Harem Daily Life

Chapter 447 Don’t Deceive the Emperor

Upon hearing this, Concubine Shu took out the sachet from her sleeve pocket and rubbed it repeatedly, her eyes were very conflicted: "I don't have much friendship with her. Even though she saved the Third Prince's life, I have already given her a thank you gift, so we are even. She is very smart. If I had given it to her directly today, she would have been suspicious and would not have brought the sachet with her."

Fu Xin looked at the sachet and wanted to persuade her, but she didn't dare to.

Zi Ling stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, in fact, as long as you raise the Third Prince well, your good fortune will still come. Why do you have to spend all this time for a concubine?"

When Zi Ling thought of the musk in the sachet, she felt indescribably complicated. As a servant, she sincerely hoped that Concubine Shu could cherish the good days ahead and never go against Concubine Tao again!

Concubine Shu rubbed the sachet with her fingers, and seemed to make up her mind after a while: "Based on her current favor, if she gave birth to a prince, His Majesty might favor them. How could there be a place for me and the Third Prince to stand?"

Her eyes darkened: "Keep the sachet well, and take the third prince with you when I bring him there some other day." Since she had chosen to abort Concubine Tao's pregnancy, she could not be soft-hearted when it came to this final step. Concubine Shu had already made her choice.

Not only was Concubine Shu restless when she heard Tao Yanyan say she was pregnant, Concubine De also felt uneasy for a long time.

"Your Highness, we don't know whether it's a prince or a princess yet. You're worrying too early." Haitang advised her master, "This Imperial Concubine Tao always manages to turn danger into safety. Anyone who crosses her will gain nothing. Your Highness should wait and see what happens, be patient, and wait until the child is born before making any decisions."

Defei pondered for a moment. In fact, she was very confident in her family background and the eldest prince, and she didn't necessarily have to deal with the imperial concubine. But perhaps it was jealousy that made her feel so sour after hearing that the imperial concubine was pregnant.

"Forget it, let her be. So what even if she gives birth to a prince? The one I gave birth to is the eldest prince. The most important thing now is the position of queen. Only with the position of queen can the eldest prince become the eldest son, and then you will have more bargaining chips in the future." After Defei finished speaking, she picked up the account book of palace affairs again and began to read it.

Haitang nodded in approval. Having lived in the palace for the past few years, she had seen a lot of scheming among the concubines. She knew that her master would either not do it or do it openly and would not do anything insidious. She finally put her mind at ease.

The two high-ranking concubines did not make any moves, but the lower-ranking concubines below became active one by one.

After learning that Concubine Tao was pregnant and could not sleep with the emperor, the concubines in each palace tried their best to show their affection to the Emperor. He Linzhang saw through it but did not say anything. He met several of them but did not keep them and never went to their palaces. Over time, the complaints of the concubines in each palace spread like wildfire and even reached the ears of the Empress Dowager who was spending the summer in the temporary palace.

"Oh? The emperor has been guarding her all the time and has not gone to other palaces?" The empress dowager raised her eyebrows: "Send someone to convey my imperial decree, saying that the concubine has made great contributions, and give her the jade Guanyin that the late emperor awarded to me, to protect the safety of them and their child."

Eunuch Qin agreed, and the Queen Mother continued, "But the Emperor does not have many children. Since the Imperial Concubine cannot work hard, she should not monopolize the Emperor's favor."

Eunuch Qin's heart skipped a beat, and he heard the Queen Mother say, "When you give them the rewards, tell them a message, saying that I saw the late emperor in a dream, and that the late emperor will give him two grandchildren this year. Tell the emperor to visit other palaces more often, and don't deceive the late emperor."

Eunuch Qin: “…”

Queen Mother, you even resorted to such means to induce labor? Did the late emperor, who was in Jiuquan, know that you were treating him as a tool?

Moreover, can the mother-son relationship that has been repaired with great difficulty withstand the damage and will it be broken again?

Eunuch Qin didn't dare to think about it, so he had to bite the bullet and go to convey the order.

The jade Guanyin that the late emperor gave to the empress dowager was half a meter tall and was carved from a whole piece of fine jade. Tao Yanyan was stunned when he received the gift. If it were placed in the future, it would probably be worth tens of millions!

"Your Majesty, you are so generous. I am grateful." Tao Yanyan expressed her gratitude. Her mother-in-law gave her tens of millions just for being pregnant. This was really generous!

"Your Highness, the Queen Mother also sympathizes with your hard work during pregnancy, and specially asked me to bring you a message. The Queen Mother said: I hope Concubine Tao will pay more attention to the royal heir, and advise Your Majesty to be fair and just, and to expand the royal family. I talked to the late emperor in my dream, and he said that this year there will be two royal grandchildren. I hope you two will understand."

Tao Yanyan: “…”

The generous mother-in-law is trying to make herself more magnanimous by persuading the emperor to favor other concubines more.

She hesitated for a moment and said in embarrassment: "Eunuch, please go back and report to the Queen Mother, saying that I have persuaded His Majesty, but His Majesty refused to go. If the Queen Mother does not believe it, then go back to the palace and keep an eye on His Majesty. Maybe it will be more effective."

It’s your own responsibility to take care of your own child. Tao Yanyan doesn’t want to be a sandwich.

The eunuch who came to deliver the imperial edict took the reward and left. Tao Yanyan was unhappy and fell on the couch. Qingfeng hurriedly fanned her to relieve the heat.

"Your Majesty, don't take it to heart. His Majesty's heart is the most important to you. The Queen Mother said that because she hopes to have more grandchildren. In fact, the Queen Mother also loves you." Qingfeng glanced at the half-meter-tall jade Guanyin on the table and comforted her.

Tao Yanyan sighed, "I have no choice. This identity... Never mind. I'll just take it as it comes. As long as I don't expect too much, I won't be disappointed."

Having said that, she felt listless and had no energy the entire afternoon.

When He Linzhang came over in the evening, he found that the concubine was very tired. He asked about her diet today and was relieved to hear that everything was normal.

"Why are you so listless? Are you feeling unwell?" He Linzhang thought about how hard it was for her to be pregnant, and his voice was softer than usual.

Tao Yanyan leaned into his arms and said, "It's okay. I just want to be hypocritical so that Your Majesty will feel more distressed."

It was rare to see her show weakness, and He Linzhang was very fond of it. He hugged her tightly and said, "If you have anything, you must tell me. You are the person I care about most now. Whatever you want, I will find a way to get it for you."

Tao Yanyan didn't say anything, but just smelled the scent of ambergris on his body, which made him feel much more at ease.

After the concubine blocked the way that day, two days later, the concubine came with the third prince. Several children were in elementary school, and only Tao Yanyan received her herself.

"The third prince is very lively today and can even babble." Tao Yanyan teased the child. Although he looked very thin, his facial features were still quite good-looking and somewhat like He Linzhang.

Concubine Shu smiled and said, "Your Majesty, do you want to hug him? He is very well behaved." After saying that, she pushed the third prince forward without further ado and put him into Tao Yanyan's hands.

Tao Yanyan was holding a soft and cute little baby, and she instantly perked up and held the child tightly in her arms.

I just don’t know what kind of spices the third prince used. He doesn’t have the faint milky scent like the third princess.

Tao Yanyan couldn't identify the spice, so he just held the child in his arms, smelled him, and teased him for a while.