novel-bin Chapter 113 Specious
Chapter 113 Specious
Before knocking on Yizhen's door, Ji Anni took a special look at the lucky bag hanging by the door. The necklace in the bag seemed to have been taken away, so the purse looked flat.
It’s a pity that I didn’t see Yizhen’s expression when she found the necklace... Ji Annie felt a little regretful.
"Yizhen?" Ji Anni knocked on the door and called softly. She thought she would hear Yizhen's reply immediately, but there was no response from inside the door.
Weird? Why hasn't he come back yet?
Ji Anni wanted to put her ear against the door to listen carefully, but just as she put her ear close, the door suddenly opened. Ji Anni threw herself forward with an unstable center of gravity, thinking that she would fall and get bruised, but she ended up falling into a warm embrace.
Before she could react to what was happening, she heard the figure holding her say, "Xiao Zhao, I knew you would come."
"Yizhen, since you are here, why don't you say anything?"
"I've got a surprise for you." Yizhen smiled mysteriously and pointed to the table full of dishes behind her.
Only then did Ji Anni smell the mouth-watering aroma of food coming from the room.
Yizhen said, "I went to visit Empress Bao this morning. When I came back at noon, I saw this wooden bead necklace and knew it was left to me by you, Xiaozhao. You have just been promoted to imperial concubine, so there must be a lot of things to take care of. I didn't dare to invite you to my place." Then she pulled Ji Anni to sit at the table and said, "These are some local dishes. I wonder if they suit your taste."
"Everything Yizhen cooks is delicious." Ji Anni's mouth was as sweet as honey. In fact, this was not entirely flattery. Yizhen's cooking skills were indeed not simple. Just by scanning the dishes on the table, one could not help but sigh that it was a feast for the eyes. There were fragrant chicken, tofu fish, and even a small flower carved from radish on a plate of green vegetables, which was so delicate.
If I had known Yizhen had prepared such delicious food, why would I have gone through the trouble of preparing the barbecue?
But since it was already prepared, it would be a pity not to eat it. So Ji Anni suggested: "Yizhen, why don't you just bring all these dishes to my right courtyard? I just prepared a big meal for you, and I must celebrate your birthday tonight."
Yizhen was surprised and delighted, and hurriedly said, "Xiao Zhao, tonight you are not only wishing me a happy birthday, but also wishing you a promotion to imperial concubine. Double happiness."
"Ah..." Ji Anni laughed dryly and sighed. In fact, she didn't think that being promoted to the imperial concubine was something worth celebrating. However, it was precisely because she became the imperial concubine that she could live in the right courtyard and have a place to hold barbecue parties.
Thinking about it this way, it seems that being an imperial concubine is not bad. As long as the emperor doesn't bother me every other day, everything will be fine.
***
Ji Anni asked Hua Rong to find a few small baskets to take all the dishes cooked by Yi Zhen to the Pianyou Courtyard. But Hua Rong said that she was afraid that the dishes would get cold and it would be bad for the stomach, so she asked Die Er to send the dishes to the imperial kitchen to heat them up first. So the four of them split up into two groups, Hua Rong and Die Er went to heat up the dishes, while Ji Anni and Yi Zhen went back to the Pianyou Courtyard first.
Along the way, Ji Anni kept complaining to Yizhen about how cruel Concubine An was and how she abused Die'er so badly. Fortunately, Die'er was strong, otherwise she would have committed suicide long ago.
Yizhen felt distressed after hearing this and said sympathetically, "Although Die'er is pitiful, fortunately she followed the right master. Xiao Zhao, you are probably the only one in the harem who would stand up for her like this. The reason Die'er is safe and sound is all thanks to you."
Ji Anni didn't dare to take credit for herself, and hurriedly sighed and said, "What credit do I have? It's all because of me that Die'er was hurt. If Die'er's master wasn't me, she wouldn't have been hurt at all."
Yizhen comforted her, "Fortunately, everything is over. Die'er survived this time, I hope she won't suffer any more hardships in the future. Xiaozhao, you don't have to blame yourself too much. In fact, you can tell from Die'er's eyes that she doesn't blame you at all. Not only does she not blame you, but she respects you very much. Xiaozhao, maybe this is a good thing. Die'er will definitely follow you wholeheartedly in the future."
"How is this a good thing?" Ji Anni still couldn't be happy. "I would rather she was like Huarong, who could supervise me in everything, otherwise I wouldn't even know when I got into trouble. Die'er is too soft, she does whatever I ask her to do, as if she believes that she is my slave. And Huarong is too strong, I can't know what she is thinking. So now these two maids around me, Huarong is the whip, Die'er is the honey, they complement each other, and neither of them can be missing. My life will be difficult without either of them."
Yizhen smiled softly after hearing this and said, "I didn't expect that you, Xiao Zhao, are so thoughtful."
Ji Anni took Yizhen's words as a joke, so she also replied in a joking tone: "I have to think about it, my life is at stake. I have been wanting to sleep a lot recently, probably because I have been overusing my brain. I used to be able to speak and act without thinking, but now I can't, I have realized how serious it is. The Queen Mother has also warned me that if I make a mistake again, she will never forgive me."
"By the way, Xiaozhao, what kind of person is the emperor?" A serious gleam suddenly flashed in Yizhen's eyes.
"Your Majesty..." Ji Anni didn't really want to talk about this topic. Well, since Yizhen asked, she would just comment on it. But after thinking for a long time, she finally came up with a sentence: "...He, should not be a bad person."
"Is that a good person?" Yizhen seemed very interested and subconsciously moved Ji Anni closer.
"Good guy? Hmm... this statement is somewhat specious, it seems to be right, but it feels a little wrong." Ji Anni tried hard to recall the wonderful night she spent with the emperor the night before. "His presence is too weak, so weak that I can't judge whether he is good or bad. He is like a stone on the side of the road. If you see it, you see it, if you don't see it, you don't see it. No one would ever ask whether a stone lying on the side of the road is good or bad, right? Because there is no way to judge, there is no way to answer, don't you think?"
After hearing this, Yizhen couldn't help but laugh. "Xiao Zhao, you are so funny. If the emperor heard it, I wonder what his expression would be?"
"He will probably have a wry smile on his face, haha." Thinking of the emperor's wry smile, Ji Anni couldn't help laughing.
"But the emperor really loves you, Xiao Zhao."
"Alas, a man with four palaces, eight courtyards and thirty concubines, what kind of true love do you expect from him?" In fact, Ji Anni did not expect the emperor to love only Zhao Ji. Because men in this era had no concept of being faithful to a woman, especially the emperor who was on the throne, no matter how good his character was, he would definitely have many wives and concubines and love the world.
"But..." Ji Anni also became a little serious, "I think the emperor is a very lonely person. That night, I talked to him all night. He seemed to have a lot to say, but he couldn't find anyone to listen. Maybe what he needs is not someone to sleep with him, but someone who can treat him sincerely and not let him feel lonely and helpless."