Harem Daily Life

He Yue looked at Xiao Jinan with admiration: "Second brother, you are so amazing!"

After saying this, he felt a little regretful: "Ah, it turns out there are no centipedes..."

Xiao Jinan: “…”

Without bothering to comfort He Yue, who hadn't caught the bug, Xiao Jin'an brought the topic back to the eldest prince. He wanted to completely turn the tide tonight, saying, "I don't know what my eldest brother is up to. Today is New Year's Eve, and you first sow discord between us and our mother, then falsely accuse Yue'er of hurting you. You have no filial piety towards our legitimate mother, let alone a close brotherly bond with us. If my father knew what I did today, I wonder what he would think of you."

He Ye trembled all over, it was a kind of fear.

The virtuous concubine's eyes darkened, and she looked at the eldest prince with scrutiny.

Just then, the imperial physician arrived, and Consort Xian said, "Since they're here, why not give him a thorough examination so I can return and report to His Majesty."

If there are any injuries, they must be examined on the spot so that there is clear evidence to prevent them from causing trouble again after a few days after returning to the palace.

Everyone's eyes turned to the eldest prince.

The one who came was Doctor Zhao. He stepped forward respectfully and asked the eldest prince to sit on a stone bench nearby. He asked a palace servant to bring a lantern over, carefully examined the eldest prince's ankle, and pressed his waist for a while.

"Ouch, that hurts a little." The eldest prince still groaned softly, showing that he was in pain.

Xiao Jinan and Concubine Xian looked at each other and saw the word "shameless" in each other's eyes.

Doctor Zhao was a shrewd man, not wanting to offend anyone. However, since the eldest prince was indeed uninjured, he could only say, "It's a sprain, but it's not serious. The eldest prince will be fine after a few days of rest."

Little Jinan snorted coldly, "Since it's not serious, Sister Yue'er and I will return to the banquet first. If Big Brother wants Sister Yue'er to be held responsible for such a minor sprain, then go to the banquet and speak to Father in person."

After Xiao Jinan finished speaking, he pulled He Yue along, paid his respects to the virtuous concubine, and returned to the main hall.

The virtuous concubine looked at the eldest prince and said, "I will report the truth to His Majesty shortly. If the eldest prince is still feeling unwell, why not sit in the side hall to recover before returning?"

After the virtuous concubine finished speaking, she left without looking back. Staying even a minute longer would be disrespectful to the New Year's Eve banquet.

After everyone left, the eldest prince was furious. He grabbed a nearby vase and tried to smash it, but the palace attendant hurriedly stopped him, saying, "Your Highness, you absolutely cannot do that. Today is New Year's Eve. You can't throw things! Besides, this is a side hall of the Qinzheng Palace. If you do break something, what will His Majesty do if he blames you?"

The vase was forcibly snatched from the eldest prince by the palace servants and placed in a distant place.

The eldest prince was so angry that he jumped up and down: "He Jinan, you are a bastard from the common people, how dare you embarrass me in front of everyone? Well, just wait, I will definitely teach you a lesson!"

The palace maids who served him complained in their hearts: Why don’t you just be quiet? You don’t know how to enjoy your good life, but you have to make trouble. Aren’t you stupid?

When Xiao Jinan and He Yue returned to the banquet, He Yue couldn't help but tell her sister He Xuan what had just happened.

The two little princesses were biting each other's ears, and the scene was pleasing to the eye, but who could have known that they were working together to complain about the eldest prince's outrageous behavior.

The virtuous concubine naturally told the truth and explained the whole cause and effect to He Linzhang.

He Linzhang found it increasingly difficult to love his eldest son. He looked at He Yue, hoping that the little sun-like He Yue would not be hurt by He Ye's incident.

However, looking at his second daughter's bright smile, He Linzhang felt relieved.

He looked at the clever Xiao Jinan again and admired Xiao Jinan's behavior of protecting his sister today.

"The second prince is really smart. If he is your majesty's biological son, he must be a talented person with great potential." Concubine Xian praised Xiao Jinan highly, but she didn't know that Xiao Jinan was really He Linzhang's biological son, so she sighed.

He Linzhang glanced at Concubine Xian calmly. Concubine Xian immediately realized that she had spoken out of turn and quickly said, "What I meant was... I think the two princes born to the Empress are more clever. The Second Prince was raised under the Empress' name. The Empress really raised her children very well."

Flattery never wears out, so it is right for Concubine Xian to praise the Queen at this time. The Queen is her life-saving talisman.

As expected, when He Linzhang heard Concubine Xian praise the Empress for her good parenting, he felt proud and said with a smile, "Jin'an is indeed good. He is more than qualified to be a vassal king in the future."

The virtuous concubine smiled in agreement, but in her heart she felt as if thousands of troops were galloping through her veins, and she was extremely shocked.

She had never expected that even an adopted son from the common people who was raised under the name of the Queen could be favored and valued by His Majesty, and would be granted a fiefdom and made a vassal king in the future!

Your Majesty truly loves Empress Tao so much that his favor towards her is beyond words. Anyone who has anything to do with Empress Tao can gain great benefits.

She took a deep breath and was glad that she was hugging a thick thigh. This thigh was not only thick, but also golden.

The angry eldest prince no longer had the heart to return to the banquet. He was full anyway, so he simply returned to Yongxing Palace. His departure did not cause any waves. Since the death of Concubine De, the eldest prince's presence has become increasingly less.

It was so low that the emperor would only remember him when he caused trouble.

However, every time he made a fuss, his score with He Linzhang would drop, and his disappointment would increase.

After the palace banquet, He Linzhang took his three children back to Changle Palace.

The twins and the fifth prince had already gone to bed. He Linzhang went to their rooms to check on them. The three little ones looked very well-behaved and cute, and they were even more adorable when they were asleep. He Linzhang watched them for a long time before returning to the bedroom.

On Tao Yanyan's side, the third child didn't want to tell his mother about what happened at the palace banquet, lest she get angry. So he repeatedly told everyone around him not to tell anyone, even asking his father to keep it a secret. But Xiao Quanzi, the empress's loyal intelligence agent, succinctly explained how the second princess had been blackmailed by the eldest prince tonight, how the eldest prince had instigated the situation, and how the second prince had resolved the crisis.

After hearing this, Tao Yanyan's eyes flashed with coldness: "I didn't expect him to be so naughty again."

He killed the Third Prince, injured the Fourth Princess, and now he's reaching out to the lovely Yue'er and Jin'an? It seems like there's no point in disciplining them!

Tao Yanyan knew the eldest prince was now motherless. He Linzhang felt pity for him, but even if he was disappointed in him, he couldn't really punish him. The Queen Mother was even more concerned, as he was her grandson, so she couldn't punish him too harshly. But she and the eldest prince were not related by blood, and the fact that he had set his sights on her child was unbearable for Tao Yanyan.

The next day was New Year's Day, and all the palaces came to pay New Year's greetings to Queen Tao, and the eldest prince naturally came as well.

No matter how much he hated Queen Tao, he could not ignore etiquette and not come to pay his respects.

"Over the past year, you have all stood united with me. Thank you very much. In the new year, I hope you will be in good health and continue to walk with me."

Tao Yanyan was still in confinement after giving birth, so she didn't keep the others for long. After accepting everyone's kneeling worship, she asked Qingfeng and Mingyue to distribute the prepared gifts to each palace.

The gifts were prepared according to the status and preferences of each palace, and were very thoughtful. When it was the eldest prince's turn, Tao Yanyan gave him a Buddhist scripture.