Chapter 41 Wait for her

After the emperor finished examining the dragon bones, he prepared to go back.

Eunuch Li suddenly said, "Xiaojiu's house is over there, the keel has been set up, I wonder if she needs to move?"

The emperor paused and looked back at the small house not far behind him.

The house where the eunuchs and palace maids lived was very small and located at the edge of the house. The emperor would not have even looked at it before, but today he stared at it for a while and asked, "What's wrong with her? Why hasn't she recovered yet?"

Eunuch Li knew that the emperor had forgotten about the murder, and since he had talked about it before, he just blurted it out.

The emperor looked at Eunuch Li in surprise, and said innocently: "You are talking nonsense. How could I kill people casually?"

If he wants to take action, he will let others do it.

Eunuch Li didn't know how to answer.

Because he was the one who killed the person, the scene was horrible, and Eunuch Li vomited when he came back...

The emperor asked again: "So she was frightened by this?"

Eunuch Li nodded: "That's what Doctor Jiang said."

The emperor frowned: "You are too timid."

Eunuch Li didn't think An Jiu was timid. After all, she was only in her teens and still a little girl. Facing the emperor was stressful enough. Watching the emperor kill people with her own eyes was indeed scary enough.

Eunuch Li echoed, "Little girl, you are a little timid after all."

The emperor snorted coldly.

But he didn't go to see An Jiu. He was the emperor, and it was a great blessing for him to ask a few questions. Did he expect him to enter that small shabby house?

…

"Have you heard?"

An Jiu was almost going moldy from staying in the room. She came out for a walk and heard a few palace maids talking.

"Autumn hunting. His Majesty takes people there every year. I heard it's a lot of fun. I wonder if we can go this time."

"Let's just forget about it. His Majesty brought along the people who served him."

"Oh... I really want to go. This is a rare opportunity to go out of the palace. The concubines in the harem are also preparing and want to go with me."

After listening to it, An Jiu also became curious about the autumn hunt.

The emperor's illness and inability to eat meat is actually a superficial symptom. An Jiu thinks that he must have suffered some kind of stimulation in his childhood, or seen an extremely bloody scene. In short, he will get sick when he sees raw meat or something.

Since autumn hunting involves hunting animals, the scene must be even more bloody. Wouldn’t the emperor go crazy?

Just as I was thinking this, Aunt Qu came. Seeing that An Jiu was in good spirits, she asked about her health.

An Jiu said: "I am well now, and I can go to Guanghua Palace to serve you tomorrow."

Aunt Qu sighed: "Xiaojiu..."

She seemed to want Anjiu to be more open-minded. Anjiu knew that Aunt Qu was a person who was cold on the outside but warm on the inside. Everyone in the palace was selfish, and Aunt Qu was kind to her. You can't force too much.

An Jiu said: "I can see things in a positive light and know the importance of things. Aunt, don't worry."

Aunt Qu breathed a sigh of relief, for she was afraid that she would be upset.

"Your Majesty, he... he is just sick..." Aunt Qu glanced at An Jiu, and seeing that she was fine, she said, "You should also go with us on this autumn hunt."

An Jiu was still thinking about the autumn hunt, but she didn't expect that it would be her turn. She was quite happy because she could leave the palace.

There is nothing more joyful than being able to leave the palace.

Maybe she could think of a way to escape.

Even if you can't, it's nice to go out and relax.

An autumn hunt seemed to liven up the originally lifeless harem, and everyone wanted to go along, so the stubborn concubines began to send people to Guanghua Palace to inquire about the news.

Aunt Qu dealt with it calmly.

An Jiu asked: "Aunt, will His Majesty bring concubines this time?"

Aunt Qu nodded: "Yes."

An Jiu didn't understand. Since the emperor didn't like these concubines and their presence might make him go crazy, why did he still bring them along?

Aunt Qu said: "The previous dynasty and the harem were all connected. Your Majesty has only been on the throne for a few years, and his foundation is not stable. He has no queen and no children..."

Aunt Qu is like a mother who is worried about her son.

"He is still unwilling to go to the harem, which makes the court officials even more dissatisfied. This time he took a few concubines with him just to show them to outsiders and court officials."

So that's how it is.

An Jiu nodded.

The concubines in the harem are also pitiful. It’s like they are married to a useless husband and they can’t even express their grievances.

"What do I need to prepare?"

Someone will prepare things for the tyrant. An Jiu is concerned about herself and she doesn't want to get sick again.

Aunt Qu told her to prepare thick clothes because it would be very cold in the wild, and also to prepare shoes to wear, because the shoes made in the palace would not be wearable on the roads in the wild.

"Doesn't that mean we need to wear those short boots?" An Jiu asked.

Aunt Qu nodded and said, "Everyone makes it themselves. It's too late now. You can go ask others if they have any ready to sell."

An Jiu has very few acquaintances in this palace.

But she can buy it. If there’s none in the palace, is there none outside the palace?

So An Jiu found Li Ji, and Li Ji smiled as soon as he saw her. An Jiu discovered that Li Ji actually looked quite good when he smiled, and he had that kind of feeling of a husband that made people feel at ease.

"I heard that you were sick. How are you now?" Li Ji asked.

"It's just a cold, it's better now." An Jiu also smiled at him. Li Ji stared at her face for a while, his ears turned a little red, but An Jiu didn't notice.

An Jiu said: "By the way, Brother Li, you said before that you can buy things from outside the palace, right?"

Li Ji asked: "What do you want to buy? I have to go home today, so I can bring it to you tomorrow."

An Jiu didn't want to buy much, so she made a list. Li Ji was surprised: "Can you write?"

An Jiu nodded: "A little bit."

Li Ji smiled: "But there are a few mistakes."

The characters of this era are completely different from those of later generations. An Jiu learned by comparing them, but he didn't expect to write them wrong.

She was a little embarrassed: "I'm learning to write recently."

Li Ji said: "Learning to write is a good thing."

The two people were chatting, not noticing that a pair of resentful eyes in the corner had been staring at them for a long time.

This person was Xiaohua. She was sent by Aunt Qu to the outer courtyard to do menial work. She was busy all day long. The wages in the outer courtyard were not high, and the old women and palace maids always bullied her.

She lived a life worse than death. When it was late at night and everyone was asleep, she often wondered why she was suddenly sent here when she was doing so well in Guanghua Palace?

After thinking about it, she only has Xiaojiu as her enemy.

This bitch always dislikes her. She must have said something to Aunt Qu.

Xiaohua hated Anjiu to death, but she couldn't do anything about Anjiu. She couldn't even see her. Today was just a coincidence. She was sent out by the head maid to get something, and she happened to see Xiaojiu and the guard talking furtively.

She thought of the time when she was in the same room with Xiaojiu. One time she woke up in the middle of the night and found that Xiaojiu was missing. She didn't pay attention at the time, but after a long time, Xiaojiu came back stealthily.

At that time, Xiaohua suspected that she was having an affair with one of the guards.

But there has been no chance to find out. Now it seems that it is related to the guard named Li.

Xiaohua’s eyes became colder and colder.

Anyone who dares to trip her up or harm her secretly, just wait for her.