Harem Daily Life

The Imperial Astronomical Bureau determined that Xiao Nan and He Min were a perfect match, and the marriage of the Third Princess was thus settled.

After He Min's marriage was arranged, Tao Yanyan ordered the Ministry of Works to quickly repair the princess's residence that had been prepared beforehand, so that He Min could live there after her marriage. She also invited Consort Xian and He Min to Chang Le Palace to discuss matters.

"This is the dowry I prepared for Min'er. Take a look."

Xianglan presented the dowry list, and Consort Xian knew just by looking at the thickness of the list that the Empress truly loved He Min and was preparing it as if it were a princess raised under her name.

“Your Majesty, Min’er is being raised by me. How can I let Your Majesty spend so much? Perhaps we should give half of it to the Fifth Princess,” Consort Xian earnestly said.

Tao Yan smiled and said, "Min'er and Yue'er are sisters born of the same mother. Although she was not raised under my name, I watched her grow up since she was a child. How could I favor one over the other? Don't worry, Yue'er is almost the same, and so is Xuan'er. There shouldn't be any difference between the sisters."

Consort Xian was moved to tears and hurriedly told He Min to kowtow to the Empress to express her gratitude, but Tao Yanyan personally helped her up.

"Over the years, Consort Xian has managed the harem for me and raised Min'er so well, sharing His Majesty's burdens. You don't need to be so polite. All the wealth we've accumulated is for our children."

Consort Xian said no more, only thinking that she should work harder in the future to repay the Empress's kindness.

"Moving the dowry around is too much trouble. We can just move it directly from Chang Le Palace when Min'er gets married. The Princess's residence is also under renovation. The Imperial Household Department will add some furnishings as needed. When that happens, Consort Xian, you can take a look and ask the Imperial Household Department to make up for any omissions."

Consort Xian hurriedly replied, "They must have done their best in the matters Your Majesty entrusted to them. I am deeply grateful."

After discussing the dowry, Tao Yanyan added, "The list of betrothal gifts has also arrived from Editor Xiao's side. I suspect that Consort Xian and your Wang family contributed a significant amount to it, didn't they?"

Consort Xian nodded: "Yes, Your Majesty thought that Editor Xiao is very talented, but his family background is not good. After all, the engagement should not be too embarrassing, so I made some arrangements through my family. I also took out half of Min'er's dowry in advance and added it to the betrothal gifts."

Tao Yanyan smiled and said, "You're quite the dutiful mother-in-law." Then she smiled and looked at He Min, "Min'er, you'll have to manage this husband well in the future. Your mother and I will be keeping a close eye on him. If there are any hiccups, just come to us."

He Min blushed and said, "Yes, Mother."

Seeing that the betrothal gifts and dowry had been discussed, Consort Xian remembered something else and hurriedly asked, "By the way, Your Highness, Prince Jin's wedding is imminent. He hasn't built a residence in the capital yet. So, which gate should the bride enter through? I only remembered this this morning when the Imperial Household Department came to ask. In the past, all the princes established their residences outside the capital before their weddings, and only the Crown Princess was welcomed into the palace through the Zhengyang Gate."

Hua Yuerong is not the Crown Princess, but a Princess Consort. She is to be brought into the palace to temporarily reside in Qingyun Palace. Her wedding ceremony cannot have the slightest flaw, otherwise she might be impeached to death by the censors.

Tao Yanyan pondered for a moment and said, "Since the Princess Consort of Jin is the principal wife, let's go through Zhengyang Gate."

Consort Xian coughed lightly: "Should we ask His Majesty's opinion?" The bridal sedan chair carried in through Zhengyang Gate was only for the Empress and the Crown Princess. Even when He Xuan and He Yue got married, they didn't go through Zhengyang Gate, but went out through a side gate.

"It's alright, His Majesty will agree."

"Then the censors... I'm afraid that after they find out the news, their memorials will pile up on His Majesty's desk," Consort Xian advised hesitantly.

Tao Yanyan lowered her eyes and said, "Over the years, they have impeached me more than once or twice, so one more time won't make a difference."

Since the Empress had readily agreed, Consort Xian said nothing more. The two stayed at Chang Le Palace for lunch before returning to Yong Tai Palace.

After everyone left, Changtai came in to report that His Majesty had invited the Empress to the Imperial Study to discuss important matters.

He Linzhang would send someone to invite him, and Tao Yanyan dared not delay, so she quickly led the people to the Hall of Diligent Governance.

Officials from the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Revenue, and the Ministry of Personnel had already gathered in the Imperial Study. As soon as Tao Yanyan entered, he sensed that the atmosphere was somewhat tense.

"What's going on here?"

He Linzhang gestured for Tao Yanyan to sit down and gave the Minister of War a look.

Minister Yuan of the Ministry of War hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, the civil war in Xia has fully broken out. Prince Kang has sent a letter requesting that the Great Zhou send troops to aid us."

Tao Yanyan looked at He Linzhang suspiciously: Didn't you say you would secretly seize power in the Xia Kingdom? Why is Kang Mowan taking power openly instead of quietly?

He Linzhang understood her gaze and nodded: "It seems that things have been exposed, so we have no choice but to do it openly. The most troublesome thing now is that Kang Mowan has lost his sense of justice and is now considered to be rebelling. Because his cause is not legitimate, he will face unanimous resistance from many forces and his military strength will gradually become insufficient."

Tao Yanyan frowned slightly. Things had come to this point, and the Great Zhou behind Kang Mowan could not sit idly by, otherwise all their previous efforts would be in vain, and Kang Mowan would be put in a passive position.

"So, can we come up with a solution now?"

Tao Yanyan looked at the officials, and the Minister of Revenue stepped forward and said, "It's the same old story, still about grain and military pay. At present, the Ministry of Revenue can only allocate enough to support three months. Otherwise, if something happens in other places, we will be helpless. Please come here, Your Majesty, and we hope that Your Majesty can lend a hand."

Tao Yanyan did the math. Three months' worth of provisions wasn't difficult; the imperial estate had already stored a large amount of reserve grain, so taking some out wouldn't be a problem. The real difficulty lay in the fact that a month's military pay was 100,000 taels, and three months would empty the national treasury of 300,000 taels. She would have to prepare at least another 300,000 taels for unforeseen circumstances.

It hurts! A year's harvest is wiped out in one battle!

With so many ministers in front of her, she couldn't say anything, so she nodded and said, "Alright, the Ministry of Revenue can draw up a document, affix the imperial seal, and transfer the grain from the imperial granaries. As for military pay, I will have the Imperial Household Department prepare it and distribute it to the Ministry of Revenue in batches."

The Minister of Revenue was moved to tears; the Empress was truly his savior.

"Your Majesty, regarding the selection of generals, General Gu Yi has been chosen as the commander-in-chief. As for the deputy commander, Duan Erlang, the son of General Duan, volunteered. However, since his elder brother passed away at the beginning of the year, and General Duan has been bedridden recently, if this only son were to go on the expedition, and something were to happen to him, the Duan family line would end. Therefore, I have not considered him as a candidate. As for the Grand Prince Consort... the Yongchang Earl's mansion is in a difficult position. They say that the young heir is still an infant, and if the Grand Prince Consort were to go on the expedition, the entire mansion would be worried..." The Minister of War stepped forward and said.

Tao Yanyan looked at He Linzhang and said, "Mo Xingzhou is indeed not suitable. When Xuan'er was pregnant, he was fighting in Yan. Now that she has just given birth, if he goes to war again, what will happen to the mother and child? Your Majesty should choose someone else."

Don't blame Tao Yanyan for protecting her son-in-law; on the battlefield, swords have no eyes, and protecting one person is one thing.

She sighed, feeling saddened as she recalled the scene of Princess Xinlan going to the border with Gu Yi not long after her marriage.

The generals of the Great Zhou Dynasty have dedicated too much to the country.