Harem Daily Life

Rong Fei raised her eyebrows but said nothing. The Imperial Concubine smiled and said, "Rong Fei and I discussed the matter objectively and did not take sides. As far as this matter is concerned, Concubine Li was indeed wrong."

Seeing the three people arguing, the Queen tried to smooth things over, saying, "Okay, stop talking. Since His Majesty has personally demoted Fu Baolin to a maid, there is no need to punish Concubine Tao by making her copy the palace rules. Nanny Fang, go and pass on my decree to exempt her from house arrest. Concubine Li will also move to another palace according to her rank. The Jinning Palace where she lives now is no longer suitable, so she should move to the nearby Fanxing Pavilion."

"Fanxing Pavilion is not bad and it is convenient for moving. I'm sure Lady Li will like it." said the imperial concubine.

"There is another important event. The sixteenth of next month is His Majesty's birthday. You should prepare everything you need to prepare. If you want to give gifts or perform, please put more thought into it."

As soon as the queen finished speaking, the imperial concubine asked, "In previous years, we always invited a troupe to perform. Will we continue to do so this year?"

In fact, the emperor and his young concubines did not like to listen to operas. In previous years, the opera troupes were only prepared for the empress dowager and the concubines.

The Queen thought about it and felt a little headache. In the past two years, she was not in good health and it was the Imperial Concubine who took care of everything. If she took care of it in the same way this year, His Majesty might think that she was not doing her best.

The queen looked at everyone and asked, "Do you have any new ideas?"

Everyone shook their heads.

Rong Fei said: "This banquet, in addition to food, there are also singing and dancing performances. It's just that the songs and dances are a little newer. The opera troupe was added because the Queen Mother liked it. If there is no opera troupe, I'm afraid the Queen Mother will find it boring. Why not invite them!"

The others also agreed, mainly because there really were no good entertainment options in this era.

Seeing the Imperial Concubine's calm demeanor, the Queen was furious: "Alright, go back and think about it. If you have any new ideas, you can tell me. Let's stop here today. Those above the rank of Imperial Concubine, follow me to pay respects to the Queen Mother."

In Changchun Palace, when the empress dowager saw everyone coming in, she first asked about the children's schooling and gave them a few instructions. Then she asked about the emperor's demoting of two concubines in one day.

The queen reported the whole story without adding any personal feelings. The queen mother listened and thought for a moment before saying, "This talented lady Tao is quite good at making people jealous. Go and tell her that I want her to come after noon and bring her brother who she adopted from the people to come to me for a lecture."

The Queen and others were stunned, but Shu Fei's brows relaxed a little, with a hint of pride in her eyes.

The queen advised, "Mother, it was indeed against the rules for Concubine Tao to call His Majesty away from the concubines, but Concubine Tao did nothing wrong in the matter of Concubine Li. It is better to spare her the reprimand, so as to avoid His Majesty getting angry with you."

Last time, His Majesty reprimanded Concubine Li, and he was so angry that he didn't speak to the Queen Mother for two months. If he reprimands Concubine Tao this time, what will happen if their relationship has not improved by His Majesty's birthday next month?

The queen still had a sense of the overall situation and tried her best to dissuade him.

The Queen Mother raised her eyebrows and said, "I will talk to her about reason. The Emperor is a reasonable man, how could he be angry? Just go and tell someone. There is no need to hide it from the Emperor. I want to see how he will defend her this time! If you have nothing else to do, please leave. I am tired."

The queen had no choice but to take her concubines and leave.

After the people left, Eunuch Qin asked in confusion, "This Concubine Li is usually not a likable person. This time she hurt the youngest son, and she was not innocent in being demoted. Queen Mother, are you really going to reprimand Concubine Tao?"

The Queen Mother glanced at him and said, "If I don't say that, won't she be even more hated? I want to support her, so I can't be too nice to her in front of outsiders, otherwise the tree will attract the wind, and the wind will surely blow it away. Behind closed doors, who knows what I said to her. All right, don't stand here, hurry to the imperial kitchen and ask if there are any fresh ingredients, get them all, wait for Lady Tao to come in the afternoon, and ask her to make me some delicious food in my small kitchen to atone for my sins."

Eunuch Qin: “…”

You are the most honorable empress dowager of the Great Zhou, yet you went through so much trouble just for a bite of food.

When Tao Yanyan heard that the Queen Mother summoned her for a reprimand and asked her to bring her brother with her, she frowned.

She herself didn't care, and she could let him scold or punish her as he pleased, but with Xiao Jin'an around, she always felt it was inappropriate.

Qing Feng said: "Why don't you report this to His Majesty first and ask His Majesty to come out and protect us."

Mingyue said, "I heard that Concubine Li was also summoned by the Queen Mother for a reprimand and was beaten with three boards. Your Majesty rushed to rescue her. Because of these three boards, Your Majesty and the Queen Mother were angry and didn't speak to each other for more than two months."

Tao Yanyan thought for a moment and said, "You don't need to tell His Majesty yet. Let's talk about it when we get there." After that, she took little Jin'an's hand and said, "Jin'an, you've been practicing martial arts with Dong Fang recently, so you should be able to run very fast. I'll take you to the Queen Mother this afternoon. If anyone wants to hit you, run quickly, okay? Chang Tai and Qing Feng are guarding outside the door, you run to find them."

Xiao Jinan nodded: "Yeah, I know, someone is chasing me, I have to run." His experience of living on the streets gave him rich experience in escaping. Now, after practicing basic skills with Dong Fang, his legs and feet have become more nimble.

Tao Yanyan patted his head and said, "You are so good. Let's have lunch and rest for a while before setting off. By the way, go and prepare the sedan chair. Jin'an and I will ride together."

Concubine Tao brought her adopted brother to the Empress Dowager's Changchun Palace. People from all the palaces were sent out to inquire about the news. There was too little fun in the palace, and the slightest movement could become a topic of conversation for a long time. No one would miss the opportunity to gossip.

It was Xiao Jinan’s first time walking this route. He was so excited that he opened his eyes wide, wishing he could see everything.

Tao Yanyan thought he was very cute and it was a wise decision to bring him back. He added infinite fun to her life.

After the two arrived at Changchun Palace, they didn't wait long before going in.

"Greetings to the Queen Mother." Tao Yanyan knelt down, and little Jin'an also knelt down in a proper manner: "Jin'an pays respects to the Queen Mother."

"Well, everyone, get up."

After the two of them stood up, the empress dowager looked at Tao Jinan and was a little stunned at first glance.

She winked at Eunuch Qin and said, "Take the child out to play. I'll talk to Lady Tao."

Tao Yanyan immediately said: "Jin'an is young and shy, so why not leave him with me?"

"Are you afraid that I will find someone to beat him up? Am I that kind of person? Humph!" The Queen Mother was angry, very angry.

Tao Yanyan hurriedly explained: "No, Queen Mother, it's just because the child has never felt safe since he was young, and he only recognizes me when he enters the palace. I am worried that Eunuch Qin can't control him."

Seeing that Tao Yanyan was very protective of the child, the empress dowager said nothing more. She just asked the child to come to her so that she could take a closer look at him.

Tao Jinan glanced at Tao Yanyan, then walked over to the Queen Mother with his short legs.

The Queen Mother pulled the child into her arms, looked left and right, and the more she looked, the more frightened she became!