Harem Daily Life

Concubines are not allowed to go to the front yard, let alone meet guests. This is the rule, unless the master sends you there.

Lin Yuanyuan knew this rule not long after she entered the mansion, and the two concubines from the Duan family could not have been unaware of it.

When the two concubines surnamed Duan heard this, they became nervous instantly.

Duan Fang thought for a moment and said, "But we didn't make the decision on our own. Didn't the maid come and tell us? She even said I'm good at making tea and asked me to make it myself."

Duan Ying, however, was not as optimistic as Duan Fang. She thought for a moment and said, "But the maid who came to tell me about this was very unfamiliar. I didn't even recognize her. Do you two know the maid who came to tell me about this?"

Duan Fang and Lin Yuanyuan both shook their heads in denial.

Duan Ying slapped his thigh and said, "It's over, it's over! Could it be that someone has tricked us? Who wants to harm us?"

Duan Fang's heart was in turmoil. "My mother had taught me about this kind of scheming in the harem before, but I never thought I would be completely unaware of it when it was used on me!"

The three of them rarely put aside their prejudices and worked together to find a solution.

Duan Ying glanced at Lin Yuanyuan and said, "Today's events are most likely related to you. Didn't you notice that Princess Qinghe was intentionally or unintentionally trying to get His Majesty and the Queen to notice you?"

After saying this, she carefully examined Lin Yuanyuan, narrowed her eyes, and said, "Who did your makeup today? If you look closely, you actually look about four points like the Queen."

Duan Fang also hurriedly looked towards Lin Yuanyuan, her heart startled. She pointed at Lin Yuanyuan and said, "It's you, it's because of you. Princess Qinghe must have noticed that you look a bit like the Empress, so she tricked us all into the front yard, deliberately wanting the Emperor and Empress to see us!"

Lin Yuanyuan's face turned pale. She asked nervously, "Why would Princess Qinghe do this?"

Duan Ying looked at her like she was an idiot and said, "If you offend the Queen, at the very least, your life will be taken, and the palace will lose another vying for her favor. At worst, the prince will be held accountable, and the entire palace will be implicated."

Lin Yuanyuan was almost frightened to death, but fortunately Xiao Cui beside her supported her.

"My two concubines, please stop scaring us. Since His Majesty and the Queen didn't punish us on the spot, I guess everything should be fine, right? Maybe His Majesty and the Queen didn't notice." Xiao Cui said, supporting Lin Yuanyuan and saying, "My concubines, please don't scare yourself. Your makeup was done by the prince himself. Since the prince did that, I guess everything should be fine."

As soon as Xiao Cui said this, the two concubines of the Duan family were even more angry and were too lazy to chat with the favored concubine Lin in front of them.

"Let's go. We are the princess's cousins anyway, and we haven't offended anyone. It's not our fault." Duan Ying pulled Duan Fang.

Duan Fang nodded: "Exactly. The trap was set for her. We were made targets for no reason. Who did we offend?"

The two of them left. Lin Yuanyuan took a long time to calm down before being supported by Xiao Cui back to her yard. She waited anxiously for news.

Princess Qinghe, who went to look for the young princess, had a delighted look on her face. She hadn't expected that this drama she had arranged on the spur of the moment would go so smoothly. However, to avoid suspicion that it was her handiwork, she asked her personal maid, "Can you guarantee that no one will recognize it?"

The maidservant Linglong nodded confidently, "Don't worry, Princess. I've changed my appearance and voice. No one will recognize me. I've been learning from the opera troupe since I was a child, and I'm an expert at changing my appearance and voice. This is the first time I've used these skills since I was bought into the palace, so I won't be exposed."

Princess Qinghe felt relieved. After a moment's thought, she took off a bracelet from her wrist and handed it to Linglong. "If this goes ahead today, Concubine Lin will definitely be punished by the princess. Humph, who allowed her to steal my favor the moment she entered the palace? I must make her suffer a little to vent my hatred."

Linglong nodded in agreement, but still a little worried, "I wonder if this will implicate His Majesty?"

The heart of a monarch is unpredictable. No one knows what kind of character His Majesty has. If he hates Prince Yong's Mansion, no one will have an easy time.

Princess Qinghe sneered: "Now the defense of the capital of Great Zhou is in the hands of Your Majesty. It would be great if the situation got out of hand. Taking advantage of the chaos of war, Your Majesty could take the capital in one fell swoop. Then, I would no longer be a concubine in the palace, but an imperial consort."

Linglong swallowed and looked around quickly. Seeing that there were no outsiders, she felt relieved.

In the front yard, after lunch was served, He Linzhang took Tao Yanyan to the table, as if the scene just now had not happened at all.

Concubine Hui glanced at Prince Yong, who lowered his head with a normal expression.

"Your Majesty, you came here unexpectedly today. We haven't prepared any delicacies. These are just what the palace uses on a daily basis. Your Majesty, please take a look and see if you are used to eating them."

There were a variety of dishes on the table, and it was obvious that they were prepared with great care. He Linzhang smiled and said a few words to Concubine Hui, then personally served the dishes to Tao Yanyan.

"The Queen has had a good appetite lately. Come and try this sweet and sour pork. It's sour and sweet, very appetizing."

Tao Yanyan was very considerate and ate whatever He Linzhang picked for her, like a child being taken care of, enjoying the emperor's care throughout the whole process.

After Princess Qinghe fed the young princess two mouthfuls of food, she became increasingly jealous the more she watched the interaction between the Emperor and Empress. Seeing that her disgusting actions today hadn't achieved the desired effect, she couldn't help but say, "Your Majesty truly loves the Empress. But if I were a man, I'd probably be unable to resist loving the Empress's peerless beauty."

Tao Yanyan's appearance was mentioned again. She looked up at Princess Qinghe with an inexplicable expression.

"No wonder His Majesty and the Prince are brothers and have such a good relationship. The Prince loves Concubine Lin just as His Majesty loves the Queen. He really cares about her!"

When Princess Yong heard this, one of the chopsticks in her hand fell with a crisp sound.

Prince Yong frowned in displeasure: "Your Majesty has finally come to the palace, and yet you two have lost your manners. You will all receive your punishment and reflect on your mistakes facing the wall."

He Linzhang continued to serve food to Tao Yanyan. "I love the Queen, not just for her beauty, but because she's worthy of my love. I'm happy for Prince Yong to have found a woman he loves. But since there are so many people in the harem, we must be careful to balance the relationships. Don't be partial or you'll arouse jealousy. Jealousy can completely change a person. It brings unrest to the household. If you can't manage your family well, how can you focus on official duties?"

When Prince Yong heard the emperor's suggestion, he quickly agreed.

Concubine Hui's heart was finally no longer worried. She had thought that His Majesty would reprimand Prince Yong, but unexpectedly His Majesty was magnanimous and did not blame Prince Yong for taking in a concubine named Lin who looked like the Queen. In addition to being relieved, she treated His Majesty more kindly and told him many stories about His Majesty's childhood with Prince Yong.

Tao Yanyan listened with great interest. When he heard something interesting, he couldn't help but smile at He Linzhang. That smile was so bright that it dazzled everyone present.

Although Princess Yong had attended palace banquets many times and witnessed the harmonious relationship between the emperor and the empress, it was only after today's more direct on-site experience that she deeply realized that Empress Tao was indeed very powerful in being able to attract the heart of a generation of emperors.

She couldn't help but look at Prince Yong. The loneliness in his eyes was so obvious, and the helplessness of his forced smile was so heartbreaking.

After having dinner at Prince Yong's Mansion and playing for half a day, He Linzhang took Tao Yanyan on the carriage back to the palace.

Tao Yanyan found a comfortable position, leaning against He Linzhang, and said softly, "Your Majesty, if you feel uncomfortable in your heart, please express it. Don't hold it in."

She looked up at He Linzhang, waiting for him to speak.

He Linzhang looked down and saw a beautiful and bright face. He smiled and said, "At first glance, there is indeed a certain resemblance, but if you look closely, you will find that everything is different. Although the makeup makes it more like you, it will still not be one ten-thousandth as good as you."

He bent down and kissed Tao Yanyan's forehead. "Someone is trying to deliberately sow discord between me and Prince Yong. Their intentions are despicable. I will not be fooled and let them take advantage of me. Besides, Yanyan's beauty is enough to attract Prince Yong's attention. I am not surprised. But he still can't get her. Finding a replacement is already pitiful. As his brother, how can I bear to blame him?"

Tao Yanyan blinked and couldn't help but raised her head and kissed him: "Your Majesty is so handsome when he is generous. Your Majesty is so cute when he is not jealous."

He Linzhang raised his eyebrows: "Cute? Describing me?"

The tall, handsome, and domineering king's ears turned slightly red. "Don't let outsiders hear these words. They will damage my image of wisdom. But... when you put on the fox ears at night, say it more often."

Tao Yanyan: “…”