Harem Daily Life

Chapter 231: He Made Enemies

The Imperial Concubine was speechless for a moment after being confronted by Concubine Tao, and stammered: "I...I am just worried that the Censorate will not let go of the Queen's mistakes, so I reminded her. After all, the management of the imperial estate is not strict, and the Duke's Mansion is implicated. The Queen is indeed to blame, and I am also worried."

The queen's eyes darkened, and she looked at the imperial concubine with a hint of sternness.

Tao Yanyan coughed lightly, cleared his throat and said, "If you say this is poor management, it's not just the Queen's responsibility."

Amid the puzzled gazes of the crowd, Tao Yanyan looked at the Imperial Concubine: "Even if we take a step back, Imperial Concubine, don't you have any mistakes?"

"Jieyu Tao, you...you are so bold! How can you...how can you slander me?" the imperial concubine said anxiously.

Tao Yanyan said calmly, "After the Queen gave birth to the second princess, she seemed to be unwell and had to rest for a long time, two years or so. During these two years, you, the Imperial Concubine, helped to manage the Royal Manor. The Imperial Concubine was busy and could not take care of it for a while, which was understandable."

At this point, the imperial concubine was so angry that her liver hurt, but she had to apologize: "I was negligent, please forgive me, Your Majesty and the Queen!"

The queen looked at Concubine Tao and suddenly found her much more pleasing to the eye.

"But the censor..." The imperial concubine looked at the emperor and said, "If you don't punish him, I'm afraid he won't stop."

He Linzhang said: "Whoever is guilty will be convicted. It is not difficult. If the queen is indeed negligent, she will be fined one year's salary. The imperial concubine is guilty of the same crime and will be fined three months' salary. The offenders of the Duke's Mansion and others will be investigated and dealt with according to the law by the Jingzhao Yin."

Tao Yanyan watched his nose with his eyes and his heart with his nose. This time, he was afraid that if he failed to stab the queen with the knife in the imperial concubine's hand, the imperial concubine would hold a grudge against him.

Thinking of how she was tormented by these concubines and queens and how she made enemies everywhere, Tao Yanyan looked at the emperor hatefully.

This big pig's hoof is responsible for all this. If he hadn't accepted so many people into the palace, how could there be all these quarrels?

He Linzhang felt a sharp gaze and looked towards Tao Yanyan, and immediately saw the dissatisfaction in the young concubine's eyes.

He thought about it and thought that maybe she was angry because he didn't reward her?

He Linzhang was amused and said, "Tao Jieyu has done a great job in catching the termite this time. She has removed the cancer from the imperial farm and recovered the losses. She will be rewarded with 1,000 taels of silver and promoted to Zhaoyi."

Everyone: "..."

The Queen and the Imperial Concubine were both shocked. How could they be promoted so quickly? Or was it a reward and promotion when they were punished?

So angry!

Tao Yanyan was so stunned that he even forgot to express his gratitude.

"Tao Zhaoyi, come and thank the emperor!" Eunuch Zhang saw that she was in a daze and reminded her quickly.

Tao Yanyan finally reacted and thanked him helplessly.

In her heart, she cursed He Linzhang: This big pig's hoof is really a big pig. If you want to give me rewards and positions, just do it at another time. Why choose this time? It turns out that I have made enemies in the harem all because of him!

Seeing that the queen had calmed down, everyone except the emperor took their leave, and Tao Yanyan naturally followed suit. The imperial concubine walked in front of her, deliberately slowing down her pace. Tao Yanyan sighed and followed.

"Tao Zhaoyi really has a sharp tongue. She can turn bad things into good things." The imperial concubine glanced at Tao Yanyan with an unhappy tone.

Tao Yanyan straightened up: "Good or bad depends on your standpoint. Take the matter of the imperial farm for example. It is better to find out sooner rather than later. So I really don't know what the imperial concubine means by bad things?"

The imperial concubine stepped forward and said, "Don't be so smart. Do you think that just because you defend the queen and say a few words for her, she will be grateful to you and promote you in the future? Do you think those ministers of the previous dynasty are vegetarians and won't take this opportunity to trample on the Duke's Mansion? Haha, be careful not to stand on the wrong side, or you will lose more than you gain."

Tao Yanyan smiled and said, "I never take sides. In this harem, I don't associate with anyone. Your Majesty is worrying too much."

Seeing that she was stubborn, the imperial concubine sneered and said, "In this harem, it is difficult to support one person alone. Zhaoyi Tao, you better take care of yourself."

After saying that, he turned and left, leaving Tao Yanyan standing there alone.

"Zhaoyi, is the imperial concubine... giving you a warning?" Qingfeng asked worriedly.

"Don't worry about her, let's go." Tao Yanyan supported Qingfeng, and the master and servant walked out of Fengyi Palace, then got on the sedan chair and returned to Changle Palace.

The news of Tao Yanyan's promotion to Zhaoyi quickly spread to every corner of the harem.

In Changchun Palace, the Queen Mother was roasting charcoal, her face flushed in the light of the fire: "She is resolute and decisive in doing things, and has some means, but she is young and doesn't know how to maneuver. After this incident, the Duke's Mansion has completely hated Concubine Tao."

Eunuch Qin sighed, "That's right. Although I helped His Majesty recover the loss, I also put myself in a vortex. Fortunately, the Queen is a person who understands the greater good. I think she will not embarrass Tao Zhaoyi."

"The Queen is a daughter who married out of the family. She is the daughter-in-law of my royal family. Naturally, she has to protect the interests of her husband's family. As for whether to embarrass Tao Zhaoyi, we have to look at the long-term. After all, this incident has made the Queen lose face. Next, she will have to deal with the impeachments of the previous dynasty. The first fire of the new year has burned the Queen and the Duke's Mansion, and there will be trouble!"

Eunuch Qin was also a little worried: "Then, shall we still go to the hot spring palace as planned?"

The Queen Mother raised her head and glanced at him: "What role can I play here? I will follow the late emperor one day. Can I still take care of them for the rest of their lives? Let each of us live our own destiny. No matter how we live, it is our own destiny."

Eunuch Qin said in embarrassment: "But, the queen is still pregnant with the heir to the throne. If something goes wrong..." Eunuch Qin slapped himself in the face and said, "Look at my stinky mouth. The queen and the heir to the throne must be blessed by heaven."

The Queen Mother sighed and said, "Forget it. Let Zhang'er handle the affairs of the previous dynasty by himself. You don't need to interfere. You arrange for someone to keep a close eye on the harem to prevent anyone from taking advantage of the opportunity to cause trouble. As long as the Queen is pregnant with a prince, it will be the legitimate son. Now that the Queen is in trouble, she is exhausted. Who knows, someone might be planning to take over the heir to the throne."

Eunuch Qin received the order and went down to make arrangements. He arranged for all the others except for Consort Xian, Consort Shu, and Consort Tao. It was time to take good care of the queen's pregnancy and to use people.

Qingfeng accompanied his master back to Changle Palace, but he was not very happy about his master's promotion. Mingyue and Changtai were waiting at the door to greet him, and congratulated Tao Zhaoyi. They were surprised to see Qingfeng's indifferent expression.

Tao Yanyan distributed silver to everyone, and then said, "Go and close the palace gates, and set up dinner early."

Chang Tai asked quickly, "Are you not waiting for Your Majesty?"

Tao Yanyan snorted coldly: "What are you waiting for him to do? Go and close the door, the lanterns are out."

Mingyue looked at Qingfeng and asked: We were all happy this morning, why are you unhappy now?

Qingfeng sighed and shook his head. Changtai had no choice but to obey and slowly closed the palace gate.