Harem Daily Life

Shu Fei choked, glanced at the emperor, and said, "Why is Lady Tao so angry? I was just asking casually."

Shu Fei's tone was harmless yet aggrieved.

Tao Yanyan looked at her deeply and smiled, "I am only telling the truth. The virtuous concubine did not stipulate the amount of individual donations. I believe that the virtuous concubine will not care no matter how much is donated. But now the Shu concubine has come out to ask. Those who know will think that the Shu concubine is straightforward, while those who don't know will think that the Shu concubine is dissatisfied with the virtuous concubine for not clearly stating the minimum donation amount. She is being wise after the event!"

Shu Fei wanted to refute, but Tao Yanyan did not give her a chance and said quickly: "Madam Shu Fei, if you have any ideas, you should have said them in advance. Before, Madam Xian Fei asked for the opinions of the palaces, but you did not say anything. Now that things are done, you stand up and say it again. Who will dare to do good things in the future? You worked so hard and donated all the money, but you still donate nothing."

Tao Yanyan had tolerated Shu Fei for a long time. Today, he spent money and was picked on by her again. He was doubly angry and had to confront her!

Shu Fei didn't expect that Concubine Tao was like a firecracker today, with a crackling sound, making her unable to find words to retort.

She looked at the Emperor and Empress innocently: "Your Majesty, Empress, I was just asking casually. I am not saying that Concubine Xian did something wrong, nor am I saying that Lady Tao donated too little. I hope Your Majesty and Empress will understand!"

The Queen glanced at Lady Tao and said, "Lady Tao, you are overthinking. I believe that Concubine Shu has no ill intentions. However, as a fifth-rank beauty, it is a bit disrespectful for you to speak to Concubine Shu like this. Your Majesty, Lady Tao should be punished."

Tao Yanyan rolled his eyes in his heart, but didn't stand up to apologize, nor did he say anything. He just looked indifferently at the emperor and empress.

He Linzhang glanced at her and said, "Lady Tao is young and has the mentality of a child. She always speaks her mind. Concubine Shu, don't take it to heart. As for the Queen's suggestion of punishing her, I think not only should she not be punished, but she should be rewarded."

When these words came out, everyone was shocked. Only the Imperial Concubine and the Virtuous Concubine looked at each other and knew what was going on.

"Your Majesty, are you doting on Concubine Tao too much? Do you still want to reward her like this?" The Queen couldn't bear to watch it anymore and snorted angrily.

He Linzhang said calmly, "I favor Lady Tao because she deserves my favor. Lady Tao drew a blueprint of a brick bed a few days ago, and it has been handed over to the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Works for copying and distribution to various counties, so that the people can get it for free and build a brick bed according to the blueprint."

Seeing that everyone was puzzled, He Linzhang continued, "You know, before there were no blueprints, we had to hire craftsmen to build. There were few craftsmen, the cost was high, and the construction period was long. Not many people built houses at home, and they suffered from cold disasters every year. Now that we have blueprints, every household can build according to the blueprints. So many people have saved tens of millions of labor costs for two people, and they are more protected from the cold and warm, and no longer have to worry about cold disasters. How many lives have been saved!"

The queen was shocked and realized that she had said the wrong thing today!

"The amount donated by Lady Tao is close to her monthly allowance for two years, which is more than enough. Moreover, she exchanged a blueprint for tens of millions of taels. Should I punish her for a few words? The Queen is the main seat of the Central Palace. It is a good thing to have clear rewards and punishments, but don't punish people without thinking. For some things, you can only know more comprehensively if you know more about them."

The Queen stood up and said, "Yes, I am narrow-minded. I hope Your Majesty will forgive me."

Everyone looked puzzled. Some of them had thought that Concubine Tao had only donated 400 taels, which was much less than themselves. Concubine Shu gave her a hint to make a fool of herself in front of the emperor, and they were happy to watch the show. Who could have thought that she would go so far.

Compared with the tens of millions of taels of silver from others, what I donated was just a drop in the bucket.

Shu Fei's face turned pale. She frowned and looked at Concubine Tao, with an indescribable complexity in her expression.

Why is it always like this? Why can she always do so many good things for her cousin the emperor?

It was she who saved lives, provided disaster relief, suppressed bandits, and it was she who led this cold wave!

She is already a special existence, no matter how hard others try to catch up, they can never catch up!

The virtuous concubine was so angry that her heart ached. She was clearly the one who was in the spotlight today, but now her limelight is gone. His Majesty's heart and eyes are still full of that Concubine Tao!

My heart ached and I wanted to cry again!

Tao Yanyan stood up and said, "I dare not take credit for it. I just happened to know the blueprints. Your Majesty, don't take it to heart. Today, the Concubine Xian presided over the fundraising, which was a great good deed. Each palace donated several thousand taels, and the Empress donated 10,000 taels. They all wholeheartedly helped Your Majesty. If Your Majesty wants to reward, reward the whole palace. There is no need to reward me alone."

Lady Tao's words suddenly elevated the level of people's thinking, and some people looked at her with more admiration.

"Okay! Zhang Fuhai, go open my private treasury, select gifts and send them to each palace. Everyone will get a reward."

The concubines stood up and kowtowed to thank the emperor for his reward.

The Queen said, "It is getting late. I have already prepared lunch. Your Majesty, please move to the side hall so that everyone can go back and eat early."

He Linzhang originally wanted to accompany Tao Yanyan back to Yingyue Pavilion for lunch, but the Queen had tried her best to keep them, so he had to look at Tao Yanyan. Tao Yanyan glared at him and knelt down and left with everyone else.

Xianfei knew that it was hopeless to call His Majesty away at noon, so she had to work hard on the dinner. She was confident that she could definitely invite the emperor to move to Changxin Palace tonight.

Tao Yanyan returned to Yingyue Pavilion and was about to eat when she saw Chang Tai coming in a panic to report, "My lady, Fu... Fu is dead."

Ever since Tao Yanyan saw Fu Jianlan in the laundry department last time and knew that the killer wanted to silence her, she no longer cared about her.

"How did he die?" Tao Yan said calmly.

"I heard that he was stabbed in the last assassination attempt. Although he took medicine and received treatment for a period of time, he never recovered. He died last night. He died early this morning. He has been taken out of the palace and returned to Fu's family."

Tao Yanyan said calmly, "I know. Since she has already died, my entanglement with her ends here. Qingfeng, go find the dress I loved to wear before I fell into the water, and pack it in a box. I'll need it after dinner."

Qingfeng followed the order and went to find it quickly.

Xiao Jinan served Tao Yanyan some soup and said disappointedly, "Sister, I made His Majesty's favorite boiled fish fillet today, but he didn't come."

Tao Yanyan touched his head and said softly, "Jin'an needs to get used to the days without him in Yingyue Pavilion. You can't think that he should come every day just because he comes often, understand?"

Xiao Jinan frowned and tilted his head: "But, I like him so much, can't he always be here?"

Tao Yanyan was somewhat helpless: "He doesn't belong to just the two of us, he belongs to so many people, we... are not everything to him."

She knew that the child was young and didn't understand, but some extravagant hopes must be nipped in the bud.

"Jin'an has his sister accompanying him, as well as Qingfeng and Mingyue. With so many people accompanying him, Jin'an will be happy with or without him, okay?"

Xiao Jinan had no choice but to nod: "Well, then I will like him less in the future. From now on, only my sister is everything to me, not him."