Harem Daily Life

He Linzhang struggled for a long time before nodding under Concubine Rong's pleading gaze. "Okay, I promise you. However, I want to build a cenotaph for you so that you can have a place to worship. Let's build it next to Fifth Sister's grave. With Mother Concubine Rong by your side, Fifth Sister won't be lonely."

Concubine Rong was very satisfied with this arrangement. She later met with the Queen Mother and other concubines. Half an hour later, she passed away amid the crying of everyone.

The Empress Dowager and the concubines felt uncomfortable watching their former sister leave. Tao Yanyan hurriedly asked the palace maids to accompany their masters back to rest, and worked with Concubine Xian to arrange Concubine Rong's funeral.

The whole country of the Great Zhou mourned for three days and issued a general amnesty. Concubine Rong was buried with the ceremony of the Imperial Concubine, but her burial was a cenotaph. Her ashes were scattered into the moat by He Linzhang himself, and floated away with the river water.

At first, the empress dowager was a little bit upset and felt that this kind of burial method was not in accordance with etiquette, but when He Linzhang mentioned Concubine Rong's last wish to find a place of freedom, the empress dowager had to agree.

As for the secret of the treasure, He Linzhang did not make it public. He just asked someone to copy the pattern on the sheepskin fan of Concubine Rong, and gave the fan to Tao Yanyan, asking her to keep it safely.

Tao Yanyan looked at the sheepskin fan from left to right, but couldn't see what was so valuable about it. The only valuable thing about it was probably that it was a finely crafted leather luxury item produced in this era?

"Who would make a fan with leather? This fan is not easy to use." Qingfeng complained.

Tao Yanyan thought it was right, but since this was something Concubine Rong had given to He Linzhang specifically, Tao Yanyan just thought it was a thought and asked Qingfeng to keep it well.

"Sometimes the value of an item doesn't lie in its value, but also in its commemorative significance. Keep it safe and don't let moths eat it."

Qingfeng replied "yes", put away the fan and took it away.

Chang Tai came in from outside and reported: "Your Majesty, there is news from Jingzhao Yinfu that the one from the Wang family has been beheaded."

Previously, because of the death of Concubine Rong, the country observed three days of mourning, and some prisoners were indeed pardoned. However, Wang Yin had harmed several innocent girls, so his death did not deserve to be a pity. Tao Yanyan had been sending people to keep an eye on him, and finally there was a result.

"I see. He brought this upon himself."

Chang Tai continued, "The guards at the palace gates have received word that the former Queen Wang has asked them to tell Her Majesty that she is leaving the capital and wishes to see the Second and Third Princesses."

Tao Yanyan frowned: "See the children? At this time?" It's no wonder that Tao Yanyan was suspicious. Wang Yin had just been executed, and Wang Jiao wanted to see the two princesses. She was really worried that Wang Jiao wanted to take revenge.

But then he thought, could a brother be closer to him than his own daughter? Wang Jiao had suffered so much, and if she still wanted to use the two princesses as bargaining chips to threaten others, she would be a fool.

"Well, let's arrange for her to meet the two princesses. We'll keep an eye on her the whole time."

Upon learning that Queen Tao allowed her to enter the palace to see the child, Wang Jiao hurriedly made preparations.

After leaving this time, she planned not to return to the capital. This was her sad place and the place where she had lost all face.

Her parents were angry with her because of Wang Yin's death. She could no longer stay in her parents' home, so she simply took the money and traveled around, going wherever she went and staying away from this place of trouble.

She had not mentioned her intention to leave to anyone in her family. Now that the family was falling apart, if she continued to stay, she would only become a punching bag and money bag for the whole family, and would never have peace.

Wang Jiao entered the palace on the second day. When Concubine Xian heard the news, she also brought the third princess He Min with her.

He Min knew that the person in front of her was her biological mother, and she felt a little awkward, but she was well-educated, so she still bowed respectfully to Wang Jiao.

He Yue looked very calm. She had already learned from Tao Yanyan that her biological mother was leaving the capital. She was sad at first, but she didn't cry or make a fuss afterwards.

The two sisters, accompanied by Empress Tao and Concubine Xian, met Wang Jiao together.

Seeing that the two children were being raised so well, Wang Jiao felt mixed emotions.

"Yuer, Min'er, I'm leaving this time, and I'm afraid we won't be able to see each other again. I owe you so much before, and now I can't make up for it. I just hope you can be safe and sound. Yue'er, you are the elder sister, and the younger sister is still young. I'll trouble you to take care of her from now on."

He Yue nodded and said calmly: "She is my biological sister. Even if you don't tell me, I will take good care of her. Besides, with Queen Mother Tao and Consort Xian here, we sisters will not suffer. You can go without worry."

He Yue doesn't have the clinginess of a little girl, but instead has the free and easy style of a chivalrous woman.

Wang Jiao sighed. Since her daughter was so independent, she said nothing more. Finally, she gave each of the two sisters a jade pendant and asked Concubine Xian to take the two sisters away first, saying that she wanted to speak to Empress Tao.

Tao Yanyan didn't know what else to say to her. After Concubine Xian and the others left, she waited quietly for Wang Jiao to speak.

"In fact, before I asked to see Your Majesty that day, I wrote a letter to Your Majesty. I didn't expect that it might be because of my letter that Your Majesty's punishment on my brother was even more severe."

Tao Yanyan thought about the events of the past few days and said calmly, "What your brother has done is serious. You should have known that no matter how much you plead for mercy, he will die. Therefore, whether you wrote to His Majesty or not, it would not have changed the outcome. There's no need to get stuck in a rut and speculate."

Wang Jiao frowned. "Don't act like you know His Majesty very well. I've been married to him for ten years, longer than you."

Tao Yan was speechless, rolled his eyes, picked up the tea beside him and took a sip.

"Also, why did you try to stop His Majesty from summoning my father and me that day? If you hadn't stopped us, perhaps His Majesty would have spared Wang Yin's life for our efforts."

Tao Yanyan sneered, "If I don't stop you, how do you plan to force him? Cry, make a scene, or even threaten to hang yourself in front of him, or use your so-called ten years of friendship to morally blackmail him?"

Wang Jiao was unable to refute what was said.

Tao Yanyan added, "He's the emperor, possessing supreme power. He can decide life and death with a single word, but that doesn't mean he should shield a death row inmate! A country has its laws, and a family has its rules. If you didn't want your brother to die, you should have taught him a lesson, instead of waiting for you, his family members, to clean up the mess after he made a serious mistake."

Wang Jiao bit her lip. "You keep talking nonsense. The knife hasn't touched your brother, so of course you can talk without any hesitation."

Facing Wang Jiao's unreasonable behavior, Tao Yanyan snorted coldly: "My eldest brother of the Tao family passed the imperial examination and became an official. He is an upright person. My cousin General Gu defends our country with all his heart. My brothers have done nothing against the law of nature. Of course, I can speak with my head held high. Are you envious? You can't envy them!"