Harem Daily Life

But Tao Yanyan just held a grudge.

You could say she has a childish nature or is a little troublemaker, but this situation is not going to be easy to get over.

He Linzhang wanted to kiss her, but she gently avoided him: "I am afraid of heat, Your Majesty, please stay away from me." After saying that, she pushed with her hand, moved her round body, and slept inside.

Her movements were smooth and her tone was so tender that He Linzhang couldn't tell whether she was angry or just afraid of the heat.

He drank some wine tonight, and his mind wasn't working as fast, so he slowly lay down and stared at her back in a daze.

After a long while, seeing that Tao Yanyan didn't move, He Linzhang reached out his hand, wanting to hold her in his arms, but Tao Yanyan grabbed his hand and threw it back: "Your Majesty still smells of alcohol, I can't stand the smell."

He Linzhang choked and had to stop moving forward.

The emperor and empress, who used to be as close as conjoined twins, had a cold relationship from that day on. It should be said that the coldness came from the little empress on her own.

Whenever He Linzhang wanted to get close to her, Tao Yanyan would always give him the cold shoulder with various excuses. He Linzhang had a vague feeling that this girl was angry, but every time he asked her, she would smile and say that she was very generous and not angry, but her behavior was just like keeping him at a distance.

The king, who couldn't get a queen, lost all his patience when he went to court. Listening to the courtiers arguing in the hall, he said impatiently: "Isn't my time time? Do I have so much time to listen to you quarreling here? Can this matter be concluded? If not, go down and discuss it, and report back after the discussion is completed!"

The emperor was angry, and the ministers dared not argue anymore. They all glared at each other, communicating only by rolling their eyes and keeping their mouths shut.

Eunuch Zhang looked at his nose, and then at his heart, praying that His Majesty would not see him. God knows how he had managed to get through the past few days...

The tea he had been brewing these days always left His Majesty dissatisfied, either too hot or too cold, too strong or too weak. The afternoon tea snacks also irritated the king, either too sweet or too dry, always finding fault.

Eunuch Zhang also had to remind all the adults to be cautious and not become targets at this critical juncture. Try to report things that make people happy, and suppress those that make people unhappy first.

The Minister of War stood at the door of the imperial study, his head almost bulging with worry, holding the military report in his hand. "Eunuch Zhang, should I send this report requesting food in now or tomorrow? Otherwise, could you please go in and see His Majesty's expression and do me a small favor?"

Eunuch Zhang sighed and went in, but was scolded out shortly afterwards. He suppressed his grievance and said, "Sir, His Majesty is furious. I heard that this is something that should have been reported to the Ministry of Revenue the day before yesterday, but the Ministry of Revenue has held it back. His Majesty is furious. Why don't you go in? After all, if you stick your head out, you'll get a knife. If you hide your head, you'll get a knife too."

The Minister of War had no choice but to bury his head and go into the imperial study.

When the Minister of Revenue saw someone coming in to rescue him, he hurriedly said a few words of farewell and left in disgrace. The Minister of War looked at his fleeing back and couldn't help shivering.

"Tell me, what's the matter?" The emperor didn't even raise his head, his tone was extremely cold.

The Minister of War had no choice but to say, "Your Majesty, I have received a military report from General Gu, who requested food and grass support..."

He Linzhang frowned: "You want more food? Bring it here and show it to me."

The Minister of War hurriedly presented the report. After reading it, He Linzhang was silent for a moment and said, "How much more food can we prepare?"

We just shipped out a batch of food not long ago, and now we need food again, so it’s really a bit tight.

The Minister of War said, "General Gu's letter stated that due to the boost in morale, many young men along the border have requested to join the army, and our forces are expanding, hence the need for more food and fodder. I believe that General Gu has been able to recruit 20,000 new soldiers in such a short period of time, thus strengthening our military strength. We should do our utmost to support him."

He Linzhang scratched his ears and said, "I didn't say I didn't support you. What I asked you about was food and grass."

The Minister of War swallowed hard, "Yes, yes, I've already contacted the Ministry of Revenue before I came here. They're having some difficulties. I'm afraid... I'm afraid we'll have to ask the Imperial Estate for help."

The voice of the Minister of War gradually became quieter. He felt very embarrassed to ask His Majesty to open the private treasury to raise food and fodder every time.

"Imperial property?" He Linzhang raised his eyebrows. In recent days, he tried to talk to Tao Yanyan, but Tao Yanyan ignored him and the topic became less and less popular. He wondered if the little queen would pay attention to him if he went to discuss borrowing grain.

"Well, it seems we need to discuss this matter with the Queen. Zhang Fuhai, go ask the Queen to come over and tell her... the Minister of War wants to discuss something with her."

Minister of War: “…”

Isn't it enough for you two, the Emperor and the Empress, to discuss this matter? What role can I play in the middle?

I don’t understand, I really don’t understand.

When Tao Yanyan heard that it was a matter related to the Ministry of War, she did not dare to delay. She dressed up a little and took the empress's sedan chair to the Qinzheng Palace.

Zhang Fuhai was waiting outside, and as soon as Tao Yanyan arrived, he immediately came to greet him.

"Oh, Your Majesty, I'm glad you're here. His Majesty is having a headache. I heard it's about the military rations."

Tao Yanyan was supported by Qingfeng and asked as they walked, "Didn't a batch of military rations just get delivered? It's not enough again?" Counting the number, it should be enough to last for more than a month.

When the harvest comes at the end of September and a new batch of grain is collected, the grain stored in the granary can be sent to the border. Tao Yanyan has made all the calculations and will not let the front line run out of food.

Eunuch Zhang rolled his eyes, not daring to say too much. He simply said, "Your Majesty, please ask His Majesty. He has been losing his appetite lately and has been staying in the Imperial Study, feeling sullen. I'm worried that His Majesty will get himself hurt by his anger."

Tao Yanyan glanced at Eunuch Zhang and said, "Really? Why is he in Changle Palace? I think he looks pretty normal."

I didn't see any sign of unhappiness in him.

Eunuch Zhang complained in his heart: His Majesty is pretending to be calm in front of Your Majesty. Your Majesty, you don’t know that when you can’t see, His Majesty is scolding people all day long and has made many ministers cry.

When Tao Yanyan entered the imperial study, he saw the Minister of War standing aside with a sad face, and He Linzhang holding a military newspaper in his hand with a thoughtful look on his face.

"The Queen is here, come and sit down." He Linzhang stood up to help, but Tao Yanyan did not give him her hand. Instead, he held Qingfeng's hand and sat down.

He Linzhang's outstretched hand stopped in mid-air, feeling very embarrassed.

"Well, Lord Song, please speak up and listen to the Queen's opinion."

The Minister of War had no choice but to repeat the whole story of General Gu’s request for food.

"I was wondering what else it was? So that's it. It's easy. A while ago, I asked Li Zongguan to buy grain everywhere, and it was quite effective. So, let's write a note to the Ministry of War and go with the Ministry of Revenue to find Li Zongguan to make arrangements. We'll settle the bill next year when the treasury has silver. As for the price, we'll sell it for the same amount we bought it for, without making a profit. Oh, and if the grain isn't enough, we can also add some noodles and bacon from the workshops and ship it over as well."

The Minister of War was overjoyed to see that the matter was resolved so quickly and praised repeatedly.

"It's all thanks to Your Majesty for preparing for a rainy day. Thank you for your support."

He Linzhang felt honored and wanted to talk more with the Queen, so he asked the Minister of War to take his leave.

"Then I will go back first and not disturb Your Majesty from reviewing memorials." Tao Yanyan stood up and wanted to leave, but He Linzhang hurriedly stopped her, saying, "Your Majesty, please stay. This matter of the Ministry of War has been resolved. I have other matters I want to discuss with you."

Tao Yanyan looked at him suspiciously, then glanced at the memorial on the table: "What's the matter?"

He Linzhang stepped forward, took her hand, and helped her up: "Go over and take a look. I will explain it to you slowly."

He Linzhang was overjoyed at the thought that Yan Yan would accompany him for the entire afternoon.

Tao Yanyan caught a glimpse of the smile that couldn't be suppressed on the corner of his mouth, and had a feeling that he was planning something.