Crossing the Palace Fighting Fox Harem

Chapter 307 Prison Break

"Shortbread?" Yizhen was stunned for a moment.

"It's the kind of snack that's golden, round, layered, crispy and crunchy." Seeing Yizhen's confused expression, Ji Anni thought she didn't know what a shortbread was, so she hurriedly explained to her.

"So Prince Ming likes to eat shortbread?" Yizhen murmured to herself. Thinking carefully, it seems that the imperial kitchen has never made shortbread for Prince Ming. Could this be a miracle medicine to cure Prince Ming's anorexia?

"Yizhen, why don't you try making some shortbread for Prince Ming? Maybe his appetite will suddenly increase," Ji Annie suggested.

"Okay, I'll try..." Yizhen agreed.

Ji Anni still felt something was wrong, so she said, "Yizhen, why don't you teach me how to make shortbread? ... I promised Prince Ming that I would make shortbread for him myself."

"But we can't move the materials..." Yizhen was in a dilemma. It would be convenient if Ji Anni could go to the imperial kitchen, but the problem was that Ji Anni couldn't leave Wenhua Courtyard at all, let alone go to the imperial kitchen.

Ji Anni had already had an idea, but she was afraid that Yizhen would not agree. "Yizhen... can you please do me a favor?"

Yizhen tilted her head and asked, "What's the matter?"

Ji Anni smiled guiltily and whispered a few words into Yizhen's ear.

After hearing this, Yizhen's face changed drastically. She kept shaking her head and said, "No, no, if someone finds out, you'll be punished."

Ji Anni covered Yizhen's mouth and lowered her voice and said, "It doesn't matter. As long as you don't say it and I don't say it, who else will know?"

"But..." Yizhen is timid and always behaves in a proper manner, not daring to make any mistakes.

"Yizhen, please help me this time. Just think of it as for Prince Ming. You don't want to see him getting thinner day by day, right?"

"Why don't we go and ask the Emperor first?" Yizhen suggested.

"No, no, the emperor must not know." Ji Anni immediately objected. From what Prince Ming said, it can be heard that Zhao Ji should be very good at making shortbread, but if the emperor knew that she was a layman in making shortbread and had to rely on Yizhen's guidance to make shortbread, he would definitely be very surprised, and he would be suspicious.

By then, I'm afraid my secrets won't be hidden anymore...

Therefore, the emperor must not be informed about making the pastries, and the action must be done in secret.

Yizhen still didn't dare to do it. After half an hour of repeated persuasion from Ji Anni, she finally nodded reluctantly. Then, Yizhen left Wenhua Courtyard and secretly found a set of palace maid's clothes for Ji Anni. She hid the clothes in the medicine box and brought them to Ji Anni in Wenhua Courtyard without anyone noticing.

Ji Anni, who changed into a maid's uniform and tied up her bun, climbed out of the window. Ji Anni crossed the grassland and met Yizhen outside the peach garden. Then the two pretended to be master and servant and left Wenhua Courtyard together. Fortunately, there were not many people in Wenhua Courtyard, and they walked all the way without meeting anyone. After leaving Wenhua Courtyard, the two went straight to the imperial kitchen.

Yizhen had few friends in the palace and her status was not prominent, so no one paid much attention to her. Even when they met several patrolling guards and passing eunuchs on the road, no one paid attention to who the little maid next to Yizhen was.

In this way, Yizhen and Ji Anni arrived at the imperial kitchen safely.

In the imperial kitchen, Yizhen had many acquaintances, and people kept greeting her, and Yizhen returned their greetings one by one. Fortunately, Yizhen usually came to the imperial kitchen alone and never brought a maid with her, so the eunuchs in the imperial kitchen had never seen what the maids who served Yizhen looked like, and the unfamiliar Ji Anni did not arouse their suspicion.

When Yizhen brought Ji Anni to their destination, the pastry shop, Yizhen was already scared out of her wits and broke out in cold sweats.

Before entering the pastry room, Yizhen told the eunuch that she would borrow the pastry room temporarily and asked others not to disturb them. The eunuch agreed without thinking too much and said that Concubine Su Cong could rest assured that no one would come to disturb them.

Logically speaking, a place like the imperial kitchen should be especially wary of poisoning, and every step of the meal preparation process should be monitored by many eyes. However, Yizhen and the servants in the imperial kitchen knew each other well, and everyone trusted Yizhen's character, so no one suspected that she would do anything wrong.

"Huh... That's great, no one noticed..." Yizhen closed the door and touched her chest, still in shock.

"I told you it was okay, haha." Seeing her wish come true, Ji Anni smiled triumphantly.

"Xiao Zhao, I'll only help you this time. Don't ever sneak out again in the future." Yizhen reminded worriedly.

"Okay, okay, let's get started." Ji Anni didn't want to listen to her nagging, so she rolled up her sleeves and prepared to get to work.

"But after we make the pastry, how can we send it to Prince Ming? We can't say it was made by you..." Yizhen frowned in distress. If it was said that the pastry was made by Ji Anni herself, wouldn't Ji Anni's escape from prison be exposed?

"That's true..." Ji Annie touched her chin and began to think about this issue seriously.

"Xiao Zhao, so you haven't thought of anything yet? I thought you already had an idea." Yizhen curled her lips slightly in dissatisfaction. She risked her life to help Ji Anni escape from Wenhua Courtyard, but the other party didn't have a perfect plan at all. It was really disheartening.

"Then just say you did it." Ji Anni blurted out.

Anyway, as long as I can learn how to make shortbread today, I will have the opportunity to make it for Prince Ming in the future. I am afraid that I know nothing about shortbread and will be exposed sooner or later. So the sooner I learn how to make shortbread, the more at ease Ji Annie will be.

"Oh..." Yizhen had no choice but to sigh softly.

Now that people have come to the imperial kitchen, we can't just do nothing and send Ji Anni back, right?

With no other options, Yizhen had to accept reality and stopped complaining about Ji Anni's recklessness. She brought some flour and taught Ji Anni how to make sesame cakes step by step. From making the dough to putting the cakes on the griddle, Yizhen demonstrated while Ji Anni learned.

The movements seemed easy enough for Yizhen to do, but when Ji Anni did them herself, she always seemed clumsy.

Hard work pays off. With Ji Annie's unremitting efforts, she finally made shortbread that was presentable enough to be served on the table.

Take a taste, it’s crispy and delicious, not greasy. After eating one, you’ll want to eat more and can’t stop.

"Haha, I didn't expect that I actually have some talent in cooking. After I get out of prison, I will definitely take you, Yizhen, as my master and learn your skills." Ji Annie looked at the shiny golden biscuits and was very satisfied with the results of her labor.

"Okay, Xiao Zhao, it's getting late, you should go back early." Yizhen urged while putting the finished shortbreads into the basket one by one. Excluding the three that Ji Anni ate in the name of "tasting", there were still three left in the basket.

Ji Anni looked up at the sun hanging low in the sky and estimated that her trip had taken her at least two hours. If she didn't get back quickly, she would be in danger of being exposed.

"Yizhen, I'm leaving the pastries in your hands. You must deliver them to Prince Ming." Ji Anni held Yizhen's hand tightly.

"I also want to deliver it to Prince Ming as soon as possible, but...but..." Yizhen said hesitantly, "Prince Ming lives in the East Palace..."

The implication is that Yizhen is a little afraid of the hostess of the East Palace, Concubine An, so she doesn't want to go. It's not Yizhen's fault, even Ji Anni rarely sets foot in the East Palace. But if Yizhen doesn't go, who can Ji Anni entrust?

"Yizhen, I know I'm sorry...but, I can only ask you for help..."

Yizhen was the only one who knew that Ji Anni had escaped from prison, and Yizhen was the only one who knew that Ji Anni had sneaked into the imperial kitchen to make pastries. So, there was really no other candidate except Yizhen to take on the task of delivering the pastries.

Yizhen couldn't resist Ji Anni's puppy-like begging eyes. Although she was a little scared, she nodded helplessly.

When she saw Yizhen nod, Ji Anni immediately shouted happily: "Great! Yizhen, I love you!"

"Okay, okay, there's no time to lose. Xiao Zhao, you should go back quickly." Yizhen put on the basket of shortbread and pushed Ji Anni towards the door. "No, it's too dangerous for you to go back alone. I'll take you to Wenhua Courtyard."

A little maid walking around the palace alone might seem a bit eye-catching, but if she follows her master, it would be much more natural. Yizhen was a good person to the end, and she sent Ji Anni to the west. After all, she was the one who brought her out of Wenhua Courtyard.

"Yizhen, you are so nice." Ji Anni rushed over and hugged Yizhen, almost jumping for joy.

"Slow down, slow down." Yizhen had to deal with Ji Anni and protect the basket on her arms, and she almost fell down.

#

When Ji Anni and Yizhen returned to Wenhuayuan again, it was almost evening.

Ji Anni crossed the grass field and climbed back into the room through the window. God bless, no one had noticed that she had been away from the room for a long time. Ji Anni leaned out of the window and waved to Yizhen in the distance, meaning: everything is safe, don't worry, goodbye and take care.

Seeing this, Yizhen finally felt relieved. She waved to Ji Anni and then turned and left.

After leaving Wenhua Courtyard, Yizhen's steps became very slow. She knew she should go to the East Palace to deliver pastries to Prince Ming, but Yizhen, who had never been to the East Palace and had never spoken to Concubine An, was very scared.

At this moment, the basket on her arm seemed to have suddenly become heavier, so heavy that it hurt Yizhen's arm.

What should I do? Since I have promised Ji Anni, I should keep my word...

Thinking of this, Yizhen took a deep breath, mustered up her courage, and walked towards the East Palace.

But as soon as she reached the door, she was frightened by the line of guards guarding outside and dared not move forward.

Although there were guards outside the West Palace of Guibao Concubine before, the atmosphere was not as scary as here. The guards outside the East Palace were all ferocious, as if they would eat people with their mouths open. Yizhen was so scared that she didn't dare to look at them and walked forward with her head down.

When she reached the steps, she was stopped by a guard. The guard saw from Yizhen's clothes that she was not a palace maid, but a concubine, so he asked politely, "Madam, what can I do for you?"