Harem Daily Life

It goes without saying that the "person the Queen Mother cares about" she mentioned must be Mu Yu.

After weighing the pros and cons, He Linzhang has accepted the relationship between Mu Yu and the Queen Mother from the bottom of his heart. Now that the Queen Mother brought it up, he did not refute it.

The empress dowager looked at her son, who had been emperor for seventeen years, and seemed to see him in a trance when he first ascended the throne, with an unstable foundation and confused by internal and external troubles.

"Time flies. In the blink of an eye, the prince has shed his youth and is now capable of shouldering the heavy responsibility of the Great Zhou. I am deeply relieved."

He Linzhang said respectfully, "Thank you, mother, for your support over the years. I am deeply grateful. You don't have to worry about me while I'm gone. I'll have to take care of the affairs of the court."

The mother and son talked for a long time. When He Linzhang left, the empress dowager accompanied him all the way to the outside of Changchun Palace. Both mother and son were reluctant to let him go.

Three days later, two armies set out. One was led by Prince Yong and Qi Yizheng and headed for the border of Xia State, and the other was led by He Linzhang himself and headed for the border of Yan State.

Tao Yanyan was still in confinement and couldn't get up to see him off, so she asked He Xuan to take her brothers and sisters to see their father off. However, when the children returned to the palace, they found that He Xuan was missing.

Everyone was terrified and frantically searched for her. Finally, He Yue revealed the truth: "Don't look for her anymore. The eldest imperial sister has sneaked into the medical team and followed father to the border."

Everyone: "..."

The group of people did not dare to hide anything and knelt before the queen to apologize as soon as they returned to the palace.

"It's all because of my poor eyesight that I failed to keep an eye on the eldest princess. Please punish me, Your Majesty!" The palace maid who had been following He Xuan turned pale with fear and trembled with her head on the ground.

Shuang'er went to He Xuan's room and found a letter left for Tao Yanyan. Tao Yanyan took the letter and read it, then sighed, "She was determined to go, and you couldn't stop her. But she still needs to be punished. A fine of one month's salary is a punishment."

He Yue looked up at Tao Yanyan, then hurriedly lowered her head.

"Yu'er, they are unaware of this, but you have always known it. Why didn't you tell your mother a word before?" Tao Yanyan looked at He Yue.

He Yue bit her lip and knelt before Tao Yanyan. "I dare not lie to my mother, but the eldest princess said that every man is responsible for the fate of his country. She has learned medicine, and instead of accepting support in this palace, she should put her knowledge into practice and contribute her own humble efforts to protect the Great Zhou. After hearing this, I was deeply moved. I felt that the eldest princess was right. A princess does not have to be trapped in the harem. She can also go out and make a difference. So... so I support the eldest princess and help her avoid the maids and infiltrate the army."

Tao Yanyan was almost mad with anger. The child had grown up and had his own thoughts. His parents' words were no longer effective.

"But have you ever considered that your sister is weak and has never suffered any hardship. How could she endure the hardships of living outdoors? You children, while it's good to want to defend the country, should also do so within your means. If anything were to happen to her, how would I explain this to her mother?"

Tao Yanyan became extremely worried when he thought of He Xuan's frail appearance.

"Your Majesty, please quickly write a letter and send it to His Majesty. The army has been out of the city for half a day. Please ask His Majesty to find the people and settle them somewhere, and we will go to bring them back." Shuang'er reminded from the side.

Tao Yanyan nodded, and immediately asked someone to bring paper and pen, and wrote to He Linzhang personally.

"He Yue knew about this but didn't report it. You should be punished by kneeling in the ancestral hall for an hour to reflect on your actions."

He Yue didn't dare to say anything and went to the ancestral hall obediently.

"Don't worry, Your Majesty. His Majesty is by the side of the eldest princess and will not let anything happen to her. But you, Your Majesty, are not well yet, so please don't get angry." Xianglan tucked the quilt for Tao Yanyan and helped her lie down.

"Xuan'er is usually quiet, but I didn't expect she'd be able to accomplish great things without making any noise. Yue'er is also a troublesome girl, and she's incredibly bold." Tao Yanyan rolled over, feeling frustrated. "They've all grown so powerful that they've dared to act on their own without telling me."

Xianglan coughed lightly and said, "They say words and deeds are the best way to teach. Your Majesty is always a person with strong opinions. If they follow her, they will definitely learn something."

Tao Yanyan turned around and glanced at her: "After all this time, you still have to teach me?"

Xianglan stuck out her tongue, not daring to say anything more. Tao Yanyan, however, began to reflect, and after a long pause, he said, "It seems, she does look a bit like me... Oh, this is so annoying. I'm so bold because I can control her. She's still so young, she's never been far away, and she doesn't have enough experience. How could she be so reckless?"

Speaking of recklessness, Tao Yanyan thought of He Jinan again. He Jinan had been away from home for more than half a year. He sent letters back every month, saying that his studies at the Imperial College had been delayed, and no one knew where he was. It was really worrying.

Tao Yanyan suddenly said, "Since Your Majesty has already left the capital, can I persuade Jin'an to return? Anyway, his original intention was to not meet Your Majesty, lest he could suppress his desire to assassinate You. So, isn't it okay for us to be separated now? Quick, bring me some more paper and pen. I need to write a letter to Jin'an."

Tao Yanyan's letters to He Jin'an were first delivered to the post station and then sent by a courier. The courier could only deliver to Jinzhou, and Jin'an would send people to pick them up regularly without revealing their whereabouts. Therefore, letters sent from the capital took a long time to reach He Jin'an.

On the day he received the letter from the capital, He Jinan was almost at the border of Yan State.

"Second Prince, why are you here? Have you not given up on assassinating His Majesty?" Yin Jiu asked, looking at the receding woods outside the window.

He was very worried that the second prince came to the border to attack His Majesty.

"Don't worry. He hadn't even left the capital when I left. I wasn't coming here for him. I just...as the prince of the Great Zhou, I didn't want to stand idly by when the war between the two countries broke out."

Yin Jiu looked at his expression and felt relieved when he saw that he didn't seem to be lying.

"But didn't the Empress ask you to return to the capital? The Empress has given birth to another little prince, and everyone is looking forward to your return for a reunion." Yin Jiu still wanted to persuade him. After all, the border is so small, and he was really afraid that the Second Prince would meet His Majesty.

He Jinan put the letter away and said, "Unless one day I no longer want to kill him, I will never go back."

Yin Jiu was at his wit's end. He had observed the Second Prince these days, and aside from his unwavering hatred for His Majesty, everything else seemed normal, the same as before. He couldn't understand what kind of poison could cause someone to completely and utterly hate someone else, and could be controlled to such an extent.

"It's strange to say. You seemed to have lost some of your hatred a while ago, but as we got closer to the army these past few days, your hatred has subtly increased." Yin Jiu touched his head: "Is there a black magic under your control?"