Harem Daily Life

Kang Ning took several deep breaths before suppressing her surging anger. She glared at her daughter, who was tugging at her sleeve, and whispered, "Behave yourself! Do you want to make a fool of yourself in public?"

Tears welled up in Princess De Rou's eyes. She had already been persuaded by the Second Prince, but tonight, when she saw the outstanding appearance of the Emperor of the Great Zhou, she was moved again.

Kang Ning saw through her daughter's thoughts at a glance, but her proposal for marriage had been rejected once by Queen Tao, and she didn't want her daughter to be rejected again tonight, so she chose to ignore her daughter's gaze and warned Princess De Rou.

The Queen Mother sat at the very top, her eyes slowly sweeping over the ministers of the Great Zhou in the hall, and then she looked at the Xia delegation.

Shang Yuanzhou's eyes unexpectedly met the Queen Mother's. His heart instantly rose to his throat and he sat up a little straighter, but he found that the Queen Mother just glanced at him without stopping, but stared at Kang Ning beside him.

The sparkling glances between Princess Kangning and the Queen Mother were hard to miss. Tao Yanyan took a sip from the teacup in front of him, but his peripheral vision was unconsciously shifting to the melon.

Princess Kangning raised the wine glass in front of her and said, "It has been many years since we last met. I hope the Queen Mother is doing well. I would like to offer you a toast." Her voice was clear, but with a hint of provocation.

The Queen Mother smiled slightly and raised her wine glass: "You are too polite, Princess. It is really a surprise to see you again. I have missed you very much." After that, she took a sip of wine.

Princess Kangning drained the wine in her glass, set it down, and stared at the Queen Mother with a piercing gaze. "Your Majesty, you remain as charming as ever. I just wonder if you've been content in the harem all these years? I heard that the late Emperor of the Great Zhou favored Concubine Li alone. I'm sure you've had a wonderful life!"

The Queen Mother's expression remained unchanged as she spoke gently, "Princess, please do not worry about whether I am doing well or not. After all, it is none of your business, so it is pointless for you to worry about it. It would be more useful for you, Princess, to worry more about your own affairs and whether this trip will go smoothly."

Corning's expression changed, and he felt so angry when he thought of the failure of the previous negotiations.

Seeing her momentum weaken a bit, the Queen Mother continued, "I am much less worried now. Empress Tao is in charge of all matters in the harem. But Princess, the affairs of the Xia Kingdom are complicated. I have to trouble a princess like you to travel thousands of miles. You are really tired."

Princess Kangning snorted coldly, "It's my duty to work for the country. Unlike some people who act as pawns of their families, relying on their husbands when they are young and their sons when they are old, I am different. Whatever I want, I will get it myself."

Power is like this, and so are men. Princess Kangning feels that she is the strongest among women, and she hates women like Shu Jinse who rely on the late emperor of the Great Zhou and his son.

A hint of displeasure flashed across the Queen Mother's eyes, but she quickly regained her composure. "The Princess's words are sharp, but I believe that being treated with care and protected everywhere is also a kind of luck. A life of glory and success is something that others cannot envy."

Princess Kang Ning wanted to refute again, but Shang Yuanzhou secretly pulled her sleeve and said, "Princess, please consider the overall situation."

She then suppressed her anger and stopped talking.

In this round, the Queen Mother clearly had the upper hand. Princess Kangning had already been at a disadvantage due to the defeat of the Xia Kingdom. No matter how powerful she was, she could not outmaneuver the Queen Mother of the victorious nation.

Tao Yanyan pricked up his ears and listened to the conversation between the two people the whole time, and was intoxicated by it.

He Linzhang looked at her from time to time with a doting expression.

Some people were watching the singing and dancing, while others were listening to the conversation between the Queen Mother and the Princess of Xia. Everyone's focus was different, and the entire palace banquet was relatively smooth and harmonious.

During the process, Yu Cheng and Yunuo started crying, so the empress dowager took the two children to a side hall, and Tao Yanyan stayed in the main hall to accompany them.

After a while, Mingyue quietly walked to Tao Yanyan's side and whispered, "Your Majesty, the Fourth Prince and the Fifth Princess are both asleep, so they've been sent back first. The Queen Mother has summoned Lord Shang, who is in the side hall."

Tao Yanyan nodded, knowing that this was something the Queen Mother had planned long ago, so she said nothing. However, He Linzhang beside her seemed somewhat distracted, and even failed to respond to the ministers' toasts.

Tao Yanyan gently touched the emperor's arm: "Your Majesty, are you drunk? How about I accompany Your Majesty to admire the moon and get rid of the drunken smell?"

He Linzhang clinked his glasses with the ministers who came to toast him and drank the wine in the glasses: "Okay, Queen, please accompany me for a walk." After that, the emperor and queen stood up together. Tao Yanyan gave Concubine Xian a look, and Concubine Xian understood and would naturally take good care of everything in the hall.

The two of them didn't go far and stopped when they reached the side hall.

Tao Yanyan held He Linzhang's hand and looked up at him: "Your Majesty, don't worry. The Queen Mother knows her limits."

He Linzhang smiled, sighed, and said, "I remember when I was seven or eight years old, my father and mother had a big fight. It seemed someone instigated it that time, saying that my mother still had something given to her by her lover before she got married. My father was upset about this and blamed my mother. My mother explained many times at that time, but she got tired and went into a cold war with my father for a long time."

Tao Yanyan curled his lips: "Mutual trust is the most important thing between husband and wife. Did the late emperor...take the initiative to seek peace later?" Tao Yanyan thought that with the Queen Mother being such an insightful person, if she was misunderstood, she would definitely feel dissatisfied and would not take the initiative to bow her head.

He Linzhang shook his head. "My father was also stubborn, so the two of them drifted apart from each other from that time on. It wasn't until I was ten years old and was made Crown Prince that their relationship began to ease."

Tao Yanyan squeezed his hand and said, "To be disrespectful, I think the late emperor was a bit stingy. Even if the empress dowager had a lover in the past, she eventually became the late emperor's lover. Why would he care about it after he got her? He doesn't even think about the regrets he would have in his life if he didn't get her."

He Linzhang frowned and tapped her nose: "Don't talk about the late emperor."

Tao Yanyan stuck out her tongue and said, "I only speak my mind in front of Your Majesty because I know Your Majesty loves me and won't blame me."

Her fearless expression was so adorable that He Linzhang could only smile and couldn't do anything about her.

Tao Yanyan glanced at the side hall not far away: "In fact, they have been separated for more than 30 years. It is a blessing to see them again in this life. There are so many people in this world who will never see each other again after parting."

After she finished speaking, she thought of her family and friends, and then of the original owner, and she felt a little sad.

"Your Majesty, if... I mean if, if Your Majesty and Yan Yan suddenly never see each other again, will Your Majesty miss Yan Yan?"