Harem Daily Life

Seeing that the Queen Mother looked unhappy, Eunuch Qin quickly changed the subject: "I heard that tomorrow night, His Majesty will lead all officials to celebrate the Beginning of Winter Festival and worship the God of Winter, in order to pray for peace and prosperity in the country and good weather."

This was the first time Tao Yanyan had heard of such a festival, and couldn't help but ask curiously, "Do ordinary people also celebrate the Beginning of Winter Festival? How do they usually celebrate it?"

Eunuch Qin thought Lady Tao was young and had never celebrated the Beginning of Winter before, so he introduced: "Generally, people will worship the winter god, offer sacrifices to their ancestors with seasonal delicacies, fulfill their obligations and responsibilities as descendants, and pray to God for a good harvest in the coming year. In addition, there is winter nourishment. Every household will boil grass root soup, add the roots of Angelica dahurica and Rhus chinensis to chicken, duck, rabbit meat or pig's trotters, pig's stomach, etc. to nourish the body. The third is to sweep away scabies, use various herbs, chrysanthemums, and honeysuckle to boil soup for bathing, in order to cure diseases and ensure a healthy winter."

The Queen Mother glanced at him and said, "Who can remember all that? Just say that we want to eat good food today, such as pig's trotters, pig's stomach, and dumplings."

Eunuch Qin: “…”

You are the most noble woman in the Great Zhou, teaching customs and passing on culture to the younger generation, but all you think about is food?

"Dumplings, dumplings, mother, I want to eat dumplings!" Little Jin'an, who was drawing on the side, pricked up his ears when he heard about the delicious food and immediately made a small request.

Tao Yanyan rubbed his face with amusement: "No problem, let's eat dumplings tomorrow." Then he looked at the Queen Mother: "There is a dish of chicken wrapped in belly that I haven't made yet, so let's make it tomorrow, and stew a pot of soybean and pig's trotter."

The Queen Mother was very satisfied and said with a smile: "Give me another dish of the sugar glutinous rice cake I made last time. You can arrange the rest."

After saying that, he immediately changed his expression and said to Eunuch Qin: "You go to Jingci Temple in person and convey my imperial decree to have Concubine Li copy three volumes of the Ksitigarbha Sutra and offer them to the late emperor. Tell the people over there to keep a close eye on it. Don't leave any words missing, and don't let anyone else write them for you. She had a deep affection for the late emperor, so she should just pray for him until he grows old!"

Eunuch Qin: “…”

Tao Yanyan: “…”

The late emperor has been dead for eight hundred years, but you still haven't gotten over this?

Tao Yanyan silently lit a candle for Concubine Li. Who asked her to anger the most noble woman in the Great Zhou Dynasty?

Eunuch Qin did not dare to delay. Even if he set out now, he would not be back until late at night. He took two guards with him and left the palace in a carriage.

Dong Fang was sent by Concubine Tao to leave with Eunuch Qin in a carriage, saying that they were going to the city to buy needles and thread for Qingfeng and the others. In fact, they were going to the shop to check the business, look at the account book, and get the dividend money.

Eunuch Qin arrived at Jingci Temple in the afternoon. To his surprise, the temple was newly decorated and much warmer than in previous years. After asking around, he learned that His Majesty doted on Concubine Xian and had ordered people to build an earthen kang in the temple since he accompanied Concubine Xian to visit Concubine Li last time. The kang had already been heated, so it was no wonder that the temple was much warmer than in previous years.

Eunuch Qin found the spy arranged in the nunnery and asked calmly, "Besides repairing the kang, are there any other abnormalities?"

The nun looked around and gave Eunuch Qin a wink, and the two of them walked around the crowd and went into the house.

The nun took out a purse and handed it to Eunuch Qin. Eunuch Qin was horrified and asked, "Why are you, a monk, handing a purse to a eunuch?"

Nun: “…”

Don't think wrongly, big brother. I am a true monk and I have no worldly desires. Besides, even if I want to do something, I won't do it to a father-in-law like you who is over 40 years old!

The nun hurriedly explained, "No, Eunuch Qin, you misunderstood! I picked up this purse in Jingci Temple. As you know, there are usually no men coming to this temple, but if you look closely at this purse, you will see the pattern used by men."

Eunuch Qin realized that he had misunderstood. He took it shyly and looked at it carefully against the light. The more he looked, the more suspicious he became.

"Most people can't afford this purse, and it's made of gold thread. Moreover, the pattern..." Eunuch Qin always felt that it looked familiar, as if he had seen it somewhere.

The nun said, "It is precisely because it is so special that I feel something is wrong. I haven't seen any men come here recently. It was only His Majesty who came here with Concubine Xian before. In addition to His Majesty, there were also guards that day. But this purse cannot be used by the emperor, and it was only found the day before yesterday. It cannot be dropped by a guard either. The time does not match."

Eunuch Qin thought for a moment and said, "We should start with the purse itself. I feel it looks very familiar. How about this, I will take the purse away, and you should keep a close eye on it to see if anyone has sneaked into Jingci Temple to meet someone secretly when no one is paying attention."

After saying that, he glanced in the direction of Concubine Li: "Especially keep an eye on that side. If she is really having a secret meeting with a man outside her family, this will be a big handle!"

After taking the purse, Eunuch Qin went to Concubine Li and read out the Queen Mother's order. Then he led his men back, looking at the purse in deep thought all the way.

"Oh, I'm old after all, why can't I remember it?" Eunuch Qin said in annoyance. It's so familiar, but I still can't remember it, which really makes me scratch my head.

Dong Fang rushed back before it got dark and brought snacks from the shop to everyone, bought needle and thread for Qingfeng, brought some new storybooks for Mingyue, bought a pair of thick cloth shoes for Xiao Quanzi, and a wooden cart for Xiao Jinan.

After distributing the things that everyone wanted, he went to report to Lady Tao.

"Last month, a total of 270 taels of dividends were distributed, 200 taels were in silver notes, and 70 taels were in cash. The sales quantities of the categories in the store are also organized into a list, and they are all recorded. Currently, there are three types that sell very well every day and are often out of stock. Madam Qi said that she only prepares 10% more stock every day, but not too much, otherwise it will not be sold. When customers come, if these three items are sold out, she can recommend other ones, which has also helped sell many other items."

Tao Yanyan was very satisfied. If she continued at this rate, she would have an extra income of more than two thousand taels a year, and her life would be prosperous.

"You've worked hard too, go down and rest early." Tao Yanyan said with a smile.

Eunuch Qin returned much later than Dong Fang. It was already late at night when he returned to the Hot Spring Palace. After quickly eating a bowl of plain noodles, Eunuch Qin went to bed.

Unable to remember where the purse came from, Eunuch Qin went to ask Qingfeng, who was more knowledgeable about embroidery, the next day.

Qingfeng looked at the purse: "A small purse made with gold thread, it is really exquisitely made." She opened the purse, there was nothing inside, but the lining was also excellent silk.

"This purse is delicately embroidered and made of fine materials. I'm afraid it was used by some nobleman. The pattern is made using Suzhou embroidery techniques. I can't embroider something so beautiful." Qingfeng touched it carefully before returning it to Eunuch Qin.

Xiao Quanzi, who was watching over Xiao Jinan, touched his head and said, "This pattern looks very familiar. It seems to be what Commander Gu is wearing. It is very similar to this."