Harem Daily Life

The silent death of an injured maid in the palace should have been like a pebble thrown into the sea, causing no ripples. However, Eunuch Zhang had been keeping an eye on Concubine Xian from the very beginning, so he received the news as soon as Caiwei died.

After He Linzhang finished reviewing the memorial, Eunuch Zhang stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, Caiwei, who was just beaten ten times with sticks by Concubine Xian and sent to the laundry department, has died. Before she died, Zhao Yong, who was by Concubine Xian's side, went to see her."

He Linzhang didn't even raise his head and said calmly, "What do you think? Tell me."

Eunuch Zhang knew that His Majesty did not care about the life or death of a little palace maid, but he was particularly concerned about why the little palace maid died and whether it was related to Concubine Xian.

Eunuch Zhang pondered for a moment and said, "I believe that the Third Princess's previous bid for Concubine Xian's favor was most likely due to Caiwei's instigation. Concubine Xian must have realized this and, after finding out, sent Caiwei to the laundry department. I have also found out that Caiwei was almost recovered. If Concubine Xian wanted to kill her, there was no reason to do so when she was almost recovered. Therefore, I believe that Caiwei's death has nothing to do with Concubine Xian."

He Linzhang looked up at him and said, "Continue."

Eunuch Zhang said, "Perhaps Eunuch Zhao was instructed by someone else to kill Caiwei. Or perhaps he and Caiwei already had a feud and wanted to take her life while she was ill."

He Linzhang nodded and said, "Actually, I don't think Concubine Xian has any desire to compete for favor. Well, just keep watching. Zhao Yong dared to kill someone in the palace. Find a way to transfer him out of Yongtai Palace. Such a ruthless person shouldn't be around the Third Princess and Concubine Xian. Find a reason to get rid of him later."

Eunuch Zhang quickly agreed, saying that such dangerous people must be dealt with as soon as possible.

However, Eunuch Zhang was not sure if there were other people behind Zhao Yong, so he did not dare to act rashly to avoid alerting the enemy. After much thought, he thought that he was too busy and decided to ask Li Zongguan of the Imperial Household Department for help.

If one wanted to replace a eunuch in charge and find a pretext to accuse him of a crime, Li, the chief steward of the Imperial Household Department, had the best way to do it.

When Chief Steward Li heard the purpose of Eunuch Zhang's visit, he was shocked and quickly explained, "Eunuch Zhang, I have been the Chief Steward of the Imperial Household Department for many years and have never falsely accused anyone. I hope you will be fair and consider this."

Steward Li was terrified. If Eunuch Zhang viewed him this way, didn't that mean His Majesty also viewed him this way?

Woohoo, although he may have done one or two things to frame someone, there was a reason for everything. And the people who were framed were indeed not innocent. He just used a little trick to make the evildoers receive punishment.

Eunuch Zhang hurried to appease him, and finally managed to dispel Manager Li's concerns.

Steward Li did not dare to neglect it. Since it was Eunuch Zhang who came personally to give the order, it meant that His Majesty cared about it, so he found an excuse to promote Zhao Yong and asked him if he was willing to follow him to manage the imperial property.

Of course, serving in the palace was not as good as managing the property in the Imperial Household Department, and Zhao Yong was tempted the moment he heard about it. However, Zhao Yong had been immersed in this palace for ten years, and although he was tempted by the pie in the sky, he had no action.

After repeated consideration, Zhao Yong decided to reject Manager Li.

"The steward thinks highly of me, Zhao Yong. I, Zhao Yong, should have followed him wholeheartedly. However, the virtuous concubine treats me very well. She is used to using me, so I have no choice but to betray the steward's trust."

Steward Li cursed him inwardly, calling him ungrateful, but a look of regret appeared on his face as he said, "Well, everyone has their own aspirations. If you ever figure it out, just come find me. I'm a dozen years older than you, and sooner or later I'll have to retire. The Imperial Household Department needs a successor, right? Okay, you go ahead and get busy. I'll take my leave now."

You can't be impatient when doing things like this. Manager Li didn't expect that Zhao Yong could resist the temptation, so he had to take it slow.

In the blink of an eye, it was the New Year. This year, the snow fell heavily. The carriages of the families preparing to enter the palace for the palace banquet set out early and waited outside the palace gate, waiting to be inspected before entering the palace for the banquet.

This year, Gu Ning just gave birth to a son, so Mrs. Tao stayed at home to take care of him. She did not go to the palace to visit Tao Yanyan, but only asked Mrs. Gu to help bring gifts.

"Your Majesty is pregnant now, not long after your last child was born. You must take good care of your body and stop worrying about the affairs of the harem. Focus on giving birth to the child first."

Because of severe morning sickness, Tao Yanyan declined the visits from other ladies and only met with Mrs. Gu.

"Don't worry, Auntie. The imperial physician is here, and they're all very concerned." After saying this, he ate a candied fruit. "Originally, I should have gone to see Gu Ning and the child, but you see, I've been lying down all day. I can only leave the palace after this morning sickness is over."

Madam Gu immediately said, "It's freezing cold right now, Your Majesty, please don't move around too much. It's more important to take care of the baby. Ning'er is being taken care of by her mother-in-law, so Your Majesty, don't worry. I'll go over there every now and then to lend a hand. When spring comes and the child is older, you can have the couple bring the child to pay their respects to Your Majesty."

After Madam Gu finished speaking, she looked at the twins and smiled, "These two children are so beautiful and have great looks. They must be very much loved by the Queen Mother, right?"

After saying that, Mrs. Gu pinched Yu Cheng's little legs, her eyes full of joy.

Tao Yanyan smiled and said, "The Queen Mother is naturally happy. The weather is cold, and she doesn't want them to go out, so she comes to visit every now and then. She used to spend the winter at the Hot Spring Palace every year, but because of the twins, she couldn't bear to go this year."

As soon as he finished speaking, Chang Tai opened the thick curtain and came in from outside, holding two boxes in his hands: "Your Majesty, this is sent by the Queen Mother. She said it is a century-old ginseng that Concubine Hui sent to the palace. It was specially sent for Your Majesty to use."

Mingyue took it, and Changtai continued, "This was sent by Prince Changping. He said they were pearls fished out of the East China Sea. There are six in total. The Queen Mother kept one for herself, and the remaining five were all given to Her Majesty."

Madam Gu said happily, "It seems that the Queen Mother really loves you very much. She sends all these good things to you. I will go to see the Queen Mother later and thank her sincerely."

"Then please come back quickly, aunt, and have lunch with me later."

Madam Gu said a few polite words and then went to Changchun Palace. Because the Queen did not want to see her, all the ladies went to Changchun Palace to pay their respects to the Queen Mother after entering the palace today, and Concubine Xian was always by her side.

When she saw Madam Gu coming in, Concubine Xian's eyes lit up. She remembered that the matter she had asked Princess Xinlan to inquire about before had not been answered yet. At this time, she intentionally or unintentionally tried to talk to Madam Gu to find out something.

Madam Gu was also a shrewd person. As soon as she heard Concubine Xian's words, she knew that Concubine Xian had set her sights on the other two legitimate sons of the Gu family. She was extremely excited, but her face showed no reaction. She simply smiled and said, "Marriage for children also depends on fate. Our two sons are still young, and their father means that they must have some achievements before we can propose marriage to them."

The virtuous concubine smiled and said, "Madam, why don't you go to some family's flower viewing banquet to take a look? The girls in our Wang family are not bad either."