Harem Daily Life

The plan for the eldest prince to leave the palace and set up his own residence went very smoothly. He Linzhang agreed almost as soon as the empress dowager mentioned it.

The prince's mansion was a ready-made Rong Mansion. All they had to do was ask the Ministry of Internal Affairs to send someone to clean it up and buy some new belongings.

In early September, the weather was crisp and clear, and He Ye wasted no time in leaving the palace and setting up his own residence. He took all of Concubine De's property with him, and also received 50,000 taels of silver. He was given 10,000 taels every year for five years, and suddenly he had amassed a huge fortune.

To celebrate, he held a housewarming party at his home, inviting all the civil and military officials in the court and trying to build relationships with them.

"What time is it? Why is there no one in the front yard?" He Ye asked Eunuch Feng.

Eunuch Feng said in embarrassment, "Prince, all the invitations have been sent out. I never expected that the banquet would be almost over and not a single guest has arrived. I will send someone out to see what is going on."

He Ye had a bad feeling; he suspected that today would be a lonely day.

Unexpectedly, his premonition soon came true. The people that Eunuch Feng had sent out to greet the guests returned in dismay, with no guests at all.

"This... the eldest prince's popularity is too bad." Eunuch Feng muttered in a low voice. If the empress dowager had not asked him to follow her out of the palace to serve the eldest prince, he would never have chosen such an unfavored prince as his master.

"Eunuch Feng, what should we do now? The banquet is ready, but no guests are coming. Isn't it all wasted?"

Eunuch Feng had no choice but to report to the eldest prince.

When He Ye heard that none of the civil and military officials in the court showed up for the banquet, he was so angry that he almost wanted to smash the new furnishings in the house, but was quickly stopped by Eunuch Feng.

"My lord, you must not smash them. These are all your private property now. If you smash them, they will be gone." Eunuch Feng was heartbroken to see the room full of new belongings.

"Hmph, aren't they just taking advantage of the situation and bullying me because I have no one to support me? If my mother and my maternal family were still alive, how dare they treat me like this!" said the eldest prince indignantly.

Eunuch Feng wanted to say that the situation is stronger than the person. You are now just a prince in name only, and you are not favored at all. The court officials will definitely not treat you well!

Given your current situation, I'm afraid you are even worse than the second prince who was adopted from the common people.

Thinking of the banquet that had already been prepared, Eunuch Feng said with a stiff upper lip, "The banquet has already been prepared. If no one comes to eat, it will all be wasted. I think it would be better to set it out and give it to the common people. Maybe it can even earn the eldest prince some good reputation."

He Ye's face was full of impatience. He casually waved his hand at him, as if to drive away an annoying fly, and said, "You can arrange it yourself. I don't have the leisure to do that." The rage in his heart was burning fiercely. He was so angry that he almost wanted to hit someone. How could he have the mind to think about other things?

Seeing this, although Eunuch Feng was a little dissatisfied, he didn't dare to say anything more. He could only respond submissively, then turned around and left quickly to arrange the relevant matters according to He Ye's instructions.

He Ye watched Eunuch Feng's receding figure, his annoyance growing more and more difficult to dispel. The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. Finally, unable to contain himself, he suddenly grabbed a teacup on the table and slammed it to the ground. With a crisp "bang," the teacup shattered instantly, sending shards flying and creating a piercing sound.

What He Ye had never expected was that the eldest prince's act of giving food to the people would actually become a good deed, quickly spreading throughout the streets and alleys, becoming a popular story among the people. The people who received the free food were full of praise for the eldest prince, spreading the story of his good deed, saying that he was a kind-hearted man who cared about the people.

This news soon spread to the palace. When Tao Yanyan heard about it, he almost laughed out of anger.

Chang Tai reported the information he had gathered, "Originally, these free dishes were intended for a banquet for all civil and military officials. I heard that the Crown Prince had sent out invitations to every household. But for some reason, no one showed up, so the Crown Prince decided to give the dishes away for free to the common people, as it would be a waste."

Tao Yanyan smiled and said, "He can be said to have hit the jackpot and gained a good reputation."

She originally thought that this was just a spur-of-the-moment action of the eldest prince, but she didn't expect it to cause such a big response.

A few days later, Censor Zhang made a memorial, highly commending the eldest prince's good deeds and praising him highly in the court.

Censor Zhang not only praised the eldest prince, but also disparaged the second prince and Queen Tao.

"Your Majesty, the Second Prince is already twelve years old. Logically, it's time for him to leave the palace and establish his own household. However, Empress Tao, as his stepmother, has been slow to address this matter, which is somewhat inappropriate. Empress Tao can ignore the First Prince, but she must treat him equally, to demonstrate fairness and justice to her stepson."

He Linzhang said calmly, "Although the regulations do state that one can leave the palace and establish their own residence upon reaching the age of twelve, it doesn't necessarily require a limit of this age. Back then, apart from Prince Yong, who was granted a fiefdom early on, the rest of my brothers left the palace and established their own residences at the age of fifteen or sixteen. Your Excellency Zhang, there's no need to dwell on the age limit."

Censor Zhang quickly explained, "I'm not citing age as an issue. The eldest prince is of noble birth and still follows the rules of propriety. The second prince comes from the common people, yet Empress Tao disregards the rules of propriety and keeps him in the palace to care for him personally. They are both step-sons, but the difference in their treatment is truly disparate, and it's truly criticized."

He Linzhang snorted coldly: "The eldest prince asked to leave the palace, and I just agreed to it. It has nothing to do with Empress Tao. Please don't involve Empress Tao in everything."

Seeing that the emperor was somewhat annoyed, Censor Zhang did not continue the topic and instead talked about something else: "Yes, then I will not mention this matter again. However, the Second Prince is getting older now, and it is not appropriate for him to continue living in the Queen's Palace. Since Your Majesty has no intention of letting him leave the palace, he must move to a new residence..."

He Linzhang was extremely annoyed. His son could live wherever he wanted, but this censor was so nosy.

"Alright, I'll have the Imperial Household Department prepare and have the Second Prince move into Huayang Palace, where the other princes reside, on a chosen date. If there's nothing else, I'll adjourn this court session."

The ministers respectfully escorted the Emperor out of the hall. The Minister of Revenue approached Censor Zhang with a gloating look on his face and said with a smile, "Master Zhang, you know that Empress Tao favors the Second Prince, and you also know that Your Majesty favors Empress Tao and therefore favors the Second Prince. Why are you still bringing up this irrelevant topic and making Your Majesty unhappy?"

Censor Zhang rolled his eyes. "We're following the rules. What's wrong with bringing up this issue? You all don't dare to say anything, allowing Empress Tao to dominate the harem. I'm stubborn and fearless. I'm determined to speak up and bring this up."

Censor Zhang stormed out, leaving the Minister of Revenue choked and fuming.

"Look at him, how many times has he gotten any benefit from Empress Tao's incident? I kindly reminded him, but he didn't even appreciate it. No wonder he's called a stinking stone in the toilet. It's really stinky and hard."

Everyone laughed and agreed with a few words, then scattered like birds and beasts.