the peace of this harem, but you have repeatedly protected the criminal and advised me not to investigate. Do you know who the criminal is?"

"It doesn't matter if you know or not. Queen Mother, there is no physical evidence in this case now. I am the witness, but you don't believe what I say. How will you continue the investigation? Even if you can find a criminal in the end, do you think others will be convinced? Will they believe that a criminal can be found in a case with no physical or human evidence? If the Queen Mother really cares about the peace of the harem, she should not insist on the investigation."

"What a clever speaker you are, Zhao Ji. You have even made me speechless."

"My Queen, I don't mean to argue. I just want to sincerely remind you that if you insist on investigating this case, no matter what the result is, it will not bring you any benefits. If the criminal is caught, people will secretly talk about you making a random judgment; if the criminal is not caught, people will secretly talk about you causing panic in the harem. So, why are you so keen on this thankless task?"

"You really care about me." The Queen Mother said with a wry smile.

Ji Anni pretended not to understand the sarcasm in her words and deliberately flattered her: "The Queen Mother is the head of the harem and is respected by everyone, and Zhao Ji is no exception."

The Queen Mother did not reply, but laughed twice grimly, as if she had carefully considered what Ji Anni had just said. Indeed, if Ji Anni, the only witness, insisted that there was no mark on the arrow feathers, no matter how they investigated, they would definitely not be able to find a convincing answer in the end. In other words, this was indeed a thankless task.

"Ruoxuan, what do you think?" The Queen Mother turned her head slightly to the side and asked Concubine An for her opinion.

Although this sentence was a question in form, Ji Anni could tell from the Queen Mother's tone that she no longer had any intention of pursuing the matter further. Instead, she used this question to tell Concubine An that the matter should be left at that.

Since even an outsider like Ji Anni could hear the hidden meaning in the Queen Mother's words, how could Concubine An, her own niece, not understand what the Queen Mother meant? After knowing that the Queen Mother had no intention of investigating, although Concubine An was unwilling, she had no choice but to stare at Ji Anni in silence. Her gaze was sharper than a knife, as if it could stare two holes in Ji Anni's body.

The corners of Ji Anni's mouth curled up slightly, revealing a faint smile, as if she was mocking Concubine An.

The Queen Mother waited for a while, but when Concubine An did not reply, she announced her decision: "Since there is no evidence, we will not find any convincing results even if we continue to investigate this case. In addition, Zhao Ji herself is not enthusiastic about this matter and is indifferent to the identity of the criminal. I would rather save myself the trouble and stop investigating."

"The Queen Mother is wise." Ji Anni's wish was fulfilled and she smiled happily.

"Please get up." The Queen Mother raised her hand and motioned Ji Anni to get up.

Ji Anni had been kneeling on the ground since the Queen Mother entered the room. Her knees were aching from kneeling for so long. When she heard the Queen Mother asking her to stand up, she stood up with a little gratitude in her heart. Just as she was about to thank her, she heard the Queen Mother majestically warn her, "Zhao Ji, although I don't know why you are shielding the real murderer, you should learn a lesson from this incident. I'm giving you a piece of advice. Don't show off too much, otherwise you will get yourself killed."