Harem Daily Life

After lunch, the children were taken back to Changle Palace. Ningyuan Hou also hurried back to his house to see his grandson. Tao Yanyan did not keep him. Only Qi Yizheng stayed. He wanted to ask about the Dark Night Island.

Upon learning that Shadow was from Dark Night Island and that it was Shadow who had hurt Jiang Yingying, Qi Yizheng was furious and immediately asked for permission to lead his troops to wipe out Dark Night Island.

"King Yong has already sent people there. You should rest for a while and wait for the results over there." He Linzhang did not agree on the spot, because he understood that he was tired from working away from home.

Qi Yizheng looked at the emperor's old face and said with some sadness: "Then I will rest for a few days and then rush to meet up with them. I must seek justice for Yingying and for Your Majesty." His eyes were dim. The Dark Night Island must be eradicated in one fell swoop, and they must not be allowed to do evil again.

He Linzhang patted his arm and said, "I understand how you feel. Go back first and rest for a few days. If you still want to go there in person, I won't stop you."

After Qi Yizheng left the palace, Tao Yanyan gave the treasure account book that was sent to Beijing this time to He Linzhang.

"I didn't expect there was such a huge stash! There's gold, silver, and all sorts of jewelry. The gold bars alone are worth over 100,000 taels. The Ministry of Revenue calculated it's worth over 6.3 million taels, which is equivalent to the imperial estate's income for over 20 years. I had the gold, gold bars, and silver put into the national treasury, and the jewelry placed in Your Majesty's personal possessions."

He Linzhang looked at the account book and didn't expect that there would be so much. This was only 10% of the amount taken away by the State of Yan.

"With this wealth, the Great Zhou treasury can be kept abundant for more than ten years." After saying this, he shook Tao Yanyan's hand and said, "If I don't live to see Yucheng grow up, leaving this wealth to him will not make things too difficult for him."

Tao Yanyan frowned and looked at him: "Your Majesty, what nonsense are you talking about? Your Majesty, may you live a long life. You must not give up on yourself."

After saying that, she stroked his eyebrows with her bare hands. Several wrinkles appeared at the corners of his eyes, but it did not diminish his handsomeness at all.

"Keep taking the medicine. Your Majesty's aging has slowed down, hasn't it? Imperial Physician Liu is still working hard to find the Nether Grass. Perhaps we'll have news soon."

He Linzhang held her hand, looked at her still bright and beautiful eyes, and averted his eyes: "I have actually been mentally prepared for this. If the day ever comes when old age is incurable, I hope Yan Yan will not be sad. You have the children to accompany you. You must live well, raise them for me, and help Yu Cheng to successfully inherit the throne."

Tao Yanyan was about to speak when He Linzhang stopped her and continued, "Jin'an is extremely capable, brave and resourceful. I will give him a fiefdom and let him live there as a prince, so he can have a comfortable life. As for Xuan'er and Yue'er's marriages, please take care of them and help them find good consorts. Don't marry them far away, but in the capital. That way, they can always be in the palace with you."

"He Min, Concubine Xian will make the arrangements, you just need to check. As for He Xin, you can intervene if you want, but if you don't want to, let Concubine Liang handle it. As for Nuo'er, I really can't bear to let her get married. I always feel that no brat in the world is worthy of her."

Tao Yanyan felt mixed emotions as he listened to him giving instructions to each child.

She hugged He Linzhang and said, "Your Majesty, please don't tell me this. I don't want to hear it at all. You know that I just want to be lazy. I can't do so many things."

She raised her head and acted coquettishly in He Linzhang's arms: "Your Majesty, I need your care and protection for decades to come. Your Majesty, please don't put any burden on me. I won't accept it."

He Linzhang sighed: "But there are always some things that are beyond our control." He lowered his head and gently kissed her forehead, full of tenderness.

"I can't bear to part with Yanyan either. It will always be my regret that I can't grow old with Yanyan." He looked at Tao Yanyan, who was still so beautiful, so bright and charming. He couldn't bear to part with her, he really couldn't bear to part with her.

Tao Yanyan's eyes turned: "If Your Majesty is cruel enough to abandon me, I am too young to keep you. I might as well remarry..."

He Linzhang: “…”

He looked at Tao Yanyan in disbelief, his heart bleeding.

Tao Yanyan approached him and kissed the corner of his lips repeatedly: "So, Your Majesty, you must work hard, take your medicine calmly, and wait patiently. Don't dwell on this and that all the time, and don't even dream of me working hard for the royal family for the next few decades. That won't do."

He Linzhang simply couldn't do anything with her. He didn't even dare to take the risk, because with her ability to keep her word, if she really wanted to remarry, there would be no one waiting in line behind her. The Prince of Yan alone was the biggest hidden danger.

He Linzhang was distracted for a moment and didn't realize that his outer clothes had been taken off by the little queen. Yu Bi pushed him down on the couch and her soft body covered him.

"Yan Yan, you...it's still daytime..."

Tao Yanyan had already bitten his ear, causing a tingling sensation throughout his body, making him tremble as if he had been electrocuted.

The people sent by King Yong to eliminate the Dark Night Island did not hit their target in the first strike and encountered a desperate resistance from the Dark Night Island. After a few days, Qi Yizheng volunteered to lead the troops to provide support.

Tao Yanyan couldn't persuade him, knowing he harbored deep resentment for Dark Night Island. With old and new grudges swirling around him, he was bound for a bloody battle. He could only ask the Ministry of War to give him a set of their newly developed heart-protecting armor. This armor was lighter than ordinary armor, less obstructive during combat, and more durable than ordinary armor, making it less susceptible to punctures. There weren't many sets of this new armor, so they were all given to the soldiers heading to Dark Night Island.

The Ministry of War was reluctant at first because the materials for this batch of armor were forged with great difficulty and cost a lot of money and man-hours.

Minister Dong was heartbroken, so Tao Yanyan had to coax him, "The Ministry of War made such a fine thing, isn't it for the soldiers? If it's hidden away, it loses its value. Don't worry, Minister Dong. I will ask the Ministry of Revenue to allocate funds and increase the budget for your Ministry of War. You can make more. In the future, every soldier in the Great Zhou will have no problem getting one."

Minister Dong's mouth twitched, thinking that Empress Tao was really willing to spend money. If everyone had a set, wouldn't that cost millions in military expenses? Empress Tao was willing to spend, but he was not.

"No matter how good the item is, you can't waste money recklessly. At most, we can make another thousand sets. A thousand sets will be enough. We still need to purchase iron ore from Yan State, and silver is needed everywhere. Your Majesty, please be frugal."

Tao Yanyan smiled and said, "Money is something you can't bring with you when you're born, and you can't take with you when you die. Only when you spend it wisely can you realize its value. Okay, I'll take care of the Ministry of Revenue. You can rest assured and hand the armor over to General Qi. When they eliminate Dark Night Island and avenge His Majesty's poisoning, your Ministry of War will also have made an invaluable contribution."

Minister Dong was appeased, but Minister Yuan of the Ministry of Revenue was still complaining.

"Your Majesty, as soon as the treasure was recorded, you approved budgets here and there. It hasn't been many days, and I have already received budgets from several places." Lord Yuan was heartbroken.

"The Ministry of War's appropriations cannot be saved. Only by developing high-quality weapons can we protect our soldiers and the people. Furthermore, the medical subsidies provided to various prefectures and counties cannot be saved either. Providing some medical assistance to the people can reduce their burden. However, we must ensure proper supervision and prevent anyone from embezzling this life-saving money."

Lord Yuan sighed. What the Queen did were all practical and good things, but it was heartbreaking to see the money being spent so soon after it came in.

Seeing his distressed expression, Tao Yanyan cleared his throat and said, "Um... those several public welfare projects that the Ministry of Industry mentioned earlier will start..."

Lord Yuan hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, I have just remembered that there are still many things to do in the Ministry of Revenue. I will go and take care of them now. I will take my leave."

Lord Yuan was in his fifties, with a plump figure and usually walked with a steady pace. But at this moment, he suddenly moved quickly and before Tao Yan could say which projects they were, he flashed out of the imperial study.

Tao Yanyan: “…”

There's no need to run away so quickly. Wouldn't it just cost another 300,000 taels of silver?