Harem Daily Life

Seeing that He Linzhang's dragon robe was stained with Yu Cheng's saliva, Tao Yanyan hurriedly picked up the child and gently scolded Yu Cheng: "Stop ruining your father's dragon robe. Making a dragon robe takes time, effort, and money. It's not that easy to make."

He Linzhang smiled and scratched Yu Cheng's nose: "It's okay, if he wants to bite, then let him bite. It's rare that he likes it."

Tao Yanyan patted Yu Cheng's back gently and said angrily, "Your Majesty, please dote on him. If he spoils you to the point of being lawless, let's see what you can do. Humph, the gold thread used to make the dragon robe is made of high-quality silk and pure gold. Just preparing the gold thread takes a lot of time. Moreover, the patterns on the dragon robe are all embroidered by the embroiderers stitch by stitch. If there is even a slight mistake, the work has to be done again."

He Linzhang smiled and said, "Very good, with the Queen's careful budgeting, I don't have to worry about not getting rich. Thank you, Queen, for taking care of all my affairs."

Little Yucheng looked at his father, then at his mother, shaking his round head back and forth, as if he was listening to what they were saying.

But his teeth were really itchy, and he had a fever, so he was very irritable and couldn't help crying. Seeing this, the wet nurse immediately came up and held him in her arms to comfort him.

With his hands freed, Tao Yanyan asked, "Your Majesty went to see the eldest prince yesterday. How is he? Is he okay?"

He Linzhang felt unhappy when he thought about how he hadn't been able to come back to visit little Yucheng right away because of the eldest prince's obstruction. "It's just a minor illness, nothing serious. The imperial physician has already prescribed medicine. But for Yucheng, the imperial physician didn't prescribe any medicine. Is it okay to just let him get better on his own?"

Seeing his nervous expression, Tao Yanyan soothed him, "Babies are like this. They might get a fever every time a tooth comes out. Imperial Physician Liu checked and said there's no need to take medicine. So don't take it. After all, medicine is three-quarters toxic."

But even so, He Linzhang was still worried, so he asked Zhang Fuhai to deliver all the memorials today to Changle Palace, and he looked after his son personally.

The children were very happy and moved their homework to the study to help their father work.

Tao Yanyan had no choice but to bring his two little ones to lie on the couch in the study to accompany him. It was really like several members of the family were squeezed in one place.

Tao Yanyan glanced at He Linzhang from time to time, fearing that the children would make some noise to disturb him. He Linzhang caught him several times when he peeked. He Linzhang thought the little queen was adorable, and looking at the children in the room, he felt an unprecedented sense of satisfaction.

Fortunately, within three days, Yu Cheng's fever subsided, his milk supply increased significantly, and he could eat more egg yolk porridge and fruit puree. His appetite was surprisingly good.

He Linzhang finally felt relieved and moved his office back to the imperial study.

In mid-October, after another supplementary exam, only two people were barely able to be retained, and the other dozen people were eliminated. He Linzhang ordered people to arrange the most insignificant official positions for them, all of which were hard and tiring. They could not go back to the days when they used to sit in the house and punch in to kill time.

These nephews and nieces were used to being served by others since they were young, so how could they bear to serve others now? So they all resigned because they could not bear the torture.

Their family was too embarrassed to ask the emperor for help again. After all, the emperor had made it clear and given them the opportunity to retake the exam. It was their own people who were useless!

The newly appointed officials learned from the previous experience and did not dare to be negligent. After taking up their posts, they studied with an open mind and no longer had the habit of being idle and doing nothing that had plagued previous generations.

After this selection and assessment, the benefits outweigh the disadvantages for the court's personnel. He Linzhang was delighted and sent a lot of gifts to Changle Palace with a wave of his hand, as if he wanted to empty his private treasury.

The concubines in the palace all knew that Empress Tao was truly different from the previous Empress Wang. Empress Wang relied on her family's power to gain favor, but Empress Tao relied on her own wisdom.

Being able to assist His Majesty and offer advice is something that not everyone can do.

In late October, Gu Yi returned to the capital with his troops. He Linzhang personally went out of the city gate to greet him, and in the evening, a welcoming banquet was held in the palace.

"Your Majesty, the gifts for Princess Xinlan are ready. Would you like to take a look?" Mingyue asked.

Tao Yanyan was playing with little Yunuo and waved his hand, saying, "No need, just take your pick. Prince Changping loves the princess very much, and she has everything. We can give her anything, it's just a token of our appreciation. But when the time comes, you can take the two children with you and let her have some fun. She wrote back last time saying she really wanted to see the babies."

Xinlan is both a cousin and an aunt, so the relationship is very close.

In the golden autumn of October, the weather was clear and cool, and Tao Yanyan wore an orange and blue contrasting dress, looking bright and charming.

She brought her two children to the banquet and immediately saw Princess Xinlan. The princess was wearing a light yellow dress, looking fresh and refined. She was sitting quietly, with Concubine Xian by her side.

Seeing the Empress coming, everyone stood up and saluted. Tao Yanyan smiled and nodded, then walked straight to Xinlan, gently hugged her, and said with a smile: "Princess, it's been a long time since we last met. Are you doing well?"

When everyone saw the Queen's attitude towards Princess Xinlan, they knew that the Princess had a good relationship with the Queen. People who had previously been reluctant to associate with Princess Xinlan now changed their minds and were already planning to establish this relationship.

Xinlan smiled and said, "After being away from Beijing for so long, I didn't expect to be back before the New Year. I'm quite surprised." After that, she looked at Tao Yanyan and said, "The Queen has recovered very well after giving birth. Her complexion seems to be even more rosy."

The virtuous concubine looked at Empress Tao, and found that she was indeed young and beautiful, with a good complexion from the inside out.

Thinking of Empress Tao's exclusive favor, Concubine Xian simply smiled and remained silent. This harmonious balance of yin and yang, the Majesty's love, the presence of both sons and daughters, a distinguished position, and abundant wealth—she was truly a model of the best life, truly enviable.

When Xinlan saw the two little kids behind Queen Tao, her eyes lit up and she quickly teased them: "Oh, these two little guys are so cute."

Mingyue handed Yu Cheng in her arms to Xinlan, who took it steadily and said carefully, "His body is so soft, I was afraid of hurting him."

Yu Cheng fell into the arms of the strange aunt, but he didn't cry or resist. However, he stared at the aunt with his big round eyes, as if he was trying to identify who she was.

Concubine Xian also stepped forward, picked up Yunuo, weighed her, and said with a smile: "Your Majesty has taken good care of the Fifth Princess. Even with this weight, she is really adorable." Yunuo's round head rested on Concubine Xian's chest. She was very happy to hear others praise her for her weight and well-behaved nature.