Harem Daily Life

Returning to the palace, holding the sleeping little queen in his arms, He Linzhang felt deeply moved. Thinking back to the time when he was stuck in the middle of the cliff, unable to go up or down, starving and cold, he cherished the beauty of the present even more.

He couldn't imagine what his little queen would do with her children if she couldn't get out. With internal and external troubles, the State of Yan watching closely, and Rong Ze pressing her every step of the way, his little queen would probably be acting tough outside during the day and crying in her bed at night.

He was so distressed that he hugged her tightly, smelling the fragrance of her hair, and felt at ease.

Tao Yanyan had been suffering from insomnia for several days. He did some exercise tonight and slept very soundly. He had no idea that He Linzhang beside him had not slept for half the night and was just hugging himself, lost in thought.

The next day, He Linzhang did not go to court. Since the empress dowager had given him three days, he stayed with the empress and children with peace of mind.

When the concubines in various palaces learned the news that His Majesty had returned safely, they all came to Changle Palace to pay their respects.

Looking at the weeping concubines in the hall, He Linzhang glanced at the Queen and said, "I was able to escape this time thanks to your wisdom. Don't cry, I have returned safely, there is nothing to cry about. Concubine Xian, take your people back first. I need to rest for a few days, so you don't need to come to Changle Palace to pay your respects."

When the concubines saw the emperor's attitude, they knew he was fed up with them. So they all stood up and left.

After Empress Tao came to power, she promoted the status of each palace, increased their monthly allowances, and never skimped on their food, clothing, and other expenses. Therefore, each palace developed a good impression of her and gradually stopped wanting to compete with her for favor. They only cared about living a good life.

Moreover, Concubine Xian and Concubine Xu jointly manage the palace affairs. Both of them are loyal to the queen. If any concubine wants to compete for the emperor's favor, Concubine Xian will hint at her and extinguish her thoughts. Therefore, the concubines in the harem all tacitly agree that if they don't compete for the emperor's favor, they will have a smooth life in the harem.

The harem was peaceful, but the front court was not so peaceful.

After the two incidents involving Rong Jia Zhongyong Hou and Rong Ze, the voices of the previous dynasty calling for the early appointment of a crown prince grew louder and louder. The empress dowager looked at the memorials covering the table for the succession and looked up at the sky in silence.

She glanced at Eunuch Qin, who was dozing off to the side, and raised an eyebrow, saying, "You sort them out. Put the eldest prince in one group, the second prince in another, and the fourth prince in another. It will be easier for me to see."

Eunuch Qin woke up instantly, coughed lightly to cover up his embarrassment, and immediately began to comb his hair.

The Empress Dowager stretched to relieve the fatigue of reading the memorials. She stood up and paced to the side, trimming the potted plants in the imperial study and watering them a little.

She only returned to the desk after Eunuch Qin had finished reading and categorizing the letters.

"This pile is for the eldest prince, and this pile is for the fourth prince. No one has requested the second prince to be enthroned." Eunuch Qin pointed to the two piles of memorials on the table and introduced them.

The Queen Mother hummed and nodded. "Then take pen and paper and write down who supports the First Prince and who supports the Fourth Prince. Give me a list."

Eunuch Qin: “…”

Why didn't you say it just now?

Eunuch Qin had no choice but to accept his fate and took out paper and pen to start registering.

The Queen Mother yawned and slumped back in her seat, looking quite relaxed. She casually said, "You said Yu Cheng is only six months old. If he knew that he was burdened with the weight of the Great Zhou Empire at such a young age, would he be unhappy?"

Eunuch Qin smiled and said, "The Fourth Prince is a blessed man. Both the Queen Mother and His Majesty love him."

Having been with the Queen Mother for decades, Eunuch Qin already knew that the Queen Mother wanted the Fourth Prince to be the Crown Prince.

The Queen Mother chuckled softly: "Don't try to guess what I'm thinking. They're all my grandchildren, and I love them all."

It’s just that some children have poor backgrounds.

Eunuch Qin did not dare to say much. After registering, he gave the list to the Queen Mother.

The Queen Mother took a quick look and saw the few people who supported the eldest prince. She sneered, "They have been officials for many years, but they are still so ignorant of current affairs." Then she picked up a pen, circled the names of those officials, and crossed them out. "At the end of the year, when their performance evaluations are conducted, the Emperor will have to give them a good scolding."

Eunuch Qin silently lit candles for those people. Their official careers and the future of their descendants might be over.

The list was sent directly to Changle Palace. The eunuch who delivered the message respectfully said to He Linzhang, "Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager said that the court affairs these days are mainly about the court officials requesting the appointment of a crown prince. This is the list of positions, please review it, Your Majesty."

He Linzhang finished reading it and said nothing: "I understand."

"The Queen Mother said that a few positions will be reserved in October for each family to place their younger generations, but this year there are more people vying for the positions, and there are no vacancies in each department. Your Majesty, please think of a way to deal with it." After the young eunuch finished speaking, he took his leave.

Tao Yanyan was completely confused and couldn't help asking, "What do you mean by placing a younger generation?"

He Linzhang took her by the hand and stood up, strolling around the courtyard. As they walked, he explained to her, "The families of court officials, especially those whose ancestors had made great contributions in their early years, would definitely not pass the imperial examinations as well as those scholars. So, some positions are reserved for their descendants to become officials. It can be considered a grace. Recruits are promoted every five years. This year, six or seven people have applied for a position, all of whom are legitimate sons of their families. But there are not many vacant positions now, so it's really difficult to arrange them. Plus, there are already twenty or thirty people who have been arranged before. These people don't strive for progress. They just show up at various departments every day to get by. It's impossible to really expect them to achieve anything."

Tao Yanyan never expected that such people with connections would exist whether in ancient times or modern times.

She said, "There are twenty or thirty people, and each of them receives a considerable annual salary. If their work is not outstanding, then they are all supported by the court."

He Linzhang nodded. "Yes, that's why I've always been troubled. They've taken up positions, while those who actually got in through the imperial examinations have been left without good positions. The organization is complex, and the officials' abilities vary. The key is that these people are just idling away their time, forming cliques and factions, and they only care about consolidating their own networks, not serving the people at all."

Tao Yanyan thought for a moment and asked, "Then what about the annual performance evaluation of officials? Do they need to be evaluated?"

He Linzhang sighed, "They have to assess us, but the Ministry of Personnel is taking the families' reputation into consideration and won't give us too low a score. Besides, the Minister of Personnel also hopes that this will continue. If his descendants are incompetent, they can still get a small official position this way."

Tao Yanyan raised an eyebrow. "Our ancestors established this rule, which is indeed a blessing to each family, but it has serious drawbacks. If we don't deal with it, sooner or later we will be dragged down."

After saying this, he glanced at He Linzhang and said, "Now that Yan and Xia have signed peace agreements with the Great Zhou, there's no need to worry about external threats for now. Isn't it time to deal with internal affairs and put things in order?"