Harem Daily Life

When Shang Yuanzhou heard this, his face turned pale.

Kang Mowan glanced at Shang Yuanzhou. He knew that Shang Yuanzhou had a medicinal material business and had been providing various health pills to the powerful people in Xia State for a long time. This business was very big in Xia State. Men, women, old and young all had special health pills, and the prices were very high.

This time when he came to Da Zhou, he even bought medicinal materials at high prices along the way, just to make pills and sell them when he returned.

Kang Mowan clenched his fist and punched Shang Yuanzhou, which scared He Linzhang and Tao Yanyan.

"Your Majesty and the Empress, please forgive me. I was so angry that I was disrespectful in front of the Emperor and Empress." Kang Mowan said, pointing angrily at Shang Yuanzhou, who fell to the ground with a confused look on his face. "This man sells health pills in Xia Country, ten taels of silver per pill, and he has a big business. I didn't expect that your health pills were mixed with something that could harm people!"

Tao Yanyan was startled and asked quickly, "Did the Ice Skin Jade Pills that were delivered to me a while ago contain anything?"

Doctor Liu personally examined the pill and explained, "Don't worry, Madam. It contains only good herbs. There's nothing wrong with it."

Tao Yanyan breathed a sigh of relief, but also wondered, "Could the pills the princess took be adulterated on purpose?"

Thinking about it carefully, Tao Yanyan looked at Shang Yuanzhou in disbelief.

Upon hearing this, Kang Mowan stepped forward and grabbed Shang Yuanzhou by the collar: "Tell me quickly, which pills of yours were adulterated and which ones were not? How many people have you harmed? Did you adulterate the pills you gave my father?"

Shang Yuanzhou's face turned blue and purple, which was really ugly.

"I...I only mixed it with a few people. This ingredient won't kill them, it just makes them more dependent on the pills."

In order to do long-term business, Shang Yuanzhou had evil intentions towards some people. These people were the ones who held power in the Xia Kingdom, from the monarch down to the concubines, royal family members, and powerful officials from various departments.

Kang Mowan felt mixed emotions. He thought about how he never trusted anyone and was very careful with what he took. Unexpectedly, he escaped and was not poisoned by this guy's pill.

"This prince will not conceal this matter for you. I will definitely report it to the emperor in writing. Humph, just wait for your father's punishment!"

Kang Mowan actually had the right to punish Shang Yuanzhou directly. After all, it was an indisputable fact that the princess of the imperial family had been poisoned by the pills he had provided, and had fallen ill in the Great Zhou. However, he insisted on bringing her back to his father for personal treatment. This would allow more people to see Shang Yuanzhou's true colors, raise suspicions about him, and question his business, ultimately eliminating this tycoon who had dominated the Xia Kingdom's business world for thirty years.

And he can also reap all the industries under Shang Yuanzhou's name in advance, which is really killing two birds with one stone.

"When will the princess wake up? Is her life in danger?" Tao Yanyan asked. She didn't want this person to die in the Great Zhou. It was too unlucky.

Doctor Liu said, "There's no danger to his life, but his blood circulation is blocked. I'm afraid he might have a stroke."

Hearing this, everyone fell silent. A stroke victim, unable to care for himself, with a crooked face and drooling from the corners of his mouth, was truly unsightly.

How can the eldest princess of the Xia Kingdom face people now that she has become like this?

Kang Mowan showed a look of deep sorrow and anguish: "Although I usually dislike the eldest princess's style and behavior, it is really hard for her to fall into this state. I also ask your country's imperial physician to treat her well. At least let her live. I will send her back to Xia Kingdom safely."

The person came out safely, and Kang Mowan didn't want anything to happen and he wouldn't be able to report back.

Imperial Physician Liu clasped his fists and said, "Second Prince, please rest assured. Acupuncture can gradually alleviate the symptoms of the stroke. As long as you take good care of him, it is possible that he will slowly recover in a few years."

It just costs a lot of energy and money. Doctor Liu didn't say anything. Anyway, he was only responsible for acupuncture a few times, and who would be able to take care of it after people went back.

Shang Yuanzhou knelt on the ground, his mind already turning over and over, thinking of a countermeasure. He knew that if he followed the Second Prince back, he would end up dead. He thought it would be better to ask the Queen Mother to keep him by her side, at least to save his life.

How to notify the Queen Mother to protect himself has become the biggest problem at present.

He looked around and his eyes fell on Queen Tao.

When he was taken away and imprisoned, Shang Yuanzhou gave the guard a hundred taels of silver notes and asked him to find a chance to convey a message to Queen Tao. The guard didn't know what to do with the silver notes, so he took them to find Eunuch Chang Tai, who was by the Queen's side.

When Chang Tai heard this, he didn't know what to do, so he could only take the silver note and go to see the Queen again.

"He's giving me all the herbs he bought? He's so willing to do that?" Tao Yanyan asked doubtfully, "He bought all these herbs at a high price. So he's asking me to intercede with the Queen Mother and have him stay in the Great Zhou and not be taken back?"

Chang Tai nodded: "That's what the guard who delivered the letter said. Mr. Shang wants to spend money to avoid disaster."

Tao Yanyan pondered for a moment and returned the banknote to Chang Tai: "Give it to the guard and tell him that I can deliver the message, but I can't guarantee how the Queen Mother will deal with it."

Chang Tai took the banknote and went down to reply. Tao Yanyan thought about it and decided to go to Changchun Palace.

The Empress Dowager already knew what happened in the Qinzheng Palace. She remained calm and did not ask about the aftermath.

Hearing that the queen was coming, she raised her eyebrows and asked someone to invite her in.

"Your Highness, I'm here to report on what happened in the Palace of Diligent Administration during the day. Princess Kangning fainted and was later treated by the imperial physician. She's not in danger of dying, but she suffered a stroke and needs urgent care. She's been sent back to the inn, along with Imperial Physician Liu. The princess suffered a stroke from long-term use of pills provided by Mr. Shang, which caused a chronic poison. Mr. Shang has been arrested and is being held in the Palace's Ministry of Punishment. He sent a message, hoping the Empress Dowager will intervene to save his life and not allow the Second Prince of Xia to take him back." Tao Yanyan glanced at the Empress Dowager. "I thought, since Mr. Shang is an old friend of the Empress Dowager's, I've come to report this and ask for your instructions."

The Queen Mother looked at the sunset outside the window and pondered for a long time.

Tao Yanyan didn't urge him and just stayed with him.

"When he was young, he wasn't such a scheming person."

The Queen Mother's thoughts seemed to be pulled back to a long time ago. She said in a calm voice, "At that time, I was only sixteen years old and my family had arranged a marriage for me. Seeing the sincerity in his eyes, I did feel a liking for him."

Tao Yanyan glanced at the empress dowager's expression, which was unmoved.

"Later, I ran into the Crown Prince of Great Zhou at the Lantern Festival. He pestered me relentlessly, and finally forced the Shu family to cancel the engagement. The day after the cancellation, the palace issued an edict, appointing me as the Crown Princess. Thirty years have passed in a flash."

Time flies, youth is gone forever, Tao Yanyan's gaze shifted away from the empress dowager and looked at the sunset outside the window.

"You might think I'm heartless, but that's fine. Ever since he broke off his engagement with me, I no longer have any connection with him. I don't need to speak up for someone who has nothing to do with me. Besides, what he did was driven by greed, and he deserves it."

When Tao Yanyan heard this, he understood what the Queen Mother meant, which was to stay out of the matter and not care about Shang Yuanzhou.

"Furthermore, when the armies of Great Zhou and Xia confronted each other, didn't he threaten to reveal his past with me and shake the morale of the Great Zhou army? Such a man without any vision is not worth saving."

Tao Yanyan nodded: "Yes, I know what to do. I will take my leave."

The Queen Mother watched Tao Yanyan leave and sighed slightly.

Eunuch Qin served carefully on the side, not daring to speak loudly.

"Why were the Shu family so blind to arrange this awful marriage for me with Shang Jia? This man is simply not worthy of me!"

Eunuch Qin didn't dare to breathe a word. He didn't dare to join in the complaints about the Empress Dowager's family either. He could only smile and say, "Fortunately, the matchmaker's red thread tied the Empress Dowager and the late Emperor tightly together. Otherwise, the Great Zhou would have lost a virtuous empress!"

The Queen Mother raised an eyebrow and glanced at him: "Tsk tsk tsk, your ability to flatter is improving day by day. It's hard for you to think of saying that."

Eunuch Qin chuckled, and the Queen Mother also laughed at him.

"Forget it. I used to think I was entangled in a bad relationship with the late emperor. Now, at least the late emperor was upright and didn't treat me harshly."

She was the empress, her son ascended the throne and became the emperor, and she enjoyed a glorious life. So for the time being, she didn't mention that he favored Concubine Li, which made her angry.