Harem Daily Life

The Xia man had one of his arms cut off by Wushuang and a sword was placed on his neck, but he didn't resist for long before surrendering.

"We are here on the orders of the Princess of Xia. We are taking you back to threaten the Emperor of Great Zhou to withdraw his troops."

Tao Yanyan didn't know how the war at the border was going, but Ningyuan Hou did know.

The court had just received a border report from Gu Yi, saying that since General Duan was ordered to lead 50,000 troops to support Xicheng, Gu Yi quickly took over the military power of the Rong family and took over the 50,000 troops. Together with the 30,000 troops reinforced from the capital, the Great Zhou had 180,000 troops against the 100,000 troops of the Xia Kingdom. Not only did it recapture the cities previously captured by the Xia Kingdom, but it also fought all the way into the Xia Kingdom and captured the capital city of Ningdu.

Perhaps it was because of this that the Xia Kingdom could no longer sit still and secretly sent a team of people to the Great Zhou, hoping to capture the Queen of the Great Zhou as a hostage and force the Great Zhou to withdraw its troops.

"Then how did you know that I was leaving the palace today? And set up an ambush in this temple?" Tao Yanyan asked.

The Xia man's eyes flashed, and Shuang'er kicked him on the leg: "Hurry up and tell me, or I'll chop off your legs!"

The Xia people swallowed their saliva and said, "We...we bribed a guard at the palace gate to inform us whenever a female member of the family came out. We have actually been guarding it for over a month, and we only encountered it today."

"Name?" Ning Yuanhou asked angrily.

It was one of his own who betrayed the Queen's whereabouts and put her in danger. How could he bear it? He had to find that person and kill him to vent his anger.

"Zhou...Zhou Tai." Ning Yuanhou wrote it down and wanted to see who it was.

"Then how many of you have lying in ambush in Da Zhou?" Tao Yanyan asked.

The Xia countryman shook his head: "That's all we have. Now there are only two of us left."

"How do you pass the message back?" asked Ning Yuanhou.

"us……"

"You can't say it!" Another Xia citizen who was being detained spoke out to stop him.

"I think you want to die!" Yin Jiu fiercely slashed with his knife, and a cut immediately appeared on the arm of the Xia man who tried to stop him, and blood gushed out.

Tao Yanyan was so scared that he quickly took a step back and glared at Yin Jiu while enduring the smell of blood.

Yin Jiu rubbed his head sheepishly: "Haha, I was too excited. Please forgive me, Queen!"

Their interrogations of prisoners were usually much more bloody than this. They couldn't help themselves and didn't expect to reveal their true nature in front of the Queen.

The first Xia countryman said quickly: "Speak, I will tell you. We passed the news through the information channel of Canglongmen."

Tao Yanyan and Ning Yuanhou exchanged a glance, and Ning Yuanhou said, "It seems there is still a lot to be unearthed here. I will take the man back and interrogate him thoroughly."

The Canglong Sect is an anti-imperial organization founded by Cangqi, a remnant of the previous dynasty. We only learned about the Canglong Sect's origins after destroying Miaoyinfang and capturing Cangxuan. However, we have been trying to capture Cangqi for so long. Now it seems that this organization has infiltrated everywhere and is against the Great Zhou at every turn.

Tao Yanyan was also worried about the eldest princess, so he nodded and said, "Then I will take my people back first. Uncle will work harder and find out the news and report it to His Majesty."

The news that Queen Tao was attacked in Fuyan Temple was known to He Linzhang as Xiao Jinan was sent back to the palace. He originally wanted to come out to rescue her himself, but he didn't expect that Tao Yanyan had already returned with his men.

Seeing his anxious look, Tao Yanyan quickly recounted the entire incident, "Your Majesty, rest assured. I am completely fine. Xuan'er was simply drugged and unconscious, but Imperial Physician Liu says she's fine. It was Hong'er, her companion, who was bribed to scratch my face. Since Hong'er is dead, it's difficult to pinpoint the mastermind behind this."

He Linzhang said angrily, "I wonder who is so vicious as to want to attack you."

Tao Yanyan thought, who else could it be? Either it was someone he loved but couldn't have, and if he couldn't get her, he would destroy her. Or it was someone who loved the emperor and was jealous of him, and jealousy could change a person beyond recognition.

"Everyone's dead, so there's no way to investigate. Let's put it aside for now. But we can dig deeper into the information channels that the Xia people mentioned about the Canglong Sect. Maybe we can pull out the carrot and catch Cang Qi."

He Linzhang now hates the Canglong Sect to death. Many bad things are related to this organization. Although he has destroyed several strongholds and learned from the news brought back by Qi Yizheng that Cangqi may be in the border area between Da Zhou and Yan State, he has been searching for so long but still has no news.

He held Tao Yanyan's hand and said, "I will send more people to investigate and will eradicate this cancer as soon as possible."

Ningyuan Hou acted quickly. After identification, it was found that Zhou Tai, who had delivered the message to the Xia people, had been killed, and two of the Canglongmen strongholds revealed by the Xia people had also been destroyed.

One was an underground gambling house that had operated in the capital for years. They lent money at high interest to the city's powerful and wealthy, and when they couldn't get it back, they traded information for it. It's unknown how much information they took. After it was busted, the imperial court issued a decree prohibiting gambling houses within the Great Zhou, requiring all places to ban them within six months.

Elsewhere, there was a thriving teahouse, a daily gathering place for travelers, serving as a conduit for information. No illegal activities were discovered in the teahouse, but the owner and staff were members of the Canglong Sect, and were eventually busted. Like Miaoyinfang, the teahouse became imperial property.

Tao Yanyan flipped through the accounts he had found in the teahouse and smacked his lips in amazement. "I didn't expect the turnover to be so high. This teahouse must be doing really good business."

Steward Li smiled and said, "I've checked it out. The teahouse has been operating for many years and already has regular customers. Business is not a problem. Moreover, it's new. We can immediately re-open it with a new manager and staff."

Tao Yanyan nodded and said, "I heard that many wounded soldiers have no way to make a living after returning home. The pension money given by the court will eventually run out. You should go to the Ministry of War and ask for a list. See if these wounded soldiers in the capital are willing to work and find a way for them to make a living."

Steward Li hesitated, saying, "The Empress is kind-hearted, but this teahouse is open for business. The wounded soldiers are all somewhat handicapped, and what if they frighten the customers..." Steward Li's doubts were based on practical business considerations. He was in charge of the imperial estate, and he couldn't afford to treat the money as if it wasn't real money. If he mismanaged the business, he'd be criticized.

Tao Yanyan smiled and said, "It's okay. Just choose some people who can still work. They fought for the country and were willing to sacrifice their lives. Now they have a little disability, so why should we look down on them? We are just solving their livelihood problems. It's no big deal to earn less money. Even on the imperial farm, you can be bolder and accommodate more people. Just do as I say and explain it clearly to the guests when the time comes."

A warm feeling flowed through Li Zongguan's heart. He himself was a disabled person. The Queen Mother was the mother of a country, but she never looked down on people like him. How could she ask him not to follow her willingly?