Crossing the Palace Fighting Fox Harem

Chapter 514: Meeting the Emperor

The venue was agreed to be the Imperial Garden. According to Hua Rong, the emperor had not left the palace for a long time, and today was the first time the emperor had visited the Imperial Garden in several months. Because the emperor had not appeared for a long time, there were many rumors in the palace that the emperor was seriously ill or even critically ill. Today would be an important moment for Long Mohan to prove that he was still alive.

The refreshing autumn breeze blew across my face, the sky was light and the ground was fragrant. Although it was already autumn, the Imperial Garden was still as colorful as spring. Due to the heavy rain some time ago, the soil in the garden was all swollen, and the smell of the soil was stronger than the fragrance of the flowers.

In a small hexagonal pavilion beside the Qinglan River, Ji Anni and Prince Ming had been waiting here for a long time. Hua Rong and Die Er stood on the steps in front of the pavilion, one on the left and one on the right, waiting for orders.

Prince Ming seemed a little restless, always stretching his neck and anxiously looking towards the path leading to the pavilion, anxious to see Long Mohan as soon as possible. Seeing him so eager, Ji Anni breathed a sigh of relief. Prince Ming had been cruelly abandoned by Long Mohan, and it was thought that he would have some grudges against Long Mohan in his heart, but unexpectedly, the simple-minded Prince Ming did not bear any grudges at all.

"Mother, look. Father is here." Prince Ming suddenly hugged Ji Anni's arm and pointed forward.

Ji Anni looked up and saw Long Mohan, and she was a little nervous. At this moment, she suddenly noticed that Prince Ming's expression changed from surprise to sadness in an instant. She didn't need to ask why, because Long Mohan was not alone at the party, and there was someone accompanying him.

Yizhen was holding Long Mohan's arm, helping him walk slowly towards her.

Prince Ming may not care about the pain of being abandoned, but he does not want to see his father being affectionate with another woman.

"Ming'er, Concubine Su Cong is your savior. If she hadn't risked her life to help you, you would never have been able to see your father. You must remember her kindness to you." Ji Anni took the opportunity to warn Prince Ming before Long Mohan and Yizhen approached.

Prince Ming was a little unhappy, but he still nodded sensibly.

At this time, Long Mohan and Yizhen were almost at the steps of the pavilion. Ji Anni held Prince Ming's hand, bowed her head and greeted him respectfully.

Long Mohan gently raised his hand to let them stand up. Ji Anni looked up and was shocked by Long Mohan's haggard appearance. His face was pale, and even his lips were almost bloodless and looked very dry. His eyes were half open and half closed, and he looked a little listless. His weak voice was full of fatigue, and his every move was very slow. If Yizhen hadn't supported him, Ji Anni really doubted whether he could stand up.

"Father..." Prince Ming called out worriedly, tears rolling down his eyes.

Long Mohan smiled at him, lowering his head and gently stroking his soft hair. "Ming'er, father is sorry for you... Do you hate father?"

It would have been better if he didn't say anything. As soon as he opened his mouth, Prince Ming could no longer hold back, sniffed, and burst into tears.

Ji Anni hurriedly hugged him and took out a handkerchief to wipe his tears. Long Mohan gently held Ji Anni's hand and said softly, "Let me do it."

Ji Anni was stunned for a moment. Long Mohan took the opportunity to take the handkerchief from her hand, squatted silently beside Prince Ming, and helped Prince Ming wipe the tears from his face.

"Father." Prince Ming cried and threw himself into Long Mohan's arms.

Long Mohan hugged him tightly, with a trace of emotion on his face. He bit his pale lips even tighter, as if he was desperately trying to suppress the urge to cry.

Ji Anni, Yizhen, Huarong, and Die'er watched this scene silently, all with faint smiles on their faces. Ji Anni's smile was the most melancholy and complicated, as she was worried about Long Mohan's health, but also happy that Prince Ming was finally reunited with his father.

At this time, Long Mohan suddenly picked up Prince Ming and walked towards the stairs.

Yizhen, who had been waiting quietly by the side, was startled and stepped forward to advise, "Your Majesty." She was obviously worried about Long Mohan's dragon body.

Long Mohan shook his head gently and said, "It's okay, I'm not so weak that I can't even hold the prince." However, Ji Anni could see that Long Mohan had almost used all his strength just to hold Prince Ming. Is he really that sick? After not seeing him for a long time, he felt like two different people.

Looking at the figures of Long Mohan and Prince Ming, Yizhen whispered softly in Ji Anni's ear: "That's great, Xiao Zhao."

Ji Anni looked back at Yizhen's warm smile, and the worry in her heart was slightly alleviated. She said softly, "Well, thank you, Yizhen."

Long Mohan had already learned from Yun Zhen that Ji Anni was not Zhao Ji, so in Long Mohan's mind, Zhao Ji was already dead, and now Zhao Ji was just a shell. His only family was the Prince Ming left to him by Zhao Ji. Therefore, he was kind to Prince Ming, but seemed a little distant to Ji Anni.

Although it was a family reunion, the real reunion was between Long Mohan and Prince Ming. The father and son, who had not seen each other for a long time, had a good chat. Yizhen and Ji Anni listened silently. Yizhen would occasionally interject a few words, but Ji Anni remained silent from beginning to end. Unless Prince Ming asked her, she would only answer a few words symbolically.

Long Mohan looked much better than before, and his pale face finally regained its lively expression. Prince Ming was even happier, as if he had long forgotten the life-and-death battle last night and had become the innocent child he once was.

Later, Long Mohan talked about letting Ji Anni and Prince Ming move out of the cold Xian Palace, but Ji Anni refused. Because the Ghost King also lived in Xian Palace now, Ji Anni was worried about leaving the Ghost King alone, so she insisted on not moving out. First, she was worried that if she was not there, no one would stop the Ghost King when he suddenly got angry; second, the Ghost King was Yun Zhen's body after all, and Ji Anni still had some attachment to him deep in her heart.

However, Ji Anni agreed to let Prince Ming live with Long Mohan and be taken care of by Yizhen. This time it was Prince Ming's turn to object. In desperation, everyone discussed and decided to maintain the status quo. Prince Ming still lived in Xian Palace with Ji Anni.

After chatting for a long time in the pavilion, at Yizhen's suggestion, the group went to the Imperial Garden for a while. Yizhen supported Long Mohan and walked in front with Prince Ming. Ji Anni, Huarong, and Die'er were three or four steps behind. Looking at the three people in front, Ji Anni had an incredible feeling, thinking that they were a family, and she was redundant. Now Yizhen and Long Mohan have accepted Prince Ming, it would be great if Prince Ming could also accept Yizhen.

At this time, Hua Rong whispered in Ji Anni's ear: "Congratulations, Your Majesty, for finally rescuing Prince Ming and reuniting with the Emperor. Now that Yuan Rong is dead, the palace will probably be peaceful for a while."

"Fortunately, Yizhen helped, otherwise Prince Ming might have become Yuanrong's burial companion..." Thinking back on it, he still felt scared. If Yizhen had not risked his life to suck Yuanrong out of Prince Ming's body, the Ghost King would have killed Prince Ming as well.

"Your Majesty, although the Emperor and Concubine Su Congfei have already accepted Prince Ming, there are still many people in the palace who are afraid of monsters. In order to prevent Prince Ming from being discriminated against and causing gossip in the palace, I have a suggestion." As he spoke, he looked up and observed Ji Annie's expression.

At this time, Hua Rong and Ji Anni were already more than ten steps behind Prince Ming and his companions.

Die'er is a mute and can't talk nonsense, so Huarong doesn't care if she hears what she says next.

"What suggestions?" Ji Anni asked. Hearing that it would be beneficial to Prince Ming's future life in the palace, Ji Anni was naturally very concerned.

Hua Rong said: "Now that Concubine Su Cong is the most favored by the Emperor, why not let Concubine Su Cong recognize Prince Ming as her adopted son and set an example for the others in the harem. In this way, when everyone sees that Concubine Su Cong and Prince Ming get along well, they will naturally accept Prince Ming slowly."

"Adopt him as an adopted son..." Ji Anni repeated softly, feeling a little shaken. She had to admit that in order for Prince Ming to be accepted by the others in the harem, it was indeed a good idea for the most favored concubine to adopt Prince Ming as an adopted son. Moreover, Yizhen was kind-hearted and was her best friend. If she was willing, how could Ji Anni refuse?

Hua Rong added: "Since Concubine An was able to be named the same mother concubine of the Ming prince, isn't Concubine Su more qualified than Concubine An?"

Before the identity of Prince Ming as a fox demon was exposed, Concubine An once tried to win the custody of Prince Ming from Ji Anni and was named the same mother concubine. After Prince Ming entered the palace, he lived with Concubine An for a long time, and later gradually returned to Ji Anni.

"Same mother..." Ji Anni murmured softly, thinking seriously. "For the sake of Prince Ming's future, Yizhen can indeed take care of him better than I can. But Prince Ming has always been a little dissatisfied with Yizhen, and I'm afraid he will be unhappy."

Hua Rong said: "Prince Ming is still young, and he only acts on his feelings. He doesn't know what is good for his future and what is not. Even if Prince Ming is confused and can't tell clearly, Your Majesty, don't you understand? As long as you make a decision that is truly beneficial to Prince Ming, even if Prince Ming doesn't understand it now, he will slowly understand it when he grows up."

As they talked, they couldn't help but walk very slowly. At this point, they were already a long way behind Prince Ming and his party.

Prince Ming found that Ji Anni was missing, and waved from a distance, calling out loudly: "Mother, mother, please walk faster."

Ji Anni responded and quickly quickened her pace to catch up.

The next day, Ji Anni and Prince Ming had just finished breakfast in Xian Palace when they suddenly heard the footsteps of many people outside the door.

Ji Anni looked out and found that it was Kang Xiaorong who was walking towards the room along the corridor with a eunuch and more than a dozen guards.

Kang Xiaorong was not afraid that Ji Anni was a fox demon, and he always came alone to visit Ji. The reason why he brought more than ten guards with him today must have been proposed by that eunuch. Ji Anni had met that eunuch several times and knew that he was Long Mohan's close attendant, Eunuch Hua.

He came here specially today. Could it be that he was here to deliver a message for Long Mohan?

Just when she thought of this, Ji Anni suddenly discovered that Eunuch Hua was holding a roll of yellow silk in his hand, which was clearly an imperial edict. She suddenly became nervous.

"Ming'er, come here quickly." Ji Anni hurriedly took Prince Ming's hand and rushed out.

The two sides met in the corridor. Eunuch Hua held up the imperial edict and shouted loudly: "The imperial edict has arrived, Concubine Zhao, Prince Ming, receive it."

Ji Anni and Prince Ming knelt on the ground hurriedly.

Eunuch Hua opened the imperial edict and read it aloud in the eunuch's unique voice: "The Emperor summons you by the will of Heaven: Prince Ming is gifted, diligent in study, benevolent, filial, respectful and polite. He is to be crowned the Crown Prince. From today on, he will move to the Crown Prince's Eastern Palace with his mother, Concubine Zhaoji. I decree this."