Harem Daily Life

The Queen Mother cleared her throat and said, "Concubine Tao is young and has only been in the palace for less than a year. The Emperor may find her fresh and it's okay for him to favor her more. But I will also remind the Emperor to visit other palaces more often. It's the top priority to expand the royal family."

Changing the subject, the Queen Mother said to Eunuch Qin, "It's almost noon. Go ask Lady Tao if the meal is ready?"

Shu Fei saw that the Queen Mother did not ask her to stay for dinner, and after a moment of hesitation, she still sat there without moving. She wanted to see how the Queen Mother and Lady Tao really interacted in private, and today was the best opportunity.

Eunuch Qin went there very considerately and came back saying, "There are still three dishes that are not ready. Lady Tao asked the Queen Mother to wait a moment."

"Hmph, you're taking so long to cook." The Queen Mother snorted in dissatisfaction, and then said to Shu Fei, "Go and arrange the matter of the miracle doctor. I will cooperate with you. I won't keep you for lunch at noon. It's unknown how long we'll have to wait."

Seeing the Queen Mother chasing people away, Shu Fei had no choice but to stand up with a smile: "Yes, I will take my leave." After leaving the palace, where was the smile on her face? Only the coldness in her eyes remained.

After the people really left this time, the Queen Mother rolled her eyes and said, "Hurry up and serve the food. I'm starving!"

It's not that Shu Fei couldn't be invited to have dinner with her, she had invited her in the past. But Shu Fei deliberately invited her to stay today, and her words were all about Concubine Tao's seduction of the Emperor. The Empress Dowager was a little annoyed, so she didn't invite her to stay.

In the empress dowager's view, even if there was no Concubine Tao, there would be Concubine Li, Concubine Zhang, and Concubine Sun. Shufei herself was not capable of winning the emperor's favor, so she pushed the responsibility onto others, which was really unpleasant.

Everyone has to rely on their own abilities to win favor. Why should you blame others for being too good just because you are not good enough?

When the food was placed on the table, the empress dowager's eyes lit up, and her dissatisfaction with Shu Fei was completely forgotten.

Tao Yanyan made shredded pork with fish flavor, steamed egg with minced meat, lotus root and pork rib soup, scrambled egg with shrimp, salt-baked chicken, cold cucumber salad, crispy chicken fillet, spicy grilled fish, and rice wine meatballs today.

"Well, this dish looks well-cut, but I wonder how it tastes?" The Queen Mother took a piece of fish-flavored pork shreds that she had never tasted before, and the taste was indescribable. It was salty, sweet, sour and spicy, and the shredded pork was soft and tender, with a reddish color. The thick soup wrapped around the surface of the shredded pork, paired with steaming hot rice, it was so delicious!

The Queen Mother couldn't help but eat half a bowl of rice without even touching the other dishes.

Eunuch Qin, who was standing by, was drooling at the sight. Seeing that the empress dowager was still going to eat that dish, he quickly moved the dish aside and said, "Empress Dowager, there are still other dishes that have not been touched. You can try something else." Eunuch Qin also wanted to taste the remaining half portion.

The Queen Mother then started to eat other dishes, and each one was delicious and just the right flavor.

"I'll save this half chicken for dinner. The crispy chicken fillets are so crispy. Did you coat them with flour and fry them?" the Queen Mother asked as she ate.

Tao Yanyan replied: "Mix a batter and wrap it around the outside and fry it together. You can fry meat, shrimp, chicken fillet, or vegetables. As long as you mix the batter well, everything will taste good."

"Well, the two princesses and the eldest prince should like this dish. Children love these delicious snacks." After the queen mother finished speaking, she saw that Tao Yanyan did not respond, so she had to instruct Eunuch Qin: "Let our chef learn how to make it from Lady Tao, and make some for the children another day."

Eunuch Qin agreed immediately.

"You are quite alert and don't cook for others casually." The Queen Mother said after drinking a bowl of soup.

Tao Yanyan replied: "I am timid and dare not cook for the princess and the prince at will. Please forgive me, Queen Mother."

"It's a good thing to be more alert, but you have a child now, so you naturally have something to talk about with the concubines in the palace who have children. Do you want to stay in your Yingyue Pavilion for the rest of your life and never go out to socialize? You should go out where you should. Even if you can't curry favor with the Queen, you can still go to the Imperial Concubine and the Concubine Rong. They are not tigers and can't eat you."

Tao Yan thanked her and said, "Thank you, Queen Mother, for your reminder. I will find opportunities to get closer to the two ladies."

"Well, you still need to have a few allies to live in the palace so that you won't be too tired. Otherwise, everyone will isolate you and you won't even have anyone to talk to. Can you bear the loneliness in the deep palace for decades? Don't say that everything is enough with the emperor. How long can the emperor accompany you? He is busy in the front court, and you still have to live with the people in the harem. Make friends with whoever you get along with, support each other, and the days will pass in a flash."

Tao Yanyan knew that the Queen Mother said all this for her own good. The Queen Mother had been in the palace for decades and must have more experience than herself, so she thanked her sincerely: "Thank you, Queen Mother, for telling me this. I have taken note of it."

Seeing the little girl's well-behaved appearance, the queen mother nodded and said, "Go home after you finish your meal and come back in a few days. I'll make this fish-flavored pork shreds again next time. It tastes very special."

"Yes, I'll take my leave then." After successfully completing the first day of work, Tao Yanyan respectfully withdrew.

On the way back, thinking about the Queen Mother's words asking her to make friends with Concubine Gui and Concubine Rong, she unknowingly arrived at the entrance of Yingyue Pavilion.

Qingfeng had been following Lady Tao all morning and hadn't had lunch yet. He was so hungry that he hurried to have lunch, leaving Mingyue alone to serve him.

"Your Majesty sent someone to say that the captured assassin is very tight-lipped and refuses to say anything. The person sent asked if the beauty has anything else to ask. If not, the man will be dealt with in the next two days." Dealing with means killing, Tao Yanyan understood.

She thought for a moment and called Chang Tai over: "Go and tell Eunuch Zhang that I want to see the assassin. Ask him to ask His Majesty if possible, and send someone to call me."

After saying that, she played with Xiao Jinan for a while and then went to take a nap.

She worked hard for half the night last night and all morning today. It was an hour later when she woke up.

"My beauty, Eunuch Zhang sent someone to tell you that His Majesty has agreed and will take you to see him personally in the evening." Mingyue said as she combed her hair.

There was nothing to do in the afternoon, and remembering what the Queen Mother said about walking more, Tao Yanyan took Xiao Jin'an to visit the Imperial Garden. He thought that if he met the two ladies, he would talk a few more words and get close to them. The first time was strange, the second time was familiar, and the relationship was accumulated bit by bit.

Unexpectedly, I didn’t see the people I wanted to see, but kept seeing the people I didn’t want to see.

Since returning to the palace, Fan Cairen has not been favored by the emperor, and he has never summoned her. When Tao Yanyan and Fan Cairen met in the imperial garden, they were both stunned. One was round and smooth, bright and lively, while the other had a dark complexion and looked lifeless despite her age.

"Greetings, Lady Tao." Lady Fan's current position is lower than that of Tao Yanyan, so she bowed when they met.

"Ms. Fan, please stand up." Tao Yanyan did not say anything. After the other person stood up, he wanted to bypass her and take the child to continue playing somewhere else.

"Lady Tao." Lady Fan called her.

"Lady Tao, you must be very proud now. I was favored and pregnant before you, but now I have lost my child and fallen out of favor, while you have a child by your side and have firmly grasped the heart of His Majesty."

Tao Yanyan narrowed his eyes and said, "You don't need to question me about this. I live my life, you live your life, and we have nothing to do with each other."

"Oh, is it really irrelevant?" Fan Cairen took a step closer, and Tao Yanyan immediately pulled Xiao Jinan behind her and looked at her vigilantly.