Harem Daily Life

"Your Majesty, it's broad daylight, aren't you afraid that you will be tired in the afternoon?" After a joyful occasion, Tao Yanyan was so tired that he couldn't even lift his hands. He muttered with his back to He Linzhang.

He Linzhang hugged her from behind, his voice full of satiated laziness: "Who told you to say those words last night, disturbing my heart and forcing me to restrain myself."

Tao Yanyan slapped his claws away and said speechlessly: "Then your majesty came here at noon just to make up for last night?"

He Linzhang extended his hand again: "I have something else to do in the afternoon, so I can't stay long. Wait for me in the evening."

Tao Yanyan's ears turned red and she said "hmm" in a low voice.

Tao Yanyan lay in bed until dinner time, and this day could be considered wasted, as he did not do anything meaningful! !

Fortunately, Dong Fang went out with the eunuch who went out of the palace to buy things early this morning, and brought back some useful information.

I will come back to reply her after dinner.

"My lady, I have inquired on the three most prosperous streets. Generally, the rent for a shop with a width of three meters is four taels per month. If you buy it, it will not be less than two hundred taels. As for the house, it mainly depends on the location and age. The east is rich, the west is noble, the south is poor, and the north is cheap. The east and west of the city are more expensive, and all the dignitaries and wealthy businessmen live there. The north and south of the city are cheaper. In the east of the city, a small courtyard with two entrances costs one hundred taels of silver, and the rent varies from one to two taels per month. In the north of the city, it only costs sixty taels, and the rent will not exceed one tael. As for the price of goods, ordinary people earn about two taels of silver a month, and spend one tael. If they can save one tael, they are considered to be living a good life."

After Dong Fang finished speaking, Tao Yanyan felt relieved and waited for news from Qi Yizheng.

Mingyue brought her some fruit and said, "Fu Baolin was demoted to a palace maid and now works in the laundry department. She asked an aunt to send a message to you, saying that she wanted you to see her. There was another reason why you fell into the water. I was worried that she was trying to trick you into coming, so I didn't agree."

Tao Yanyan stopped eating fruit and asked: "When did you say that?"

Mingyue: "This afternoon, an hour before dinner."

Tao Yanyan thought for a moment and said, "Then let's go there after lunch tomorrow and hear what she has to say."

Tao Yanyan thought of what King Yong said, that the original owner knew how to swim, and his eyes turned cold. Fu Jianlan tricked the original owner into going to the lake that day, and had someone damage the handrails in advance, causing the original owner to fall into the water. After that, something else must have happened, causing the original owner to know how to swim but unable to save himself.

It seems that Fu Jianlan is going to tell the secret.

As expected, He Linzhang came again under the moonlight at night. Tao Yanyan had slept for a long time in the afternoon and was very awake at night. It was rare that she had the energy to cooperate with him, which made him unable to stop.

The result was that both of them got up late. He Linzhang, who had never delayed the morning court in the five years since he ascended the throne, arrived at the court half an hour late, and Tao Yanyan almost couldn't get up to pay his respects.

Tao Yanyan, who was sitting in her seat with a depressed look on her face, swore that she would stop He Linzhang from making trouble in the middle of the night even if she was beaten to death. She was still young and didn't want to die of exhaustion so early.

Today, Shu Fei and several Zhaoyi and Jieyushi received the task assigned by the Queen to help prepare for the Emperor's birthday banquet. The others were just solving problems for the various palaces and chatting about family matters, which was not a lot of work.

After returning to Yingyue Pavilion and having some lunch, Tao Yanyan rested for half an hour, then changed into light and low-key clothes, and asked Dong Fang, Chang Tai and Qing Feng to accompany him to the laundry department.

In the laundry department, Fu Jianlan had thin arms and legs and had a hard time working. When Tao Yanyan and others arrived, they saw her washing clothes alone by the sink.

In this era, there was no such convenient washing powder or laundry liquid for washing clothes, let alone a convenient washing machine. It was all done by manpower. After washing, the clothes had to be rinsed clean and squeezed dry. If the clothes were large, they would be heavy when wet. A noble lady who had never worked before would definitely find it difficult to do these things.

"Hello, Fu Jianlan, there's a distinguished guest looking for you." Manager Li from the laundry department said this, then retreated respectfully. He also called away a few palace maids who were hanging clothes to dry not far away, so that Concubine Tao could talk more easily.

Seeing that she was sensible, Tao Yanyan winked at Qingfeng. Qingfeng nodded, followed her out and gave Manager Li a bag of golden melon seeds.

Fu Jianlan wiped the sweat from her forehead and did not salute Tao Yanyan. She just looked at the two eunuchs beside her and said, "Let your people leave. I have something to say to you alone."

Tao Yanyan sneered, "You have no integrity with me. My people have to protect me and must stay by my side. You can say what you want. If you don't want to say it, I will leave. Think about it carefully. I will only come this once. You won't have the chance to find me again in the future."

Fu Jianlan gritted her teeth and said, "Are you still afraid that I will do something bad to you? Look at me, how thin I have become? I can't eat well here, all I have is leftovers and cold rice. I can't sleep well, I have to sleep on the damp ground. I am the daughter of a fifth-rank official after all. When have I ever suffered such hardship? It's all your fault. It was you who whispered in His Majesty's ear, right? Otherwise, why is His Majesty so cruel and has to make things difficult for me, Baolin? He didn't even know me, he didn't even touch me, but he demoted me. What sin did I commit to deserve such a punishment?"

Tao Yanyan looked at her coldly: "Don't you know what you did? You tricked me into going to the lake, so how did the railing on the bridge get broken? Don't you know?"

Fu Jianlan was shocked: "You, you know everything? So you know everything!"

"It was not me who found out, it was His Majesty who found out. You bribed a eunuch to do something, which caused the railing I was holding to break, causing me to fall into the water and almost drown." Tao Yanyan took a step closer: "Tell me, you hurt me so much, should I let you go?"

Fu Jianlan shook her head violently: "No, I didn't mean to hurt you. I just wanted you to fall into the water and get sick so that you wouldn't fight with me. I have been chosen by Concubine Li to live with her and consolidate her favor. I don't want His Majesty to favor you before I do. I would have saved you after you fell into the water so that you would owe me a favor. But..."

Fu Jianlan was a little hesitant and felt a little flustered when she thought of the scene that day.

"But what?" Tao Yanyan took another step closer: "Did you arrange for someone to do something to me?"

"No, no, no, it wasn't arranged by me. I didn't ask anyone to hold you underwater and prevent you from coming up!" Fu Jianlan vehemently denied: "I really didn't arrange that person. I wanted to save you, but that person was wearing black clothes and was holding you tightly underwater. I couldn't do anything."

"So you didn't see the man's appearance clearly?" Tao Yanyan asked, staring into her eyes.

"No, absolutely not. He was masked and dressed in black. I was panicking at the time and thought... I thought it was a water ghost, not a human!" Fu Jianlan shuddered: "Believe me, I really don't mean to hurt you. I just wanted to let you fall into the water first and then rescue you, so that you can't sleep with me for a short period of time and owe me a favor."

Seeing that she didn't seem to be lying, Tao Yanyan thought that there was indeed a third party at the scene, and that he was the direct cause of the original owner's drowning.