Harem Daily Life

He Linzhang's brows were stern. "You also know that He Ye is not the candidate for Crown Prince in my mind, so what the Loyal and Brave Marquis requested is doomed to fail."

Tao Yanyan nodded in understanding, "I'm just worried he might take a risk and do something wrong."

There was also the matter concerning the Empress Dowager. Tao Yanyan sighed inwardly, still undecided whether to tell His Majesty.

He Linzhang saw her frown and hugged her in his arms: "If he wants to rebel, I will fight him to the end. A few years ago, I was weak and alone, but I was still able to quell the rebellion. Now is different. I don't believe that I can't take down the Rong family."

However, He Linzhang knew in his heart that the Rong family left a good impression on the world and the people supported the Rong family. If the Rong family did not openly rebel, he would have no excuse to punish them.

Presumably, Marquis Zhongyong also knew this, so he did not rebel, but instead tried to save the country in a roundabout way. He found Queen Tao as a middleman and revealed his ideas in advance, which could be regarded as a way to explore the way forward.

If he could achieve his goal without sacrificing a single soldier, Marquis Zhongyong would not be so foolish as to go to war with the emperor.

Tao Yanyan knew that there were troops stationed outside the capital and the imperial guards in the imperial city, so it would not be easy for the Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery to force the emperor to abdicate. However, spreading rumors on the border would be effective very quickly. So after much hesitation, he decided to tell He Linzhang about the merchant people and ask him to think of a solution together.

"Your Majesty, the Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery said something today that I feel is very important. After much consideration, I still want to speak out."

So, she told the Queen Mother about her past. Seeing He Linzhang's face grow increasingly gloomy, she quickly stopped and said, "Your Majesty, don't be angry. These are all things of the past. Besides, I trust the Queen Mother's character. The most important thing now is that the Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery has threatened us with this matter. The soldiers must not be disturbed."

He Linzhang pondered for a moment. "People's words are terrifying. Even gossip can melt gold. I never thought that the Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery would one day be so cunning." He then pinched Tao Yanyan's face and said, "You've been tired all day. Go back and rest. I haven't had time to enter the harem lately. You should work hard and take good care of the children."

Tao Yanyan nodded and kissed him lightly on the cheek. "Then I will take my leave. Your Majesty, don't worry too much. Not everyone lacks judgment, and not everyone will believe rumors."

He Linzhang watched her get up and leave, and then asked Zhang Fuhai to summon Ningyuan Hou and the Minister of War to meet him.

Tao Yanyan didn't know how He Linzhang would deal with it, but after returning to the palace, she immediately found Chang Tai and asked him to clean up Changle Palace inside and out, and make sure that no one in the palace could harm the children.

Especially those who follow Jin'an and Yucheng must keep a close watch.

Chang Tai quickly agreed, and then reported back on the Yongning Palace situation: "Your Majesty, the Queen Mother is also concerned about the situation in Yongning Palace. Eunuch Qin personally fed the sedative today. When Eunuch Qin came out, he looked very bad because Concubine Shu said a lot about the Queen Mother before taking the medicine."

Tao Yanyan frowned: "What?"

Chang Tai coughed lightly and said, "I didn't get the details, but I just know that it seems that the Shang family's son is in Xia State."

Tao Yanyan frowned even deeper. She didn't expect that Shu Cairen also knew about what happened to the Empress Dowager back then.

"What does Shu Cairen mean? What merchant son? It's so weird and incoherent." Qingfeng couldn't help muttering while massaging Tao Yanyan's shoulders.

Tao Yanyan thought to herself, "It's funny how someone who's been apart for decades could become a nuisance one day." So, having a contented ex can sometimes be a blessing.

No matter how emotionally entangled we were back then, it is now a thing of the past. Looking back at it decades later, things and people have changed, and it is so boring.

The next day, the emperor's promotion edict to all the concubines was delivered to Changle Palace and read out by Eunuch Zhang.

Consort Ning was promoted to Consort Xian, while Consort Liang was promoted to Consort, though without a title. Consort Zhou was promoted to Consort, though without a title. Consort Xu was promoted to Consort Xu, a double promotion, a leapfrogging promotion. The rest of the harem was promoted one level higher. The concubines were all delighted.

The virtuous concubine Wang led the other concubines in bowing to thank the emperor and empress: "I thank your majesty for your grace and thank the empress for your promotion."

Tao Yanyan waited for them to kowtow three times before letting them stand. "I congratulate you. Starting next month, all the palaces' allowances will be distributed according to the new regulations. The Imperial Household Department will also add new servants to each palace. Those who have been promoted and need to change palaces will also be assigned according to their rank. If you have any requests, please raise them with Li, the chief steward of the Imperial Household Department. If he is undecided, please come and discuss it with me."

Everyone thanked him again, and Tao Yanyan smiled and said, "Ordinarily, we should hold a ceremony to confer titles on the newly promoted concubines, but the war is tense now, and it is not appropriate for our harem to be extravagant or to publicize it. Therefore, I will give rewards to each concubine and give her a banquet. You can gather together and have fun."

The virtuous concubine stood up and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty. It is a blessing for us to be able to follow you. It is also very good that these etiquettes are kept simple."

Concubine Zhou said, "Yes, it's more comfortable for us to get together privately. Otherwise, we have to prepare a formal banquet, which is much more tiring."

Everyone laughed and was in a happy mood, much more relaxed than when Queen Wang was around.

After everyone paid their respects and returned, the Imperial Household Department began sending rewards to each palace one after another. Fine silks, jade ornaments, jewelry, and even banquets from the imperial kitchen were all sent to each palace in a continuous stream. This large-scale reward was the first time in recent years that such a large-scale reward had been seen.

Tao Yanyan played with the two little ones, fanning them while watching Yunuo and Cheng demonstrate how to roll over, with a smile on his face all the time.

Every time Yunuo turned over, he would look at Yucheng and babbled, as if to say, "Look, turn over like me."

But Yucheng just tilted his head to look at her, sucking her little fleshy hand in his mouth.

Turn over? That's impossible.

Mingyue and Qingfeng stood by and laughed out loud at the sight of the fifth princess's busy little chubby figure.

"Your Majesty, the Fourth Prince is so calm. He just watched the Fifth Princess turn over silently without any hurry. His expression is quite like Your Majesty." Mingyue said with a smile.

Qingfeng pinched the Fifth Princess's short legs and wiped the sweat off her face. "The Fifth Princess's lively spirit is quite similar to the Second Princess's. She will definitely be another lively princess in the future."

Yunuo finally couldn't turn over anymore, so he just lay down and didn't move, as if he was going to sleep and recharge.

Yu Cheng didn't see the somersault performance, and seemed a little unhappy. He even forgot to eat with his hands and shouted a few words in dissatisfaction.

Xianglan brought in some chilled fruit and placed it next to Empress Tao. "Our Fourth Prince and Fifth Princess are plump and able to eat and sleep well. I saw the Fourth Princess a few days ago, and she didn't look well. She's older than the Fifth Princess, but much thinner. I heard from those around Concubine Liang that the Fourth Princess is hard to take care of when it's hot. She doesn't eat much and is restless at night."

After hearing this, Tao Yanyan thought about it and asked Mingyue to take some dried shrimps and milk slices to Concubine Liang, asking her to make porridge with the dried shrimps and soak some milk slices for the fourth princess to eat, thinking that maybe the child was a little calcium deficient.

When she woke up from her nap, she heard Mingyue come to report that the Empress Dowager had summoned the Queen.