Harem Daily Life

Tao Yanyan whispered: "Don't be afraid, General. We will see what happens later."

Qi Yizheng looked at her and never expected that one day, he, a loyal and brave general, would be comforted by a weak little concubine.

Tao Yanyan opened the door and saw Li Jieyu and her personal maid confronting Qingfeng outside the door. There seemed to be a red mark on Qingfeng's left face. Tao Yanyan narrowed his eyes dangerously: "Who hit you in the face?"

Qingfeng glanced at Li Jieyu's maid and said, "I didn't let Li Jieyu in, so her maid slapped me."

The moment Tao Yanyan finished speaking, he slapped the maid in the face with a "pa".

"How dare you hit my people!" After saying that, he looked at Li Jieyu with a cold face: "What are you going to do, Li Jieyu?"

Concubine Li did not expect that Lady Tao would beat her maid in front of her, and she was filled with anger for a moment.

"You left the palace banquet and secretly met with a man behind closed doors. I caught you, and you are still so arrogant! Aren't you afraid that I will report to His Majesty and let him punish you for adultery?" Concubine Li said in a shrill voice.

"Oh, a secret meeting? I just happened to meet General Qi and exchanged a few words, but you are making up accusations against me! If you want to sue me, go ahead. I want to see if His Majesty believes you or me now that he has come."

Lady Tao was so calm that it was beyond Li Jieyu's expectation.

Li Jieyu glanced at General Qi. General Qi had been the emperor's companion since childhood and was deeply trusted by His Majesty. Li Jieyu was a little shaken for a moment.

But even if the two were innocent, they were talking behind closed doors and there was a maid guarding outside, so they looked not innocent on the surface.

Li Jieyushi calmed down and finally decided to report it. However, she could report it to the Queen first. She had also realized tonight that the Queen disliked Concubine Tao. If the Queen knew that Concubine Tao left the palace banquet to meet with General Qi in private, she would definitely stand on her side.

"Hmph, wait, I'll go and report it right away!" Li Jieyu strode away with her maid. Qingfeng said anxiously, "What should we do, my beauty? This Li Jieyu is a troublemaker. She won't let you go tonight?"

Tao Yanyan comforted Qingfeng: "It's okay, let her be, I haven't done anything bad." Anyway, He Linzhang knew that he was going to talk to General Qi about making mooncakes, and he had reported it in advance.

If she doesn't even have this little bit of trust, then there's no need for her to be so affectionate with He Linzhang.

The most important thing at the moment was to talk about business. So Tao Yanyan briefly mentioned that he hoped to open a store together.

"It's a snack shop. You can sell all kinds of delicious food. Fresh meat mooncakes are made every day. We can also make braised food, duck food, dried fish, pork jerky, candied lotus root, etc. I can make anything I can."

Listening to the large amount of food, Qi Yizheng was very interested: "Madam Tao, what you mean is that I will manage it outside, you provide the prescription, the capital will be half for each of us, and the profits will be divided equally?" Qi Yizheng confirmed.

Tao Yanyan nodded.

Qi Yizheng said, "Okay, I'll do it when I get back. I'll find an opportunity to tell Lady Tao as soon as there's any progress."

Qi Yizheng was tempted. In the future, he would have so many delicious foods in his shop. He was simply turning his hobby into a career. There was no reason for him to object!

After the two finished talking, the maidservant who served the queen came and said to Tao Yanyan coldly, "Please follow me to the side hall, the queen is waiting for you." Then she glanced at General Qi and said, "Please also come with me, General Qi. The queen has something to ask."

The two looked at each other and followed the chief palace maid to the side hall.

The Queen was waiting here under the pretext of changing clothes. When she saw the two of them come in calmly, she glanced at Concubine Li and concealed her doubts.

"Lady Tao, Concubine Li has reported you for having an affair with a man outside your family. Do you admit your guilt?" the Queen asked in a stern voice.

"Empress, I just heard that General Qi likes gourmet food, so I sent him a recipe." She glanced at the Empress and Concubine Li, "Your Majesty knows about this, I reported it in advance."

She was not afraid that the empress would ask the emperor, because the emperor trusted Qi Yizheng and would not believe Li Jieyu's slander.

The Queen's eyes darkened and she hesitated whether to ask His Majesty.

Li Jieyu said, "A man and a woman are alone in a room, and there is a maid guarding outside. Who knows what you are doing in there?"

Tao Yanyan looked at her with amusement: "So Concubine Li wants to slander me for having an affair with General Qi?"

Tao Yanyan turned to the Queen and said, "Your Majesty, I have told Your Majesty in advance that I would tell Lord Qi how to make fresh meat mooncakes. If you two don't believe me, you can go ask Your Majesty."

Qi Yizheng also said: "Lady Tao did tell me about the mooncakes, so please feel free to ask, Your Majesty."

The Queen was extremely angry with Tao Yanyan tonight, but seeing that both of them were calm, she could only glare at Concubine Li and said, "General Qi is deeply trusted by His Majesty, and Concubine Tao is deeply loved by His Majesty. Concubine Li may have misunderstood. But now the palace banquet is still going on, and all the court officials are here. Put your matters aside for now and come back to ask after the banquet."

Li Jieyu was so angry that her teeth itched. Since the Queen did not punish her on the spot, the opportunity was lost. However, now that the Queen did not intervene, could she really go to His Majesty immediately?

In the end, he could only return to the hall in embarrassment.

After they returned to the banquet, the Queen whispered in the Emperor's ear, "Your Majesty, just now Concubine Tao privately asked General Qi to go out to discuss something, and asked Qingfeng to guard the door. Concubine Li saw it, and Concubine Li reported it to me. Concubine Tao said that she had told Your Majesty that she wanted to talk to General Qi about the mooncakes, so I didn't ask too much. However, after all, they are a young concubine and a general, so they should be careful to avoid suspicion. I won't ask too much, Your Majesty, find a chance to say a few words!"

The queen looked magnanimous and only cared about the little concubine. He Linzhang could only feel that she was very sensible and did not have the slightest idea that the queen was making a complaint.

After the Queen and the Emperor finished whispering, they sat up straight, smiling faintly as they enjoyed the singing and dancing.

Sometimes you don't have to do everything yourself, especially when there is no evidence. The queen threw the question to the emperor. She believed that no matter how late it was tonight, the emperor would find a few parties involved to get to know the matter together.

To the Queen's surprise, the Emperor did not look for Qi Yizheng, nor did he look for Concubine Li, as if he did not care at all about Concubine Tao's secret meeting with a man outside her.

As soon as the palace banquet was over, the emperor should have accompanied her back to Fengyi Palace. Today was the fifteenth day of the lunar month, and they should have stayed overnight in the Queen's Palace. However, the emperor took Concubine Tao away, leaving the concubines looking at each other in bewilderment and the Queen, who was so angry that her face turned pale.