Harem Daily Life

"But no matter what she's done, you can't stop her from returning to the palace, right? Wanqing is already 27 years old this year. If you don't bring her back to the palace soon, she'll be too old to bear an heir to the throne."

Madam Shu was worried about her daughter, but Lord Shu said coldly, "You still want her to gain His Majesty's favor? Don't even think about it. The Queen's family is the only one in power now. There is no one else in the harem who can gain His Majesty's favor."

Lord Shu paced back and forth for a long while before saying, "For now, we still have to find a way to go to the palace to see her and find out the whole story. Otherwise, it's not worth it for us to offend the Queen Mother for her."

Madam Shu hadn't expected her husband to be so cold-blooded. She clenched her hands tightly and burst into tears, "Master, Wanqing is our first child. You loved her so much when she was little. She entered the palace as a concubine and made great contributions to the Shu family. Are you so afraid of offending the Empress Dowager that you don't care about her life or death now?"

Lord Shu glanced at Madam Shu coldly and said, "Look at what she's done over the years. If she weren't a member of the Shu family, she would have died eight hundred times over! Well, I don't want to talk about this nonsense with you anymore. Tomorrow I'll find a way to go to the palace and get everything clear so I can plan the next step."

It was not easy to see Lady Shu, but Lord Shu spent some money and sneaked in disguised as a farmer delivering vegetables to the palace.

At first, Shu Cairen did not tell the truth. Later, under the questioning of Lord Shu, she confessed that she had threatened the empress dowager with the matter of Shang Yuanzhou.

Lord Shu held his forehead with his hand. "You know what kind of personality your aunt has. If you're tough, she'll be tougher than you are. Didn't I always tell you to coax her and go along with her?"

Shu Cairen also felt a little regretful, but she stubbornly said, "I had no choice but to come up with this trick. I never thought she would be so heartless and directly asked the imperial physician to diagnose me with an illness and send me to the temporary palace. Father, you must save me. I am still young and I can't be trapped to death in this temporary palace!"

Although Lord Shu hated his daughter for being so ignorant and trying to use an egg to touch the empress dowager's stone, for the time being he had to send his daughter back to the palace, otherwise the Shu family would really have severed its relationship with the royal family.

"Wait a minute, stop making trouble, and let me think of a solution."

After Lord Shu returned home, he thought about it and went straight to see the emperor.

At first, He Linzhang thought that his uncle came to send a new person into the palace, but he didn't expect that he came for Shu Cairen.

"Your Majesty, it is inappropriate for Consort Shu to stay in the palace for so long. She is your concubine and cousin. Please, Your Majesty, for the sake of our kinship, take her back to the palace. I will advise her not to cause trouble in the harem again. After this tempering, she will surely be able to restrain her temper and be more cautious in her words and actions in the harem."

As he said this, Lord Shu knelt down with a very sincere attitude.

He Linzhang couldn't help but give his uncle face. After thinking for a while, he said, "Wait, I will send a royal physician to take a look. If the royal physician believes that she is conscious and will not hurt anyone, then I will give her another chance and take her back to the palace."

Lord Shu was very grateful and finally felt relieved. Then he left the imperial study.

When Doctor Liu received the task of going to the temporary palace, he first went to Changle Palace and reported the matter.

Tao Yanyan simply smiled faintly: "With the Shu family's status, if it weren't for the Queen Mother's pressure, who wouldn't give her some face? Well, if she can come back, then she can. She is of a low rank now. Even if I don't intervene, the concubines with higher rank than her can discipline her without me having to do anything."

Only then did Doctor Liu feel at ease to start treating the patient.

When the Queen Mother heard the news, she just rolled her eyes and didn't care much.

"My brother is completely estranged from me. He went to ask for an audience with the emperor without even telling me." She had cut off a slanting branch from the potted plant in front of her, and the break was very abrupt.

"Then, should we inform the imperial physician first?" Eunuch Qin asked. If the empress dowager didn't want Concubine Shu to return to the palace, she had plenty of options, such as making her illness more serious.

The Queen Mother shook her head: "No, since she is so unruly, I will not be involved in her affairs from now on."

Eunuch Qin lowered his head. This was a sign that the Queen Mother would never interfere in the Shu family's affairs again! From now on, the Shu family would no longer have the Queen Mother's protection.

After Doctor Liu came back, he only said that Concubine Shu's condition was stable. As long as she was well taken care of, she would not be confused or talk nonsense again. This made the emperor feel relieved and he was able to take the person back.

The harem, which had been peaceful for more than a year, was slightly disturbed by the return of Concubine Shu - the eldest prince was making trouble again.

Eunuch Zhang was helpless. The eldest prince was making such a fuss that he could only go into the bedroom and report, "Your Majesty, the eldest prince requests an audience."

He Linzhang was holding the chubby Yunuo and enjoying their father-daughter time. When he heard that the eldest prince was coming, he frowned slightly.

Little Jinan was teaching Yucheng how to draw. Poor little Yucheng had his chubby hands pinched by his brother. He didn't even know what painting was, but he had already sat at the table and painted a big picture. His hands were all stained with black ink, and even half of his chubby little face was black.

Eunuch Zhang waited for a while but received no response, so he couldn't help but ask, "Your Majesty?"

Are you going to meet me or not? I can’t guess what you’re thinking right now!

"I'll go to the front hall to see him." He Linzhang put Yunuo down, told He Xuan and He Yue to play with their sister, and then he walked out.

Tao Yanyan was going for a walk after dinner and was strolling in the garden when he saw His Majesty heading towards the front hall from a distance. He couldn't help but ask, "What are you going to do?" Why did he seem so hurried...

Qingfeng went down to inquire and learned that it was the eldest prince who had arrived. He rolled his eyes and said, "No one comes here for no reason. This eldest prince must be up to no good."

After returning and reporting to Tao Yanyan, Tao Yanyan's thoughts were exactly the same as Qingfeng's.

"Does the prince have to wait until he is twelve years old to set up his own household? Can he do it earlier?" Tao Yanyan asked.

Mingyue replied, "Generally speaking, twelve is the age at which one can leave home and establish a residence, but many princes were not allowed to leave until a few years later. Before leaving home and establishing a residence, they all moved together to live in a separate place from the harem."

Tao Yanyan was stunned: "Can I move out first? At what age can I move out?"

It would be best if she could move out now, get away from the harem as soon as possible, and have some peace and quiet.

Mingyue thought for a moment and said, "He must be about twelve or thirteen years old. The late emperor's tenth prince has been living in Xuanyi Palace. He is sixteen years old this year, but he has not yet been allowed to leave the house and establish his own residence."

He Linzhang had many brothers. After the death of the previous emperor, the throne was passed to He Linzhang. The other older princes already had their own mansions. This meant that the tenth prince was still young at that time and had never left the palace.

His mother was of lower status, a concubine of the royal family. She was only about thirty-six or thirty-seven years old this year, not much older than He Linzhang.

"Alright, I'll put up with him for a few more years." Tao Yanyan held her belly and said, "Qingfeng, go and listen to what the eldest prince is saying to His Majesty."

Qingfeng took the order and went to the front hall.