Harem Daily Life

Spring ploughing was an annual event. The emperor would personally lead all officials to work in the fields and sow seeds himself to show his importance to agriculture.

Tao Yanyan and the children were dressed very simply today, with their sleeves rolled up, looking like they were ready to do something big.

Because the Third Prince was weak and could not tolerate the wind, Concubine Shu asked for leave from the Emperor and did not show up.

Concubine De brought the eldest prince with her, still looking very dignified, and seemed somewhat out of place standing in the fields.

"Mother, do I really have to go hoe the fields? But the mud will stick to my shoes." The eldest prince said with some difficulty.

Concubine De glanced at Concubine Tao and the three children not far away, and coaxed: "Yu'er, be good. If these shoes get dirty, just throw them away when you get home. But you performed well today, and you will definitely be recognized by the civil and military officials."

Concubine De looked at the eldest prince with encouragement, and the eldest prince had no choice but to bite the bullet and start hoeing the ground.

Defei was very pleased and took a hoe and pretended to turn the soil in the field.

Xiao Jinan and the other two did not need Tao Yanyan's coaxing at all, and they had already started working. Although it looked messy, their enthusiasm made people want to give them a thumbs up.

Tao Yanyan treated it as a physical exercise and quickly turned over a piece of land. However, when she looked at the vast land and then at the people who were tilling the land with hoes, she had already thought about the mechanized tools of later generations in her mind. She planned to draw the blueprints after she returned and then ask the Ministry of Industry to take a look.

After the civil and military officials had worked with the emperor for a whole morning, they went to the fields to wash with water.

The three children were sweating profusely, and their hands were covered in mud. When they wiped the sweat, their faces were dirty, and they looked like little kittens.

Tao Yanyan simply wiped the faces of the three of them before asking someone to take the children to the carriage to change into dry clothes.

After returning to the palace, Tao Yanyan plunged into the study, writing and drawing, and was busy until the evening.

He Linzhang came over and didn't see anyone. He then realized that she had been in the study the whole afternoon. Seeing her presenting him the drawings like a treasure, He Linzhang's eyes lit up: "Yan Yan, is she drawing machinery? I wonder what it's for?"

Tao Yanyan pulled him to his seat and sat him down, explaining to him one by one: "This is called a plowing machine. There is a transmission shaft here. Just tie a cow to the front and pull the machine hard. The machine will rotate and turn the soil. Because there are several more blades, the land within the range of the blades can be turned, which can greatly improve efficiency."

He Linzhang looked at the design with an indescribable joy. He then looked at another design drawing: "What is this?"

Tao Yanyan explained: "This is a sprinkler. People just need to pinch here to pour the water in the bucket onto the crops. This decentralized sprinkler can not only save water, but also expand the sprinkler area, allowing the crops to grow better."

Tao Yanyan took the third blueprint and said, "This is a harvester. Your Majesty, look, the rice goes in here, the rice stalks come out, and the rice is threshed and loaded here directly. It's very convenient."

He Linzhang was very excited: "Yan Yan, I will give it to the Ministry of Works tomorrow and ask them to make it according to the blueprint. If it is successful, it will greatly improve the planting efficiency and can be promoted in many places."

Tao Yanyan smiled at him and said, "But this tool requires a lot of iron, and the iron smelting technology needs to keep up."

He Linzhang nodded: "Yan State is rich in iron ore. We were originally negotiating the trade volume of iron ore with Yan State recently. Why not just double it and order more."

Tao Yanyan nodded: "The more ore the better. It can be used not only in farm tools, but also in weapons and household knives."

The two of them became more and more excited as they talked, and they chatted until very late.

The next day, when the Minister of Works, Lord Tao, received the blueprint, he was deeply impressed by the exquisite design. He looked at the emperor in disbelief: "This was really drawn by the imperial concubine? When did Yan Yan learn these designs?"

Tao Qian was already surprised that Tao Yanyan knew how to manage the imperial farm and design clothes. Now, seeing these three drawings, Tao Qian was even more excited and shocked.

"She really liked reading books when she was in her boudoir, but I never knew she could design farm tools. These farm tools are so ingeniously designed that even experienced craftsmen may not be able to draw them in one go. How did she know how to do it?"

He Linzhang's eyes flickered. Although he also had his doubts, he never asked Tao Yanyan where these design ideas came from. He always felt that Yanyan was really smart and her ideas were ingenious, and every design she made could help him.

"Find someone to copy a few copies of the blueprint first, and make sure it's not damaged. Then hurry up and make it and try it out. If it's successful, you should promote it on a large scale. The agriculture of Da Zhou will definitely be improved."

Tao Qian took the order and left happily with the drawings.

The spring plowing is over, and Tao Yanyan is busy inspecting the imperial farm. All the workshops have to start work one after another and work at full capacity. It is a new year again.

The days were busy and fulfilling. Miaoyinfang's triennial selection competition officially kicked off on February 18th.

The four great musicians selected in the previous session were Ruyi who was good at guqin, Mingyin who was good at konghou, Diyang who was good at flute and Chuchu who was good at pipa.

After three years of training, Miaoyinfang has several more musicians with outstanding skills.

On the day of the preliminary round, Miaoyinfang was packed with guests, all of whom were elegant people who came to watch the competition.

Because there were some dignitaries among the people who came today, He Linzhang and Tao Yanyan disguised themselves in order not to be discovered by the officials. They wore masks and entered a semi-open private room on the second floor.

This private room was surrounded by shadow guards, and there were servants guarding the door.

Tao Yanyan looked at the full seats downstairs and the semi-open private rooms on the second floor were also filled with guests. The scene was quite lively.

At this time, a person similar to a master of ceremonies on the stage began to introduce the guests. This year, Prince Changping, Marquis Ningyuan, Cai Jijiu, and Master Wen were invited to be judges. The four of them sat at the top, and sitting next to them was the famous Master Cang Xuan.

Tao Yanyan couldn't see Cang Xuan's face clearly from her position, but judging from his figure and back, he looked like a handsome middle-aged man in his forties.

The competition begins with a music theory assessment, and those who take the assessment are required to choose appropriate instruments to play according to the given music scores.

There are twenty-two people participating in the selection this year. In addition to the four top candidates selected three years ago, there are still eighteen people participating in the competition.

Looking at the music actors present, Tao Yanyan smiled and said, "They are thin and plump, really pleasing to the eyes! Your Majesty, look, those two are particularly good-looking."

Tao Yanyan pulled He Linzhang to look at the two beauties. He Linzhang took one look and then looked away: "I have seen the most beautiful women in the world, and there is no one else in my eyes."