Harem Daily Life

Dong Fang was a quick walker. He came over with clothes just as the Empress Dowager finished her breakfast.

Tao Yanyan personally changed the clothes for the empress dowager. The clothes were made of purple satin with white fur and embroidered with ginkgo patterns. They looked very beautiful on the empress dowager.

"Wow, this fits us so well and looks so good. The color matches our skin tone. When we walk on the street, everyone will think we are sisters!" Tao Yanyan couldn't help but praise.

The empress dowager lives a life of luxury and takes good care of herself. She is obviously forty-six or forty-seven years old, but she looks like she is in her thirties. When she wears clothes of new styles, she looks even younger. Doesn't she look like a sister in her twenties?

The Queen Mother looked in the bronze mirror and was very satisfied: "Then give it to me. I will wear it today to go out and play. Let's leave early and come back early. The emperor and his men should be here tonight. Don't show your true colors. You don't know, when Zhang'er is angry, he can be quite intimidating."

Tao Yanyan smiled and took the Queen Mother's arm. As they walked, they said, "No matter how angry he is, he dare not vent it on the Queen Mother. I have already told them to check out all the places to visit in advance. Today, the Queen Mother should have a good time."

Tao Yanyan also gave it a try. He decided to do what he had decided to do. Instead of feeling depressed and wasting time, it was better to enjoy life while he could.

Gu Yi was already guarding outside the palace with his guards. The guards were dressed as servants, boy servants, coachmen and ordinary people.

Seeing the Queen Mother and the other two coming out, Gu Yi glanced at Lady Tao and stepped forward to greet them, saying, "Greetings to the Queen Mother, Lady Tao, and the Second Prince. Your Majesty, everything has been prepared. Some people will enter the city first, and the rest will dress up as servants and serve you."

The Queen Mother was very satisfied. Seeing that the carriage had been improved and looked like it belonged to a wealthy family, she said happily, "Well, not bad. Let's go."

The three of them got on the same carriage, talking and laughing as they headed towards the city, not knowing that on another official road, a group of people were escorting a heroic man towards the palace.

"When I was young, I loved to go to brothels, but it was not convenient for young ladies to go out at that time. They were either accompanied by their mothers or their brothers. At that time, I thought that the lives of women were too restrictive, and everything was restricted."

Tao Yanyan smiled and said, "It is a bit restrained, but it is also a kind of protection. Nowadays, the population of Da Zhou should be less female and more male. If a woman goes out alone, she will be in danger. If she follows her mother, she is experienced and can see through many traps. If she follows her brother, he can stop the bad guys if he meets them."

The Queen Mother found it interesting to hear that she did not talk about the etiquette that women should abide by, but about safety and danger.

"I haven't checked the number of male and female population. How did you come to the conclusion that there are more males than females?" the Queen Mother asked puzzled.

Tao Yanyan thought for a moment and said, "This is my deduction. First, the idea of favoring boys over girls is at work. People think that boys inherit the family line, while girls are like spilled water. So some families don't want their first baby as soon as they see it's a girl. The birth rate and survival rate of baby girls are low, so naturally there are fewer girls."

The Queen Mother nodded, motioning for her to continue.

"Secondly, the laws of the Great Zhou Dynasty stipulate that girls can get married at the age of fourteen. In fact, early marriage and early childbearing are extremely harmful to girls' bodies. Many girls take care of housework, serve their parents-in-law, and have children after they get married. Over the years, this will actually affect their health. There may be more girls who die young than boys, which is ultimately reflected in the imbalance in the number of men and women."

The Queen Mother nodded in agreement: "Being a woman is not easy! There is one hurdle when you are born, and another when you get married. If you meet the wrong person, you will be trapped in the harem for the rest of your life. It is simply hopeless."

Tao Yanyan smiled and said: "So, women should live their lives well, live in the present, and don't wrong themselves."

This is also the reason why she finally agreed when she heard that the Queen Mother wanted to go out and play.

In her opinion, the empress dowager should live the rest of her life freely and ostentatiously. After all, she is already the most noble woman in the Great Zhou. She has the capital to be so unrestrained and should not let anyone else suffer any injustice, but herself.

"I didn't expect you to have such insight. You have a good vision." The Queen Mother said with satisfaction.

The Queen Mother didn't expect that Concubine Tao was so insightful at such a young age, and she couldn't help but like her even more.

But then she thought of another question, that is, when she abducted the person to the palace, was it because she was good at abducting people, or was it because the person just wanted to go out for fun?

Thinking this way, she asked this question. Tao Yanyan said embarrassedly: "At first I was moved, and then I was happy. The Queen Mother is willing to take me out to play, then I will definitely be more than happy! Facts have also proved that following the Queen Mother, life in the harem is also quite interesting."

Less being targeted by the various palaces, less paying respects, more sleep, more hot springs, more freedom outside the palace, and now I can also take a day trip to the city of Beijing. How fun!

The people on this side were like free-flying birds, chirping and chatting non-stop. In the hot spring palace, no one dared to breathe, for fear that if they breathed heavily, they would be dragged out and beheaded by the furious emperor.

He Linzhang himself did not expect that he would set out in the middle of the night, face the cold wind all the way, and finally meet a lonely person when he arrived at the palace.

He pinched his brows and said, "The Queen Mother wants to go on a tour incognito, and no one is stopping her?"

Eunuch Gui did not accompany him today, and now he is regretting it so much: Why did he stay? Why did he stay? Was it just to bear the pressure from the emperor alone?

"Your Majesty, Concubine Tao and Eunuch Qin certainly tried to stop them, but the Queen Mother felt that the birthday celebration should be innovative, so she decided to go on an incognito tour. Your Majesty, please rest assured that the guards are on duty, and they have also carefully selected fifty people from the garrison in the palace, led by Commander Gu to personally protect the Queen Mother, Concubine Tao, and the Second Prince."

He Linzhang was so angry that he had no appetite for lunch, so he simply took his men and rode into the city again.

He wanted to see how the Queen Mother and her friends were going to play among the common people, and what attracted them to go and play even at the risk of their lives.

The Queen Mother and Tao Yanyan took little Jin'an to the gold shop right away.

Who doesn’t love glittering gold accessories? The Queen Mother and Tao Yanyan were so beautiful when they tried them on. You wore this and I wore that, and we were so happy.

"Madam, you have such a great demeanor. You can be seen as a distinguished lady from some prominent royal palace. This set of auspicious gold jewelry is the treasure of our store, but not many people can wear it. Especially when you wear it, it makes you and the gold one, as if it was tailor-made for you." Seeing that the empress dowager and her entourage had an extraordinary demeanor, the shopkeeper received them personally.

Tao Yanyan looked at the set of jewelry, a total of nine pieces, each of which was made with superb craftsmanship. If it weren't so expensive, costing one thousand and two taels of silver, she would have wanted to buy it and wear it slowly.

The Queen Mother also thought it was good, but she had seen a lot of good things, and her own storehouse was full of better things than this, so she was not particularly enthusiastic.

Just as the two were hesitating whether to buy or not, a person dressed beautifully and brightly, like a noble lady, walked in.