Harem Daily Life

Madam Feng was stunned. She never expected that Empress Tao would be so vicious as to send her to guard the imperial tomb!

How could she possibly speak of such a desolate place!

"Empress Tao, you've gone too far!" Before Madam Feng could finish speaking, Shuang'er shouted angrily, "Madam Feng is disrespectful to the Empress! Guards, drag her away!"

When Madam Feng saw that someone was really coming to drag her away, her face contorted with shame and indignation.

"No matter what, I am still the Princess of Pingning, personally bestowed by the late emperor, a princess who was sent to marry a prince to secure the stability of the Great Zhou Dynasty. You humiliated me first, and now you want to use torture on me?"

Tao Yanyan raised her hand to stop several palace servants.

"Madam Feng, I sent you to the imperial mausoleum as a lady-in-waiting because of your filial piety towards the late Emperor. Yet you harbor resentment and show disrespect to me. Could it be that your filial piety and loyalty to the late Emperor were all fake? That your desire to become a lady-in-waiting was also a pretense, and that your true purpose was to infiltrate the palace and avenge the deceased Emperor Yan?"

A heavy crime was imposed, leaving Madam Feng speechless.

"I... I genuinely wanted to become a lady-in-waiting, how could I want revenge? Empress Tao, don't make false accusations!"

Tao Yanyan sneered: "You can know a person's face but not their heart. Who knows what you're thinking? My guess is perfectly reasonable."

She shifted her body, changed her posture, and continued, "You married two emperors, and your brother-in-law treated you like a treasure. When his country was destroyed and he perished, didn't you have any complaints? Ha, who would believe that?"

Madam Feng was furious. She opened her mouth and said, "Whether you believe it or not, I will never seek revenge." Firstly, she was powerless to do so, and secondly, she would not risk her life for someone who did not favor her but only cared about her prestige.

Tao Yan ignored her explanation and said calmly, "There's no point in saying more. You choose: will you serve as the imperial mausoleum lady-in-waiting or not? The late emperor liked you very much, and you must also want to guard his mausoleum, right?"

Lady Feng gritted her teeth and said, "Only a madman would guard the imperial tomb!"

"Since you are unwilling, then your request is null and void. Considering your past contributions to the Great Zhou, I will not pursue your crime of being fickle and deceiving the emperor. Go and live your life in peace."

Lady Feng clenched her fists: "I want to see His Majesty." She was unwilling to give up.

Tao Yanyan snorted coldly: "Your Majesty, I will not see you." After saying that, she gave Shuang'er a look, and Shuang'er immediately stepped forward and grabbed Madam Feng's arm.

"Empress Tao, do you think you can control everything? You falsely convey His Majesty's decree and suppress those who have rendered meritorious service to the Great Zhou!"

Shuang'er struck out with a palm strike, sealing Madam Feng's vocal cords. She couldn't utter the rest of her words and was taken away by several people.

Consort Xian worriedly said, "After all, Madam Feng's status is not ordinary. If she goes out, she will definitely ruin Your Majesty's reputation everywhere."

Tao Yanyan didn't care much: "She's a concubine of a fallen kingdom, how many people would believe what she says? Anyway, we can't hear her in the palace, so let her be."

Consort Xian did not try to persuade her further. She was even more impressed by Empress Tao's handling of the situation and could not calm down for a long time after returning to the palace.

Yu Fen smiled and said, "Your Majesty seems to admire the Empress especially today."

Consort Xian nodded: "I envy her, how could I not? She easily resolved a crisis and made that Madam Feng so angry. However, this is based on His Majesty's favor. His Majesty's favor is her greatest source of confidence. She is not afraid of anyone or causing trouble. If it were me, hehe, I would be afraid of everything, and no one would be backing me up."

Seeing that her mistress was feeling a bit aggrieved, Yu Fen comforted her, "Fortunately, Your Majesty is now second only to the Emperor in the harem, and no one dares to bully you."

No sooner had she finished speaking than a young palace maid entered, angrily saying, "Your Highness, the Imperial Wardrobe has postponed the production of our palace's new clothes again. They say it's not just us, but all the other palaces will have to postpone theirs as they are rushing to make clothes, wedding quilts, and various dowry items for the Fourth Princess and Consort Liang. They don't have time to make ours before the New Year."

Consort Xian frowned: "Although the Fourth Princess's wedding day is indeed approaching, it's not right for her to only do what everyone else is doing. Even when the First Princess and the Second Princess got married, she didn't do it like this."

Yu Fen added, "Yes, the eldest and second princesses' dowries included many embroidered items, so it's not like they're too busy to make things for other palaces. With the New Year approaching, everyone in the palace needs new clothes to wear during the festival. If they only make clothes for one family, what about the others?"

The young palace maid's eyes were red: "Your Highness, I heard that the Prince of Han's residence sent a batch of fabric to the palace, which was added to the embroidery and needs to be made as well. The fabric is top-quality southern goods, and the Prince of Han's residence is very generous, sending a large quantity. Consort Liang thought it was very prestigious and personally went to the Imperial Wardrobe to give instructions."

Consort Xian sneered, "Isn't it just a marriage that was stolen? Look how smug she is. Let's go, I'll go there myself, I want to see how Steward Zhao handles things."

It was freezing cold outside. Consort Xian went to the Clothing Bureau in a fit of anger, but she was stunned by the scene she saw.

The embroiderers all looked pale and sickly, with piles of unfinished embroidery pieces in front of each of them. Although it was winter, they were so busy that they didn't have time to rest, their bustling activity making it seem like the height of summer.

When Steward Zhao learned that Consort Xian had arrived, he immediately came out to greet her. Consort Xian could tell from her appearance that Steward Zhao had also been ravaged.

"I wonder what brings Her Highness the Noble Consort Xian here?" Steward Zhao's heart trembled with fear. He hoped that she wouldn't give him any more orders!

Consort Xian glanced around and said, "You... I'm here to ask why you only serve Consort Liang's concubines and not others? With the New Year approaching, how are the other concubines supposed to attend the New Year's banquet?"

Consort Xian's question was reasonable, and Steward Zhao had no way to refute it, but she was bitter inside. When would this endless work ever end?

"Your Majesty, you see... our Imperial Wardrobe... is simply overwhelmed with work!"

Consort Xian frowned, and Steward Zhao seized the opportunity to complain, "Your Highness, we have no choice. The Prince of Han's residence sent a lot of fabric, all for making clothes for the Fourth Princess. Consort Liang said that all of them must be completed before the Fourth Princess's wedding, so that the Prince of Han's residence can't look down on the princess. All our manpower is busy making things for the Fourth Princess, and we really don't have any spare time!"

"But you... you can't just leave the other palaces unattended. The Fourth Princess's wedding is after the New Year, so you still have time. But the New Year is almost here. You can't tell which is more important, can you?"

Manager Zhao almost burst into tears: "That's what I said to Consort Liang, but she always uses the Han Prince's Mansion to pressure people, saying that she herself doesn't care, but she's afraid that if she can't do something, the Han Prince's Mansion might have some unfavorable thoughts. Your Highness, the Han Prince's Mansion is currently very powerful, and I... have little influence."

Consort Xian was furious. She flung her sleeve and said, "Let's go to Chang Le Palace."

Consort Xian had just left but returned shortly after, so Tao Yanyan, who wanted to take a nap, had no choice but to get up again.

"Why...why are you so angry?" Tao Yan asked, puzzled.