Harem Daily Life

Qi Yizheng felt that it was inappropriate for the Princess of Yan to address His Majesty in that way, but he couldn't point it out directly, so he picked out some high-sounding words to reply. It was nothing more than official words about His Majesty working hard to govern the country and the people, and being a promising emperor, and did not touch on personal matters at all.

Princess Yan was not satisfied with these answers, and they were not what she wanted to hear, so she asked more directly: "He should have countless beauties in his harem and both sons and daughters, right?"

Qi Yizheng reported back: "Now I have three sons and three daughters. The children are still young. The oldest is six years old, and the youngest, the third princess, is only two months old."

"Then, does the Queen have a legitimate son?" asked Princess Yan.

Qi Yizheng shook his head: "The Queen has two princesses and three princesses, but no legitimate son."

Princess Yan seemed to be relieved, and then sighed: "He has many children and grandchildren, I should bless him." Then she changed the subject: "Does he have anyone who understands him?"

Qi Yizheng narrowed his eyes and said, "Your Majesty and the Queen are deeply in love, and the other concubines in the harem are also harmonious."

The Princess of Yan chuckled, knowing that Qi Yizheng would never tell the truth and tell her who the emperor's favorite was, so she gave up the idea of extracting information from him. The two of them talked for a few more words before the Princess of Yan asked Qi Yizheng to kneel down and pay his respects.

After Qi Yizheng left the posthouse, he felt something was not right. He felt that the Princess of Yan had come back for some purpose, rather than returning to the Zhou Dynasty to visit her relatives. He hesitated for a moment, then submitted a memorial to the palace, asking to see the emperor.

He Linzhang thought that he had something important to discuss with him, so he asked someone to summon him to the palace first.

"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you. I am here today to report something concerning the Princess of Yan."

He Linzhang glanced at him when he heard this and said, "You followed the Ministry of Rites to welcome the emperor today. Did you discover something?"

Qi Yizheng said, "Your Majesty, after sending Princess Yan back to the inn, she left me alone to ask about Your Majesty, mainly about the harem. I felt strange, so I thought it would be better to go to the palace and report to Your Majesty."

He Linzhang was also a little suspicious. Logically speaking, the Princess of Yan shouldn't pay too much attention to his private affairs. But he didn't think much about it. He just thought that maybe it was because they hadn't seen each other for many years, and the Princess of Yan remembered her old friend and asked one more question.

"It's not a big deal, it's okay." He Linzhang put down the memorial: "There is one thing I want to give you. Yingyi spent several months looking through the secret documents seized from Qingcheng Mountain, but didn't find any information about Canglongmen. You have been investigating Canglongmen before, so I want you to take over Yingyi's work and go through all the information."

Qi Yizheng's pupils were shocked. When he thought of those boxes of documents, his scalp went numb. He quickly declined, "Your Majesty, I thought that the Yan State delegation came to Beijing and we need to ensure their safety. So I have been in charge of the defense of the capital and I really can't spare the time to look at the documents!"

He Linzhang glanced at him and said, "Don't act like you're very busy. Isn't it the Ningyuan Marquis who is in charge of the defense of the capital? Wouldn't it be a waste of manpower if you go there again?"

Qi Yizheng immediately said, "No, no, I will fully cooperate with Ningyuan Hou, and there are many things to do."

He Linzhang chuckled, "Don't think you can be lazy just because you are my study partner. Go and hand over to Ying Yi today. He is really not suitable for reading documents. It is more appropriate to let him go out for field work."

Qi Yizheng left in bewilderment, deeply regretting having come to the palace to meet the emperor today.

After he left the imperial study, he slapped himself hard a few times: "I told you to go to the palace, I told you to go to the palace, but you are looking for trouble for yourself. You are so idle!" He was extremely angry, but he could only obey orders and go to hand over to Ying Yi obediently.

When Ying Yi learned that someone was taking over, he didn't stay for a moment and immediately packed up and left. God knows what kind of dark days he led after returning from Penglai Island? He read documents all day long, but he couldn't figure out anything. It was just a waste of life.

After he regained his freedom, the first thing he did was to go out for a big meal, determined to make up for the food debt he had incurred over the past two months.

Tao Yanyan went to watch the rehearsal of the Music Department twice, and when she felt that the program was almost arranged, she went back to Changle Palace to lie down and rest. Dong Fang came back with the dividends for the new month, and also brought back the income and account books of the seafood for the past two months.

"Madam, those seafoods were sold for 32,700 taels of silver. There are still about 40,000 taels of goods in the shop. They will be sold out in two months. Madam Qi asked, will there be any more stock after this batch is sold? If there is no stock, should the shop be returned or rented out?"

Tao Yanyan thought about it. The shop had a one-year lease, and if she canceled the lease she would lose her deposit. She could consider subletting it, but it was not the best solution. She decided to think of another business and keep the shop open.

"Let me think about it. Anyway, there are still two months left. The Chinese New Year will be here in two months. After the Chinese New Year, I will see what business is good and continue to open the shop."

Dong Fang took note of it and gave the banknote and silver to Mingyue to deposit into the warehouse.

Tao Yanyan flipped through the account book and became happier and happier. She was now truly a wealthy woman with a full sense of security.

"Qingfeng, let Caiyun cook a few more dishes for everyone today. We can make some money and be happy."

Qingfeng smiled and said, "Yes, I will help Mingyue deposit the silver into the warehouse and do it right away." The entire Changle Palace was immersed in joy.

Not long after, Chang Tai hurried in to report, "Your Majesty, the title of Shufei has been decided. Eunuch Zhang has gone to Yongning Palace to convey the decree. Your Majesty has conferred the title of Shufei on Her Majesty. The ceremony will be held on September 20th."

Mingyue laughed and said, "Shu Tongshu, it's more convenient to call her that."

Tao Yanyan did not comment. It was reasonable for Shu Fei to be promoted to the first-rank concubine since she risked her life to give birth to a child.

When Tao Yanyan thought of the child, he sighed. The child is still young now, and it may not be obvious. As the child grows older, his height will gradually fall behind his peers, his head circumference will remain small, and he may even have many intellectual deficiencies and a short stature. At that time, the child's suffering will really begin.

Mingyue saw Concubine Tao sighing and thought she was feeling unwell, so she asked, "What's wrong with you, Madam? You seem to be in a bad mood all of a sudden?"

Tao Yanyan shook his head: "I was just wondering why so many cousins want to marry each other in this era. In fact, when close relatives marry, the children born are mostly problematic, but no one knows about it, which makes the children suffer."

Mingyue hurriedly stopped him and said, "Your Highness, although you are saying this in our palace, walls have ears. It's better not to mention this matter, lest the Concubine Shu hears it and gets upset."

Tao Yanyan nodded, but she really wanted to appeal that cousins should not marry each other as it would harm themselves and their future generations.