Harem Daily Life

Qing'er said, "Empress Dowager Li said that Concubine Shu and the Queen are about to give birth. As long as the two babies are buried in Changle Palace, and then someone is brought to dig them out, Concubine Tao can be convicted. She cursed the Queen and Concubine Shu and used the art of aversion in the palace. The Queen Mother and His Majesty will not let her go. At the very least, she will be demoted, and at the worst, she will be banished to the cold palace."

Li Jieyu didn't quite believe this method would work: "Didn't you say there was another way?"

Qing'er said, "Another method given by Concubine Li is to find an excuse to send the second young lady in to help Concubine Jieyu win favor."

Li Jieyu said irritably, "Humph, there are already many people in this palace, and she wants to squeeze one in? And with Lu Lianyi's beauty, she still wants to catch the eye of His Majesty. She is a toad wanting to eat swan meat!"

After thinking for a while, Li Jieyu looked at the figurine with the horoscopes of the Queen and Concubine Shu written on it and said, "Then bury it quietly. Be careful not to let anyone see it."

At night, a furtive figure appeared again near Changle Palace. Chang Tai and Xiao Lizi hid in the dark and watched. After watching for several nights, they finally saw the man coming again tonight.

The two looked at each other and said nothing.

The man looked around and saw that there was no one around, so he secretly climbed up a tree in a remote place on the side, followed the wall into the yard, found a sweet-scented osmanthus tree in the corner of the yard, gently dug a small hole, and buried something in it.

After burying it carefully, they followed the original route out of Changle Palace.

As usual, Little Li went out the back door and watched where the man went. Chang Tai took a shovel and dug up the filling soil, and dug out a box from it.

Chang Tai took a look at it and was so scared that he almost threw the box away.

Early the next morning, after Tao Yanyan and the children finished breakfast, Chang Tai invited them to a side hall.

"Your Majesty, that sneaky man came here last night and buried this thing under the osmanthus tree in the corner of our yard." After saying that, she opened the box in her hand and showed it to Tao Yanyan.

Tao Yanyan took one look and sneered, "I thought she would do something else, but it turns out to be just this?" How could someone actually believe something that has no scientific basis at all!

Chang Tai said: "Fortunately we found it first, otherwise if it was dug out in front of your majesty one day, we would never be able to wash it off even if we jumped into the Yellow River."

Tao Yanyan thought for a moment and said, "Since she wants to harm me, there is no reason for me to wait for her to do so. So, you should keep these two villains away from anyone. I will replace them with two ingots of silver and put them in. Then you can bury the box in its original place without moving it."

Chang Tai did as Concubine Tao said, but he did not expect that three days later, Concubine De received a secret letter saying that someone in Changle Palace was practicing the art of witchcraft.

This kind of taboo is not allowed in any dynasty. After thinking about it, Concubine De went to report it to the Queen Mother. Upon hearing this, the Queen Mother raised her eyebrows and glanced at Concubine De: "Then who is the informer?"

Those who gossip about others are gossipers. The Queen Mother was the best in the last palace fight, and this little trick was not enough in her eyes.

De Fei said, "This letter was tied to a stone and thrown into Yongxing Palace. When the people below went out to check, no one was seen. Queen Mother, this... do we need to search the palace?"

The Queen Mother suppressed her smile and said, "Searching the palace with great fanfare, no matter what is found, will damage the reputation of Concubine Tao. Have you thought about the consequences?"

Concubine De said, "I think there may be a reason for this rumor. Since she dared to directly point out that it was Changle Palace, maybe someone in her palace was dissatisfied and reported her. If we don't search the palace, I'm afraid we can't stop the gossip."

"Hahaha." The Queen Mother was so angry that she laughed: "Rumors? Isn't this a secret letter, sent directly to your palace, who would know? Where did rumors come from? Could it be that just because I don't allow you to search the palace, you are going to spread this matter everywhere?"

These questions left Concubine De speechless.

After a long while, Concubine De said, "Then, according to the Queen Mother, we don't care?"

The Queen Mother laughed and said, "Of course I should. Go and call Chief Steward Li and Zhang Fuhai. They are both old men in the palace and are very experienced. Let them take charge of this matter."

Defei agreed and immediately sent someone to call.

The Queen Mother then turned to Eunuch Qin and said, "You should also take a look and report back to me when you find out what's going on."

Eunuch Qin agreed. In this way, the Queen Mother, the Emperor, the heads of the six palaces, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs were all witnesses, and they went to Changle Palace in a mighty manner under the leadership of Concubine De.

Tao Yanyan waited for three days until the group of people finally arrived. His eyes lit up and he called Chang Tai and Dong Fang: "It's time to act. Go and get them and bring them to Changle Palace. If Concubine Li stops us, tie her up as well."

Tao Yanyan's current position is higher than Li Jieyu's, so it is justified for her to punish Li Jieyu.

Mingyue thought about it and was afraid that Concubine Tao would suffer if she confronted Li Jieyu directly, so she advised: "Your Majesty, His Majesty treats Li Jieyu differently from others. Can you be more tactful and not confront Li Jieyu head-on? We just need to make sure that we can't find anything. Why don't you think twice about bringing someone to confront her?"

Tao Yanyan smiled and said, "Mingyue, sometimes if you are too weak, your enemies will think you are easy to bully. Before, I was lower in rank than her and she bullied me. Now that I am higher in rank than her, she still bullies me. How can that be okay? Then my promotion would be in vain, wouldn't it? I know you are worried about what His Majesty will think, but I can't just suffer this injustice for his thoughts."

After saying that, he urged Chang Tai and the others to hurry up: "It doesn't matter if it gets out of hand, I'll take care of it."

Mingyue sighed: "If your majesty has made up her mind, then I won't say much. I just think that your majesty and His Majesty's relationship has finally become sweet, so please don't go back because of Li Jieyu."

Tao Yanyan nodded: "Don't worry, if he wants to protect Concubine Li this time, I will not let him enter Changle Palace for half a year."

Hearing that those people had arrived at the door, Tao Yanyan stood up and went out to greet them with a few senior palace maids.

"Greetings to Her Majesty Defei. I wonder what brings you here today?" Tao Yanyan smiled.

Seeing her relaxed and relaxed look, Concubine De got angry and said calmly, "I received a secret letter. Someone reported that you were practicing the art of aversion in the palace. Today, Eunuch Qin followed the Queen Mother's order and came with me to investigate. Chief Steward Li and Eunuch Zhang are both witnesses."

Tao Yanyan pretended to be surprised and said, "The art of exorcism? I wonder how Your Majesty is going to verify it?"

De Fei stood in the yard and looked around. She saw a sweet-scented osmanthus tree in the corner. Her eyes lit up and she said, "The person who reported it said in the secret letter that the thing is hidden under the sweet-scented osmanthus tree in your yard. Someone, go and dig it out."

Several palace servants walked towards the tree with tools, and Tao Yanyan did not stop them.

Soon, a box was dug out from under the tree.

The palace maid brought the box to Concubine De, who said proudly, "Concubine Tao, do you have anything else to say?"