Crossing the Palace Fighting Fox Harem

Chapter 135: Year Under the Tree

The night she was locked up in the dungeon, Ji Anni not only did not feel sad, but she felt very happy because she talked with Yun Zhen for a long time, and she kept talking until she could no longer open her eyes, and then she was willing to shut up.

Yun Zhen stood up and said goodbye. Before leaving, he said to Ji Anni, "Your Majesty, don't be afraid. Yun Zhen will stay in the dungeon tonight. If you find anything unusual, he will respond immediately and will never let your Majesty suffer any harm."

As long as he said this, Ji Anni felt extremely relieved.

"Yun Zhen, you don't have to worry about me. I have been fighting since I was a child. When I was in junior high school, I caught a gangster with my bare hands and was commended in the city for several months. So Yun Zhen, you don't have to be too nervous. Rest when you need to. I can protect myself." Ji Anni patted her chest, signaling Yun Zhen not to worry.

Yun Zhen smiled at her and said, "It's getting late, Madam, go to sleep."

Ji Anni nodded obediently. She had always been very well behaved in front of Yun Zhen.

After watching Yun Zhen disappear at the end of the dungeon, Ji Anni returned to her bed. Lai De and the others probably feared that Ji Anni would get cold, so they laid three layers of mattresses on her bed, making it as soft as cotton. She sank into it as soon as she lay down.

Perhaps because she was too tired from chatting, Ji Anni fell asleep as soon as she closed her eyes...

***

In her dream, the scene in front of her eyes gradually became brighter, and in the brilliant white light, she saw a very tall tree.

The trunk is very thick, so thick that it no longer looks like a tree trunk, but more like a mottled and bumpy wall.

Looking up along the wall of tree trunks, I saw that the sky was blocked by layers of dense branches and leaves. The leaves seemed to be eager to prove their own life and tried their best to be as green and fresh as possible.

You can faintly hear a few clear bird calls, everything is so vivid and exudes infinite vitality.

Ji Anni looked up at the tree for a long time until she felt dizzy. Suddenly, she heard a voice in her ear:

"What are you looking at?" a gentle male voice asked.

"I'm waiting for the tree to bloom." A clear female voice.

"This tree does not bloom."

"Yes, I've seen it bloom. It has beautiful white flowers."

"I have never seen it bloom since I was born. You look no older than me. When did you see it bloom?"

"It was a long time ago, so long ago that I even forgot when it was..."

"A year ago? Two years ago? Ten years ago?"

"No, none of them... It seems to be a hundred years ago, two hundred years ago, or maybe... a thousand years ago."

"You must be lying."

"I don't have one. If you don't believe me, you can wait with me until it blooms white flowers all over the tree."

"Wait a thousand years?"

"Maybe one thousand years, maybe two thousand years, three thousand years... maybe... even longer."

"I would have died a long time ago."

"Even if you die, you still have children and grandchildren. They will see the tree full of white flowers for you. Are you willing to wait with me... Are you willing... Are you willing...?"

The girl's voice kept echoing in the air for a long time before finally fading away.

Suddenly, the white light disappeared and everything around became pitch black.

In the darkness, a flash of lightning appeared in the sky, and the lightning struck straight towards the treetops.

A cluster of bright red flames danced and burned, quickly wrapping around the entire tree like a snake.

The rolling heat wave rushed towards Ji Anni, and she screamed and stepped back in fear.

Suddenly, her feet could not move. She looked down and saw that her ankles were chained. She wanted to scream, but her mouth was blocked by rags and she could not make a sound. Then, her hands were tied behind her back and her whole body was tightly wrapped in chains.

The raging fire surrounded her, and she saw the burnt charcoal ash floating in the heat waves and slowly rising.

Her skin began to hurt, and there were crackling sounds and bursts of burning smells.

No, I don’t want to die yet…I don’t want to die…

A force gradually gathered in the body and finally turned into a round bead.

The beads fell to the ground and rolled forward along the sloping ground...

Baby, baby...

The surroundings suddenly became quiet, and the crackling sound of the burning fire was drowned out by the low call.

Baby, baby...

The fire faded away, leaving only endless darkness.

In the darkness, an invisible black ball kept rolling forward.

Amid the crisp rolling sound of the baby's head, "Baby, baby..." this slightly miserable call echoed loudly...

***

"wait……"

Ji Anni finally uttered a syllable and subconsciously followed the sound of the beads rolling, wait for me...

"Wait for me!" Ji Anni screamed, and suddenly opened her eyes, only to find herself lying on the bed.

The dungeon's familiar walls surrounded it, and warm sunlight streamed into the room through the window.

It's already morning...

Ji Anni hadn't woken up from the nightmare of being burned by the fire yet, and her head was a little dizzy.

Strange, why did I have such a strange dream?

In the dream, there was no one in sight except the big tree, but I could hear the voices of a man and a woman talking. The feeling of being burned by the blazing fire was so real that the clear pain seemed to still remain on my skin.

"Baby..." Recalling the last two words she heard in her dream, Ji Anni couldn't help but feel a chill running down her spine.

A bead that calls out "baby", isn't that just like the legend of the Demon-Suppressing Temple?

Legend has it that during the reign of Emperor Taizu, a concubine who gave birth to a fox was burned to death in a fire. Later, in order to commemorate the spirit of the concubine, the palace where she used to live was converted into a shrine. The fox demon turned into a black fox bead, but no matter which Taoist temple the fox bead is sealed in, it will return to the demon-suppressing shrine the next day.

Finally, they had no other choice but to seal the fox bead in the demon-suppressing temple.

Ji Anni was sorting out her thoughts when she suddenly heard footsteps coming towards her.

"Empress, are you awake?" Lai De's voice came from outside the iron bars.

When Ji Anni looked up, she not only saw Lai De, but also Yun Zhen, Hua Rong and Die Er.

"Why are you all here?" Ji Anni was stunned.

Yun Zhen said: "Congratulations, Your Majesty. You have been acquitted and can return to the Pianyou Courtyard now."

"What?" Ji Anni didn't believe that everything would be calm after she woke up.

Yun Zhen said, "Your Majesty, go and thank Princess Tianning. You were able to escape unharmed this time, all thanks to the princess."

"I knew it..." Ji Anni muttered, not knowing whether to be happy or sad. Being acquitted is good, but Tian Ning helped her a lot this time, so it is inevitable that he will regard himself as a benefactor and show off in front of her. Ji Anni can't stand it.

At this time, Huarong and Die'er had already walked into the cell, one of them made the bed for Ji Anni, and the other helped Ji Anni to tidy up her appearance. After about a quarter of an hour of work, everything was finally arranged. After Ji Anni said goodbye to Lai De, Yun Zhen and others one by one, she walked back to the right courtyard accompanied by Huarong and Die'er.

Walking slowly along the Qinglan River, feeling the breeze on your face, you feel comfortable and relaxed.

Ji Anni suddenly said, "By the way, why don't we go to the West Palace to visit Concubine Baogui?"

She was afraid that she would be harassed by a bunch of concubines after returning to the right courtyard.

Unexpectedly, after she said this, Huarong and Dieer's expressions changed.

"What's wrong?" Ji Anni smelled something unusual.

"Your Highness." Hua Rong slowly lowered her eyelashes and whispered, "Your Highness, if you want to go to the West Palace to see Concubine Baogui, you can't go empty-handed."

Ji Anni didn't think much about it and answered casually, "That's right. I have received so much care from Concubine Baogui, I should give her a little gift."

"Your Majesty..." Hua Rong seemed to be hesitant to speak.

"What happened?" Ji Anni felt that something was a little unusual.

Hua Rong said: "My Lady, what you are going to give is not a thank you gift... but a gift of congratulation."

"Gift?" Ji Anni was stunned and still didn't quite understand.

Hua Rong slowly raised her eyes and said seriously, "Your Majesty, Concubine Baogui is... pregnant with a dragon fetus."