Harem Daily Life

The Imperial Wardrobe delivered the newly made polo uniforms to Qingyun Palace. He Jin'an frowned: "Didn't I give instructions beforehand? I won't be going to the polo match this year; the Crown Prince will go instead. Why are you making me clothes?"

Xiao Quanzi respectfully replied, "Her Majesty the Empress said that the Crown Prince is too young and this is his first time participating in a polo match, so she fears he might not be able to handle it. Therefore, she asked the Prince to accompany him to play a match to give the Crown Prince some courage."

Because the ancestors of the Great Zhou Dynasty conquered the land on horseback, all members of the imperial family and young masters of noble families must participate in polo matches when they turn twelve, and almost all of them must play. The Crown Prince is exactly twelve this year. He has always watched the games from the sidelines before, but this year he has to go up and give it his all.

He Jin'an looked at the clothes; he had seen the Crown Prince's outfit a few days ago.

"Then let's go. But isn't this color a bit too bright? Making me a red robe is so conspicuous. The Crown Prince is also dressed in red. Didn't the Imperial Wardrobe consider this?"

Xiao Quanzi hurriedly said, "Then how about we wear the same blue outfit as last year? Please forgive me, Your Highness, I forgot to remind the Imperial Wardrobe."

One is a prince, and the other is the crown prince. The prince has always been low-key and does not want to compete with the crown prince for anything. However, if the prince wears the same red outfit when the crown prince participates in the polo match for the first time, it will inevitably make the court officials outside think too much.

Sweat instantly beaded on Xiao Quanzi's forehead; this time it was his oversight.

"Yes, change to last year's. After I get married, I will go to my fiefdom. Before I leave the capital, don't cause any trouble." He himself did not want to get involved in any power struggles, but it was inevitable that some people would be eager to make a move. He Jin'an still hoped that it would be better to avoid trouble.

At the Han Prince's residence, the Han Prince received a message from the palace that the Imperial Wardrobe would be making red polo suits for Prince Jin this year. He carefully put away the note and handed it to the steward: "Tell the Second Miss to prepare well; success or failure hinges on this."

The steward quickly put it away, and said somewhat nervously, "Your Highness, Prince Jin has many experts around him, so it won't be so easy to poison him."

The King of Han glanced at him: "It's not easy to drug one person, but it's always easier to drug a group of people, isn't it?"

The butler exclaimed in panic, "But if so many people take Chinese medicine, won't that... turn into complete chaos?"

"I don't care about the lives of others. You should tell the Second Miss that Prince Jin's clothes are easy to recognize, and tell her to take advantage of the chaos to finish the job quickly. Once the scene is chaotic, I can lead people to find my daughter, and that way I will naturally stumble upon their affair."

Hua Yurong had been avoiding He Jin'an for several days before finally agreeing to come out once. Upon seeing him again, Hua Yurong couldn't help but recall the scene in the carriage that day, and her fair face instantly flushed red with embarrassment.

He Jin'an looked at her leisurely: "Yuerong, why are you so shy?"

Knowing full well the answer, Hua Yurong glared at him, too lazy to answer, and simply asked, "What has Your Highness been busy with lately? Has His Majesty given any indication?"

Having been punished and unable to report to the Ministry of War for a long time, He Jin'an was also exempted from attending court. However, he was far from idle, with a mountain of things to do.

He Jin'an grabbed Hua Yurong's hand and recounted to her: "Every morning I accompany Xiaobao and Xiaoliu to the Imperial Study for lessons and teach them martial arts. In the afternoon I accompany the Crown Prince to read memorials, and in the evening I accompany the Empress Dowager for a walk. It's not easy for you to see me, so I rushed here to see you without stopping."

Hua Yurong couldn't help but laugh: "You're quite the responsible older brother, keeping the younger ones firmly under control."

He Jin'an looked miserable: "Father is busy and has no time to take care of my younger brothers. Mother is also very hardworking every day and often can't wake up. My brothers are full of energy, so I'm the only one who can keep them company."

Hua Yurong blinked. She and Hua Ruyan had been bickering since they were little. Her mother must have had a hard time taking care of the sisters.

He Jinan touched her hand: "Actually, I came here today to invite you to the polo match. I'll pick you up in a couple of days so you can go together. Wear something comfortable."

Hua Yurong asked nervously, "I've never participated before, won't I make a fool of myself?"

He Jin'an laughed and said, "You are my future princess, who would dare to laugh at you? Alright, we rarely meet, let's do something meaningful."

Upon hearing this, Hua Yurong's face flushed bright red: "Wh...what? Do it now?" And it's in the carriage again, does Your Highness have a special fondness for carriages?

Seeing her nervous, awkward, and shy expression, He Jin'an raised an eyebrow and asked, "Yuerong, what do you think we should do?"

Hua Yurong swallowed hard, blinked, but couldn't bring herself to speak.

"Hahahaha, Yue Rong, you're so cute." He Jin'an gently kissed Hua Yue Rong's forehead, then had someone drive him to the royal estate outside the city, his smile never fading the entire time.

Today he is going to inspect the estate on behalf of his mother, and he will take Hua Yuerong with him. His mother said that Yuerong should familiarize herself with the operation of some workshops so that they can be replicated in their fiefdom after they get married.

Hua Yurong then realized that she had misunderstood. She thought that the prince would kiss, hug, and lift her up high again like that night. Unexpectedly, the prince was very serious and took her to visit the royal property, showing her many workshops.

Lunch and dinner were both eaten at the estate. It was the first time Hua Yurong had ever seen a prince eat with a group of stewards. The food was the same for everyone, there was no separate cooking or private room. He was also very knowledgeable about all the processes and knew the workshop's output and profits by heart.

All day long, Hua Yurong's eyes were glued to He Jin'an, watching the workshop's operations. Her large, round eyes were fixed on him with deep admiration.

"Is there something wrong with my face? Yue Rong seems to enjoy looking at me so much." He Jin'an turned his head, the carriage swayed, and the two of them stared at each other, unable to help but laugh.

Hua Yurong was the first to blush and look away, changing the subject: "Your Majesty the Empress is truly amazing, managing to set up so many workshops. And the tools used inside are so advanced, increasing efficiency many times over."

He Jin'an nodded: "My mother is intelligent and always has some ingenious ideas that others can't think of. The farm tools and implements you see today were all sketched by my mother and made by the Ministry of Works. By the way, my maternal grandfather, Minister Tao, is the Minister of Works. He said that over the years, my mother has been keeping a close eye on him to make inventions. In order to achieve the desired effect, he has even turned his hair white."

Hua Yuerong enjoyed listening to him talk about the Empress, and listened with great interest.

Before they knew it, the carriage had entered the city, and in about half an incense stick's time, they would arrive at the Hua residence.

"Mother said that if you have time, I should take you to the Imperial Estate often to see the workshops and learn more. When we go to our fiefdom in the future, we will also build workshops there to revitalize the local economy. I will have to trouble you to take care of these things."

Hua Yurong suddenly felt a heavy responsibility on her shoulders. She used to only think about doing well in business, but after seeing so much today, she developed other ambitions. One family's business can bring them wealth, but if it can help others become wealthy, that would be true benevolence.