Harem Daily Life

The eunuch who came from the palace to deliver something to the temporary palace came to report that the Tao family had come to Beijing and would take over the temporary palace to meet with Lady Tao: "Your Majesty has rewarded Lord Tao with a house. Madam Tao and the eldest son have already moved in. Tomorrow, the Ministry of Internal Affairs will arrange for someone to send them over to reunite with Lady Tao. Lord Tao has just taken up his post at the Ministry of Revenue, and I don't know if he can take leave, so he hasn't decided whether to come or not."

Although he knew that he would meet the Tao family sooner or later, Tao Yanyan was still caught off guard.

She asked Qingfeng to give her a red envelope and then thought about their meeting tomorrow.

Even if someone came, it would be night, and they would go to sleep after a brief greeting. They would meet the day after tomorrow, and then they would be arranged to go back. Although the time was not long, it was very easy to reveal one's identity in front of relatives. Tao Yanyan had to think of an excuse in advance to cover up the fact that he was not like the original owner.

"Mother, what kind of people are my grandmother and uncle? This is the first time Jinan meets them, and I don't know if they will like Jinan." Little Jinan looked at her cutely with his big eyes.

Tao Yanyan: "..."

To be honest, I am also confused.

"Jin'an is so cute, they will like you." After saying that, he asked Qingfeng to take Jin'an to practice calligraphy, and he had to think about a strategy carefully.

She tried hard to search the original owner's memory, but could only vaguely remember her appearance, but had no idea of her temperament. It seemed that she could only take things one step at a time.

At nightfall on the second day, a carriage arrived at the gate of the Hot Spring Palace. Two eunuchs from the Ministry of Internal Affairs brought the people over personally. Eunuch Gui welcomed them warmly and took them all the way to Qingxi Courtyard.

As soon as Madam Tao and Tao Zhixing saw the attitude of the eunuch in charge towards them, they knew that Tao Yanyan was indeed in favor now, otherwise the servants would not treat the concubine's mother's family with such courtesy.

When she saw her daughter, Mrs. Tao cried with joy, but she still bowed and knelt with red eyes. Tao Zhixing also glanced at his sister, then knelt down and kowtowed.

"Mother, brother, please stand up quickly. No need to be so polite." After saying that, Qingfeng and Mingyue helped Mrs. Tao to sit down.

Tao Yanyan's eyes also turned red, half of which was due to the original owner's emotions, and half was due to her inner anxiety, which was indeed quite sincere.

"Mother has had a hard time riding in the carriage. Please use a cushion to rest. Mingyue, go prepare some supper. I will accompany mother and brother to eat some later."

After explaining, Tao Yanyan introduced little Jin'an to them: "Mother, this is the second prince, named Jin'an, and he is now raised by me."

Mrs. Tao and Tao Zhixing immediately stood up to pay their respects, but Xiao Jinan persuaded them to stop: "There are no outsiders here, so grandma and uncle don't need to be polite."

Seeing that the child was so plump and cute, Madam Tao said, "Having a child to accompany you will make the days go by quickly." After that, she took out a box and said, "I came to the capital in a hurry and didn't bring any expensive gifts. This is a gift for the second prince. I hope he won't despise it."

Xiao Jinan took it personally, opened it and saw that it was a golden lock.

"Wow, it looks so good, mother, it's a golden lock."

Tao Yanyan smiled and put the gold lock on Xiao Jinan: "Well, it looks good. There are words on it, wishing you a safe life. Thank you, mother."

"Thank you, grandma. I like it very much." Xiao Jinan said happily.

Tao Zhixing said: "My mother also peeled a bag of walnuts, fried them with salt, and brought them for my sister to try." After saying that, he took a bundle at hand and took out a large box of walnuts from it.

Qingfeng walked forward and took the walnut.

"Qingfeng, put it on a plate and we'll eat it later."

"Eating late at night will easily make you fat." Tao Zhixing said leisurely.

Tao Yanyan glared at him and said, "Just eat it. These walnuts are so delicious, and they were peeled by my mother herself. I can't wait to eat them."

Mrs. Tao smiled helplessly and said, "You are raising a child, but you are still acting like a child!"

Tao Zhixing was a little suspicious and asked, "Sister, don't you say you won't eat after dinner? How come you've changed your habit after so many years?"

Tao Yanyan squeezed her hands in her sleeves and said coquettishly, "I'm still growing, how can I grow if I don't eat more? Besides, my mother and brother are coming. They must have not eaten well after walking all day. They must have something to eat tonight, right? Okay, let's not talk about it anymore. Let's all move to the side hall. It's not a big meal. Just eat a little and then set a good feast for my mother and brother tomorrow."

As expected, there was not much midnight snack, just enough for a few people. Tao Yanyan and Xiao Jinan both ate a little, and they mainly focused on eating walnuts.

Tao Zhixing watched his sister eating happily like a little squirrel, and felt relieved but also suspicious.

"Sister, you seem to eat more now than when you were at home." In the past, my sister had a small stomach, she would stop eating after a few bites, and she was very picky about food, so it was not easy to raise her. So if there was something delicious at home, I would coax her to eat it, otherwise she would rather not eat it without coaxing her.

But now, she never stopped talking.

Tao Yanyan swallowed the last bite, wiped Xiao Jinan's mouth, and asked Xiao Quanzi to take the child to wash and rest first.

Only then did she reveal all the words she had thought of.

"Hey, mother, brother, you don't know, I... I almost died." Tao Yanyan picked up the handkerchief and wiped away the non-existent tears, which made Mrs. Tao feel distressed: "What happened? Tell mother quickly!"

Mrs. Tao said as she slapped Tao Zhixing hard: "It's all your fault. You keep asking questions and making your sister angry!"

Tao Zhixing had never expected that his sister would encounter an accident in the palace. He ignored his mother's nagging and immediately asked anxiously, "Sister, tell me, what happened?"

So, Tao Yanyan told her how Fu Liangyi pushed her into the water and how she was ambushed by spies from the Canglong Sect.

"I was drowning, and after I woke up I forgot some things. I felt a little dazed and stupid, and my body was weak. But I thought that my parents and brother were waiting for me, and I couldn't die in the palace, so I forced myself to eat more and take care of myself."

"Later, on the way to accompany His Majesty on a southern tour, the imperial physician diagnosed me with a weak constitution and prescribed me a prescription to nourish me. Perhaps it was because of the conditioning that my appetite gradually improved, I was no longer picky about food, and my complexion also improved. But I still feel very cold in winter, and my hands and feet are cold. The Queen Mother is coming to spend the winter, and I think soaking in the hot springs is good for my health, so I asked the Queen Mother to come with me."

Mrs. Tao burst into tears after hearing this: "My poor daughter, I told your father to think of a way so that we don't have to have a beauty contest anymore, but he is so stupid that he can't think of anything else except marrying you off. And there is no one in Jiangcheng who is a good match for you, so he has let you fall into this den of wolves for nothing."

"Mother, be careful with your words!" Tao Zhixing hurriedly stopped her. This is the royal palace!

Mrs. Tao looked around quickly, and Tao Yanyan said, "It doesn't matter, these are all my people."

The mother and daughter hugged each other and cried for a while before Tao Yanyan arranged for everyone to rest.

Tao Zhixing was a man from outside the family and was arranged to live in the outer courtyard by Eunuch Gui, while Mrs. Tao lived directly in Qingxi Courtyard.

After passing this level, Tao Yanyan breathed a sigh of relief. She didn't expect that the amount of food she ate could be a point of exposure for her. Could it be that the original owner's cooking skills were very poor before, or even that she couldn't cook at all?

What a headache!