Harem Daily Life

The emperor was persuaded to return to the main hall. The empress dowager had already listened to Eunuch Qin's description, and when she saw her serious son again, she curled her lips.

Even a hero cannot resist the temptation of beauty! Even the most arrogant emperor will soften instantly when he meets someone he is willing to treat gently.

This is how the late emperor treated Concubine Li.

Thinking of this, the Queen Mother felt a little sad for a while, but she quickly adjusted herself.

What’s the point of being gentle? In the end, the one sitting on the throne is your own son!

Now she was the most honorable woman in the world. Concubine Li had long been squeezed into a palace with a group of concubines and imperial concubines. Although the princess she gave birth to was married in the capital, her husband was not powerful. However, her food and clothing were still extremely luxurious, and her son was still the emperor!

I am only 45 years old now, and I will have decades of good life to enjoy when I am 70 or 80!

The Queen Mother was happy again, and even became more friendly towards the Emperor.

He Linzhang sat bored and watched the empress dowager take care of the baby. Little Jinan was not afraid of strangers and was able to interact with the empress dowager.

"Emperor, your birthday is next month. Have you thought about how to celebrate it?" The Queen Mother asked casually when she saw the Emperor sitting alone and feeling bored.

He Linzhang had a blank expression on his face: "It's nothing more than everyone getting together and celebrating." It's like this every year.

But this year seems a little different, as Tao Yanyan is here to celebrate his birthday.

Thinking of this, He Linzhang's eyes softened a little.

"If you have any ideas, you should tell the Queen as soon as possible. She is in charge of the arrangements this year and even came to me today to ask for my opinion."

He Linzhang nodded: "Yes, I understand."

The topic ended here. In the hall, apart from Xiao Jinan's voice, the sound of a pin drop could be heard.

The Queen Mother couldn't find a topic to talk about, and the Emperor couldn't find one either, so the two of them just remained silent. It was Eunuch Qin who spoke up, "This Lady Tao is such a great cook. I just saw the dishes, and every one of them is mouth-watering. Tonight, the Queen Mother, you're in for a treat."

The Queen Mother smiled and said, "It is suitable for both the living room and the kitchen, and is suitable for both the home and the family. It is indeed good."

He Linzhang rarely heard the Queen Mother praise him. Even the Queen, Imperial Concubine, and Concubine Rong were rarely praised, not to mention Concubine Li. Not blaming him was already a privilege. So he said happily, "Yan Yan is indeed very good. I am very satisfied."

Xiao Jinan suddenly said, "Sister is very good, I am also very satisfied."

The Queen Mother said with a smile: "Then Jin'an, tell me, what's good about your sister?"

Little Jinan opened his big grape-like eyes and said, "Sister's cooking is delicious, sister can tell stories, sister will hug me, sister is the most beautiful. The best thing is, sister doesn't despise me. People on the street despise me and tell me to get lost as far away as possible, but sister is the only one who is willing to squat down and talk to me properly, and is willing to hold my dirty hand."

The Queen Mother suddenly felt sad and hugged little Jin'an tightly.

He Linzhang recalled the scene when he first met Xiao Jinan, and thought that if it were him, he might not approach that dirty little beggar.

So, Yan Yan is really unusual. She is not like an ordinary noble lady.

Just as he was thinking, he suddenly felt an angry gaze. He Linzhang looked up and saw that it came from the Queen Mother.

When the Queen Mother saw him looking at her, she rolled her eyes and looked away.

He Linzhang: “…” I don’t understand why you are rolling your eyes at me.

"Why is the Queen Mother angry?" Of course you have to ask if you have any questions.

"Humph, I just don't like you. Look at the people under your rule, you actually let such a young child live on the streets. You have to think of a way to increase people's income so that the people can live a life without worries about food and clothing."

He Linzhang was not annoyed after being scolded. He felt that the empress dowager was right. He was indeed incompetent and had not completely eliminated poverty and allowed the people to live and work in peace. So he gladly accepted the empress dowager's reprimand.

When Tao Yanyan came in to call people for dinner, she found the atmosphere strange. She glanced at He Linzhang, then smiled at the empress dowager and said, "Dinner is ready. Please move to the dining room, empress dowager."

The Queen Mother nodded, then took Xiao Jin'an's hand and went to the dining room.

An old man and a child walked in front. Tao Yanyan came over and held He Linzhang's hand, and asked quietly: "What are you talking about? Why is the atmosphere weird? Are you not arguing?"

He Linzhang shook his head: "Nothing. My birthday is next month, and the Empress Dowager asked me how I wanted to celebrate it, but we didn't come up with anything." He Linzhang said casually.

"Your Majesty's birthday is coming soon? Then I have to prepare a gift for you. What would you like?"

Hearing her ask so bluntly, He Linzhang was speechless: "How can you directly ask someone what they like? Doesn't it all depend on your feelings?"

Tao Yanyan pouted and said, "Humph, if you don't want to tell me, then Your Majesty must accept whatever I give you, and you must not dislike it."

Seeing that she was a bit of a scoundrel, He Linzhang felt much better, and the two of them sat down at the table together.

The Queen Mother looked at the table full of dishes and was very satisfied.

"I don't know what the Queen Mother likes, so I made it according to what Your Majesty likes. I thought that since mother and son are connected, their tastes might be somewhat similar. Please ask the Queen Mother to try it and see if it suits your taste." Tao Yanyan said with a smile.

The Empress Dowager and the Emperor looked at each other. They rarely sat together at the table since the incident with Concubine Li. Today's meal was the first time in nearly two years that the Emperor had stayed for a meal.

"Well, it looks good. Let's start eating." The empress dowager took the lead in picking up a piece of boiled fish fillet, and the emperor also took the first piece of this dish.

Xiao Jin'an ran over and picked up the Queen Mother's bowl. While the Queen Mother and Eunuch Qin looked puzzled, he filled the bowl with chicken soup and put three pieces of chicken in it. Then he carefully brought it to the Queen Mother.

He then served the emperor another bowl with two pieces of chicken in it.

There were three pieces of chicken in the dish for my sister and two pieces for myself.

The Queen Mother looked at Xiao Jin'an in amazement: "This child is so cute, he actually serves soup to his elders!"

"Yan's teachings are good." He Linzhang spoke, feeling proud of it.

Tao Yanyan smiled and said, "Jin'an is sensible. Every time he eats, he will serve soup to Your Majesty first."

Tao Yanyan picked up a piece of roast chicken with scallion oil for Xiao Jinan. He was not allowed to eat spicy food, so he picked up an eggplant box for him and praised him for his good performance tonight.

"Well, you are really good at taking care of children. When you have children in the future, you will be able to raise them well." The Queen Mother said while eating.

He Linzhang raised his eyes and glanced at Tao Yanyan. Tao Yanyan felt a little guilty, so he smiled and looked away.

She is not even seventeen years old yet, and if she wants to have a child, she will have to be twenty years old at the latest. Who knows whether she will still be favored in a few years? It is too early to think about the issue of offspring now.

He Linzhang thought that she was depressed because she was thinking about her poor health and the difficulty of getting pregnant, so he picked up food for her several times to comfort her.

The Queen Mother saw the interaction between the two and became even more determined to support Tao Yanyan.

This little beauty is useful!