Harem Daily Life

Zi Ling handed Shu Fei a handkerchief to wipe her tears, but Shu Fei refused to listen no matter how she tried to persuade her. Finally, Shu Fei fainted due to exhaustion.

When people from Yongning Palace came to invite His Majesty to visit Shufei, He Linzhang frowned as he was holding the lovely Fifth Princess.

Seeing that he didn't move, Tao Yanyan smiled and said, "You can hold the child anytime. Your Majesty, go and see Shu Fei. She has lost her child, and now she sees that I have given birth to a child. It's inevitable that she will be sad and upset."

He Linzhang gently touched the Fifth Princess' face and said, "I will come back later. As for the names of the children, I wanted to discuss choosing the names with you today."

He Xuan, who was standing by, held the fifth sister's hand and tilted her head and said, "Father, I want to choose a name for my sister too."

He Linzhang smiled and said, "Why, are you still worried about the choice made by your father and your mother, Concubine Tao? Are you not satisfied?"

He Xuan nodded rapidly: "I like the fifth sister and want to choose the most beautiful name."

The Fourth Prince, who had just finished his meal and was about to go to sleep, seemed to have waited for a long time but didn't hear anyone talking about him. He frowned unhappily, kicked his feet twice, and his sleepiness disappeared all of a sudden. He started crying at the top of his lungs.

Tao Yanyan held his forehead with his hand: "Hurry up and take him out to comfort him. My ears hurt when he cries."

The Fourth Prince: "..."

He was full of energy and cried even louder.

It is said that crying children get milk and are more favored, but with the Fourth Prince and the Fifth Princess, it was just the opposite. The crying Fourth Prince was disliked by his mother and was taken care of by his wet nurse most of the time. The Fifth Princess, who was well-behaved and ate when she woke up and slept after eating, was either in the arms of her mother or her father most of the time and was doted on.

The fourth prince was carried out by the nurse for a walk, and finally he felt sleepy and fell asleep. The fifth princess yawned and fell asleep.

Once the two children fell asleep, Tao Yanyan would fall asleep too. Anyway, she had recently returned to her life of raising pigs.

Concubine Ning, Liang Zhaoyi and Zhou Zhaoyi came together to visit Concubine Tao. They waited in the front hall for a long time before being taken to the inner room by Qingfeng.

It was the first time for them to enter Concubine Tao's bedroom. They saw that the furnishings inside the bedroom were extremely gorgeous, and all the expenses were almost the same as those of the queen back then.

Concubine Ning smiled and said, "It is a great thing that your Majesty has given birth to twins, a boy and a girl. I heard that His Majesty has been discussing the matter of establishing a queen with the ministers. As for my father, His Majesty has already instructed to choose an auspicious day for the ceremony of crowning the queen."

Concubine Ning's father was the Minister of Rites, in charge of foreign affairs, the Imperial Observatory and other affairs. If a ceremony to crown the queen was to be held, it would surely be the most important task of the Ministry of Rites in recent years.

"But nothing has been decided yet. Please pretend that you don't know anything about it. I'm sure His Majesty wants to give you a surprise." After Concubine Ning said this, she glanced at Liang Zhaoyi and Zhou Zhaoyi. They both understood what she meant and knew that they had to keep it a secret.

Tao Yanyan just smiled and said, "How can I be worthy of being the empress? Besides, I don't want to be in charge of the affairs of the six palaces. Let's talk about it when the time comes."

Several people thought she was just being modest. Which concubine didn't want to be the queen? Not only did the queen have great power, but the child she gave birth to was also a legitimate son, making him the most likely to inherit the throne.

If Concubine Tao had not given birth to a prince this time, then Concubine De would have had a greater chance of winning. But Concubine Tao gave birth to a boy, and they were twins, a boy and a girl, so Concubine De lost her chance of winning all of a sudden. Now, compared with each other, it can be said that the two are evenly matched.

However, Concubine Tao had one more favor from His Majesty than Concubine De. Whoever the emperor's heart was on was the winner. Concubine Ning and the others knew that the situation in the harem was likely to tilt towards Changle Palace.

Zhou Zhaoyi said, "I heard that recently Concubine De and Concubine Shu have been having a very bad relationship because Concubine Shu has been blaming the eldest prince for the death of the third prince."

Liang Zhaoyi said, "It is understandable that she is sad about losing her child, but the Third Prince is already weak. Without any real evidence, Shu Fei can't just blame the First Prince."

Concubine Ning said, "I'm afraid Concubine De is like a frightened bird right now, and she has to do everything she can to protect the eldest prince."

Speaking of this, Zhou Zhaoyi remembered something: "I met the eldest prince in the imperial garden two evenings ago. There seemed to be two new faces around him. Although they were wearing eunuchs' uniforms, their behavior... was not like that of eunuchs."

Several people looked at her, and Concubine Ning asked curiously, "Is he a eunuch? Can you tell?"

Zhou Zhaoyi blushed and explained, "I just have nothing to do, so I like to observe more. The eunuchs in this palace all have a little inferiority complex in their eyes. Even the first-class eunuchs like Li Zongguan and Zhang Gonggong sometimes have a little inferiority complex in their words and deeds. So when I saw the two unfamiliar faces beside the eldest prince, I felt it right away."

But she didn't dare to say it for sure, and explained: "Maybe it's because I just became a eunuch not long ago, and I don't have that low self-esteem yet. Just listen and forget it, hehe, it's just my feeling, it can't be counted."

Several people looked at each other, but no one thought that the two men were not eunuchs. After all, with two normal men around her, did Concubine De think her life was too long?

Tao Yanyan concealed the emotions in her eyes. When she heard that the Fourth Prince had woken up, she asked the wet nurse to bring him over to show the aunts.

The Fourth Prince had just woken up and was still in a daze. When he suddenly saw a few unfamiliar faces, he couldn't help but stare at them.

Concubine Ning found it very interesting: "The Fourth Prince is so well behaved. He didn't cry or make a fuss when he woke up. It reminded me of the time when I first brought the Third Princess home. Time flies so fast. It's already been three years."

The Fourth Prince smacked his lips when he received the praise.

Liang Zhaoyi said, "Your Highness is so blessed. You gave birth to two children that everyone was looking forward to, and now you have three more to raise. Changle Palace is the busiest place in the entire harem."

The Fourth Prince seemed to be calculating how many children were vying for his favor. He stretched out his little hand and grabbed the air, which was immediately gently held by Zhou Zhaoyi.

"Before, I always thought raising a child was troublesome, but after meeting the Fourth Prince today, I think raising a child is really great. I will go to Changle Palace more often in the future. Your Majesty, please let me take care of your two treasures."

The Fourth Prince frowned and stared closely at Concubine Zhou who was speaking, with a serious expression, as if he was considering whether to let her take him with her.

Tao Yanyan did not expect that the crybaby Fourth Prince would be in such a good mood today. He did not cry or make a fuss, and was as well-behaved as his sister.

Just as I was thinking about it, the fifth princess woke up and was brought over after feeding. She looked so full and soft.

Concubine Ning and others praised the Fifth Princess again and again.

"The Fifth Princess's eyebrows and eyes vaguely resemble those of the Empress. She will definitely be an extraordinary beauty when she grows up."

"Wow, she is so cute, with such big eyes, and she looks at me with such affection."

"Your Majesty, when I come here from now on, I will take care of the Fifth Princess full-time. She seems to have a very good temper."

The fourth prince was instantly overshadowed by his younger sister. He frowned and opened his little mouth: "Wow..." Come and praise the baby. The baby is the most unique little cutie in the world.