Harem Daily Life

Chapter 503: I don't want my relatives to be cruel and merciless

Defei was so angry that she hoped to ascend to the throne even more urgently. By then, she would have the power in her hands and would not be afraid that everyone in the harem would not follow her lead. Moreover, the eldest prince would also be able to become the eldest son, which would bring him one step closer to that position.

However, when she thought of the eldest prince's temperament, Concubine De was instantly deflated. She could not understand why her son had been so violent since he was a child. He looked very normal and lively and cute!

On the day before the New Year, Tao Yanyan rarely invited Concubine De to come and reconcile the accounts. The main reason was that her belly was too big and she had difficulty moving. It was too troublesome to go to Yongxing Palace, so she had to ask Concubine De to come.

Witnessed by Chief Steward Li, the two handed over the allowances and rewards that were to be distributed to the entire harem before the New Year.

Concubine De looked at the amount in the imperial property account book, which was several tens of thousands of taels more than last year, and couldn't help but admire it: "Your Majesty is really good at managing the property. In the past few years, an annual income of 200,000 taels was already the best. Since your Majesty took over the management, it has doubled. It seems that there is a reason why His Majesty dotes on you."

Defei was also somewhat dissatisfied. She had promoted frugality in the harem, but could not save much in a year. It was really enviable that the imperial concubine could pay for the annual expenses of the entire harem with just a few workshops.

However, Concubine De would not interfere with the affairs of the imperial property just because she was jealous. After all, the harem was her stronghold, and it was important to firmly grasp the power of the harem and be the master of the harem. No matter how capable this imperial concubine was, she was working for the royal family.

Tao Yanyan didn't care whether Defei said the truth or the falsehood, she only listened to good words.

"Your Majesty, Concubine De has been managing all the affairs of the harem for you, and you have worked hard. Concubine De is still busy, so I won't keep you. It's better to go back early while the snow outside is light. You will be busy tomorrow."

Concubine De was in no hurry to leave. She glanced out the window and saw the children in the yard making snowmen of different shapes and sizes. She couldn't help but say, "With so many brothers and sisters, it's so lively when they get together."

Tao Yanyan followed her line of sight and said with a smile, "The three of them have endless energy every day. The heavier the snow falls, the happier they are."

"My brother and I often played like this in winter when we were young." After saying this, she seemed to remember something and her face turned pale, but she soon regained her composure and took a sip of tea from the teacup: "Then I will go back first. There will be a palace banquet tomorrow, so please come early, Madam."

Chang Tai sent Concubine De out, but Chief Steward Li did not leave. He looked at Tao Yanyan and reminded her, "Now that Concubine De is in charge of the harem, when we talk about the imperial property today, will you have some ideas in your mind and take over while Concubine De is pregnant and inconvenient?"

Tao Yanyan smiled and said, "The royal property and the workshop are all on the right track. If she wants to manage them, let her manage them. I can still have some free time."

Tao Yanyan lazily turned his body to the side, changed his posture and leaned back again: "But I guess she won't interfere. Look at how haggard she looks. The affairs of the harem are already a big mess. It's impossible for her to bear more burdens."

Chief Steward Li then nodded and said, "But in the past few years, Concubine De has indeed become much more haggard. When the former Queen and the former Imperial Concubine were still around, Concubine De was just a hands-off manager, and she didn't worry so much."

After he finished speaking, he could not help but cast his eyes on the imperial concubine again. She was pregnant, with a bulging belly, but her face was still tender, fair, and charming, just like a flower blooming in spring. Even among the many beauties in the harem, her beauty was so outstanding that no one could compare with her.

With such a stunning beauty and gentle and quiet temperament, it is no wonder that she is now deeply favored by His Majesty.

"Your Majesty, I have been sending people to keep an eye on Jingci Temple. Wang Zhaoyi has been making a lot of noise lately. Sometimes she is very emotional, and sometimes she cries every night. I have invited an imperial physician to see her. He said that Wang Zhaoyi is in a bad mood, has a heart disease that is difficult to cure, and is very manic and difficult to control. Because the New Year is coming soon, I dare not report to Your Majesty. I want to wait until after the festival to find an opportunity to report back."

Tao Yanyan frowned and reminded, "Give her some sedatives to prevent her from getting confused and hurting herself and others, causing trouble."

Manager Li quickly agreed, "Yes, I think so too. But the imperial physician I invited earlier was afraid of being implicated and refused to prescribe. I'm also afraid that the doctor outside might not be reliable and it might be a bit tricky."

Tao Yanyan thought for a moment and said, "Go find Doctor Liu and ask him to help."

Manager Li understood and respectfully took his leave.

As for Concubine De, she was a little upset after returning from Changle Palace. Haitang handed her a hot water bottle and said, "Are you feeling unwell, Madam? You don't look well."

Concubine De just shook her head and said, "Nothing. Tell everyone to send people from each palace to the Ministry of Internal Affairs to collect their quota and annual festival rewards. Today's distribution will be enough to finish one thing. Go to bed early tonight. I'm tired."

Concubine De entered the bedroom before it got dark and went to bed early, but she couldn't fall asleep. When she thought of seeing the Second Prince and others making a snowman during the day, her thoughts went back to her childhood.

The age difference between Concubine De and her brother was four years. That year, her brother was eight and she was four. She followed her brother all day and asked him to play with her. After a day and night of heavy snow, a thick layer of snow piled up on the ground. Her brother was making a snowman in the yard, and she also went. The snowman was very big, and she thought it was interesting, so she imitated her brother and patted snow on the snowman.

"It's already piled up, don't move it." Her brother stopped her. She didn't listen and insisted on moving it. As a result, she accidentally pushed down the snowman's head, revealing a dead rabbit inside, which was bloody and scary.

Her brother covered her mouth as she was about to scream: "Don't scream. If you do, I will pile you into the snowman like a rabbit."

At that time, she was young and was frightened by her brother's words, so she didn't dare to shout. Later, as she grew up, her childhood memories gradually became blurred, and some things were not clear, so she never thought about what happened that year again.

Today, stimulated by the scene of the second prince and his friends making a snowman, the images buried deep in her memory emerged again. She suddenly realized that the eldest prince was very similar to her brother. Both of them had shown a violent side when they were children.

Later, her father asked her brother to learn martial arts and took him to the military camp for training. Although she never saw her brother killing again, she knew that the reason her brother was promoted in the army was, on the one hand, because of her father's support, and on the other hand, because her brother would never leave any room for his opponents in every competition.

I heard that my brother once accidentally killed two soldiers during a competition in the military camp. Although my father paid the money and took care of the aftermath, Concubine De shuddered when she thought about it now.

No one wants their relatives to be cruel and cold-blooded. She is now very troubled, fearing that her son will become as bloodthirsty and murderous as his brother.