Harem Daily Life

He Yanran slept soundly on her first day in the palace. The next morning, she rose early and waited outside the Empress Dowager's palace. Seeing her arrive so early, Eunuch Qin greeted her and said with a smile, "Your Highness, there's no need to be so early. The Empress Dowager doesn't usually get up early except for a few important holidays. Judging by the time, it's likely we'll be there for quite a while. Why don't you go back for breakfast and come back for lunch?"

He Yanran was stunned and quickly apologized: "I'm new here and don't know the Queen Mother's schedule. I'm sorry for being rude. I'll go back first. Thank you, Eunuch Qin."

After leaving with his men, Eunuch Qin looked at the sky and hid in a room to the side to take a break.

The nanny beside He Yanran followed the young master back and whispered, "I didn't expect that the palace is so different from other places. In the past, in the palace, the princess would ask the princess to serve her before dawn, and she would have to stand with her until breakfast before letting her leave."

He Yanran glanced at her and said, "Princess, you didn't do anything wrong. This is the custom in many families. In the future, please stop talking about the past events in the palace."

The nanny quickly shut up, knowing that the little princess was cautious, so she didn't dare to speak again.

After breakfast, He Yanran had nothing to do, so she thought about going to pay her respects to the Queen first. After all, the Queen was the mistress of the palace, so she had to go there on the first day.

She hurried to Changle Palace with her people. Xianglan greeted her with a smile as soon as she saw her: "It's still cold, Princess, you've come early. Why don't you go to the academy and attend classes with the other princesses? The Empress hasn't woken up yet."

He Yanran: "..."

She looked at the sky. It was almost 9:00 a.m. and it would be lunchtime if it was any later.

As if sensing her confusion, Xianglan's ears blushed as she explained, "His Majesty sympathizes with the Empress's hard work. It's cold, and she has nothing to do when she gets up, so he told us not to disturb her and let her rest. Princess, please come this way."

He Yanran nodded and followed Xianglan inside, but she was extremely curious. She didn't expect that the two most powerful hostesses in the palace were so good at sleeping. It completely overturned her perception of the mistress.

He Xuan, He Yue and He Yunuo are all studying with Mrs. Dong. He Min is also here today. Mrs. Dong has developed different study plans based on each person's age and ability. Some courses are taken by four people together, such as etiquette classes, and some courses are taken separately so that they can all benefit.

As soon as they saw He Yanran coming, several young sisters stood up to greet her, and were very warm.

He Yanran was a little reserved at first, but soon calmed down.

After Tao Yanyan got up, Xianglan came to help her dress up and told her that the princess was coming.

"Well, let these sisters go to school together first. They have something to talk about with their peers." She yawned, still looking a little listless.

"Has Doctor Liu returned?" It had been more than a month since Doctor Liu left Beijing, and Tao Yanyan couldn't help but ask.

Xianglan shook her head: "I just sent someone to ask yesterday, but they haven't found any yet."

Tao Yanyan frowned. "Did he write a letter home? Why hasn't he heard from him in so long?"

Xianglan didn't know the truth, but it was reported to the Imperial Hospital.

"Your Majesty, the Imperial Physician would send a letter back every two weeks after leaving the capital to report. I've inquired and found out that Imperial Physician Liu is still in Suicheng, searching for medicine."

"What medicine took so long to find?" Tao Yanyan muttered, but she didn't think much about it. When Caiyun brought a bowl of steaming wontons, she quickly started eating. She was tired all night and almost starved to death.

In the east of the capital, at Wang's residence, the servant had just finished sweeping the road in front of the door when he heard the sound of horse hooves, raising dust, getting closer and closer, and finally stopping outside the door.

"Young Island Master?" The servant hurried forward to lead the horse. Wang Xingchuan dismounted, threw the whip and bag to the servant, and strode into the mansion.

Mu Yu couldn't sleep, so he got up early and was practicing boxing in the yard. This set of boxing was given to him by Tao Yanyan, who said it was called Tai Chi and that the slower the better. Wang Xingchuan watched his father practicing slowly, his mouth twitching, and he walked forward.

"Father, are you okay? You can't punch...any more?"

When Mu Yu saw him and heard his words, he almost messed up his boxing.

He slowly retracted his fist, took two deep breaths to adjust his breathing, and then said, "What do you know? This is the boxing style Yan Yan found for me. He said it's called Tai Chi. The slower the better."

"Too hasty?" Wang Xingchuan narrowed his eyes. Is it popular to name things backwards these days? The slower the better, the boxing style is actually called "Too Hasty"...

It seems that it is necessary for him to leave the island. The news on the island is too isolated and he can't keep up with the trends of the world.

The father and son returned to the house. Wang Xingchuan observed for a while and said, "Father said in the letter that his heart palpitations are getting worse and asked me to come to Beijing for a reunion. So what's the situation now?" Wang Xingchuan asked anxiously.

Mu Yu asked someone to make him something to eat first, then he said, "I asked Doctor Liu from the Imperial Hospital to see me. He went to look for medicine for me. It's been almost a month, and there's no news."

He picked up the teacup and took a sip. "I think this is an old problem of mine, but once it breaks out, the situation becomes very dangerous. That's why I thought of asking you to come. In case anything happens, you can help me with my funeral arrangements."

Wang Xingchuan frowned. "Father seems fine. Besides, Imperial Physician Liu is doing his best. Please stop saying such discouraging words. By the way, sister...does the Empress know?"

Mu Yu's eyes dodged for a moment, and he waved his hand: "I didn't tell her. It's an old illness that she has been taking medicine for. Let's talk about it when there's a chance. When you go to Beijing this time, find a chance to meet her. You haven't seen each other for several years. She gave birth to another son, her position is stable, and she's living a good life."

Wang Xingchuan concealed his frown and smiled: "Very good."

The palace received the news the moment the young master of Penglai Island came to Beijing and entered the city gate.

However, He Linzhang did not summon them, waiting for them to come. The next day, Mu Yu brought Wang Xingchuan and presented him with a badge to the palace for an audience. He Linzhang met them in the imperial study.

Although it was no secret that Mu Yu disguised himself as Eunuch Qin to meet with the Queen Mother in private, He Linzhang had to pretend not to know and treat him politely in public.

Both of them were acting. Wang Xingchuan saw that each of them was better than the other, so he could only twitch his lips and sing along with them.

"You should stay in the capital for a few days this time. There are a few children you haven't met yet, so go meet them all and give them some pointers on martial arts."

Wang Xingchuan nodded. "Yes, I have brought a batch of high-quality seafood to the capital this time. However, the transport ship will probably take a few days to arrive. I will then send it to the palace for Your Majesty, the Queen Mother, and the Empress to taste."

In recent years, the seafood trade between Da Zhou and Penglai Island has grown rapidly, and Penglai Island has also made a lot of money.

"Okay, Yan Yan often mentioned before that he wanted to eat grilled squid."

Eunuch Zhang came in at this time, lowered his eyes and smiled, "Your Majesty, lunch is ready. The Empress asks everyone to move."

When he heard that he was going to meet her, Wang Xingchuan got nervous for a moment and couldn't help but pull his sleeves and straighten his clothes.

He Linzhang glanced at it quickly, said nothing, and led his men straight to the side hall.