Harem Daily Life

A nap really made up for some of the energy consumed by getting up early.

Tao Yanyan asked Qingfeng to comb her hair into a simple bun and put a hairpin in it. Then she put on her casual clothes and lay on a recliner under a tree reading a storybook.

Although the script was written in traditional Chinese characters, Tao Yanyan, who graduated from university, could recognize most of them without much difficulty. However, there was one urgent matter: she had to practice writing, at least most of the traditional Chinese characters, otherwise her simplified Chinese characters would be considered illiterate by people of this era.

Although there was no requirement for people to be literate when entering the palace to be the emperor's concubine, Tao Yanyan had dignity and could not let anyone despise her for being illiterate. Six years of primary school, three years of junior high school, three years of high school, and four years of college, at least a modern human being who had attended school for sixteen years, how could she be illiterate in ancient times? Would she still have shame if the news got out?

Mingyue happened to bring the list over to show Tao Yanyan. Seeing that Mingyue's handwriting was also quite beautiful, Tao Yanyan asked, "Did you learn calligraphy outside the palace?"

Mingyue bowed and said, "I entered the palace when I was eight years old. At first, I followed Concubine Hui. Concubine Hui was a famous talented woman in the Great Zhou Dynasty. Seeing that I was well-behaved, she taught me how to write. That's when I learned to read a few words."

Tao Yanyan became interested: "Is Concubine Hui still living in Xiyuan now?" Xiyuan was the place where the concubines of the previous emperor were housed. It was not far from the Empress Dowager's Jinxiu Palace, so that it was convenient for the concubines to pay visits to the Empress Dowager on weekdays.

Mingyue shook her head: "Empress Dowager Hui left the palace two years ago and lived in Prince Yong's mansion. She only came to the palace during festivals. Since I was young, I was reassigned and came to serve Liangyi."

Tao Yan understood. He had originally thought of finding a calligraphy teacher if he had the chance, but it seems that is no longer possible now.

"Liangyi, do the things on this list need to be modified? Or are there any things that I haven't thought of yet, so do you want to add something?" Mingyue asked when she saw Tao Liangyi in a daze.

Tao Yanyan then looked at the list carefully and saw that even a toilet was required, which made him feel overwhelmed.

"Hey, you also need to bring a toilet? Where should I put it?" Tao Yanyan frowned. In ancient times, it was troublesome to go out. There was no place to go to the toilet.

"Don't worry, Liangyi, these servants will make arrangements. Qingfeng and I will accompany Liangyi out."

"Is it too much? I have to bring so many sets of bowls and plates for dinner. I'm afraid that several carriages can't carry all these things." Tao Yanyan thought, there are only three people on her tour, six bowls and plates are enough, wouldn't two per person be enough? If she had to carry them herself, one per person would be enough. It's better to travel light and not be tired.

"Liang Yi, these are the rules. If we don't have enough, we will be laughed at by other palaces." Qing Feng reminded: "Even if it is troublesome, the arrangement is necessary. If His Majesty wants to dine with Liang Yi, and we don't have enough bowls and plates, His Majesty might think it's shabby and blame us for being disrespectful."

But Tao Yanyan still felt that carrying thirty different kinds of bowls and plates was too much. He was exhausted from moving them up and down. The porcelain in the palace was expensive and heavy.

"Just bring four regular plates, four bowls, and four pairs of chopsticks. You don't need to bring a soup spoon. You don't need to pick big, expensive, or heavy dishes. There are three of us. When the time comes, we can put the rice on the plates and cover the vegetables on top of the rice. This is called eating rice with toppings. And a small bowl for the soup. It's so convenient."

"But, if Your Majesty wants to come for dinner..." Qingfeng still tried his best to persuade him.

"It's okay, then just grab a few from His Majesty. Remember, try to travel light when you go on a tour. It's tiring enough to travel on the road, and carrying a bunch of things with you, isn't that just asking for trouble?" Tao Yanyan had made up his mind, and Qingfeng didn't dare to say anything else.

Mingyue revised the number, and Tao Yanyan said, "You brought too many quilts. You two should each have one, but why do I only have five? Reduce some of them. I'll have enough for one. Bring two cloaks, which can be used as quilts when it's cold. Besides, we'll be staying in post stations most of the time, so we don't need to bring too much. As for clothes, there may be no water to wash them on the way, so it doesn't hurt to bring more. Remember to bring more underwear, as you need to change underwear every day. Also, bring all my handkerchiefs and put them away in different categories. Fortunately, handkerchiefs don't take up much space and are light."

The breeze wrote them down one by one, and the bright moon also revised them one by one.

"By the way, you have to choose clothes that are easy to move around in. Don't choose clothes that look good but are hard to move around in. Just choose clothes that are easy to wear when going out, understand?" Tao Yanyan looked at Qingfeng, who nodded but was a little hesitant: "Liangyi has some very eye-catching clothes. She looks very fairy-like and graceful when she wears them, but it's a pity that they are not convenient for travel. Do you want to take these clothes with you?"

Tao Yanyan thought about those clothes and they were indeed nice looking. "Then take them with you. I think we are going to go to a place with beautiful scenery, and those clothes would be suitable for the occasion."

This is like wearing a floral dress to the beach. In the end, you still have to prepare a few beautiful and gorgeous ones. The people, the scenery, the mood are all great. No matter how tiring the trip is, you have to find some fun, right?

Tao Yanyan looked at the jewelry list again, told Qingfeng to buy simple, elegant and easy-to-match items, and then let them go pack.

"By the way, see if there are any snacks that are easy to carry. Bring more. Also, get some medicine to prevent snakes, insects, rats and ants, and treat colds, in case the imperial physician is too busy to take care of us." The most fearful thing when going out to play is getting sick, so you have to prepare medicine.

"Don't worry, Liangyi. I've written them all down on the list. But there's an imperial physician accompanying us, so there's no need to prepare too much." Mingyue agreed.

After Tao Yanyan's change, Cuiweixuan actually didn't have many things to apply to the imperial concubine. Compared with the other four, Cuiweixuan brought the least, not even a fraction of Shufei's list.

Mingyue went to Zhaoyang Palace to deliver a list to the imperial concubine. Looking at the list of Cuiweixuan, even the imperial concubine Wen was really surprised.

"Has Tao Liangyi read this list carefully?" The imperial concubine still didn't believe it and asked.

Mingyue nodded and replied, "Tao Liangyi wanted to travel light, so I looked at it carefully. I sent it to you for your review."

The imperial concubine hesitated for a moment and didn't say much. Since Tao Liangyi wanted to take less, was there any reason for her to give more?

So he handed the list of Cuiweixuan to the head maid Cui Ma: "Just prepare it according to the list. Ask the Ministry of Internal Affairs to send it to Cuiweixuan as soon as possible."

As soon as Mingyue left, Liuyun, the senior palace maid beside the imperial concubine, said, "Doesn't Tao Liangyi know the significance of this tour? Shu Fei even wants to bring an embroiderer, and asked for several rolls of the finest brocade, saying that she wants to make clothes in a hurry. The lists of Concubine Zhao and Concubine Xu are also full of luxurious things, I am afraid that several carriages cannot fit them. Even Fan Liangyi's list is three feet long. But this Tao Liangyi..." Liuyun didn't say anything else. The meaning was already very clear, that is, she was a bit shabby, simple, confused, and not presentable.

The imperial concubine glared at Liuyun and said, "Just know it in your heart, no need to say it out loud. Originally, I wanted to help her, because her face shows that she can make a name for herself! If she is won over, she can also share some of Li Fei's favor. But who could have thought that she would be so petty and brainless, and she didn't know how to seize the opportunity she was given!"