Harem Daily Life

Chapter 763 The building is empty

Tao Yanyan did not go to see He Linzhang, but Gu Yi went.

Shuang'er was originally the secret guard given by Gu Yi to Tao Yanyan, so naturally she revealed the news to Gu Yi.

However, Gu Yi didn't see anyone. When he arrived, the courtyard was already deserted, with only a gatekeeper left. Gu Yi asked for a long time, but he didn't get any news about the emperor from the other party.

Gu Yi returned empty-handed after failing to meet the emperor. When he went to the palace to see Tao Yanyan, he didn't dare to tell her that he had been to the courtyard, lest Tao Yanyan be sad because His Majesty left again.

"Cousin, you've worked hard over the past year. Is Gu Ming shy and ignoring you?" Gu Yi's son, Gu Ming, is half a year younger than He Xiaobao, and is at the age of recognizing people. Although Princess Xinlan often shows Gu Ming Gu Yi's portrait to teach him how to recognize people, there are still differences between portraits and real people, so it's understandable that the baby can't recognize them.

Speaking of his lovely son, Gu Yi's eyes softened.

"I'm not in the capital, so please take care of Xinlan and her son. Thank you!"

He was about to bow when Tao Yanyan stopped him, saying, "You and I are family. Don't be so formal. Besides, you're protecting the Queen Mother for me and His Majesty. We should be grateful to you."

After she said that, she glanced at Mingyue, who understood and went in to bring out a gift.

"This is a small gift from me. Thank you for accompanying the Queen Mother on her journey north and for escorting my biological father back to Penglai Island. Don't be polite with me, just accept it."

This gift box contains jewels that Tao Yanyan carefully selected from the treasure he collected, which are worth several thousand taels.

Gu Yi didn't want to accept it, but Tao Yanyan was firm, so he had to accept it: "Thank you, Your Majesty. It is my duty to share the worries of Your Majesty and Your Majesty."

Tao Yanyan asked about Mu Yu's situation, and Gu Yi told him about how Mu Yu went north to look for medicine and was accidentally trapped by wild beasts, and Gu Yi happened to pass by and saved him.

"I didn't initially think he was my aunt's husband. I only learned his identity later during a casual conversation. The Queen Mother advised me to be more open-minded, saying that my aunt was no longer with us, but he was still your biological father, and asked me to make peace. Later, it was the Queen Mother who had the imperial physician do his utmost to treat him and insisted on personally sending him back to Penglai Island."

"Has his injury healed?" Tao Yanyan couldn't help but ask.

Gu Yi nodded: "He has recovered a long time ago. Your Majesty, don't worry. He is full of energy every day, even more energetic than me."

Gu Yi thought of the days on Penglai Island, when Mu Yu took the Queen Mother to go sea fishing every now and then. He felt a little hesitant to speak.

The most noble woman in the Great Zhou Kingdom, with a black veil covering her face to protect herself from the sun, was fishing at the bow of the boat. When she caught a fish, she jumped and danced for joy like a young girl, which completely overturned the dignified image of the empress dowager in his mind.

"Cousin, did you remember something? You look a little strange."

Gu Yi hurriedly stopped thinking about the time he spent on Penglai Island, but there was one thing he felt he had to report to Tao Yanyan first. After all, it involved her biological father and mother-in-law.

He looked around and saw that only Qingfeng, his confidant, was there, so he said with peace of mind: "I have something to report, Your Majesty, just listen to it and don't take it to heart."

So he told her about how the Queen Mother personally took care of Mu Yu, how she went sea fishing with Mu Yu, and how the two of them got along exceptionally well.

Tao Yanyan was amused after hearing this: "They say old age brings treasure, old age brings treasure. I think these two are quite compatible."

Gu Yi thought about it, and felt that the Queen did not understand the meaning of his words, so he said more bluntly: "Your Majesty, I feel that the relationship between Island Master Mu and the Queen Mother... is too ambiguous."

Mu Yu is Tao Yanyan's biological father, so his appearance is naturally not bad. In addition, he is too enthusiastic about the Queen Mother, so it is impossible not to make people think too much about him.

Tao Yanyan finally understood what Gu Yi meant. She said with a hint of amusement, "Cousin, you're worrying too much. Their status is there. They're just close relatives and have compatible personalities. My biological father did his utmost to entertain the Queen Mother, as the island master. It's rare for the Queen Mother to go out and relax. These are things she's never experienced before, so she's just happy."

Even after Gu Yi reminded him to this extent, Tao Yanyan still didn't believe it, so he didn't say anything more. Fortunately, the Queen Mother had returned to Beijing, and she would no longer meet the Lord of Namu Island, so there would be no trouble.

The New Year's Day was approaching quickly. Tao Yanyan didn't know whether He Linzhang would return to the palace to meet the empress dowager and the children this year because of the New Year's Day, but she still reserved a seat for him at the palace banquet.

After checking the details of the palace banquet with Concubine Xian, she went to Changchun Palace. Only from the Empress Dowager could she know He Linzhang's movements.

The Queen Mother was sulking, not for any other reason but because His Majesty had moved but did not leave a new address, causing Eunuch Qin to search for a long time without success.

"Look at you, you didn't even know when he moved out. You are getting more and more confused, and your abilities are not as strong as when you were young." The Queen Mother's face was very cold, and she was angry that Eunuch Qin did not take good care of him.

Eunuch Qin felt aggrieved. He never expected that His Majesty would be so cruel. He moved out overnight after just meeting the Queen Mother once!

"I was careless. I didn't expect Your Majesty to be so cautious." He raised his head and glanced at the Queen Mother. "Please give me more time. I will definitely find out Your Majesty's whereabouts."

The Queen Mother glared at him and said, "Have you ever thought about why he moved away overnight? Humph, when we went to that yard that day, I'm afraid he was following us."

Eunuch Qin was startled and said suspiciously, "The Queen Mother means that the Queen sent people to follow us and found out your Majesty's whereabouts, so your Majesty..."

The Queen Mother nodded and said, "Zhang'er, this is really a ruthless thing. If the Queen knows that he is hiding on purpose, I'm afraid she will be angry again."

Eunuch Qin was also very worried: "I don't know if the Queen sent anyone there later. If they found that the place was empty..." He didn't dare to think about it. The Queen would probably turn green with anger.

As the two were talking, a young eunuch came in and reported that the Queen had arrived.

The Queen Mother gave Eunuch Qin a look, and Eunuch Qin quickly stood up from the ground, patted his clothes, and stood aside.

"I pay my respects to the Empress Dowager. I came here today to report on the New Year's Palace Banquet." After Tao Yanyan paid her respects, the Empress Dowager asked her to sit down with a friendly face and had someone serve her tea and snacks.

"You make the decision on these matters, I will just be there."

Tao Yanyan coughed lightly and said, "There's nothing else to worry about, but the main seat, should there be two seats or three? Please give your instructions, Queen Mother."

Originally, the Emperor sat in the middle, with the Empress Dowager and Empress on either side. Tao Yanyan had no idea how the seats would be arranged this year.

The Queen Mother frowned and said, "Let's start with three." Just as Tao Yanyan was feeling happy, the Queen Mother added, "Yucheng is already the Crown Prince, so he should sit in the upper seat. He can sit between you and me, making it exactly three."

Tao Yanyan's heart sank to the bottom. Does the Queen Mother mean that He Linzhang won't even show up during the New Year?