Harem Daily Life

Chapter 504: New Year Festival, Lu Cairen makes trouble

I don't know whether it was because she was frightened by the memory of her brother, or because of the festive atmosphere, but Concubine De couldn't fall asleep last night. Although she went to bed late, she got up very early.

After washing up, she hurried to Changchun Palace with a group of palace maids and eunuchs to accompany the empress dowager to receive the relatives and ladies who came to the palace to pay their respects.

The wife of Ningyuan Hou and Mrs. Tao came together. They first went to the Empress Dowager's palace to pay their respects, and then came to Changle Palace after they recovered.

Tao Yanyan thought that they must not have had breakfast since they had lined up to enter the palace so early in the morning, so he asked Caiyun to prepare a lot of delicious food for them.

"The food in this palace tastes so good. This bowl of wontons alone is so delicious that it makes your eyebrows drop!" praised the wife of Ningyuan Hou.

"The soup base is made from chicken broth, and shrimp paste is added to the minced meat, so it tastes very fresh. Aunt, please try the soup dumplings, they are also very good." Tao Yanyan said as he picked up a small bun for the wife of Ningyuan Hou.

They looked ordinary, but unexpectedly tasted so delicious in the mouth. Lady Ningyuan Hou couldn't help but eat several more.

After breakfast was cleared away, Mrs. Tao took Tao Yanyan's hand, looked at her belly, and said distressedly: "I'm afraid it's difficult for you to walk now? Are your feet swollen? Can you still wear your shoes?"

Tao Yanyan said coquettishly, "Walking is fine. I am a little swollen, but it's not a big deal. The main thing is that the two of them have exhausted me. Now I can't even sleep. If I lie flat, I feel like I'm being pressed and can't breathe. So now I have to hold the quilt against my waist behind me to sleep while sitting. I have to endure this for more than two months!"

Mrs. Tao was an experienced person, and when she heard her say that, she felt even more distressed: "Then you must ask Qingfeng and the others to watch over you at night. If you are tired, just rub your waist, okay?"

Qingfeng was standing by and waiting on her. After hearing what Madam Tao said, she smiled and said, "Madam, don't worry. His Majesty loves the queen so much that he personally guards her every night and never lets the servants get close to her."

Tao Yanyan blushed and glared at Qingfeng.

Madam Tao and Madam Ningyuan Hou's wife looked at each other, feeling a little embarrassed for a moment.

Madam Tao thought about it. Since everyone in the room was her own, she didn't hide it. "You are already pregnant. No matter how close you are to His Majesty, you have to be careful at this time. You must not do anything intimate. Do you understand?"

Tao Yanyan understood what her mother was talking about as soon as she heard it. It was really embarrassing to be reminded like this.

The wife of Ningyuan Marquis covered her mouth and laughed, and whispered: "It's not that it can't be done." After that, she squeezed Tao Yanyan's hand, and her eyes were ambiguous: "Your Majesty's skillful hands can be put to great use."

This time, even Mrs. Tao's face turned red with embarrassment.

Tao Yanyan dug out a three-bedroom, two-living-room house with his toes, feeling uneasy.

"Okay, okay, sister, please continue. The imperial concubine won't dare to keep us here any longer." Madam Tao blushed and changed the subject: "Your brother also brought Ning'er back to Beijing to celebrate the New Year the day before yesterday. Ning'er can now speak one or two sentences in one breath. She has made great progress. This time she also brought gifts for you and the children."

Tao Yanyan was very happy: "It's great that my sister-in-law can speak. By the way, I have also prepared a festival gift. I will ask Chang Tai to deliver it to you directly in the carriage."

Tao Yanyan's thoughts were thoughtful, and both ladies were delighted.

The wife of Ningyuan Marquis seemed to have thought of something and sighed slightly: "I thought Ning'er would have a hard time getting married, but I didn't expect that she would be the first to get married. On the contrary, her three brothers have not made any progress so far."

Madam Tao was surprised and asked, "How could that be? Logically speaking, the door lintel of the Marquis's Mansion should be the one that all the families in the capital are vying to look at. Is it because my sister didn't go to the banquets of other families and walk around more? If it really doesn't work, I'll go with you after the New Year."

The wife of Ningyuan Marquis shook her head and said, "The two children I gave birth to are fine, and they have shown some signs of success. But as for the Crown Prince... after all, he is the eldest in the family. If he doesn't get married, how can his two younger brothers get married before him? But the Crown Prince... his relationship with me is really not good. He is not satisfied with the match I made for him."

Tao Yanyan thought of Princess Xinlan from Prince Changping's family again.

After going hunting together, Xinlan stopped thinking about it. She came to the palace to visit Tao Yanyan several times, but she never proposed marriage again. Tao Yanyan didn't want to keep asking about it, so the matter was left unresolved.

"My eldest cousin's marriage should be based on his own wishes. He may not appreciate it if my aunt interferes." The stepson and stepmother are at odds with each other. It is considered decent if they don't quarrel.

The wife of Ningyuan Hou nodded.

As they were talking, Chang Tai came in from outside and reported, "Your Majesty, there's a commotion over there with Liang Zhaoyi. That Lu Cairen took advantage of the fact that Liang Zhaoyi's mother came to the palace today and actually went straight to Madam Liang to make a scene, saying that Liang Zhaoyi couldn't give birth to a child, so she snatched her child and separated the mother and child. She has vicious intentions. The palace where Liang Zhaoyi lives is together with several concubines and beauties. Today, there are too many ladies coming to the palace, and many of their conversations were overheard. Madam Liang was so angry that she fainted."

Madam Ningyuan and Madam Tao looked at each other and saw the gossip in each other's eyes. I didn't expect to see such a palace fight today.

"This Lady Lu is too inconsiderate of the occasion. After such a falling out, how can we meet again in the future?" said the wife of Ningyuan Hou.

Tao Yanyan had not told her family about what happened in the palace, so Mrs. Tao did not know about Lu Cairen's strange deeds. However, she had heard that Lu Cairen was a sister of the former favorite concubine, Consort Xianfei, and was also the niece of the late emperor's Consort Li.

Concubine Dowager Nali and the former Concubine Xian were both favored concubines. It is natural that Concubine Lu, who has a relationship with them, cannot be an ordinary person.

"Why didn't Concubine Lu complain about Concubine Liang helping her raise her daughter? Maybe she felt unwilling and jealous because Concubine Liang got promoted for raising the fourth princess," Tao Yanyan guessed.

"Then does Your Majesty want to go over there?" Mingyue asked from the side.

Tao Yanyan shook his head. "It's freezing cold, I don't want to go on this trip. Liang Zhaoyi is no pushover, I believe she can handle it. Besides, isn't there Concubine De? She is in charge of the six palaces, she can handle these matters."

Not being in power has its advantages. Tao Yanyan said that one of the rules for keeping the harem in good condition is to stay out of trouble as much as possible and be a wealthy queen who keeps to herself.

Defei was very busy today, but Lu Cairen caused trouble for her. When the news reached Changchun Palace, Defei was furious.

The palace maid spoke to her alone, and she didn't dare tell the Queen Mother, for fear that she would be accused of being "useless".

While the Empress Dowager, clan members, and ladies of various families were listening to the opera, Defei hurried to Liang Zhaoyi's palace.