Harem Daily Life

"Your Majesty, the roads are difficult to travel on due to the heavy snow. The account book sent by Dongfang was a few days late, so I went to get it today. Please take a look, Your Majesty." Chang Tai replied, handing over the account book with both hands.

"This is the banknote handed over by Dong Fang. I have checked it and it is consistent with the account book." The box containing the banknotes was handed to Tao Yanyan. She looked at the full box and was very satisfied.

"Not bad. If we hadn't sold the grain to the court at a low price, we might have made even more. But 60,000 taels is already beyond my expectations. Tell Dong Fang I'm grateful for his hard work." After saying that, she took out a 100-tael note from her banknotes and handed it to Chang Tai: "Give this to him as well."

Chang Tai accepted the Queen's reward and put the banknote in his arms: "Yes, I will write a letter to him and send it out as soon as possible."

Tao Yanyan's income was quite good last year, from the royal dividends, the profits from Dongfang, and the profits from her shop in the capital, totaling a total of 105,000 taels. She was also the empress, and the emperor often gave her gifts in various ways, all of which were valuable. Add to that the empress's annual allowance of 10,000 taels, and she was now a well-to-do woman.

Now that she had money, she could give more rewards to her servants. The rewards given to Mingyue and other senior palace maids were probably more than ten times that of the ordinary palace maids. Everyone in the palace envied the people who served in Changle Palace and they were eager to work there.

Unfortunately, Tao Yanyan didn't want any new people at all. He always said that he had enough people serving him. He didn't care about ostentation or extravagance, and he had gained a reputation as a virtuous person.

"Your Majesty, besides the account books, I have another matter to report." Chang Tai said respectfully, "The late emperor's tenth prince's request to leave the palace and establish a residence was submitted to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, but Your Majesty did not agree. Steward Li said he would report back in detail after the sixth day of the first lunar month."

Tao Yanyan was stunned: "You didn't agree? The late emperor's tenth prince is already sixteen years old. Logically, he should be able to go out and build a mansion, right? Could it be..." Is he short of money?

When He Linzhang came over in the evening, Tao Yanyan asked him in a roundabout way whether he had enough money.

He Linzhang raised his eyebrows and looked at her: "Yan Yan, you still want to support your husband?"

Tao Yanyan glared at him. "Your Majesty is much richer than I am, so why would you be so concerned about my little money? The reason I ask this is mainly because I heard that the late emperor's tenth prince was not allowed to leave the palace to build a residence. Since Concubine Wang specifically mentioned this to me, I wonder if it's because of the shortage of silver."

He Linzhang shook his head. "It's not that I don't allow him to go out and build a mansion. I'm thinking that since we investigated and prosecuted several officials and confiscated their houses, perhaps I could give it directly to my tenth brother. However, I haven't made up my mind yet. I'm worried that people will say I'm partial and give the old house to my tenth brother and not allow him to build a new one. Also, the best house among them belongs to the Rong family, and I haven't made a decision yet."

This sounds strange. Is there any other problem with the Rong family's house?

Tao Yanyan blinked and snorted softly, "I am stupid for three years after I got pregnant. Your Majesty, please be frank. What are you hesitating about?"

Seeing that the little queen asked so directly, He Linzhang had no choice but to tell her everything he had been thinking recently without reservation.

"He Ye is almost eleven years old. When he turns twelve, he can leave the palace and set up his own residence. I originally considered giving him the Rong family's house directly. He went to that house to play when he was a child, so this is a way to leave him with a memory."

He Linzhang's words actually indicated that He Ye had no chance of becoming emperor, and would not be favored. He would not be chosen to build his palace in a brand new location, and would only inherit the Rong family's assets.

Tao Yanyan didn't want to get involved in how to deal with the eldest prince. As someone with a prince, her views could easily be misinterpreted, giving those with ulterior motives an opportunity to take advantage of her, so she kept silent at this time.

"Okay, let me think about these things. You should get some rest early. Your biggest task now is to take good care of yourself after the confinement. I've been looking forward to your early release." He Linzhang stared at Tao Yanyan with his beautiful eyes. Tao Yanyan's ears turned red and he quickly lay down to cover himself: "You have to take care of yourself for at least two full months, not a day less."

He Linzhang choked and asked doubtfully, "But I asked the imperial physician, and forty-five days is enough." He leaned over and wrapped Tao Yanyan in his arms, "I can't wait any longer."

He blinked his eyes and looked aggrieved.

Tao Yanyan felt a little soft-hearted. She raised her head and kissed He Linzhang's chin: "Good things take time. Your Majesty, can you be a little patient?"

Their breath was too close, and He Linzhang was distracted, so he blocked the red lips that made him wait patiently.

There's nothing I can do, so I'll just charge some interest.

Normally, one could sleep until waking up naturally on the second day of the Lunar New Year, but He Linzhang ended up sleeping for half an hour longer than usual before being woken up by Eunuch Zhang: "Your Majesty... Your Majesty... Something happened in Prince Yong's Mansion."

He Linzhang woke up instantly, gently pushed Tao Yanyan away from his arms, put on his coat and went to the outer room to ask.

"Your Majesty, Princess Qinghe is gone. Because it is the first month of the year and the two countries are at war, Prince Yong's Mansion is unsure what to do, so I'm here to report this."

He Linzhang pinched his brows and said, "How could he die out of nowhere? Send a doctor to check. Did he die of illness or something else?"

Eunuch Zhang responded and left.

Seeing that it was already daybreak, He Linzhang did not go back to sleep. He went to the inner room to wash up, as he had to go to the Minister of War and the Minister of Rites to discuss matters.

Tao Yanyan only learned the news that Princess Qinghe of Prince Yong's Mansion had passed away at noon, and she was shocked.

"Go and ask Imperial Physician Liu to come and tell him..." Before she could finish her words, Chang Tai came in to report that Imperial Physician Liu had requested to see her outside the palace gate.

Doctor Liu arrived at the right time, as Tao Yanyan had many questions to ask him.

"Your Majesty, I am on duty, ordered by Your Majesty to go to Prince Yong's Mansion to investigate the cause of Princess Qinghe's death. I thought Your Majesty would want to know the truth, so I came here directly."

Tao Yanyan really couldn't figure it out: "She was poisoned before, and you examined her and wrote her an antidote, didn't you? Then why did she die?"

Doctor Liu sighed and said, "When I left, Princess Qinghe had already passed away. I treated her privately a few days before the New Year's Day, and the poison she had been poisoned with had been cured. But when I examined her body again this morning, I determined that she had been drugged, lost her consciousness, and then suffocated to death."

Tao Yanyan's eyes darkened. That was murder.

Although she had no close relationship with Princess Qinghe, she still felt a little uncomfortable when she thought about such a thing happening in Prince Yong's Mansion.

Doctor Liu said, "Your Majesty is taking this very seriously. He will undoubtedly investigate the truth. After all, the two countries are at war, and with the death of a princess who was married off to a foreign prince, the other side will likely make a big fuss."

"The news should be kept secret for a while and will not reach Yan State so quickly." Tao Yanyan said.

"Alas, yesterday was the first day of the new year, and she died at the beginning of the year. I don't know who was so cruel to do such a vicious thing." Mingyue sighed.

Everyone in the room sighed. Prince Yong’s Mansion was really a scary place!

In Prince Yong's Mansion, Prince Yong stood in front of Concubine Hui, his eyes full of disbelief. He really didn't expect that Concubine Hui would do such a cruel thing.

"Why?" asked Prince Yong with a frown.