Harem Daily Life

Consort Xian then recounted the situation at the Imperial Wardrobe in detail.

"This Consort Liang is very pleased with herself now, showing off the Fourth Princess's marriage to the Prince of Han's family everywhere, wishing that the whole palace would be envious of her. I am extremely anxious. If this continues, how will the palace attendees attend this year's palace banquet? I had no choice but to come to Your Majesty, hoping that Your Majesty can think of a solution."

Tao Yanyan never expected that the Han Prince's Mansion would do this, sending all the fabric to the palace to make new clothes for the Fourth Princess.

"She can't wear that many clothes in a year, so why doesn't she worry about the styles going out of fashion or the fabric getting old?" Tao Yanyan asked, puzzled.

"They probably just wanted to show off that it was a gift from the Prince of Han's mansion. They didn't even consider whether they would be able to wear it all in the future."

Tao Yanyan knew that these clothes were all sewn stitch by stitch and couldn't be rushed. She pondered for a moment and said to Consort Xian, "Since we don't have enough manpower, let's find someone."

She summoned Chang Tai and said, "Go find Mingyue and ask her to arrange for fifty embroiderers to come to the palace tomorrow. We need to rush to make a batch of new clothes. As for the location, find a palace banquet hall where no one lives and settle them there. Go and do it immediately."

Chang Tai accepted the order and left. Tao Yan said, "Send people to prepare the place today. Have the Imperial Wardrobe send all the fabric for the palace's clothes there. The new clothes for each palace will be made by these embroiderers from outside the palace. Their skills are not much worse than those of the embroiderers in the palace, but their efficiency is very high. They should be able to deliver on time. Once everything is finished, pay them their wages."

Consort Xian was overjoyed, but she still harbored resentment towards Consort Liang.

"This Consort Liang is usually a bit unsociable, and this time she only cares about herself and not others, which is really infuriating."

Tao Yanyan smiled and said, "Let her be smug for a while longer. Sending the Fourth Princess so far away, she'll have a hard time seeing her again in the future."

Consort Xian felt somewhat better, got up to take her leave, and hurriedly went to arrange accommodations for the embroiderers.

After Consort Xian left, Tao Yanyan's expression turned cold: "What's going on with the Han Prince's residence? Do they think the palace is their own private workshop?"

Seeing the Empress's displeasure, Xianglan stepped forward and said, "I heard that the Han Prince's Mansion is very wealthy and powerful. The dowry list for the Fourth Princess is probably three meters long. I also saw the fabric when it was brought into the palace that day. It was said to be more than a dozen boxes, and it took quite a while to move them. I didn't expect that Consort Liang would actually make all of them."

Tao Yanyan was angry about this very thing; Consort Liang was doing it on purpose, deliberately causing trouble when she was busiest.

“In my younger days, I thought she was a sensible person. If I had known she was this kind of person, I shouldn’t have given her the custody of the Fourth Princess in the first place.”

Tao Yanyan felt a little regretful. She never expected that she could still misjudge someone even after being reborn.

Xianglan advised, "Everything is preordained. If you ask me, Consort Liang and the Fourth Princess are kindred spirits and have helped each other achieve their goals."

They're both equally wicked and equally annoying, so how can they not be considered mother and daughter?

Tao Yanyan thought about it and realized that it made sense; everything has a cause and effect, so she stopped worrying about it.

Consort Liang heard that Consort Xian had stormed off to the Imperial Wardrobe and then to Chang Le Palace in a huff, but instead of causing her any trouble, she went to order people to tidy up the palace. Consort Liang asked in confusion, "Tidy up the palace? Who's coming to live here?"

She sent people to inquire, but the people from Consort Xian's side completely ignored them, treating them with disdain and giving them no friendly treatment.

However, when dozens of embroiderers entered the palace the next day and moved into the prepared palace, Consort Liang learned that they had hired outside help because they were short-handed.

"Heh, it seems the Han Prince's Mansion still has influence. I've become related to the Han Prince's Mansion by marriage, and even the Empress has to give me some face." Consort Liang was quite pleased with herself. The Fourth Princess, He Qian, came in with a bowl of bird's nest soup. Hearing her words, she smiled and said, "My mother entered the palace earlier than Empress Tao. How can she not show her some respect? There's always a hierarchy."

He Qian handed the bird's nest to Consort Liang: "This bird's nest sent by the Prince of Han's mansion is also of the highest quality. Mother Consort, please try it."

Consort Liang smiled broadly: "Your marriage is excellent, it's just... well, it's a bit far, but fortunately, it's powerful and wealthy, so we can keep in touch by writing to each other often."

He Qian blushed slightly: "Mother, the Crown Prince of Han said that he is willing to live in the capital after the marriage. He said that he has already informed the Prince of Han, and the Prince and Princess agree."

"Really?" Consort Liang was overjoyed. "In that case, there's absolutely nothing wrong with this marriage! Oh, Qian'er, your good days are yet to come!"

Consort Liang was happier than ever before. She immediately ordered people to prepare a feast to entertain her sisters and let them share in her joy.

Actually, they wanted to throw a banquet to show off.

The banquet was prepared, and Consort Liang waited for a long time, but the palace maid who went to invite people did not return. At noon, the palace maid did return, but there were no concubines to be seen.

"What's going on? Where are the ladies from the palaces that I told you to invite?" Consort Liang asked unhappily.

The palace maids exchanged glances, and one of them, who was a bit bolder, was the first to report: "Your Highness, Consort De said that she has been feeling unwell and has not been eating well lately, so she will not be coming."

"Your Majesty, Consort Shu said that she has chronic leg pain and cannot go out, so she will not be coming."

"Consort Xu said she is fasting, only drinking water and cannot eat meat or fish, so she will not be attending the banquet."

“Li Jieyu said…”

Consort Liang waved her hand: "Alright, alright, I'm too lazy to listen anymore."

Consort Liang's good mood plummeted, and her face turned as black as the bottom of a pot.

Upon seeing this, He Qian suppressed her resentment and advised, "Mother, don't be angry. It's not worth it. They're just jealous that I found a good marriage, and they're also jealous of you, Mother. Just don't take it to heart."

Consort Liang calmed herself down and patted He Qian's hand: "That's right, I kindly invited them and they are so ungrateful. I don't need to pay them any attention. Come on, let's eat by ourselves, mother and daughter."

The few who were invited but did not attend the banquet were playing leaf cards in Consort De's palace, with all sorts of snacks laid out beside them.

"This Consort Liang is usually as stingy as a miser; it's impossible to get even a feather out of her. How could she suddenly decide to invite us to a feast? Ha, the sun must have risen in the west!"

"Exactly. The other day, my maid Xiao Cui went to the Imperial Wardrobe to pick up some clothes, only to find that they hadn't been made at all. When she asked, she found out that they had been making clothes for the Fourth Princess. We are, after all, her elders. Her wedding is after the New Year, and we are supposed to wear new clothes to the palace banquet. She has no sense of being a junior at all, and she's taking everything from us."

Consort Xu played a card and won the round. She smiled and said, "Back when the Fourth Princess's aunt was at the height of her power, she also snatched other people's things in the same way. It seems that the skill of snatching is truly passed down from generation to generation."

Consort Li smiled and said, "It's not just about her ability to snatch things. Haven't you noticed that the Fourth Princess is starting to look more and more like Consort Li from back then? Her figure, her eyebrows and eyes, her alluring charm—I see the resemblance in every way from afar. With such a figure and beauty, it's no wonder that she bewitched the Crown Prince of Han, causing him to abandon his legitimate daughter and demand to marry the illegitimate, unfavored princess."

After listening to everyone's words, Consort De sneered, "The Han Prince's Mansion is not a good match either. Princess Yanran has escaped a disaster by not stepping into the fire pit."

Upon hearing this, everyone felt that there was something hidden in her words and quickly asked her what she meant.

Consort De cleared her throat, looked around, and everyone called their respective maids out.

"Sister, tell us quickly, is there something fishy going on at the Han Prince's mansion?" With their gossip-loving hearts set on it, everyone's eyes lit up.