Harem Daily Life

Eunuch Qin suppressed his smile and said seriously, "I arrested Madam Zhao's family and tortured them severely. They said that Madam Zhao did not return home that year, so they did not know Madam Zhao's whereabouts. They thought that Madam Zhao died in the palace because of Concubine Yin's death, and they did not dare to inquire. If I hadn't asked, they would not have known that Madam Zhao was missing."

"The clues about the Zhao family were cut off, so I checked the guards who were guarding the palace gate that day. I did find out that the guard had worked for General Yin for a period of time before and had received favors from the Yin family. He let Madam Zhao go, but he said that time was tight and he didn't search Madam Zhao. He let her go directly, and we can't be sure whether she brought a child with her. I only remember that Madam Zhao did take a big bag and left through a side door when the guard was changed."

The Queen Mother snorted coldly: "Such irresponsible guards cannot be kept."

Eunuch Qin said: "Don't worry, Queen Mother, the person has been arrested and can be dealt with at any time."

"What about other clues? Anything else?" The Queen Mother took a sip of tea and asked to perk herself up.

"The doctor who visited the child was Doctor Wang. He said the child had indeed died. He gave first aid for a while when he went there, but was unable to save him."

"I asked Imperial Doctor Xu, Imperial Doctor Wang, and Imperial Doctor Liu whether blood test can confirm blood relationship 100%. The three doctors said that theoretically it can, but in practice there may be deviations and it cannot be guaranteed. However, the similarity between father and son can be seen from the bones, and they can be identified carefully."

The Queen Mother frowned and said, "If you are not 100% sure, this blood test is not a good idea. It will also arouse suspicion for no reason."

Eunuch Qin nodded and continued, "The Changle Palace where Concubine Yin lived has been uninhabited for a long time. I just asked someone to search it in the name of cleaning. Her valuables were sealed up and there were not many. I checked the jewelry box against the list and found that an earring was indeed missing. The earrings were originally a pair, and there was only one left in the jewelry box. It has a good provenance."

The Queen Mother glared at him and said, "You paused at the critical moment. What are you talking about? You are keeping me on suspense. Tell me, what's so special about this earring?"

Eunuch Qin smiled flatteringly and said, "Yes, let me continue. This earring was given by you, the Queen Mother, when Concubine Yin first met the Queen Mother after entering the palace. I personally handed it to her. There is a jade gourd embedded in the gold. At that time, you, the Queen Mother, said that the gourd symbolizes fortune and luck, and you saw that Concubine Yin was kind, so you gave it to her specially."

The Queen Mother did have some impression, and after a moment of contemplation, she said, "So one of the earrings is missing, the one that was on Jin'an?"

Eunuch Qin nodded and said, "I think it is 80% correct. The wonder of these earrings is that when the two are put together, they can form the Chinese character for blessing. Perhaps, Concubine Yin asked Nanny Zhao to take the real prince out of the palace to settle him down, but she was afraid that she would not be able to recognize the child in the future, so she took one of the earrings away as a keepsake."

The Queen Mother said sadly: "Why did she do this? She handed such a young child to a servant to take away. Didn't she think about the child's safety? She also found another child to confuse people. It's really infuriating!"

Eunuch Qin shook his head and sighed helplessly: "I don't know what Concubine Yin is thinking. Is she worried that there will be no one to tolerate the prince in the palace? It's really hard to understand!"

The Queen Mother slapped her thigh and said sadly, "Even if there is an 80% chance that the child is the prince, we can't provide evidence. The token is gone, and we don't know who bought it. Even if we find it, who can prove that the earrings belong to Jin'an? So, this matter is really unsolvable."

Eunuch Qin said, "Your Majesty showed mercy to those who served Concubine Yin and spared them from execution. There were four palace maids who served her closely. Two of them have reached the age limit and left the palace, and two are serving in the temporary palace. When your Majesty goes to the temporary palace for the winter in a few days, you can interrogate them again."

Speaking of this, the Queen Mother became angry: "Shu Fei is really useless, a fool, she only cares about being affectionate with the Emperor and doesn't care about the overall situation. I was very wise not to continue to pin my hopes on her. She can't get the Emperor's favor and can't help the Shu family much. Send someone to look after her baby, and I won't worry about it."

Eunuch Qin quickly agreed.

"I'll be in the hot spring palace for more than half a year, and I only come back during the New Year. I won't be able to eat the dishes cooked by Concubine Tao for a long time." The Queen Mother said regretfully.

Eunuch Qin's mouth twitched, thinking that it would take a whole day to get to the palace, and he couldn't deliver meals to you every day, and the food would go bad.

The Queen Mother glanced at him and said, "Do you think those two palace maids will remember the past events more clearly when they see Jin'an?"

Eunuch Qin asked suspiciously, "The Queen Mother said, take the little prince with you? But the child is still young, if he cries, without Concubine Tao by his side, she won't be able to control him, right?"

The Queen Mother hummed, picked up the teacup and took a sip of tea: "Yes, without Concubine Tao, we can't control them. We don't know what the children like to eat. What if they don't like it? They will become thin and hungry."

Eunuch Qin nodded and said, isn’t that right?

Suddenly, Eunuch Qin thought of something and looked at the Queen Mother in surprise: "Queen Mother, you are not thinking..." Eunuch Qin covered his mouth.

Oh my God, is it necessary for you to do this just for your stuttering?

You want to abduct both Lady Tao and the young master to the palace!

The Queen Mother coughed lightly without blushing or beating her heart. "Firstly, she is young and at that age she loves to play. She is not in a hurry to get pregnant. What's the big deal about going out for a walk? Secondly, the way men and women get along is to be close yet distant. A short separation is better than a new marriage and can enhance feelings."

Eunuch Qin: What you said makes so much sense that I can’t refute it.

"Tomorrow she will bring Jin'an to cook for me. You can use some indirect means to get this done."

After the Queen Mother finished speaking, she yawned and said, "I am tired, I need to rest now. You should go and rest too."

Eunuch Qin looked as if he had lost all hope in life. He was very worried that after he successfully abducted Concubine Tao, the emperor would not be able to help but kill him.

In Yingyue Pavilion, Tao Yanyan was tired from running during the day and went to bed very early at night.

After He Linzhang came out from Shu Fei's place, he went to the imperial study to do some work. When he arrived at Yingyue Pavilion late at night, the door was closed.

"Your Majesty, this...how about I go and knock on the door!"

He Linzhang sighed: "Forget it, let's go back to the Qinzheng Palace and come back tomorrow."

The emperor's carriage returned along the same route.

After a good night's sleep, Tao Yanyan woke up and felt that the weather had become colder. After washing and dressing herself, she hurriedly ate some breakfast, asked Chang Tai to send Xiao Jin'an to Changchun Palace, and then took the sedan chair to pay her respects at Fengyi Palace.

Arriving at Fengyi Palace, Tao Yanyan glanced around and didn't see Concubine Xian, nor did Concubine Shu. She curled her lips, thinking that no one should make her unhappy today.

As soon as I sat down, I heard a few people gathered together talking about Shu Fei's pregnancy.

Tao Yanyan frowned. Is she still pregnant?

Shu Fei and the emperor were cousins, close relatives, not to mention that Shu Fei had taken some fertility remedies. Who knows what will happen to this child!