Harem Daily Life

Chapter 273 Past Events

The Queen Mother stood by the bed, gazing at her son quietly, feeling a surge of sadness and pity in her heart.

After watching silently for a long while, the Queen Mother sighed softly, turned around and left slowly.

At present, in addition to saving the emperor and stabilizing the political situation, the most important thing is to investigate the emperor's injury and track down the whereabouts of Concubine Tao. She still has a lot of things to do!

The Queen Mother called the people who went out that day to her side and questioned them one by one, and finally found out the whole story.

"Humph, there's always that troublemaker. If that troublemaker hadn't followed them this time, how could the emperor and Concubine Tao have been separated? If they hadn't separated, they wouldn't have encountered an ambush, and they would have used up their strength to save that troublemaker. This troublemaker is a jinx!"

After scolding Li Zhaoyi, the Queen Mother was still not satisfied and said, "Pass on my imperial decree. Li Zhaoyi will be demoted to Li Jieyu and confined to her room for three months to reflect on her mistakes!"

Li Jieyu, who had just been pardoned and released from house arrest, had to continue under house arrest.

The Queen Mother continued, "Call Tao Qian and his wife to see me in the Qinzheng Palace."

What happened in Qixia Mountain was a top secret of the royal family to the outside world and was strictly sealed without any leaks. Therefore, the ministers did not know that the emperor was seriously injured, and they were even more unaware of the shocking fact that Concubine Tao was forcibly abducted by the demon cult.

Defei also knew that this matter was of great importance. The Queen and Shufei were pregnant women who were about to give birth. She was afraid that they would be shocked if they knew about it, so she did not dare to let the news out. Everyone in Changle Palace asked them to stay in the palace and not go out. Even the two children were temporarily not going to elementary school, so as not to cry and leak the news. Therefore, the harem knew nothing about the disappearance of Concubine Tao.

The news was kept secret, so Tao Qian and his wife naturally did not know that their daughter was no longer in the palace.

Being summoned by the Queen Mother was a supreme honor for them. The couple happily dressed up carefully and hurried into the palace.

However, when they stepped into the Qinzheng Hall, what they heard was a piece of news that was like a bolt from the blue and broke their hearts - their beloved daughter Yan Yan was kidnapped by the mysterious and terrifying cult!

This sudden bad news instantly plunged Tao Qian and his wife into a bottomless abyss, and their originally happy mood suddenly plummeted to the bottom, leaving them heartbroken.

The Queen Mother understood the couple's feelings, and waited for them to digest it for a while before asking: "The Demon Lord of the Demon Cult keeps saying that Concubine Tao is his half-sister. Is Concubine Tao really not your biological daughter?"

The Empress Dowager had a sharp gaze, so Tao Qian and his wife had no choice but to reveal Tao Yanyan's life story.

"The woman gave the child to my wife, asking her to take care of the child for a while and that she would be back soon. However, she never came back. We only found out the next day that she had fallen into the water and died. When she was fished out of the water, she was still holding the child. My wife had just had a miscarriage and suddenly got this child. She thought it was God's arrangement, so she raised the orphaned baby girl under her name and treated her as her own child."

Tao Qian wiped his tears and continued, "Because of the woman's strange behavior of entrusting her child to me, we dared not ask about her background openly, fearing that she was being sought by her enemies and that the enemies would come looking for the child, so we only dared to ask secretly, but we could not find out the woman's background, so we had to give up. It happened that I was going to be transferred, so I took the baby with me to the post."

"Empress Dowager, Yan Yan has always been well-behaved and kind-hearted. We hope the royal family can help us rescue her. If she cannot return to the palace after she comes back, we will take her home and take good care of her. Please help us, Empress Dowager!"

After Tao Qian finished speaking, the couple knelt down and kowtowed, begging the royal family to help save people. Otherwise, it would be impossible for them to fight against the demon cult.

How could Yan Yan, a young woman with such outstanding looks, survive in the Demonic Cult? The thought made her feel like the sky was falling.

"I will go to save her myself." A weak voice was heard. Several people looked towards the door and saw Eunuch Zhang walking in with the pale emperor.

"Zhang'er, why are you up? Go back and lie down quickly. You can't walk around because of your injury!" said the Queen Mother anxiously.

"It's okay. I'm fine." He Linzhang sat down slowly, asked someone to help Tao Qian and his wife up, and then said in a deep voice: "Mother, I have found out some things. I didn't understand them before, but now I have connected the cause and effect, and I have some clues."

He took a few breaths and continued, "If I'm not mistaken, Yan Yan's biological mother should be the daughter of the Ningyuan Marquis who disappeared eighteen years ago, the Ningyuan Marquis's sister."

As soon as he finished speaking, the Queen Mother and Tao Qian and his wife were all stunned.

Tao Qian was just a small county magistrate eighteen years ago. It was impossible for him to know such a wealthy family as the Ningyuan Marquisate, so it was impossible for him to recognize that the woman was the legitimate daughter of the marquisate.

If she is really the legitimate daughter of the Marquis's Mansion, then it is understandable why she chose to give the child to Madam Tao, because Madam Tao is the wife of an official with a kind face. Although her husband does not hold a high official position, she can still raise a child.

In that small county, there are probably not many people who are more suitable to take care of the orphan than Mrs. Tao.

Miss Gu must have weighed the pros and cons for a long time before making her choice.

The Queen Mother had some impression of the daughter of the Ningyuan Marquis's mansion: "She was a lively and lovely girl. The old lady of the mansion would occasionally bring her to the palace. I have also seen her a few times. She was raised by the elders in the family and was a true noble lady."

The empress dowager's thoughts drifted away: "I heard that eighteen years ago, Miss Gu went to see the lanterns at the Lantern Festival and disappeared inexplicably. The Gu family looked for her for a long time and couldn't find her. Then they looked for her for several years without any news. The old marquis and the old lady both left with regret. Over the years, Marquis Gu has been still looking for her, but to no avail. However, the Gu family kept a low profile and didn't leak the news to the outside world." The empress dowager couldn't help but sigh.

Everyone speculated that Miss Gu was abducted by the previous Demon Lord during the Lantern Festival.

"I have already summoned Marquis Ningyuan, he should be here soon." He Linzhang had just finished speaking when he heard a palace servant outside reporting that Marquis Ningyuan wanted to see him.

Lord Gu came in, paid his respects to the Emperor and the Empress Dowager, then stood respectfully aside. He didn't know why the Emperor summoned him today, and seeing that several people looked sad, he had a bad feeling in his heart, fearing that something had happened to Gu Yi!

Just as he was getting anxious, he heard He Linzhang say, "Lord Gu, I asked you to come here today because I want to ask about Miss Gu's disappearance eighteen years ago."

When Marquis Gu heard this, his face turned pale and sadness filled his heart.

"Your Majesty, my younger sister made an appointment with Concubine Li, who had not yet entered the palace, to watch the lanterns eighteen years ago, and she never came back. The Gu family has been looking for her for several years but there is no news..." Marquis Gu sighed: "I wonder what your majesty wants to ask?"