Harem Daily Life

The news that the Crown Prince, several other princes, and the five princesses had donated 100,000 taels of silver to support education was widely circulated in the court. Upon learning of this, the harem also praised the donation highly. However, Concubine Liang was the only one who was displeased upon hearing the news.

"Hmph, they're all princesses. The Fifth Princess is truly wealthy and famous," Concubine Liang said sullenly. Five people could pool a hundred thousand taels, so the Fifth Princess must have at least twenty thousand. For an eight-year-old, she's quite wealthy.

He Qian was embroidering a wedding dress in her hands, and her eyes were cold.

"Don't be angry, mother. One of them is the Queen's adopted son, and the other four are her biological children. Their monthly allowances are usually higher than the rest of us. The Queen is so good at making money, so it's normal for her to have saved more for them."

After she finished speaking, she looked up at Concubine Liang and said, "The Empress controls the imperial property. For the past ten years, all the money from the imperial property has passed through her hands. She has long been fattened up."

Concubine Liang frowned. "Back then, I heard that when the former Imperial Concubine was in power, the annual income from the Imperial Estate wasn't very high, barely enough to maintain a balance between income and expenditure. I never expected that since the Empress took over, the income has actually increased year by year. Tell me, what tricks did she use to make everything go so smoothly for her?"

He Qian smiled and said, "I am young and don't know what happened back then. Mother and I have known each other for many years. Didn't you notice anything on a daily basis?"

Concubine Liang turned sideways and lay on the couch, thinking seriously for a while: "If you say you have discovered something, there is indeed one." After she said that, she looked at the palace maids around her.

The palace maids immediately bowed and left.

When only the mother and daughter were left, Concubine Liang said, "I will speak to you privately. Just listen to it and forget about it. Don't seek confirmation or investigate, lest you bring trouble upon yourself."

He Qian sat up straight and listened carefully.

Concubine Liang said, "This Empress Tao is incredibly strange. Ever since she arrived in the harem, she's become like a master of magic. No one who faces her can be her match. Just like the former Imperial Concubine and the former Empress, when they were still alive, whenever there was a conflict with Empress Tao, Your Majesty always sided with her. And... your biological mother and aunt, neither of them could match her."

Over the years, He Qian had always known that she was an adopted daughter of Concubine Liang. She had never asked about her biological mother. Firstly, she was afraid that Concubine Liang would overthink her and think she was not her biological daughter. Secondly, she had heard from the palace maids that her biological mother was of low status and died inexplicably.

Since Concubine Liang brought it up today, He Qian asked curiously, "Did my biological mother and aunt also have any unpleasantness with Empress Tao?"

Seeing that she was about to get married, Concubine Liang thought that knowing something about the past was not a big deal, so she said, "Back then, your aunt, Concubine Li, rose all the way to become Concubine Xian, becoming the leader of the Four Concubines. Your aunt was the most favored concubine by His Majesty that I have ever seen. Of course, that was before Empress Tao entered the palace."

Concubine Liang recalled the past and told He Qian everything she knew about Concubine Li.

"Concubine Li's beauty is truly legendary. Because she's His Majesty's special favor, she's feared by everyone in the palace. Even the Empress, the Imperial Concubine, the Shu Concubine, and the De Concubine had to avoid her. I remember that year, when His Majesty selected new concubines, Empress Tao, the last in line, was completely unremarkable. And your aunt, Concubine Li, happened to be pregnant, so His Majesty bestowed upon her numerous jewels..."

"I don't know why she had a miscarriage later on, and was even confined by His Majesty. Later, Empress Tao rose through the ranks, seemingly stealing your aunt's fortune. The higher she rose, the harder your aunt fell."

Concubine Liang took a sip of tea and continued, "Your aunt had originally been promoted to the rank of Consort Xian, below the Empress, but she was later demoted to the rank of Beauty. Perhaps she felt she would never again be favored and unable to bear children, so she found your biological mother and brought her into the palace to be given to His Majesty."

As for how it was stuffed, Concubine Liang did not say, because He Qian was raised by her own hands after all, and Concubine Liang felt a little embarrassed to slander her biological mother in front of her, so some of the words were packaged and polished to be less explicit.

"Later, my biological mother gave birth to me?" He Qian continued, "Then... even when she became pregnant, she didn't receive the emperor's favor?"

Concubine Liang nodded. "Your mother was lucky. She was the only one besides Empress Tao who became pregnant during those years. However, the emperor's favor is hard to come by. Empress Tao is more important than anything else in His Majesty's eyes. Even if your mother was pregnant, she wouldn't have received much attention."

Later, your aunt...had a conflict with Empress Tao and was expelled from the palace. She practiced in Jingci Temple for a period of time, was expelled from the palace and then taken back. She went through this cycle over and over again, and finally died.

Concubine Liang didn't remember much of the past, so she could only roughly recall the events, and the timeline might not be accurate. But from her description, He Qian already knew that everything was because of Empress Tao.

She bit her lip and said, "Then, how did my biological mother die?"

Concubine Liang was somewhat secretive when she spoke of this. Lu Lianyi's death was a taboo within the palace. She soothed him, "I wasn't close to your birth mother at the time. It was only after you were born, when she was of low rank and needed the care of a higher-ranking concubine, that I helped out and looked after her. As for how she died, I have no recollection. I suppose it was a case of worry and incurable illness."

He Qian felt as if a thousand arrows pierced her heart as she listened to Concubine Liang's ambiguous reply. Although she had no memory of her biological mother, she was the one who brought her into this world, and He Qian was still resentful of her death.

"You were too young then. Both your biological mother and aunt had passed away and were unable to raise you, so I took you into my palace to raise you. I've been in the palace for many years. When your aunt was at the peak of her power, I was still somewhat favored and even slept with her. But later, Empress Tao became the only one favored in the harem. Not only me, but all the other concubines also lost their favor. We all stayed alone in our empty rooms for many years."

Concubine Liang sighed, "I'm not favored, but fortunately I can raise you. This is a little comfort in the loneliness of this deep palace."

In He Qian's heart, her original jealousy towards Queen Tao was now filled with an additional layer of hatred.

"So, this Queen Tao is really the only one in power, ruining everyone's life."

Concubine Liang was afraid that she would cause trouble for Empress Tao, so she couldn't interfere at this critical moment. She advised, "Let bygones be bygones. Your most important thing now is to prepare for your wedding."

Concubine Liang looked at He Qian and said, "My child, although you are not my biological child, we have depended on each other for more than ten years and have long been as close as mother and daughter. I am happier than anyone else that you can get a marriage with the Han Palace this time. If you follow me, you will not be favored by your father, and your life will be worse than that of the children born to Empress Tao. You will not be satisfied, but you will have a good life in the future. You will be the consort of the prince of Han Palace, and Yanzhou will be yours. You must seize it well."

He Qian nodded, hiding her dissatisfaction with Empress Tao, and said, "Thank you, Mother, for raising me and teaching me over the years. Even my marriage was entirely thanks to you. Don't worry, Mother. I will do my best in the future."

Not only must she seize the opportunity of marriage, but one day, she must also seek justice for the disfavor and unhappiness she has endured over the years.