Harem Daily Life

Tao Yanyan's back ached. Last night was the most out of control for He Linzhang. She didn't know what was wrong. No matter how much she begged for mercy, it was no use. He was like a ferocious beast that would not be satisfied until it had eaten her up completely.

Tao Yanyan, who had originally wanted to finish copying the palace rules as soon as possible, had to sleep until lunch time, eat a little quickly, and then go to the study to copy them.

"Beauty, the craftsmen are here. They said they would show you the blueprints. If it's okay, they should go back and make it, and then move it over when the time comes." Qingfeng came in and reported. He glanced at the marks on Lady Tao's neck, then looked away with a red face.

Tao Yanyan put down his pen, washed his hands, picked up a gauze scarf and put it on: "Let's go and take a look."

I have to say that the craftsman is really talented. The drawings he gave to Tao Yanyan were very detailed.

The lines drawn with a brush and the dimensions written were very detailed, and Tao Yanyan was very satisfied.

"The most important thing for a swing is that the frame is stable. Can you add something to cushion the seesaw? This way, I won't hurt my waist when I sit on it." Tao Yanyan put forward his request, and the craftsman quickly said, "Sure, make a cushion and nail it on top. Just wipe it from time to time."

"What is this blueprint?" Tao Yanyan pointed at another piece of paper.

"Oh, this is a crane, used to lift heavy objects. I came to Yingyue Pavilion just after seeing the design drawings of the crane from His Majesty, so I brought it along." said the craftsman.

"This is a bit difficult to use, right?" Tao Yanyan asked as he looked at a drawing that looked like a pulley.

"Yes, so I have been modifying it, hoping to make it easier to use." Seeing that Lady Tao seemed to understand, the craftsman added a sentence.

"Well, what if we add another pulley?" Tao Yanyan thought of the knowledge about force she had learned before, but it had been a long time and she had almost forgotten it, so she asked.

When the craftsman heard this, his eyes suddenly lit up and he said excitedly, "Well... I've also thought about adding a pulley, but I don't know how to combine the two effectively. I've racked my brains to think of this."

Tao Yanyan recalled the pattern in his mind and said, "Wait a minute, Qingfeng, go get some paper and pen, and I'll try to draw it for you."

Qingfeng quickly went to get a pen and paper, and Tao Yanyan spread it out on the table and drew a picture according to his memory. There was a pulley on the top, a pulley on the bottom, a hook in the middle, and then a rope was wrapped around it. If someone pulled from below, the heavy object would rise up.

The craftsman suddenly seemed to see light, and said excitedly: "Yes, yes, why didn't I think of it? That's it, this way, people can easily lift heavier objects!"

The eunuch who brought the craftsman here coughed lightly at the craftsman's excitement and said, "Be careful and don't be disrespectful in front of Lady Tao."

The craftsman was from the Ministry of Industry. He was so busy looking at the blueprint that he didn't care about being rude. He said quickly, "Lady Tao, your painting has helped us a lot! I will go back to see His Majesty now. The problem that has been bothering us has been solved!"

The craftsman wanted to leave after he finished speaking, but Tao Yanyan stopped him and said, "Wait a minute, I have another picture in mind, I will draw it for you as well."

She drew a pulley system consisting of four pulleys on the paper, two small ones in the middle and two large ones at the top and bottom. When the line was wound around, the craftsman was stunned.

"Oh my God, this...this will save so much effort!" They, the craftsmen, knew best that the more rope sections there were, the easier it would be to lift heavy objects.

"You have to calculate how much weight can be lifted, I don't know how to do it." Tao Yanyan said. After more than ten years of study, I have given all the knowledge back to the teacher, and I can only remember a few pictures at most.

The craftsman thanked profusely and left, and before leaving he promised to make the swing and seesaw and send them to Lady Tao as quickly as possible.

Seeing the craftsmen from the Ministry of Works coming and going, He Linzhang thought something had happened.

After the craftsman unfolded the blueprint and explained in detail the diagram drawn by Lady Tao and the labor-saving model, He Linzhang stood there in a daze.

"You mean, it was Concubine Tao who drew the picture for you?" He Linzhang glanced at the craftsman, then turned to the young eunuch beside him and asked.

The young eunuch nodded and said, "Your Majesty, I have been following you and have seen it clearly. It was indeed drawn by Lady Tao. Lady Tao was looking at the blueprint of the swing, and the drawing of the crane was mixed in. Lady Tao asked the master if it would be very laborious to make the crane according to the drawing, and then she drew two with pen and paper."

He Linzhang couldn't believe that his little beauty actually helped him solve a problem that he had never been able to solve.

He suppressed his joy, asked the craftsman to keep the drawings carefully, and took them to the Ministry of Industry for further study. If it was feasible, he would do it.

After everyone left, he walked back and forth in the imperial study several times. Unable to suppress his joy, he called Zhang Fuhai.

"Go, open my private vault, find some things that Lady Tao can use, and send them to her. Oh, and take another 1,000 taels of silver, and say it's a subsidy from me."

Thinking of Tao Yanyan's eyes lighting up with joy when she saw Prince Yong's 1,000 taels of silver, He Linzhang changed his words and said, "No, don't take 1,000 taels, take 2,000 taels. Good things come in pairs. Take double the amount of anything you send her."

Eunuch Zhang was shocked. Double the amount of everything means double the reward. It seems that His Majesty is really happy today.

He hurriedly made arrangements, but was worried that his subordinates might not have the taste to pick out good items, so he asked an apprentice to stay in the imperial study while he went to choose personally.

Before dinner, Eunuch Zhang came with a bunch of gifts.

"Hello, Lady Tao. Your Majesty is very impressed by the crane you drew for the craftsmen of the Ministry of Works. He has specially rewarded Lady Tao with two pieces of floating luster brocade, two pieces of scattered flower brocade, two pieces of washing flower brocade, two pieces of woven gold embroidered silk, and two pieces of ancient fragrant satin. In addition, he has given her two thousand taels of silver. Lady Tao, please thank him quickly."

Tao Yanyan was not familiar with those fabrics and didn't know how much they were worth, but after getting two thousand taels of silver, Tao Yanyan was so happy that he wanted to jump up on the spot.

Her monthly salary was 20 taels of silver, which was only 240 taels a year. Now she got 2,000 taels, which was equivalent to eight years' income. It was a huge sum of money!

Adding the one thousand taels of silver notes that Prince Yong had sent her before, she had already saved three thousand taels.

"Your Majesty, I thank you for your reward." After saying this, she asked Qingfeng to get a bag of golden melon seeds for Eunuch Zhang.

Eunuch Zhang also happily accepted it: "His Majesty said that he is busy with official business and will not come these days. If Lady Tao has anything to do, just send someone to call me. I will definitely do it for Lady Tao."

Hearing that the emperor would not be coming recently, Tao Yanyan was not unhappy at all. He happily agreed and personally sent Eunuch Zhang out the door.

Qingfeng was checking the fabrics on the side, smiling from ear to ear: "My beauty, your new clothes for this year are already being made at the clothing bureau. How about putting these fabrics aside and making them next year?"

Tao Yanyan took a look and said, "The fabric will become outdated if it is left there. How about this? Go take a look at the fabrics in the warehouse and make a new set of clothes for each of you. Go to the clothing bureau and ask which one is best for me, and then spend money to make two sets for me and two more for Xiao Jinan. Now that we have money, we can spend it without hesitation."