Harem Daily Life

Chapter 232: Spreading Her "Ambition"

He Linzhang originally thought that Tao Yanyan's anger had subsided, so after comforting the Queen, he came over a little late, but unexpectedly he was blocked outside the closed door again.

Seeing the emperor's unhappy expression, Eunuch Zhang tried to smooth things over by saying, "Perhaps he thought that Your Majesty would stay in Fengyi Palace tonight to accompany the Queen, so he didn't leave the door open. I will go and knock on the door right away."

"No need!" He Linzhang said coldly: "Since you don't want to see her, there's no need to force it. Go to Yongxing Palace to see Concubine De."

He Linzhang was also holding back his anger. Tao Yanyan had clearly agreed to come over in the evening, but she closed the door. It was obvious that she didn't want to see him. He wanted to reward her and promote her, but nothing he did to coax her would work. He Linzhang was also tired, so he left in a huff.

Mingyue looked outside several times, but she heard no knocks on the door, nor did she see Chang Tai open the door. She couldn't help but ask, "Zhaoyi, you and His Majesty... You just got promoted today. If you refuse His Majesty, I'm afraid His Majesty will think too much."

Tao Yanyan was concentrating on reading. He turned a new page and said calmly, "I'm afraid the palace has been in turmoil these days, and I'm not in the mood to see him now. I have to go out and be busy during the day, so don't walk around in the palace. Close the palace gates as soon as possible. His Majesty will resume the morning court tomorrow, so I'm afraid it will be busy for a while. It would be better if he doesn't come."

Tao Yanyan thought that the Imperial Concubine's actions today were clearly against the Queen. Maybe the other concubines would take this opportunity to unite against the Queen, so it would be better for her to protect herself. If the Emperor didn't come, no one would be watching her, so she would be safer.

As for Concubine Shu, because she sent a message to Zhao in the cold palace and provoked a dispute, she was reprimanded by the Queen Mother and punished to be confined to her house for three months. So when the Queen had a miscarriage today, she did not go to Fengyi Palace to serve her. After hearing the news from Ziling, she was surprised and asked, "He was promoted to a higher position, but he didn't stay overnight? Did Your Majesty go to see Concubine De?"

Zi Ling nodded: "Your Majesty has not visited Concubine De for a long time. Today, something happened in the Queen's family, so he went. I think it's because he cares about the Grand Prince."

Shu Fei watched the charcoal fire flickering, and put her hand on her belly: "I said before that I would ask Doctor Xu to come and see if it's a boy or a girl. Let's arrange it in two days, otherwise it will be too late and Doctor Xu will follow the Queen Mother to the temporary palace again."

"Yes, we will resume work tomorrow. I will go to the Imperial Hospital to invite you early in the morning." Zi Ling handed Shu Fei an orange.

"However, isn't her promotion too fast? It's only been a little over a month since she was promoted to Concubine." After Shu Fei finished speaking, she called Fu Xin closer and said, "Go spread the word and tell them..."

After listening to this, Fu Xin was a little worried: "Your Majesty, the Queen Mother has said several times before that we should not get along with Concubine Tao anymore. What if the Queen Mother finds out..."

Shu Fei glared at her fiercely: "This is something that everyone knows. What's wrong with me just helping her spread the word? Has the Queen Mother scared you out of your wits? You're worried about such a small matter!"

Fu Xin quickly knelt down and apologized: "I understand. I will do it tomorrow."

Shu Fei rolled her eyes at her and said, "Don't be too deliberate when doing it, or you won't be caught by others."

Fu Xin nodded in agreement, but she was still very worried. After Shu Fei went to bed, she pulled Zi Ling into the room to talk quietly.

"Zi Ling, Eunuch Zhengrong was beaten with thirty sticks and taken to the Ministry of Punishment. Seeing his tragic end, I am also very scared."

Zi Ling sighed, "What's the point of being afraid? Concubine Shu is crazy now. She is determined to make things difficult for Concubine Tao. No matter how much we try to persuade her, she won't change her mind. We can only be more careful when we do things, so as not to let anyone catch us."

"But I'm still afraid. Concubine Shu asked me to tell everyone that Concubine Tao was jealous of the Queen, so she took advantage of the Queen's pregnancy to dig up the scandal of the Queen's family. She wanted to dethrone the Queen and make herself the Empress. You know, if people find out that I was the one who spread such rebellious words, I'm afraid I'll be dead!" After Fu Xin finished speaking, she couldn't help wiping away her tears.

"Then what can you do? If you fail to do it well and fail to satisfy the Empress, I'm afraid she will have to beat you with dozens of sticks first." Zi Ling wiped her tears and said, "Just be careful when you go to deliver the message. Find some remote places and those palace maids who like to gossip. Nothing will happen."

Tao Yanyan got up early the next morning, and took Xiao Jinan out of the palace after breakfast. She had no idea that during her absence, her "ambition" was widely spread in the palace. Several groups of people went to see the imperial concubine, and the imperial concubine listened to the rumors they told, with a slight smile on her lips.

After dealing with Wang Zhaoyi and the others, the imperial concubine rubbed her waist and leaned on the couch: "Everyone in the palace is saying that Tao Zhaoyi wants to take the throne. What is the reaction from the queen?"

Wenlan said, "She didn't say anything, but just told the people in Fengyi Palace not to talk nonsense. In my opinion, the Queen is probably too busy to care about it, because I heard that not only the Censorate made a complaint, but many ministers also submitted a petition, demanding severe punishment for the Duke's Mansion. There is also news that someone has requested to depose the Queen."

The imperial concubine laughed and said, "Who is so bold as to directly propose the dethronement of the empress?"

Wen Lan said: "It seems that he is a court official who is close to the Rong family."

The imperial concubine snorted coldly: "The Rong family is a military family after all, and they are brainless. After all, the queen is pregnant with a child, how can she be useless at this time?"

Wenlan handed the imperial concubine an apple and said, "The imperial physicians are all guarding Fengyi Palace. We won't have a chance to send anything in for a while."

The imperial concubine raised her eyes and glanced at her: "Why don't we just hold off for now? I always feel something is not right. Let's wait a little longer. Since the Rong family dared to send someone to propose the dethronement of the queen, they might make some small moves. Let's wait and see what happens."

"But, Madam, opportunities are rare and will never come again. What if Concubine De doesn't think of this and doesn't take action?"

The imperial concubine rubbed her brows and said, "But this is the first time I've done this, and I'm still very nervous. Besides, we don't know whether she's pregnant or not. If it's a princess, then just give birth to it. It's no big deal."

Seeing that her master was somewhat hesitant, Wenlan advised, "But once he is a prince, he might be made the crown prince directly. By then, the queen's position will be stable, and the incident in the Duke's Mansion today will be forgotten. It will be difficult to pull her down again! Please think twice, Your Majesty."

The imperial concubine sat up straight, stood up and walked around twice: "Besides doing it ourselves, is there any other way? For example, killing someone with a borrowed knife."

Wen Lan shook her head. "I'm afraid it's hard to find a good knife that can be manipulated. Just look at Concubine Tao, she's as slippery as a loach, and she even confronted the Queen, but in the end she was able to resolve the rift between her and the Queen with just a few words. As for the others in the palace... I really can't think of anyone who would be so easy to manipulate and help us abort the Queen's pregnancy."