Harem Daily Life

He Linzhang came to Concubine Rong's bedside and said softly, "Does Concubine Rong have any unfulfilled wishes? As long as I can do it, I will definitely do it for you."

Concubine Rong was very weak. She forced a smile at He Linzhang and said in a very low voice, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your care over the years. I am leaving now. There is something I want to tell Your Majesty."

He Linzhang nodded: "Please speak."

Concubine Rong said, "My great-grandfather was the Director of the Mint in the previous dynasty. After the previous dynasty fell, my grandfather took my father into exile. The change of dynasties in the Great Zhou Dynasty did not hold us accountable for our crimes, so my father was able to take the imperial examination and become an official in the new dynasty."

He Linzhang knew about Concubine Rong's life story, so he nodded and said, "The Great Zhou overthrew the tyranny of the previous dynasty, targeting the royal family of the previous dynasty, and had nothing to do with the officials and people of the previous dynasty."

Concubine Rong swallowed and continued, "The late emperor took me into the palace for two reasons: first, to demonstrate the benevolent rule of the Great Zhou Dynasty, and second, to establish his good image as a courteous person towards the orphans of officials from the previous dynasty. Your Majesty is sure you can understand these two points, so I don't need to elaborate. Actually... there is a third reason."

Concubine Rong's expression became a little serious. She stretched out her skinny hand to hold the emperor's. He Linzhang understood and reached out to hold her hand.

Concubine Rong smiled and said, "Your Majesty is kind and has learned to be loyal in love in recent years. I admire that."

He Linzhang coughed lightly and said, "Thank you, Mother Rong, for your praise."

Concubine Rong seemed to have made a great decision and said solemnly, "Today I want to tell Your Majesty the third reason why the late emperor took me as his concubine. Otherwise, after I die, this secret will no longer be known to anyone."

He Linzhang also became serious when he heard this. He had a hunch that what Concubine Rong said must be very important.

"Actually, the late emperor heard that my family had helped the previous dynasty hide a treasure, so he took me in as his concubine."

He Linzhang frowned and asked suspiciously, "Treasure?"

"Yes, the treasure." Concubine Rong's thoughts seemed to have returned to a long time ago. After a while, she said, "It was because I heard about this treasure that I became your father's concubine.

After I entered the palace, he doted on me in every way, making me think for a time that I was the luckiest person in the world.

Until one day, when I accidentally heard him talking about the treasure, I realized that his pampering and love for me had always been a lie, and his only goal was the treasure.

In order to get the treasure, he pretended to like me, but later he got too tired of pretending, so he asked the imperial physician to give me a bowl of abortion medicine, once and for all, so that I would never give birth to a child belonging to me again.

He Linzhang was so shocked that his hand holding Concubine Rong couldn't help but tremble.

Concubine Rong's face was filled with sorrow for a moment, but she quickly returned to normal. "Since then, I've seen through him and gradually distanced myself from him. He's tried to get information from me in many ways, but he's never been able to find out anything about the treasure."

He Linzhang didn't know what to say. The emperor's mind was unpredictable. Even if he was the son of the late emperor, he might not be able to guess what the late emperor was thinking.

Concubine Rong gently closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, she looked at He Linzhang kindly: "When Your Majesty was a child, he often sent delicious food and fun things to the Fifth Princess, and treated her very well. She was very happy during the years she was alive."

He Linzhang sighed softly: "The fifth sister is cute and well-behaved. I am her elder brother, so I must treat her well." It's a pity that the fifth princess died young. She fell seriously ill at the age of ten and could not be saved.

"I am about to meet the Fifth Princess, and I would like to share with Your Majesty the secrets I know. Regarding the treasure, I actually didn't learn much from my father, which is why I kept it secret from the late emperor for so many years. Even after the late emperor's death, the whereabouts of the treasure were still unknown.

Lately, though, I've been thinking about my childhood a lot. My father did tell me about our ancestors hiding treasures for the previous dynasty. I also think back to the small sheepskin fan my father left me as a dowry when I entered the palace.

"Making a fan with sheepskin?" It was the first time He Linzhang heard of such a method, and he couldn't help but ask.

Concubine Rong smiled and said, "Yes, it's very strange, isn't it? Because it's very strange, I have never used that fan. But I remember that my father told me many times to keep this sheepskin fan well, saying that it is a family heirloom of our Duan family."

He Linzhang thought of something and opened his eyes wide, "Could it be that Concubine Rong means that the sheepskin fan is the clue to finding the treasure?"

Concubine Rong blinked her eyes and said, "It's very possible, but I really haven't opened it to read it. If it's not, Your Majesty, don't be disappointed."

After saying that, Concubine Rong asked He Linzhang to go to her dressing table and find the box containing jewelry. From the bottom compartment of the box, she found a small box. When she opened the box, there was indeed an exquisite folding fan inside.

He Linzhang took the fan and opened it in front of Concubine Rong.

The fan was indeed made of leather, and one could tell the craftsmanship was very sophisticated. It even had a faint scent of leather.

He Linzhang flipped through the fan and said, "One side of the fan has plum blossoms, and the other side looks like a mountain."

He handed it to Concubine Rong to look at. Concubine Rong thought for a moment, then looked at the picture of the mountain and said, "All mountains in the world are similar. I can't tell where it is. However, this line of small words reminds me of the Yanyun Mountain that my father talked about when I was a child."

"I will only tell the story of the smoke and clouds over the water, bamboos, and the wind, flowers, snow, and moon." He Linzhang recited the poem and thought for a moment: "It seems that there is no place called Yanyun Mountain in the Great Zhou."

Concubine Rong smiled and said, "Indeed, because this Yanyun Mountain is in Yan State."

Concubine Rong excitedly said, "My family originally lived on the border between Great Zhou and Yan. A small part of Yan's Yanyun Mountain is within Great Zhou. When I was a child, I often followed my father into the mountains to admire the plum blossoms. The plum blossoms there are very unique, even coming in blue, orange, and amber colors."

The more Concubine Rong spoke, the clearer her memory became. "Yes, if there really is a treasure, it might be near Yanyun Mountain. No wonder my father repeatedly told me to remember this place when I was a child. When I entered the palace, my father also repeatedly told me to take good care of this fan."

After figuring everything out, Concubine Rong's spirits sank again. "Your Majesty, over the past few years, I've watched you go from having three thousand beauties in your harem to favoring only Empress Tao. I feel that you are different from your father after all. You know how to love better than he does. I'm afraid my time has come. Whether the secret of this treasure is true or not, I have no way of verifying it. If your Majesty has the opportunity, please go and search for it yourself."

He Linzhang put away the fan and said, "Okay, I will find a way to investigate. Please rest assured, Mother Rong."

Concubine Rong nodded gently and made one final request: "There is one more thing I hope Your Majesty can agree to. If I die, please do not bury me in the royal cemetery. I have had enough of this palace. I don't want to die and accompany the late emperor. I don't want to see him. Your Majesty, please scatter my ashes in the rivers, lakes, and seas. I want to follow the water and find freedom."