Harem Daily Life

Not long after the Emperor was asked to leave by Concubine Xian's men, a young eunuch came to report that someone from Jingci Temple had come and said that Concubine Dowager Li was unwell and they wanted to ask the imperial physician to see her, so they came to ask the Empress Dowager for permission.

The Queen Mother laughed sarcastically, "Now all matters concerning the harem are handled by the Queen. Besides, I will leave the palace early the day after tomorrow to spend the winter in the temporary palace, so I can't control whether she invites the imperial physician or not."

Eunuch Qin was very perceptive, so he said to the young eunuch, "You go to Fengyi Palace and ask." The young eunuch did not dare to say anything more and left immediately.

"The virtuous concubine would have had her forehead broken early or late, but the Dowager Concubine Li was unwell, so she broke her forehead. This is to make the emperor feel sorry for her and then take good care of her!" The empress dowager glanced at Tao Yanyan and said, "The emperor probably won't be able to leave Changxin Palace tonight. You should take the children back early, and we will go to the temporary palace the day after tomorrow morning."

Tao Yanyan smiled, then stood up and left with Jin'an.

In Changsheng Palace, Concubine Xian had a bandage wrapped around her forehead, with a faint trace of blood. She lay on the couch, looking a bit frail, like an ill lady.

"How could you be so careless? How did the servants take care of you? They let you fall!" He Linzhang reached out and stroked Concubine Xian's head, saying with concern.

"Your Majesty, don't blame them. It was all because of my own distraction." As the virtuous concubine said this, her eyes turned red.

"Why did you lose your concentration?" He Linzhang couldn't help but ask.

"Your Majesty also knows that I was raised by my aunt since I was a child. My mother was in poor health and had to take care of my brother, so I was often raised at my maternal grandparents' home when I was a child, and I have a deep affection for my aunt. Ever since my aunt was sent to Jingci Temple to practice, I feel heartbroken every time I think of her." As the virtuous concubine spoke, she leaned into the emperor's arms.

"Your Majesty, no matter what, my aunt is still a concubine. Jingci Nunnery is cold, damp, and remote. I really can't bear to see my aunt suffer all year round. Today, I heard that my aunt was not in good health and had been ill for more than half a month without treatment. I was worried and fell down."

After Concubine Xian finished speaking, I looked at the emperor with pity: "Your Majesty, can you ask the imperial physician to see my aunt? I also want to see her, and I can go back and forth that day. Is that possible?"

Concubines cannot leave the palace unless they go out with the emperor. He Linzhang was a little embarrassed. He wanted to spend more time with Yan Yan in the next two days. After all, Yan Yan would be away for several months.

Seeing the emperor's embarrassment, Concubine Xian spoke tenderly, "Your Majesty, if you are worried, please send someone to escort me. I want to see with my own eyes how my aunt is doing."

He Linzhang looked at her forehead and thought that she had miscarried only a month ago, so he said, "Send someone to take the imperial physician. You haven't recovered yet, so don't go."

However, Concubine Xian began to cry, and the tears came without any delay, without a single second.

"Alright, alright, go, go, let the imperial physician go first. I will accompany you after the morning court tomorrow and lunch. But you must come back before dark. The empress dowager is going to the hot spring palace, and I have to see her off the day after tomorrow morning." This arrangement was already the limit for He Linzhang, and he had to hurry as fast as he could. Time was very tight.

The virtuous concubine wiped away her tears in an instant and burst into laughter: "Your Majesty still loves me the most. I thank your Majesty very much."

At this time, Eunuch Zhang came in and said respectfully, "Your Majesty, the head nanny from Fengyi Palace came just now and said that Concubine Li, who is practicing, needs to invite an imperial physician. She sent someone to report to the Queen Mother, and she said that she would leave it alone and let the Queen make the decision. The Queen Mother thought that she was the Concubine after all, so she appointed Imperial Physician Liu from the Imperial Hospital to go there tomorrow, and came to report to Your Majesty."

He Linzhang said, "It's up to the Queen. By the way, tomorrow's lunch will be arranged early. After lunch, I will accompany Concubine Xian to Jingci Temple. We will travel light. Please make the arrangements."

Eunuch Zhang was stunned and glanced at Concubine Xian: "Yes, I obey your command."

"Okay, you should get some rest. I still have memorials to review. Let's go back to the imperial study first." He Linzhang stood up to leave, but was hugged by Concubine Xian: "Your Majesty, my head hurts so much. I want Your Majesty to accompany me."

He Linzhang felt very embarrassed when thinking about Tao Yanyan.

"Your Majesty~" Concubine Xian said coquettishly, "Your Majesty, don't you care about me anymore? I'm injured, but Your Majesty won't stay."

He Linzhang said helplessly: "But I really have a lot of memorials to submit and I am busy with state affairs. Be good, I will come to see you in a few days."

At this point, Concubine Xian naturally couldn't keep him any longer. After the emperor left, she pulled off the bandage on her head. Where was the sign of injury? Not even a scratch on her skin.

Jing'er immediately fetched some warm water and used it to wash Concubine Xian.

"Send someone to keep an eye on His Majesty and see if he is going to Yingyue Pavilion tonight?" Concubine Xian asked angrily.

Qing'er stepped forward to comfort her: "Your Majesty, Lady Tao will leave the palace soon, there is no need to worry about her."

The virtuous concubine looked at the beautiful figure in the mirror. She had lost a lot of weight recently because of the miscarriage. When people lose weight, their appearance tends to change. She didn't seem as pretty as before?

"Go to the Imperial Hospital and get some beauty creams. I need to take good care of myself. By the way, after the one from Yingyue Pavilion leaves the palace, remember to pay more attention to the other concubines of lower rank and select two who are easy to handle to keep. It will be difficult for me to have children in the future, so I need to plan carefully."

Even if a concubine of low rank in the palace gave birth to a child, she was not qualified to raise the child. Therefore, for the sake of the child's future, the child would usually be given to a concubine of higher rank to raise.

A high-ranking concubine who already has a child is naturally unwilling to help others raise the child, but Concubine Xian is injured and may not be able to get pregnant again. Besides, she is a concubine of the first rank. If she wants to raise someone's child, that person will have no choice but to hand the child over to her obediently.

Jing'er and Qing'er nodded in agreement. They were relieved that Concubine Xian could take this step. In the future, they only needed to adopt a child of a concubine of a lower rank, and they would have someone to rely on in the future. Why would they have to worry about having no way out?

If the child is lucky enough to move up in career, Concubine Xian will have no worries for the rest of her life.

In Yingyue Pavilion, Xiao Jinan was depressed after returning, because he heard the empress dowager say that the emperor could not leave Changxin Palace at night. He knew that the emperor would not come tonight.

Seeing his pitiful appearance, Tao Yanyan said, "I have learned a new lullaby. I wonder if Jinan wants to listen to it tonight?"

Sure enough, children's interests are easily diverted. Little Jin'an, who was still dejected a second ago, immediately looked at Tao Yanyan with bright eyes: "Sister, sister, I want to listen! I want to learn and coax His Majesty next time!"

"Puchi..." Everyone couldn't help laughing when they thought of the cute way the young master sang out of tune.

Tao Yanyan couldn't help laughing and said, "Then go wash up quickly, lie down after washing yourself, and I'll come over to teach you how to sing later."

Qingfeng and Xiao Quanzi took the person to wash up. Tao Yanyan thought about it and went to the study to write down the lyrics.