Crossing the Palace Fighting Fox Harem

Taking the clothes that Yuemao handed over, Ji Anni asked curiously, "Since you have returned the clothes to me, you don't have to bother me anymore, right?"

At this time, Princess Tianning finally turned around and said to Ji Anni, "Who said I was pestering you? I have a mission. I must teach you dining etiquette before tomorrow's dinner."

Ji Anni asked again: "Does that mean you won't show up after tomorrow night?"

"Am I so annoying?" Princess Tianning was devastated because the words "See you later" were clearly written on Ji Anni's face.

Ji Anni has already regarded striking down the self-righteous Princess Tianning as a kind of pleasure in life, so she seized this opportunity to bring up all the old accounts and settle them: "No, Princess, you are not annoying at all. You are loved by everyone and flowers bloom when you see you. However, Zhao Ji is of low status and is not worthy of the princess' condescending visit. I am afraid of causing gossips from others, saying that I have corrupted the princess. And didn't the princess say it herself? Zhao Ji is just a humble little concubine, and you, the princess, are a royal branch and jade leaf. I am not worthy of eating at the same table with you, and even the chair I have to sit on is lower than yours."

Ji Anni has not forgotten the uproar at the banquet on the first night she entered the palace.

Princess Tianning was speechless after hearing this. She knew she was wrong, but she refused to bow her head and apologize. She just kept mumbling, "I, I..."

Seeing Tian Ning at a loss, Hua Rong stepped forward to help and said, "Princess, let Concubine Zhao have breakfast first."

When she heard that she could eat, Ji Anni immediately smiled and agreed, "Yes, Princess, you came to my ear and nag me so early in the morning, which made me even hungrier. As the saying goes, man is iron and rice is steel, and if you don't eat, you will be hungry. The one who knows me is Huarong."

Ji Anni was so excited when she spoke that she made all the pretty girls laugh. Only Tian Ning had a stern face and tried to suppress her smile. She pretended to be a teacher and said, "Okay, after breakfast, this princess will start teaching formally."

"Yes, sir." Ji Anni saluted obediently.

****

The breakfast in the palace was actually very simple, usually a bowl of eight-treasure soup, sometimes with a small cake. Although simple, it had all the colors, aromas, and flavors. The color was bright, the aroma was fragrant, and swallowing it down made people feel like they were in a fairyland.

The greatest enjoyment for Ji Anni after entering the palace was to taste these palace delicacies every day.

But happy times are always short. She ate a bowl of eight-treasure soup mouthful by mouthful for more than ten minutes before she finally scraped the bottom of the bowl clean. Princess Tianning had been waiting impatiently, and before Ji Anni could savor the aroma of the food, she snatched the bowl away and said to her, "Now that you have washed your face and eaten your meal, you have to listen to me carefully."

Ji Anni wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and said, "I'm all ears."

Unexpectedly, just as she finished her words, she heard a "slap" sound and was slapped on the back of her hand by Princess Tianning.

"You are not allowed to wipe your mouth with the back of your hand. You must use a scented towel." Princess Tianning said, while pointing her chin at the two folded silk scarves on the plate. "The big one is for wiping your hands, and the small one is for wiping your mouth. After wiping, fold it and put it back."

If Princess Tianning hadn't said it, Ji Anni would have thought that the two scarves were used by palace maids to wipe the table.

Ji Anni obediently followed Princess Tianning's instructions and wiped her mouth and hands with the scented towel, waiting for her next order.

Tian Ning used his eyes to signal Hua Rong to remove the food utensils, cleared his throat, and taught: "People with good manners and those without good manners can be distinguished at a glance from their gestures. For example, you, Concubine Zhao, can be seen at a glance that you are the most uncultured person in the palace."

If someone has no manners, then he has no manners. There’s no need for you to add the word “most” specifically, right?

Ji Anni felt her self-esteem suffered a great blow.

"Time is tight now, and I don't have time to give detailed instructions. Let's start with the big picture." Princess Tianning became serious and actually quite methodical. She continued, "Tomorrow evening at the Xuantian Palace dinner, there will be two dragon banquet tables for the emperor and the empress dowager facing north, four tables in the west for the imperial concubines, and four tables in the east for the imperial concubines. There are thirty tables left, all for you concubines. Before the emperor, the empress dowager, the imperial concubines, and the imperial concubines take their seats, you concubines are not allowed to take your seats, otherwise it would be a crime of disrespect. When serving, hot dishes will be served first, followed by sweet dishes and cold dishes, and finally snacks and fruits. You are not allowed to eat before the person in the upper position starts eating. There will be music accompaniment during the banquet, and you can only go forward and hand in your name tags when the MC eunuch says "pass the cards". After the banquet, you must kneel down to see the emperor and the empress dowager off and return to the palace before you can return to the concubines' palace. Do you understand?"

"I roughly understand." Ji Anni nodded. Although Princess Tianning's conversation was long, the principles in it were all common sense, and Ji Anni understood most of it. The only thing she didn't understand was how the four tables in the east could accommodate the eight imperial concubines?

Ji Anni carried forward the great spirit of asking questions when she didn't understand, and raised her hand and said, "Princess, there are eight imperial concubines in the Eight Courts, why are there only four tables? Can they sit down?"

Princess Tianning couldn't help but sneer after hearing this, "How come you don't know anything? There are four palaces and eight courtyards, but the eight courtyards are not full. Now there are only four concubines in the Upper Palace, Concubine Lan in the Lower Palace, Concubine De in the Left Palace, and Concubine Xian in the Right Palace. The remaining four courtyards, the Upper Courtyard, the Lower Courtyard, the Left Courtyard, and the Right Courtyard, are all uninhabited. Maybe soon, my brother will add four concubines to the Imperial Courtyard, right?"

Ji Anni nodded after hearing this. In other words, there are now four imperial concubines in the harem: An, Bao, Gan, and Kang, four imperial concubines: Lan, De, Shu, and Xian, plus the thirty concubines who have just entered the palace, a total of thirty-eight concubines. It's not a lot, but it's not a small amount either. If the thirty-eight concubines take turns to serve the emperor for one night, then on average they will have a turn once a month.

This frequency was quite high for Ji Anni. The more she thought about it, the more horrified she felt. She hurriedly asked Tian Ning, "Princess, what is your brother's character like? Is he decent in his private life?"

But these two questions aroused Princess Tianning's suspicious look.

Tian Ning stared at Ji Anni's face, and asked in surprise and surprise, "You and my brother have lived in the Qi Palace for five or six years. Shouldn't you know my brother better than I do?"

Ji Anni suddenly remembered that the emperor had been a hostage in Qi for many years and was only welcomed back to the capital to inherit the throne three months ago. In other words, Princess Tianning's contact with the emperor would not exceed three months, and she certainly did not know the emperor as well as Zhao Ji.

Seeing that she was about to let the cat out of the bag, Ji Anni was quick to react. She remembered that she was shot by an arrow a few days ago and hurriedly said, "Princess, have you forgotten? Since Zhao Ji was shot by a poisonous arrow, she has forgotten everything that happened outside the palace... Of course, this also includes the things that happened with the emperor in the Qi Palace..."