Harem Daily Life

He Linzhang left angrily. The Queen Mother looked at Tao Yanyan and blinked: "It's better for the Queen to go and comfort him. If I go, there will inevitably be a quarrel."

Anyway, they had quarreled before, and the empress dowager knew her son's temper, so she was too lazy to confront him head-on.

Tao Yanyan nodded and said, "Then I will take my leave. If you can coax her well, we will have dinner in the East Courtyard tonight. If not...I hope the Queen Mother can help take care of the children."

It takes a lot of effort to coax someone, and Tao Yanyan thought it might not be easy to succeed today.

Mu Yu coughed lightly and said, "It's okay, Jiaojiao, you go. I can take care of the child. Also... if you really can't coax him, don't bother coaxing him. Let him come to me and I'll talk to him in person."

If the argument didn't work, they could just fight, and the winner would have the final say. Mu Yu believed that his martial arts skills were far superior to the emperor's, and he was sure he wouldn't lose.

Tao Yanyan looked at him speechlessly and said, "You should think about how to comfort the people you need to comfort. I'm leaving first."

After saying this, Tao Yanyan left with his men, leaving only the Queen Mother and Mu Yu in the pavilion.

Mu Yu touched his nose: "So...are you angry with me?"

The Queen Mother glared at him and said nothing.

Mu Yu swallowed, organized his words, and then said, "I didn't mean to hold your hand that day, and I didn't expect anyone to see me. In the end, that person was bribed by Shu Cairen, which led to my current passive situation."

As he spoke, he glanced at the Queen Mother. "Although my actions that day were somewhat abrupt, what I said to you was not a spur-of-the-moment decision. I truly thought carefully about it for a long time before confessing it to you."

"In my life, when I was young, I married into the Yin family for the sake of the Mu family's honor. That marriage was the family's choice, not my own. Madam Yin and I were originally in a situation where she was stronger and I was weaker. Although I was the Demon Lord, I was constrained in every way. In name, she and I were husband and wife, but in reality, we were more like superiors and subordinates. We couldn't say we had a deep relationship."

Mu Yu glanced at the Queen Mother a few times, confirming she was listening carefully, before continuing, "Later, I went to the capital of the Great Zhou Dynasty on business and was accidentally drugged. I stumbled upon Gu Xinran, who had also been drugged. After being together, I felt so ashamed that I took her back to Penglai Island, and that's how Jiaojiao was born. Alas, the bond between you and me actually existed a long time ago. The person who drugged Gu Xinran and me was Concubine Li. Do you think this is a coincidence?"

Speaking of the harmful deeds done by Concubine Li, the Queen Mother gnashed her teeth and said, "Humph, that bitch Concubine Li has never done anything good in her life!"

Thinking back on all the things that Concubine Li had done, the Empress Dowager could not finish talking even if she talked for three days and three nights.

"But she didn't have a good end either. The Queen avenged her mother." The Queen Mother knew that Concubine Li had died of fright in Jingci Temple after being framed by Tao Yanyan. It was precisely because Tao Yanyan had beautifully resolved Concubine Li's fate that the Queen Mother had a new appreciation for her daughter-in-law.

He is brave, resourceful, decisive, ruthless to his enemies, and considerate to his own people. It is impossible not to like such a person.

Mu Yu was very proud: "Yes, Jiaojiao is a good child. God has mercy on me and allowed me to have Jiaojiao as my biological daughter in this life. This is the greatest blessing in my life."

The Queen Mother sighed: "Precisely because she is a good child, you should restrain yourself and not do anything that would embarrass her."

After the Queen Mother finished speaking, she looked at Mu Yu and said solemnly: "My identity, your identity, and the identity of the Queen, each of these identities does not allow us to make any mistakes."

Mu Yu frowned, breathing a little hurriedly, and said, "But...how can I suppress my excitement?"

The Queen Mother rolled her eyes at him and said, "You're already so old, and you're still so moved. Do you still think you're eighteen or nineteen?"

Mu Yu choked and said awkwardly, "Time cannot be turned back, and people cannot be young anymore."

The Queen Mother rolled her eyes at him again. "I know you're still not giving up? Humph, I can't let you be so foolish. I have endless wealth and splendor, and so many filial children and grandchildren. Everything is perfect, and I just want to live my life peacefully."

After the Queen Mother finished speaking, she felt that the people around her were emitting a dejected air.

Mu Yu fell silent, rubbing his fingers together. After a long pause, he said, "But you clearly also like the freedom of the vast sky and the sea. The one living in this high-walled palace is the Empress Dowager of Da Zhou, the biological mother of the Emperor. The one who goes fishing and digging for shells on Penglai Island, who doesn't call herself Aijia and who tells jokes to the fishermen, is Shu Jinse."

The Queen Mother was startled, a flicker of emotion flashing across her eyes, but she quickly calmed down. "No matter who it is, in the end, it will be me. Anyway, I am very satisfied with my current life. I don't want it to be disrupted, and it can't be disrupted. Master Mu, you... have been away from the island for over half a year. It's time for you to return."

The Queen Mother announced her order to expel the guests. After she finished speaking, the Queen Mother felt as if a huge weight had finally fallen off her heart. However, she also laughed at herself in her heart: Shu Jinse, ah Shu Jinse, you are such a bad person who hurts people's hearts.

But let it be, what else can we do? Some things are destined not to be done, otherwise we will really fall into eternal damnation.

After hearing what the Queen Mother said, Mu Yu's heart felt like it was drowned in the sea. A cut was made in his heart, and the salty sea water soaked the wound, making it more and more painful.

The Queen Mother ignored him and stood up, saying, "I have to go back to take care of my grandchildren. Island Master Mu, you... just stay here and think about it."

Eunuch Qin stretched out his arm and let the Queen Mother lean on his arm as they went up and down the stairs, step by step, until the sound of footsteps gradually became quieter and farther away, and finally disappeared. Only then did Mu Yu sigh and stand alone in the pavilion.

Tao Yanyan arrived at the study and saw He Linzhang reading a memorial with a sullen face. She paused, then walked over and poured him a cup of tea: "Your Majesty, please have a cup of tea to cool you down."

He Linzhang sneered, "Do you still care whether I'm angry or not? I thought you two wanted to piss me off to death!"

Tao Yanyan bit her lip. "How could that be? We all like His Majesty very much and wouldn't want to anger him."

As she spoke, she reached out and tugged at He Linzhang's arm: "If Your Majesty wants to ask anything, I will tell you everything I know. But Your Majesty, please don't look so cold, okay? It's scary."

He Linzhang exhaled lightly: "Okay, then I want to ask you, when did the two of them start, when did you know about it, and why did you hide it from me even though you knew about it? Tell me everything."

Tao Yanyan cleared her throat. "I don't know when it all started, but I think it might be because we had a crush on each other back on Penglai Island..." Tao Yanyan glanced at He Linzhang's expression. "This is just my guess, I haven't verified it."