Harem Daily Life

Tao Yanyan looked at Mu Yu's lonely face and didn't know how to persuade him. After all, it was a twilight romance. She could accept it, but she couldn't fight for anything for him.

"Then... when are you planning to leave Beijing? I'll take the children to see you off." Tao Yanyan asked.

Mu Yu frowned and waved his hands: "No, no, I'm not leaving Beijing. You're mistaken. I'm just leaving this palace."

Tao Yanyan: “…”

Mu Yu looked at her speechless expression, raised his eyebrows and said, "Why? Do you also think I should go back to Penglai Island and never set foot in the capital again in this life?"

Tao Yanyan pouted: "I can't control so much. It's your freedom to go wherever you want."

Mu Yu chuckled and said, "I'm old now. This time, I came out and was able to see you and your children. I don't want to go back to Penglai Island. I will stay and apply to visit the palace from time to time. Life is short, and I want to live the rest of my life comfortably and without regrets."

Tao Yanyan, having experienced death once before, naturally understood his perspective. She smiled and said, "Being able to be yourself without fear of gossip is a blessing."

Mu Yu sighed, "You've already seen it, and I don't want to hide it from you. I do have some...admiration for the Queen Mother. I hope you won't be angry, and don't blame me for being unfaithful to your mother."

Tao Yanyan smiled back, "How could that be? Don't worry, I won't overthink it, nor will I feel that you've betrayed your relationship with my biological mother. After all, she's been gone for over 20 years. There's nothing wrong with you having feelings for someone else."

Mu Yu was very pleased. He looked at his daughter with admiration and felt that her arrival was a gift from God to him.

"Jiaojiao, thank you!" Thousands of words are hidden in this one word of thank you.

The next morning, Mu Yu bid farewell to the Queen Mother, the Emperor, Empress, and the children, packed his bags, and left. The children were very reluctant to leave, and they followed Tao Yanyan all the way to see Mu Yu off from the palace, still reluctant to leave.

The Queen Mother sat by the window in a daze. Eunuch Qin brought her a pot of freshly brewed fruit tea. After a moment's thought, he said, "I heard that the fruits and vegetables shipped from Xia Country are now on the market. How about I send someone to the city to buy some for the Queen Mother to taste?"

Eunuch Qin tried to use delicious food to impress the Queen Mother and stop her from indulging in her heartbreak.

"It's the same as in previous years. I'm tired of eating it."

Eunuch Qin continued, "I heard that a lot of new food shops have opened in the capital. Maybe they have some new and interesting things. How about I go and buy some?"

The Queen Mother glanced at him and said, "You have a lot of free time, don't you? If so, go copy two volumes of scriptures and burn them for the late emperor."

Eunuch Qin is almost crying - Queen Mother, don't you know whether I am free or not? I have no free time all day long. Even if I am not moving, my mind is always thinking about how to make you happy.

"Okay, if you don't want to copy the scriptures, go down and rest, so you don't have to blame me for ordering you around. Go ahead and leave me alone."

Eunuch Qin, who was only trying to make the Queen Mother happy, was sent away by her. He looked back every few steps, fearing that the Queen Mother would shed tears and complain if he was not paying attention.

Unfortunately, he was wrong. Even if the Queen Mother was unhappy, she wouldn't cry. What was the point of crying? It would only make her feel sorry for herself.

"Oh, it's so boring..." The Queen Mother sighed, and then she heard some chattering voices coming. Jin'an came over with his sister, brother and sisters.

"Grandmother, Grandmother, do you want to play mahjong today?"

The Queen Mother raised her eyebrows and asked suspiciously, "Why, you want to play with me? Jin'an, don't you hate playing cards? In the past, when I asked you to play, you would rather read a book."

Jin An put the chubby little boy He Xiaobao down from his arms and let He Yue take him to play. He smiled and said, "That's because my grandson hasn't saved up enough money yet. He's worried that if he loses a single hand, he won't have enough to pay back the Royal Grandmother. But recently, my grandson has saved up a lot, so he can barely afford a few more hands."

He Xuan jokingly said, "Grandmother, let's get started. We have to win the silver that Jin'an has worked so hard to save today."

He Yue laughed heartily: "Royal sister, you always lose. I'm afraid it won't be easy to win today."

He Xuan patted He Yue speechlessly: "That's not necessarily true. After all, I have practiced it regularly. Jin An has never played it before. He is learning it on the spot."

Encouraged by her grandchildren, the Queen Mother had a card table set up and began dealing the cards.

"Why do you all come here? Where is your mother?" the Queen Mother asked while sorting the cards.

"Grandmother, my mother has gone to the study to accompany my father. We, the grandchildren, thought your snacks were the most delicious, so we came here." Just as Jin'an finished speaking, Yunuo's voice came from outside: "Chestnut crisps, chestnut crisps, give me the last piece of chestnut crisps."

The Queen Mother smiled and told Eunuch Qin to ask the kitchen to make some more chestnut cakes to share with the children.

With a bunch of children around her, the Queen Mother had no time to think about anything else. With Eunuch Qin serving by her side, she finally felt relieved.

"Oh, Your Majesty, you won again!" Eunuch Qin smiled happily and collected the silver that the Queen Mother won.

"Hey, what did I say? Jin'an, you really don't know how to play. You've almost lost all your money." He Xuan won a small victory in this round, and overall, she neither lost nor won.

Jin'an coughed lightly and said, "Hey, victory and defeat are common in the military. Maybe I can win it all back in the next round." After that, he sorted out the cards and started a new round.

The old man and three children fought hard for several hours, and the situation at the card table changed dramatically.

"How is this possible?" He Yue looked at Jin'an with a bitter and resentful look on his face: "Brother, isn't this your first time fighting? Why are you winning so much now?"

Jin An said with a smile: "I can learn, I can figure out the pattern, I can even figure out what cards you have in your hands, it would be strange if I don't win."

The Queen Mother laughed and said, "You are so good at calculating. I will not play with you anymore. This round is over and dinner will be served soon."

Jin An glanced at the silver the Queen Mother had earned and said, "The Queen Mother won the most today. The king is indeed the king. I admire him."

He Xuan pouted: "Hmph, I must play well next time and win a few times."

Seeing He Xuan's determination to win, Jin An quietly handed her twenty taels of silver: "Royal sister, thank you for teaching me the rules just now. This is tuition. Thank you, Royal sister."

He Xuan was naturally happy to get twenty taels for free. She had lost twenty taels today, so she was back to normal.

He Yue said angrily, "Brother Emperor, I have also taught you twice. Where is my tuition?"

Jin An smiled helplessly, picked up the twenty taels beside him and handed it to He Yue: "Now, are you satisfied?"

He Yue smiled happily: "Satisfied, satisfied, let's play together again next time."

The Queen Mother saw that the four of them were playing cards and Jin'an had given money to the other two. She said, "I gave up my rest time to play cards with you. This labor fee..."

Jin An immediately handed over the twenty taels with both hands and said, "Thank you, Grandmother, for taking the time to teach me how to play cards. This is just a small token of my respect."

The Queen Mother was amused by Jin'an's appearance. She took the silver and laughed from ear to ear.