Harem Daily Life

Shu Yunyun was in a daze and had no way of staying to serve the ladies, so she found an excuse to leave and went straight into her room. She cut the handkerchief she had embroidered last night into pieces. Every snip of the snips seemed to be carried out with great anger, venting the rage in her heart.

Zhao, the head of the household, watched Shu Yunyun's heart with her eyes and nose. After she left, she breathed a sigh of relief. She hadn't expected Shu Siyi to be so scheming and so bold as to gossip about the Queen behind her back! As someone promoted by the Queen, Zhao naturally followed her lead. Her good impression of Shu Yunyun instantly vanished.

Ever since this incident, Manager Zhao has been keeping a close eye on Shu Yunyun. He doesn't allow her to touch any clothes related to Changle Palace, to prevent Shu Yunyun from doing anything secretly.

The whole palace was promoted and there was joy in the air. All the departments in the harem were busy, trying to complete all the necessary allocations before the New Year. The Ministry of Internal Affairs was also busy allocating personnel to increase the number of servants in each palace.

With the Lunar New Year approaching and the Imperial College also welcoming its year-end exams, He Jin'an had been studying late into the night. His return to the palace to reunite with his family, which used to happen every one or two days, had now become only every five or six days. However, Tao Yanyan was worried about him and kept sending him things: food today, clothes tomorrow, and some daily necessities the day after, fearing that He Jin'an was having a hard time at the Imperial College. When a basket of charcoal was delivered that day, He Feng happened to see it.

He Feng didn't pay much attention at first. He had found a sweeping job at the Imperial College, and his monthly work alone could offset his accommodation costs, so he worked there for several months. The man carrying the charcoal basket accidentally knocked over the charcoal basket when crossing the threshold because the road was slippery, making the floor dirty and making He Feng very unhappy.

"Hey, can't you guys be more careful? You made the floor dirty again which I just swept. How can you be so careless?" He Feng walked over with a broom, extremely angry.

The two servants looked at each other in bewilderment, and had no choice but to apologize while hurriedly picking up the fallen charcoal.

He Feng glanced at it with annoyance, and suddenly realized that the charcoal in the basket was actually top-grade red charcoal. His brows furrowed tightly, and he asked in confusion, "How could someone in the Imperial College use such high-quality charcoal? Isn't this...only available in the palace?"

Back when the Ding Palace was at its peak, they'd used red charcoal. Grandfather had gotten it from somewhere, but the quantity was limited, so he didn't dare use much. But this basket was enough to last for more than ten days. With the end-of-year exams approaching, and afterward, he'd have a day off, he was curious about who could afford this kind of charcoal.

Two servants were busy collecting charcoal. When they heard the question, one of them replied, "This is being sent to Qingyun Garden. It was sent by Master Tao's family."

"Don't talk too much, just pack up quickly." Another servant immediately interrupted him.

He Feng narrowed his eyes, looked at the red charcoal that was almost cleaned up, swept a piece with a broom, and hid it quietly.

After the two servants left, He Feng returned to his room with the hidden red charcoal, immediately wrote an anonymous letter, put the red charcoal in it, and sent it to the Censorate.

Minister Tao went to court in the midst of wind and snow, and with much difficulty he expounded upon all the achievements of the Ministry of Works this year in the palace, winning much praise from the emperor. However, he did not expect to be impeached by the censor the moment he turned around.

The Imperial Censor presented a piece of wrapped red charcoal and argued confidently, "Your Majesty, Empress Tao's family, the Tao family, has relied on Empress Tao's power to secretly use the red charcoal that is only for use in the palace and even give it away. This is completely against the rules and is simply an act of usurpation!"

Tao Qian: “…”

I'd like to ask, where did the pot fall from?

Tao Qian hurriedly asked, "Why do you say that, Lord Han? Your Majesty, I would never dare to use the Empress's power to profit for the Tao family or do anything presumptuous. I beg your Majesty to understand!"

He Linzhang also felt puzzled. He absolutely did not believe that the Tao family would do such a thing.

"Censor Han, the matter has not been thoroughly investigated. Please do not wrongly accuse Lord Tao."

Han Yushi stated, "Your Majesty, an anonymous report has been made, alleging that Lord Tao sent a large basket of red charcoal, used only in the palace, to the Imperial College for the use of a nephew of a branch of the family. If even a branch of the family can use palace supplies, it's conceivable that the Tao family has hidden even more. Your Majesty, I implore your Majesty to immediately order a search of the Tao Mansion. We will surely uncover even more palace supplies."

Tao Qian glanced at the Emperor, and He Linzhang was speechless. If what Censor Han had said was true, then the so-called nephew of the Tao family's side branch was undoubtedly He Jinan. And the only person who could have sent red charcoal to Jinan was the Empress.

Tao Qian knew that the second prince used the surname Tao to hide his identity when he was studying at the Imperial College, so even if he guessed the ins and outs of the matter, it would be inconvenient for him to say anything now. He looked at the emperor and was speechless.

He Linzhang cleared his throat. "Censor Han, I'm aware of this matter. Lord Tao has no problem, and the person who reported it is pure nonsense. I can't explain the reason in the palace. If you want to know the truth, please come to the imperial study after court."

Censor Han was not as stubborn as Censor Zhang before. When he heard the emperor's words, he knew that there must be some mystery behind it, so he didn't keep a close eye on him.

After the court session, Han Yushi and Tao Qian both went to the imperial study, and He Linzhang naturally told Han Yushi everything. After hearing this, Han Yushi was glad that he had not been too aggressive in the court session, otherwise he would have really offended Lord Tao.

He couldn't help but say, "I did report this based on hearsay, but I didn't investigate thoroughly. I hope Your Majesty will forgive me, and Lord Tao will not blame me. However, since the Second Prince is studying at the Imperial Academy under an assumed name, his food, clothing, and other expenses should be the same as those of other students. Otherwise, it will easily arouse jealousy."

He Linzhang nodded helplessly and could only go back and talk to the queen, asking her not to love Jin'an so much. The prince should have more experience, as the fragrance of plum blossoms comes from the bitter cold.

In Changle Palace, upon hearing about the impeachment by the White Day Censor, Tao Yanyan explained, "Winter is too cold, and smokeless charcoal keeps you warm without causing any harm. That's why I wanted to give Jin'an the best. I never imagined this would be a big deal. Besides, I don't agree with Your Majesty's child-rearing philosophy. I believe princes and princesses should be loved equally. Everyone is a precious child."

He Linzhang patted her arm. "I know you've always doted on Jin'an and treated all three children equally. Well, this incident was probably caused by jealousy. The person behind this is quite cunning, even involving the Tao family and you. I'll send someone to find out who it is, and have Jin'an be more careful in the future."

Tao Yanyan smiled and said, "I do think there's one person who I suspect the most, and that's He Feng. He escaped accountability for the Ding Palace incident and is still studying at the Imperial College. I think he's still unaware of Jin'an's true identity and thinks he's a branch of the Tao family who can be manipulated at will."