Harem Daily Life

Chapter 1002 In the end, it's still His Majesty who dotes on her.

Consort Liang doesn't usually interact much with the other concubines in the palace. She heard that most of them go to the Empress's morning exercise and dance. She scoffed, "They're all so old, grandmothers, and their sons are about to get married. They still don't know shame, posing and flirting in public."

He Qian had secretly gone to take a look before and was really frightened by the enthusiastic scene. However, she was young and was not as unable to accept new things as Consort Liang.

She laughed and said, "Your Majesty, I see that the other concubines are quite happy to do so, and they are very good at currying favor with the Empress."

Consort Liang scoffed lightly: "Let's wait and see. I'm afraid the censors will impeach her one day. But our Empress Tao is used to being impeached by the censors, so she can withstand one more time. In the end, it's His Majesty who gives her the confidence to act recklessly. His Majesty dotes on her and indulges her in everything."

He Qian's eyes darkened, and she glanced at Consort Liang, seemingly wanting to say something but holding back.

“Say what you want to say. Is there anything between us, mother and daughter, that we can’t say?”

He Qian smiled and said, "From as far back as I can remember, it seems that Empress Tao has been the sole favorite in the harem. Mother, what kind of seductive tricks does she have that allow her to hold Father so firmly in her grasp, making him disregard so many beautiful concubines?"

He Qian couldn't understand it at all. If there was a secret, she would even like to learn it so that she could keep the Marquis's son completely captivated after they got married.

Consort Liang thought for a moment and said, "To be honest, her appearance truly deserves the title of 'beauty that could topple kingdoms.' Speaking of which, when she first entered the palace through the imperial concubine selection, she wasn't considered a top-tier beauty. She had a very low profile, otherwise she wouldn't have remained untouched by the emperor for three months after entering the palace."

After saying that, she glanced at He Qian and sighed, "But back then, your aunt was incredibly popular in the harem. With such a stunning beauty as your aunt in front of him, it's understandable that His Majesty couldn't see Empress Tao."

"Later, His Majesty was going on a southern tour and needed to select several concubines to accompany him. Empress Tao was chosen by chance. When she returned to the palace, she not only brought back the Second Prince, but also gained the Emperor's favor. From then on, she was unstoppable. She also seemed to be different from before. She was radiant and her whole body was glowing."

As for what happened next, Consort Liang had already mentioned to He Qian: Tao Yanyan defeated Consort Li, the Empress, Consort Shu, and others, becoming the concubine who had entered the palace the shortest time but rose the fastest, and eventually ascended to the throne of Empress.

"Her beauty is her greatest asset, but her business acumen should not be overlooked. Back then, when the late Consort managed the imperial property, her annual income was at most 200,000 taels of silver. But when it came to Empress Tao, it doubled. She's a very peculiar person. Despite being a young lady confined to her quarters, she doesn't seem to know as much as she does. The Ministry of Works, the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of War—which department hasn't received her guidance? All the ministers speak highly of her, which is why she has a good reputation in the previous dynasty."

He Qian listened, her brows furrowing deeply. So, she wouldn't be able to learn any of the essence. After all, appearance could be a factor, but she didn't understand anything about what Empress Tao knew.

"His Majesty was ten years older than Empress Tao. In the end, he settled down for Empress Tao's sake and never participated in the imperial concubine selection again. He was impeached by the censors quite a bit back then." After saying this, Consort Liang smiled self-deprecatingly: "Qian'er, you can't figure out a man's heart. They always admire younger and more beautiful women. But there are also men like His Majesty. Once he met Empress Tao, he had no eyes for anyone else."

He Qian's eyes darkened: "Has Mother ever considered that if someone more beautiful and younger than Empress Tao, and equally outstanding in every way, appeared before Father, would Father's feelings for Empress Tao waver?"

Consort Liang shook her head: "Do you think people like this are so easy to find?"

He Qian smiled and said, "The world is full of wonders, maybe it really exists? After I get married and leave the palace, if I have the opportunity, I would like to go and look for it."

Consort Liang took it as a joke and didn't take it to heart.

The Empress and her concubines were doing morning exercises in the Imperial Garden, performing dances with large movements and explicit music. Over time, this eventually reached the ears of the Imperial Censor.

The censors had the responsibility of oversight, and since they had heard the reports, they could not stand idly by or turn a blind eye. Therefore, memorials from the Censorate flooded the emperor's desk, all of them impeaching the empress.

He Linzhang only opened two books before sweeping all the impeachment memorials to the ground with a wave of his hand.

"A bunch of ignorant fools, taking my salary all day without doing any real work, their eyes are only on my Empress. How dare they show them any respect? Guards, Imperial Censor Zhao Wuwei led the disrespect to the Empress. He shall be fined three months' salary and ordered to stay at home to reflect on his mistakes. He may come out again when he has come to his senses."

To make an example of someone, He Linzhang spared the others for the time being.

Eunuch Zhang coughed lightly and stepped forward to advise, "Your Majesty, please calm down. You just fined Censor Zhao three months' salary last month, and then fined him another three months a few days ago. If you fine him another three months this time, then Censor Zhao will have worked for nothing this year."

He Linzhang glanced at him: "What? Are you going to punish them with a cane?" The censors were civil officials, and He Linzhang generally wouldn't use force. He wouldn't let them suffer physical pain unless absolutely necessary.

Eunuch Zhang said, "It seems that we shouldn't punish him with a rod. However, Censor Zhao is already over fifty years old. Since his eyesight is failing and his mind is not sharp, it would be better to arrange a sinecure for him, so that he won't have his money confiscated instead of impeaching people all day long."

He Linzhang thought about it and it was a good idea. So, Zhao, the supervising censor of the Censorate, was transferred to the Imperial Study to be a tutor, specifically to teach the Crown Prince.

However, those who impeached the Empress couldn't be left unpunished, otherwise everyone would think the Empress was someone they could criticize at will. So He Linzhang dragged out two more people who had spoken rudely and fined each of them three months' salary.

When the Censorate saw that His Majesty was still protecting the Empress as always, and that the Empress always seemed to have a point, they were all dumbfounded.

A few people huddled together and privately berated the emperor, who had lost his mind because of the empress's beauty, to vent their pent-up resentment.

"Whenever the Empress transgresses the rules, His Majesty always protects her. He truly values ​​beauty over the country and acts impulsively."

"To be honest, this Empress is quite the troublemaker. At her age, she's still leading a group of concubines in a group dance? Who are they trying to impress?"

One of them coughed lightly: "Speaking of which, the Empress isn't that old. Last time she appeared, she looked to be about twenty-four or twenty-five."

Everyone else fell silent, recalling the Empress's face and figure, wanting to utter the word "old" but unable to, unable to say it.

"But, but the other concubines are all over thirty years old, how can they follow the Empress's nonsense?"

Another person coughed lightly: "I heard that Consort Li, the younger sister of Lord Li, is also quite the dancer. Well... everyone has a concubine in the palace, so let's not criticize other concubines and focus on the Empress."

Lord Li, who had mentioned the other concubines, fell silent and even tried to calm himself down, almost blurting out that he had also mentioned his own sister.

"What do we do now? Are we just going to stand by and watch the Empress defile the harem?"

"Lord Fang, please be careful with your words. It's just a dance, don't use such serious language! Your cousin is none other than Consort Zhou."

Mr. Fang quickly covered his mouth, feeling a bit scared.

The group whispered amongst themselves all night, but ultimately failed to come up with a solution. They were so angry that they didn't even bother to say a word when they stood in court the next day.

After discussing state affairs, He Linzhang felt that something was missing today; it seemed that the noisy voices of the Censorate were absent.

He raised an eyebrow and looked at the group of people from the Censorate. Seeing that they were all like wilted eggplants, with no sign of life on their faces, he couldn't help but curl his lips into a smile.

Fining people with silver is indeed a good method. Look, without silver, can they still grab people and start cursing?