northernbook Chapter 106 Retreating to Advance
Chapter 106 Retreating to Advance
As the figures got closer, it was clear that the two people in the lead were the Queen Mother and Concubine An. They moved very quickly and in the blink of an eye, they were only about ten meters away from Ji Anni. To be able to walk so fast, the Queen Mother must be furious and wanted to go to the right courtyard to find Ji Anni to question her, right?
Ji Anni felt a little nervous when her death was imminent, and looked at Hua Rong kneeling behind her anxiously.
Hua Rong looked up and nodded at her, using her firm gaze to convey as much encouragement as possible to Ji Anni.
Ji Anni looked at Die'er behind her again. She was worried that Die'er would be so scared that she would tremble. Unexpectedly, Die'er was braver than her at this moment. Not only did she not tremble, her expression was very calm. She didn't cry or feel afraid. Her eyebrows were slightly bent, and the corners of her eyes were filled with a smile that comforted and encouraged Ji Anni.
Being trusted can bring strength, but it can also bring burdens.
Ji Anni's palms were sweating, and she was still tightly holding the broken nameplate. She was ready to apologize as soon as the Queen Mother and Concubine An came a few steps closer.
At this time, the Queen Mother and her entourage had already arrived beside the Emperor.
When the eunuchs accompanying the Emperor saw that the Empress Dowager looked unhappy, they knelt down hastily, unable to even utter the words of greeting. It was as if a thousand-pound weight was weighing down their necks, and they knelt lower than the other. The group of young maids behind the Empress Dowager, however, knelt down in unison to greet the Emperor in a very polite manner, saying, "Long live the Emperor."
After a little delay, Concubine An also bowed her head and said, "Long live the emperor."
Why was Concubine An slow by half a beat? It was because her attention was drawn to Ji Anni for that half a beat.
After being kicked out by Ji Anni, she threw a tantrum in her own palace and then went straight to the Queen Mother's Palace to ask for help. She wanted the Queen Mother to teach Ji Anni and Die'er a lesson, but she didn't expect to meet the Emperor halfway. What made her even more uneasy was that Ji Anni, Hua Rong, and Die'er were all there... She didn't know what would happen.
The emperor saw that the queen mother's face was dark blue, and knew that she was angry, so he said timidly in a low voice: "Your son greets you. Is there anything wrong?"
The Queen Mother snorted, glanced at Ji Anni coldly, and said sharply: "Something's wrong, something big, someone in this palace wants to rebel. Just after being named an imperial concubine, she dared to speak rudely to the imperial concubine. If she really becomes the queen in the future, won't she not even take the emperor and me seriously?"
As soon as these words were uttered, everyone could tell that the Queen Mother's anger was directed at Ji Anni.
The emperor didn't know what happened yet. He wanted to ask Ji Anni, but he didn't know how to start. He wanted to persuade the queen mother to calm down, but he didn't dare to speak. So he just opened his mouth nervously, trying to speak several times but couldn't make a sound.
Ji Anni was a little afraid of the Queen Mother, but now that she heard that the Queen Mother had clearly pointed the finger at her, she gave it her all. Anyway, if you stick your head out, you'll get a knife. If you hide your head, you'll get a knife. It's a blessing, not a disaster. If it's a disaster, you can't avoid it. After taking a deep breath and calming down, Ji Anni calmly greeted the Queen Mother and Concubine An: "Good luck to the Queen Mother, good luck to Concubine An."
As soon as she finished speaking, Ji Anni pulled Die'er to kneel at the emperor's feet.
Everyone was shocked by her sudden kneeling action. Before they could react, they heard Ji Anni said to the emperor: "Your Majesty, do you remember that I said I made a big mistake today? I know that the Queen Mother will punish me in the future, so I am waiting here to show my sincerity in admitting my mistake."
Not knowing what Ji Anni was up to, the Queen Mother just snorted coldly. But Concubine An looked somewhat uneasy, her eyes repeatedly sweeping across Ji Anni and Die'er's faces.
At this time, the emperor was still confused and asked anxiously: "Zhao Ji, please explain clearly what you have done wrong."
Ji Anni said: "I made a mistake in breaking the nameplate that was supposed to be handed over to the emperor. Please punish me, Your Majesty."
After saying that, he raised the name tag in his hand above his head.
The emperor took the sign and looked at it, then asked, "Why is it broken?"
Ji Anni added: "My second mistake was to misunderstand Sister An's good intentions."
After these words came out, not only was the emperor extremely surprised, but even the Queen Mother and Concubine An looked at each other and exchanged glances quickly. Hua Rong, who was standing next to her, also raised her head and stared at Ji Anni's every move with a mixture of surprise and nervousness.
At this time, Ji Anni said, "Your Majesty, this is a long story, but it was all a misunderstanding. I asked my maid Die'er to take my name tag a few days ago, but Die'er accidentally lost it. After Die'er lost the name tag, she was afraid and dared not tell anyone, which delayed the time for me to hand in the name tag. But fortunately, Sister An found out the truth and punished Die'er for me."
As she spoke, Ji Anni signaled to everyone with her eyes that the timid Die'er was the palace maid next to her.
As soon as the emperor's eyes fell on Die'er's face, he immediately noticed the bloody burns on Die'er's lips and chin. He immediately understood everything and frowned and said, "Is this what you call 'a little punishment'? Zhao Ji, tell me, what kind of cruel torture did this little palace maid suffer?"
"It's pouring oil, Your Majesty." As if afraid that the emperor didn't understand, Ji Anni explained calmly, "It's pouring hot oil into Die'er's mouth to burn her mouth, so that she can't speak."
After hearing this, the emperor closed his eyes, not daring to imagine the tragic scene of Die'er being forced to drink oil.
Concubine An was also scared at this time, her face was pale, and she took a step back for fear that the emperor would blame her, and she tightly grabbed the empress dowager's sleeve as if asking for help. Although she didn't say anything, her eyes and expression showed her guilty conscience and nervousness at the moment.
The emperor looked at the horrible scars on Die'er's face, shook his head and sighed, "Noble Concubine An, how could you have the heart to do that?"
"emperor……"
Concubine An was about to explain, but Ji Anni interrupted and said, "Your Majesty, please listen to me. It's not Sister An's fault. Sister An only handed Die'er over to an aunt for disposal. It was that aunt who abused her power and used such cruel means. I believe that if Sister An punished Die'er personally, she would not have done such a heavy hand."
After that, she looked up at Concubine An and said, "Sister, Zhaoji misunderstood you and made you suffer. If you are still angry, just vent it to Zhaoji. For Die'er's mistakes, please tell me how to punish her."
Hearing this, Concubine An's face froze. She certainly understood Ji Anni's intention.
What aunt, what misunderstanding, in fact, all of these are steps paved for her by Ji Anni. As for whether to walk down this step, it is entirely up to Concubine An to decide. If she walks down the steps, she will have to let Ji Anni and Die'er go today and reconcile with them; but if she doesn't walk down, I'm afraid it will leave a very bad impression in the emperor's heart.
Ji Annie's tactic is called retreat in order to advance, to advance by retreating.
Although he let Concubine An go, he also gained the greatest possibility of peace for himself and Die'er. Otherwise, if he really confronted Concubine An, she would have the Queen Mother's support, and even if he was right, he was afraid that no one would dare to judge for him.