Harem Daily Life

Tao Yanyan naturally knew that there was absolutely no problem with He Linzhang's background, otherwise the late emperor would not have made him the crown prince. He also tried his best to pave the way for him, and the crown princess and concubines he chose for him were both powerful ladies from noble families.

But she also understood what the Marquis of Zhongyong meant. It was not that the Marquis of Zhongyong doubted He Linzhang's background, but that he had this handle and could use it to blackmail him at any time.

"Loyal and Brave Marquis, your Majesty's background is absolutely beyond suspicion. I urge you not to make the mistake of ruining the reputation of your Loyal and Brave Marquis's mansion."

The Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery smiled and said, "Don't worry, Your Majesty. This romantic scandal will naturally not spread from me. However... I cannot guarantee that Shang will not spread it everywhere."

He picked up the tea and took a sip. "Your Majesty, please go back and think it over carefully. As long as the eldest prince is appointed as the crown prince, then we will all be on the same boat. You will remain the queen, and no one can shake your position. And my Rong family will support Your Majesty and continue to serve you."

Tao Yanyan saw the confident look on the face of the Loyal and Brave Marquis, and her anger welled up inside her. "I will tell Your Majesty everything the Marquis has said to me today without reservation. As for what Your Majesty will think, I cannot guarantee it."

The loyal and brave marquis narrowed his eyes. "That's all right. I've already prepared myself mentally. Your Majesty, please go ahead and tell me. At worst, Your Majesty will punish me for treason. My son is guarding the border. If he knows I've been punished and does something about it, I can't guarantee that I will be able to do anything about it."

"You!" Tao Yanyan was so angry that he almost lost his temper. "It seems that the Marquis has thrown everything into the air. He has no regard for the lives of the soldiers on the border, his son's future, the situation of the eldest prince, and the reputation of the Rong family!"

Marquis Zhongyong looked at Empress Tao and said, "Compared to me, the Empress Dowager's reputation, Your Majesty's dignity, the survival of the Great Zhou, and your future seem more important. Your Majesty, even if the eldest prince becomes the crown prince, I will still respect you as Mother, and you will not suffer any loss. In three days, if I see the edict appointing the crown prince, I will personally go to the border to fight the enemy. If I don't, then I'm sorry, whatever news will spread from the border, and I will be powerless to do anything."

After the Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery finished speaking, he stood up and clasped his fists towards Tao Yanyan: "Your Majesty, I will take my leave."

The moment the door was closed, Tao Yanyan could no longer hold back, picked up the teacup and threw it hard on the ground. The cup shattered into pieces with a loud noise. Ning Yuanhou, who had just walked downstairs, heard the noise and hurried upstairs, meeting Zhongyonghou halfway.

"Oh, Lord Gu is here quite quickly." Marquis Zhongyong glanced back upstairs and said with a smile, "Everyone says that the Ningyuan Marquis's Mansion has a close relationship with the Empress. I was half-believing and half-doubting before, but after seeing it today, I have to believe it."

Ning Yuanhou narrowed his eyes, his lips curling slightly. "My Gu family swears allegiance to the royal family, and naturally to the Emperor and Empress. But you, the Loyal and Brave Marquis, are monitoring the Empress's whereabouts and meeting with her alone. What are your intentions?"

Marquis Zhongyong brushed his sleeves and said, "Marquis Ningyuan, please don't speak so harshly. What's the point of surveillance? I was just chatting with the Empress."

After saying that, he sneered, moved to another place, and went downstairs on his own, without paying any attention to Ning Yuanhou anymore.

Ning Yuanhou rolled his eyes at him fiercely, the same as the one Queen Tao had rolled before, snorted coldly, and walked upstairs.

When Qingfeng and the others saw Marquis Ningyuan coming, they knocked on the door and reported, "Your Majesty, Marquis Ningyuan is here." After that, they opened the door and invited the Marquis in.

"I am late in coming to your rescue, please forgive me, Your Majesty." Ning Yuanhou bowed as he entered the room, and Tao Yanyan asked him to get up quickly.

"Is the Queen okay? Did that man surnamed Rong treat the Queen disrespectfully?" Ning Yuanhou asked anxiously, looking at the broken teacup on the ground.

Tao Yanyan shook her head. "He came here today hoping to borrow my help to negotiate with His Majesty. It's a pity His Majesty will definitely not grant his request."

Ningyuan Hou was unaware of the situation, so Tao Yanyan told him about the idea proposed by Zhongyong Hou to make the eldest prince the crown prince. If the crown prince was made the Rong family would swear allegiance to the royal family until death. He only concealed the matter of the Queen Mother and the merchant.

After hearing this, Ningyuan Hou knew that the Zhongyong Hou had probably already made arrangements and would take advantage of the chaos to launch an uprising in the near future.

"How about this, I will escort Her Majesty back to the palace. Once Her Majesty has reported to His Majesty, it will be convenient if she needs to be summoned."

Tao Yanyan naturally listened to him, and then he hurried back to the palace under the escort of Ningyuan Hou to ask to see the emperor.

When Eunuch Zhang saw the queen coming, he directly led her into the imperial study.

"Your Majesty, I have something important to report." Tao Yanyan came over without even having time to change her clothes. She was dressed simply and had only one or two simple pieces of jewelry.

"Huh? You're leaving the palace today?" He Linzhang pulled her over and held her on his lap, playing with her hands. Her light and simple outfit showed that she was going out.

Tao Yanyan nodded, and seeing that his desk was full of memorials, he thought about finishing the matter quickly so that he could continue working.

"Your Majesty, I went to inspect the imperial property today, and on my way back, I was stopped by the Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery..." Tao Yanyan explained the entire incident in detail. "He wants to make the eldest prince the crown prince, saying that only then will the Rong family willingly serve the Great Zhou. I believe he was using me to test Your Majesty's limits."

He Linzhang snorted coldly, "He's finally getting impatient and starting to stir up trouble." He then handed a memorial to Tao Yanyan, "Look, these are the rebels Gu Yi captured after he went to West City. They all hold minor official positions, colluding with the Xia army on the border to target their own people."

Tao Yanyan looked at the list and clicked his tongue. "There are so many people! It seems the Rong family has had second thoughts before. Otherwise, how could they have found so many corrupt officials under their rule?"

He Linzhang nodded. "Fortunately, the people have been arrested and are all being dealt with by military law. Unfortunately, Rong Zhe has taken his 50,000-man army to Xiangcheng, refusing to send troops out on the pretext of defending the city. So, during this period of time, Gu Yi has been relying on the troops he brought with him to fight."

When Tao Yanyan thought about the fact that his cousin had only brought 30,000 people with him, he couldn't help but worry.

"Your Majesty, Xia Kingdom boasts an army of 100,000, while my cousin only has 30,000. This disparity in strength is too great. Will my cousin be in danger?"

Seeing her worried expression, He Linzhang comforted her, "Don't worry. We still have some troops stationed in West City. After dealing with those disloyal generals, we need to fill their positions. I have given Gu Yi the power to act at his discretion. He has full authority over military positions. This way, we can gather at least 30,000 troops, for a total of 60,000."

Tao Yanyan didn't understand all this either, her mind was still on the matter of the Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery.

"Now that we've arrested everyone we need, purged the army, and learned about the Rong family's intentions, Your Majesty, what do you think we should do next?"