Harem Daily Life

As for where Miss Wang will go, Concubine Xian will take care of it. As far as Tao Yanyan is concerned, this matter is over.

In early June, three of the people He Linzhang sent to assassinate the shadow figure of Yan State were killed, so the team had to temporarily put the mission aside and wait for another opportunity to act.

Ning Yuanhou wrote back a letter saying that he had excavated according to the points on the treasure map, but found that most of the caves were empty. He didn't know what went wrong, and the treasure hunt was put on hold.

When Qi Yizheng learned about this, he volunteered to lead a team to Yanyun Mountain to assist Ningyuan Hou.

Seeing that he finally seemed to be cheering up a little, He Linzhang agreed to let him take a group of people familiar with Qimen Dunjia to Wuya City.

The defense of the capital was handed over from Prince Yong to Gu Yi. Prince Yong, relieved of his responsibilities, returned to his mansion with peace of mind and waited for Lin Yuanyuan to give birth.

In the hot June and July, bursts of rain fall from time to time, washing away the hustle and bustle of the capital, but when the rain stops, it is hot and humid again for a period of time.

Adults can still endure the summer by hiding in an icy room, but children are naturally active, and making them stay indoors is like being in prison. They can't stay there for even three minutes.

"Ah, ah, ah, ah." He Xiaobao kicked his legs, wanting to go out and have fun.

His name was finally decided. The Empress Dowager thought about it and decided to name him He Siliang, hoping that everything he did would develop in a good direction. He Linzhang also agreed to the Empress Dowager's decision, otherwise this youngest son's name would never be included in the royal jade record.

But his brothers and sisters were already used to calling him Xiaobao. Yu Cheng looked at the bright sun outside and frowned: "Xiaobao, if you go out now, you will be dried up like a dried fish, a black dried fish."

He Xiaobao didn't understand, but "dried fish" seemed to be edible, right? He couldn't help but drool.

Yunuo was eating iced fruit and passed a piece to He Xiaobao to lick, but He Yue stopped him and said, "Yunuo, eat it yourself. Xiaobao has no teeth and can't bite it."

The delicious food was about to reach his mouth but was ruthlessly pushed away by the second princess. He Xiaobao felt extremely aggrieved, pouted his lips, and burst into tears.

Tears fell from her big eyes like golden beans and stained her cheeks like meat buns. Although she was crying, she was still very adorable.

"Look, second sister, if you don't give the baby food, he will cry." Yunuo kept eating with his little mouth, blaming He Xiaobao's crying on He Yue.

He Yue sighed: "Oh, it's really hard to explain things to you little kids."

He Yue took out a handkerchief and wiped He Xiaobao's tears: "Mammy, why don't you take him out for a walk to prevent him from crying and annoying others."

It was already hot, and the little crybaby beside him was still crying, which made He Yue extremely annoyed.

The wet nurse picked up He Xiaobao, asked a little palace maid to hold a parasol for him, and took him for a walk outside in the corridor.

He Xiaobao listened to the chirping of cicadas in the yard, and his crying finally stopped.

After the crying He Xiaobao left, Tao Yanyan breathed a sigh of relief, as his ears were finally at peace.

Yunuo ran over and handed Tao Yanyan a grape: "Eat it, mother, it's so sweet." Tao Yanyan opened her mouth and ate the grapes fed by her beloved daughter: "Thank you, Yunuo, you can eat it yourself. After finishing this bowl, you can't eat anymore."

Yunuo's eyes rolled. "Mother, what is the emperor doing? Can I also bring him a bowl of grapes?"

Tao Yanyan frowned. "Didn't you just cuddle with your father at lunch? It's only been over an hour, and you're missing him again?" She put down the book in her hand and pinched Yunuo's chubby face. "Why are you so clingy to your father? Do you wish you could cling to him all the time? You clingy bastard."

Yunuo was amused and giggled: "Father is the best. I love you the most." Yunuo was a very expressive child and never hesitated to say good things about her father.

Although Yu Cheng also sticks to He Linzhang, the little boy is more reserved than the little girl and can't say some things.

It just so happened that Caiyun made mung bean soup for everyone. Tao Yanyan thought about it and asked Caiyun to pack the food boxes and took Yunuo to the Qinzheng Hall.

"Yucheng, are you going? Go and deliver mung bean soup to your father." He Yue still had to go study with Madam Dong, so she wouldn't go. Yucheng was playing alone on the side, so Tao Yanyan asked him.

Yu Cheng pouted, as if thinking for a moment, before reluctantly saying, "Okay, then I'll escort the Queen Mother and my sister there."

Tao Yanyan: “…”

You are so small, who can you escort?

Upon learning that the queen had brought twins, a boy and a girl, He Linzhang hurriedly let them into the imperial study.

"Your Majesty, I come to pay my respects. I didn't expect that all the adults are here. I really came at the wrong time." Tao Yanyan asked someone to put down the mung bean soup and wanted to take the two children back first.

But Yunuo had already climbed onto He Linzhang's legs and didn't seem to want to leave at all.

"That's okay, the two kids aren't making any noise. Let them play over there for a while. Now that you're here, you can listen in."

Tao Yanyan smiled and asked Qingfeng and Mingyue to take the two children to the couch on the side to play, while he sat next to He Linzhang and listened to what they said.

"Your Majesty, there is a severe drought in the north. If it continues like this, not only will the crops fail, but even the people will have trouble getting water." The Minister of Revenue said worriedly.

"This is a natural disaster. The water sources have dried up, and it hasn't rained. There's no point in us discussing it here." He Linzhang frowned and said, "The Ministry of Rites will make preparations. I'll personally pray for rain and see if it works."

In the face of natural disasters, human power is limited. When we are unable to do anything, we naturally think of praying to God for rain to relieve the urgent problem.

Tao Yanyan thought for a moment and said, "I think the south has abundant rainfall and large lakes, while the north is often dry. Even if there is no severe drought, there is always a water shortage. It would be better to build ditches and transfer water from the south to the north, solving the problem once and for all."

"Diverting water from the south to the north?" Everyone pondered the feasibility. Tao Qian said, "It's theoretically feasible, but it's a massive project. If we start now, firstly, we'll have to mobilize the people, which will be a waste of time and money. Secondly, it won't solve the drought in the north anytime soon."

The weather was so hot that the Ministry of Works couldn't handle the work. Tao Qian thought that even if they had to do it, they couldn't rush it.

He Linzhang was very supportive of Tao Yanyan's proposal. In fact, he had harbored the idea for a long time. In previous years, when drought struck, he had considered starting construction. However, in recent years, with either the Xia or Yan Kingdom invading, there had been no pause. The war had cost the treasury vast sums of money, leaving it unable to sustain such a large-scale project.

The emperor and empress looked at each other and then looked towards the Ministry of Revenue.

The Minister of Revenue's scalp tightened, and he understood and replied, "Your Majesty, if we want to start such a large project, we must prepare at least 100,000 taels of silver. The national treasury... Yan's compensation is exactly 100,000 taels. It has been deposited in batches, and the last batch will be shipped back to the capital at the end of this month."

He Linzhang raised his eyebrows and said, "Then let the Ministry of Works draw up a plan. Where should the canal be dug? How many people will be needed? How much money will it cost? If it's feasible, then we can do it."

Tao Qian had no choice but to accept the task.

Tao Yanyan coughed lightly and looked at her father's embarrassed face, feeling a little embarrassed. It seemed that she had done a big job for her father again.

After the others had left, Tao Yanyan said, "There are still several hundred thousand taels in the imperial estate account. I will ask Li Zongguan to keep the necessary funds, and the rest will be available to Your Majesty."

He Linzhang held her hand and said, "Yan Yan always stands behind me and strongly supports me. If it were someone else, I'm afraid they wouldn't be willing to use their private property to do these things."

Tao Yanyan smiled and said, "Anyway, the world belongs to your Majesty, and the money is earned from your Majesty's property. You should spend it when you need to. Money, after all, you can't take it with you when you die. Once you spend it, you can earn more."

Seeing her open-minded look, He Linzhang couldn't help but hug her in his arms.

A pair of chubby little hands grabbed He Linzhang's arm: "Nuo'er wants to cuddle too, Nu'er wants to cuddle too."