Harem Daily Life

Hearing that Concubine Xian wanted to see him, He Linzhang frowned. There were a mountain of memorials in front of him, and he had to go to the Ministry of Revenue to discuss matters later, so he really didn't have time to see her.

When Eunuch Zhang saw that the emperor did not summon her right away, he said, "How about I go and persuade the virtuous concubine to go back first, and then we can go to Changxin Palace later when His Majesty is free?"

If the emperor had unfinished work, his servants would have to stay up late as well, so it was better to disturb the emperor as little as possible.

He Linzhang sighed slightly: "Forget it, let her in."

Recently, Concubine Xian asked the Imperial Hospital to prescribe some nourishing prescriptions, and her complexion has become more rosy. She bowed and said coquettishly, "Your Majesty, you haven't come to see me for a long time. Your Majesty didn't come, and I missed you very much, so I had to take the initiative to come to see you."

Listening to Concubine Xian's accusation, He Linzhang was a little annoyed: "It's the end of the year, I've been busy and neglected you. By the way, have you recovered from your injury?"

It has been more than twenty days since he was assassinated on the way back from Jingci Temple after leaving the palace. He Linzhang thought he should be fine now.

In the end, we never found out who the group was, but they were most likely related to the Canglong Sect.

The virtuous concubine stroked the wound that had long since healed and said, "It is healed, but a scar is left. I asked the Imperial Hospital for scar-removing ointment and apply it every day, waiting for it to slowly heal."

"Did Jingyi come here today just to see me? Or is there something important?" He Linzhang opened a new memorial and asked as he read it.

Concubine Xian pouted as she walked forward, closed the memorial with a snap, and sat on He Linzhang's lap in front of his stunned eyes. She put her arms around his neck and said coquettishly, "Your Majesty, you didn't come to Changxin Palace. Do you know that there are rumors in the palace?"

He Linzhang asked patiently, "What gossip?"

The virtuous concubine leaned into his arms and said, "Everyone says that I have fallen out of favor, and your majesty no longer loves me."

After saying this, Concubine Xian's eyes turned red with some tears in them.

He Linzhang didn't want to see her crying, because once she started crying he would have to spend half a day coaxing her, which was really time-consuming and stressful.

"How could I not love you? I've been really busy these days! Well, the Minister of Revenue will be here soon, and I have something important to discuss with him. Can you go back first? I'll go see you when I'm free."

The virtuous concubine lingered for a while, kissed the emperor's face, and when she saw that she could not seduce him any more, she gave up and stood up: "Then Your Majesty, can you come to see me tonight? I haven't served Your Majesty since I had a miscarriage, and my body has recovered!"

The hint was too obvious, so He Linzhang had no choice but to say, "Well, you go back first."

The virtuous concubine happily took her leave. He Linzhang watched her leave, shook his head, and immediately opened the memorial to continue working.

The Minister of Revenue came to report on the progress of winter clothing collection. As soon as he came in, he said excitedly: "Your Majesty, since I got the advice from Lady Tao last time, we have bought old clothes that are 70% to 80% new, and purchased them from ready-made clothing shops. So far, we have collected more than 30,000 pieces. All of them have been washed, dried, inspected, and shipped to the border."

"According to Lady Tao's suggestion, we recruited a group of people to collect old clothes from previous years. We can make one new piece of clothing out of two old clothes. The cotton wool is enough and it is quite effective. As long as we continue to work hard, we can hopefully solve the winter clothing problem for the 100,000-strong army before the cold winter comes."

He Linzhang was also very happy. This, coupled with the promotion of earthen kangs, meant that this year's cold disaster would at least ensure that many people would not be frozen to death.

"Well, you did a good job on this."

The Minister of Revenue was so praised that his beard almost stood up to the sky: "The matter of making broom heads with scraps of cloth is also progressing smoothly. So far, we have earned 8,700 taels. There are still 30% of the cloth strips left. When all are finished and sold, we will earn at least 12,000 taels."

It’s a classic example of recycling waste!

The Minister of Revenue feels that his luck is really great this year, and Concubine Tao has greatly boosted his career in the government!

He Linzhang didn't expect that something that was obviously a bad thing would turn out to be a good thing in the end, and he was in a very happy mood.

"It's really good to pool ideas from all sides. It seems that if you have any difficulties in the future, you can ask Miss Tao more often. She always has many new ideas." He Linzhang praised.

The Minister of Revenue also wanted to praise her, but there were differences between men and women, and it was inappropriate for a minister to praise a concubine, so he did not praise Concubine Tao directly, but praised Concubine Tao's father.

"Master Tao is so lucky to have such a smart daughter."

He Linzhang smiled, always feeling that he was luckier as he could marry a beautiful woman.

"Tao Qian will return to Beijing to report on his work at the end of the year. I intend to let him stay in Beijing. By then, you can investigate with the Ministry of Personnel to see where he would be best placed." He Linzhang never had the final say in selecting and employing people. He often listened to the opinions of various departments and could be considered a good emperor who was willing to accept advice.

"Yes, I remember that Lord Tao's performance in the imperial examinations was quite good. He started as a small county magistrate, and rose from a seventh-rank official to a third-rank prefect. His performance was rated above average every year, and he was more than qualified to stay in Beijing to serve."

The Minister of Revenue is already considering bringing someone into the Ministry of Revenue. With him around, Concubine Tao will definitely give advice to the Ministry of Revenue. Wouldn't that be a great opportunity for him?

The Minister of Revenue happily took his leave, and soon the Minister of Rites also arrived.

"Your Majesty, all matters concerning the Beginning of Winter Festival have been prepared. We just need to confirm whether the eldest prince will perform the sacrifice together with Your Majesty."

After the Minister of Rites finished speaking, He Linzhang glanced at him and said, "Lord Ji, has your daughter's marriage with the Rong family been finalized?"

The Minister of Rites was stunned and replied, "Your Majesty, it has not been decided yet."

"Then why are you so concerned about the order of the eldest prince's sacrifice? How can you offer sacrifices with me when you are not the crown prince?"

As soon as the emperor questioned him, Lord Ji knelt down and said in fear: "Your Majesty, please forgive me. I was not thoughtful enough. I know how to arrange it."

He Linzhang did not ask him to stand up, but said calmly: "I have only been on the throne for five years. Before that, I only had one son, the eldest prince. Not long ago, I recognized the second prince, but there are still not many princes. It is too early to ask about the crown prince now! Even if you want to stand on the side of the Rong family, it is too early. It will be suspected of forming a faction."

Lord Ji buried his head deeply in the ground, not daring to stand up, and said in a trembling voice: "Your Majesty, please forgive me. I didn't have these thoughts. I was just confused for a moment, so I asked nonsense. Please forgive me, Your Majesty!"

"You are in charge of the Ministry of Rites. You must be extremely careful about all the details of etiquette. Do you know that your arrangements may cause endless speculations among others? I just want you to remember the rules and regulations, follow the regulations, be polite and considerate, and don't be clever and try to guess the emperor's mind."

The emperor's majesty frightened the Minister of Rites so much that he broke out in cold sweats. He really regretted asking this question!

I originally thought that the emperor's selection of the eldest prince to participate in the Beginning of Winter Festival sacrifice was a sign of him becoming the eldest prince. My family happened to be discussing a marriage with the Rong family, so I could take advantage of the Rong family's influence. But now it seems I have to think about it again.