Harem Daily Life

Chapter 265: The Spirit of Love

After being fed a love potion by the concubine, He Linzhang was so happy that he was bubbling with joy that night.

The next day, Qingfeng and Mingyue learned that their master had persuaded His Majesty to take them to climb Mount Qixia during the Flower Festival, and they had no choice but to accept the result.

Qing Feng couldn't help but smile: "His Majesty really dotes on the Empress. There is no other Empress in the palace who can be loved by His Majesty and accompany her to travel around the mountains and rivers. Our Empress is the only one!"

Mingyue glared at her and said, "You can just say this in Changle Palace, but don't say it outside, lest you arouse jealousy."

Qingfeng stuck out his tongue, realizing he had said something wrong.

As for Concubine De, as the Flower Festival was approaching, she couldn't think of anything to do. She was so worried that her hair turned white. Then, early in the morning, a palace maid came to report that Concubine Li had sprained her ankle while practicing dancing. She sent someone to report this to the emperor. The emperor was soft-hearted and pardoned Concubine Li a month in advance so that she no longer had to be under house arrest.

"Now that this troublemaker has appeared, the harem will be in turmoil again. Find someone to keep an eye on her and don't let her cause any trouble for me." Defei instructed Haitang.

Haitang hesitated and said, "Your Majesty, actually it's not necessarily a bad thing to let Concubine Li out at this time. She sprained her ankle and was able to make His Majesty relent and exempt her from house arrest. It shows that she is very clever. She must be eager to attract His Majesty's attention again, and she will probably confront Concubine Tao. Why don't we just ignore everything and let her do what she wants."

When Concubine De heard this, her eyes lit up: "Yes, why didn't I think of that? Tomorrow, all the palaces will come to pay their respects, and I guess Concubine Li will also come in a high-profile manner. I'm afraid there will be something interesting to watch."

Tao Yanyan was too lazy to pay respects to the Yongxing Palace. Every time she went there, she would listen to Concubine De talking about trivial matters over and over again, showing off her abilities. However, because she was in the highest position now, it was difficult for her to refute, so she could only listen with gritted teeth.

It would be better to sleep than to listen there.

After sending the child off, Tao Yanyan yawned and went to Yongxing Palace. Not long after entering the palace, he saw Li Zhaoyi limping in, being supported by someone.

Tao Yanyan also heard yesterday that Concubine Li had been released from house arrest, but he did not expect that she would come today with a limp.

After Li Zhaoyi came in and saw Tao Yanyan, her face looked unhappy. Originally, her current position was not as high as Tao Yanyan's, so she should pay her respects, but she was too proud to save face, so she chose to turn a blind eye and sat down in the seat opposite Tao Yanyan.

Wang Zhaoyi glanced at Li Zhaoyi and said, "Why didn't Li Zhaoyi greet Concubine Tao, who was higher in rank than her? Could it be that Li Zhaoyi still thinks she is Concubine Li or Concubine Xian?"

Li Zhaoyi glanced at Wang Zhaoyi and said, "My feet are uncomfortable, so I have to sit down first. I don't think Concubine Tao will blame me for such a small thing!"

After saying that, he gave Tao Yanyan a provocative smile.

Tao Yanyan smiled and said, "You have a disability, so I won't argue with you. But you are quite patient. You came here despite your disability. I think you respect the Empress Defei very much. Speaking of which, when you had good legs before, you didn't pay your respects to the Queen so respectfully. Now that you have a disability, you are respectful to the Empress Defei instead. Congratulations, Li Zhaoyi, you have finally put yourself in the right place."

Li Zhaoyi was so angry that she said, "I just sprained my ankle, and you kept saying I have a disabled leg and feet and bully me like that!"

Tao Yanyan raised an eyebrow: "If you sprain your ankle, it means you have difficulty walking. You are not wrong. I didn't blame Li Zhaoyi for not paying respects to me. Why did you get angry for telling me the truth? It's true that your status has been reduced, and your mind has become smaller."

Li Zhaoyi: "..."

She shouldn't have come here to get angry today!

Seeing that almost everyone had arrived, Concubine De came out calmly, exchanged a few simple pleasantries, and then talked about the Flower Festival, asking for everyone's opinions: "We can't leave the palace to go out for an outing, so if you want to hold a flower-viewing banquet in the Imperial Garden like we did last year, that's fine. However, I'm busy with affairs, so I'll have to trouble you to help with the preparations."

Everyone can enjoy it, but we cannot organize it ourselves, so few people want to do it. Li Zhaoyi raised her eyes and looked at Tao Yanyan: "Among the people present here, except for Concubine De, Concubine Tao has the highest status. Why don't we ask Concubine Tao to host the banquet, and we can lend a hand."

Tao Yanyan looked at the crowd, most of them were enjoying the show, she smiled and said: "It's not difficult to organize a flower viewing banquet, it's a pity that I had plans that day and was not in the palace."

Concubine De narrowed her eyes: "Are you going to inspect the imperial estate again? Didn't I hear that everything is on track? It won't matter if you miss one visit."

She also wanted to see Concubine Tao working so hard to prepare the banquet, so she didn't want to let Concubine Tao escape.

Tao Yanyan shook her head: "No, it was His Majesty who promised me that he would take me and my two children to climb Mount Qixia."

As soon as the words fell, everyone opened their eyes wide in disbelief.

Li Zhaoyi was so angry that her fingers were about to break her palms, but suddenly she remembered that Jingci Temple was at the foot of Qixia Mountain. Her eyes instantly brightened up, and she did not get jealous like the others, but calmed down instead.

She felt that with her abilities, it would not be difficult for His Majesty to take her along.

Concubine De didn't expect that Concubine Tao actually persuaded His Majesty to take her out for a trip, and even took the two children with her. She was so angry that she gnashed her teeth and said, "Since Your Majesty has made this arrangement, then there will be no banquet for the Flower Festival. You can make your own arrangements."

After saying that, Concubine De stood up and said, "I have something else to do, so I'll leave first."

Seeing Defei leaving angrily without saying a few words, Tao Yanyan sneered, said nothing, and left Yongxing Palace with Qingfeng and Xianglan.

"My queen, you just offended everyone in the harem." Qingfeng was a little scared. Her master was getting stronger and stronger, and he had never suffered any loss from her words. She didn't know whether it was a good thing or a bad thing.

Tao Yanyan sighed: "I don't want to provoke them, but they come to provoke me. Even if I don't fight back, they won't think I'm a good person. It's better to fight back directly. What matters most is that I am happy."

When Li Zhaoyi returned to Changxin Palace, she planned to invite the emperor over. She first prepared lunch, sent someone to invite the emperor, and then dressed up, waiting for the emperor to come.

He Linzhang discussed the tax reduction and exemption for the new year with the Ministry of Revenue today. He left the court a little late. When he returned to the imperial study and saw the people in Li Zhaoyi's palace, he frowned.

Qing'er stepped forward, saluted the emperor, and repeated what Li Zhaoyi had told her. When He Linzhang heard Li Zhaoyi say that she dreamed of her deceased brother, his heart softened a little and he went to Changxin Palace for lunch and a nap.

Chang Tai had been keeping an eye on the goings-on in the palace, so naturally the news that the emperor had gone to Changxin Palace had spread. Upon hearing the news, he shook his head and returned to Changle Palace dejectedly to report.

When Tao Yanyan woke up from a nap and heard the news, he was stunned for a moment, but soon returned to normal and continued doing what he was doing.

Mingyue waited until everyone was gone before comforting her: "Your Majesty, you should be more open-minded about Concubine Li's affairs. It's not the first or second time that she has regained favor."

Every time he is like an indestructible cockroach, which is really amazing.

Tao Yanyan held the notebook and said calmly: "Don't worry about me, I'm fine. When I met His Majesty, he already had a harem full of beauties. This is an unchangeable fact. I won't be the last one, and others... won't be the last one either."