Harem Daily Life

Chapter 489 Prince Yong Marries Princess Qinghe

As night fell and everything was quiet, He Linzhang lay on the couch, holding a book in his hands and reading aloud to the fetus in his belly.

Tao Yanyan on the side listened quietly. His low and magnetic voice and gentle tone were like a lullaby. Gradually, she felt her consciousness becoming more and more blurred, and her eyelids became extremely heavy. However, He Linzhang read one page after another, completely immersed in it, with no intention of stopping to rest.

Finally, Tao Yanyan couldn't help but reach out her hand, grabbed the book in He Linzhang's hand and closed it, saying coquettishly: "Your Majesty, go to bed early, I can hardly open my eyes."

He Linzhang looked at her sleepy appearance, and a trace of pity welled up in his heart, but he still insisted: "I will read a few more pages so that the children can be more familiar with my voice and be closer to me."

Upon hearing this, Tao Yanyan snorted lightly, and simply reached out to snatch the book from He Linzhang's hand. Then, he threw it away and quickly nestled into his broad and warm arms.

She snuggled up to He Linzhang's chest and said coquettishly, "Your Majesty, by hugging me to sleep, you are also getting closer to our child." Before she finished speaking, she raised her head and gently kissed He Linzhang's chin.

He Linzhang enjoyed her intimacy very much. The corners of his mouth slightly raised. He stretched out his hand and gently pinched her pink cheek, teasing: "Yan Yan, you seem to be particularly fond of kissing my chin."

After saying that, he slowly lowered his head, gazed affectionately into Tao Yanyan's eyes that were as clear and moving as water, then without hesitation, he placed his lips on her soft cherry lips and kissed her deeply.

"I prefer kissing like this."

Tao Yanyan was caught off guard by his sudden passionate kiss, and her cheeks instantly flushed with shyness, like a ripe apple. She didn't dare to move at all, and could only respond obediently. The tips of her ears also turned red because of shyness, which made her even more lovable.

After a long time, He Linzhang regained a bit of rationality and gently let her go: "You are only more than five months old, I still have to endure a few more months..." He had been silent for a long time, and although he usually couldn't bear it, Tao Yanyan would find ways to help him relieve it, but he really wanted to be close to her.

Seeing his originally handsome face now full of grievance, Tao Yanyan gently stretched out her arms, hugged him tightly, and her soft little hands slowly reached down.

There was joy and happiness in Changle Palace, but it was a completely different scene in Yongxing Palace.

At this time, the Yongxing Palace was filled with a tense and oppressive atmosphere. Concubine De was standing in the center of the palace with a furious face, and the ground beside her was littered with broken porcelain fragments. Concubine De was so angry that she smashed even her most cherished objects without hesitation.

Haitang's eyes were red as she advised, "My Lady, please don't be angry. It's not worth it to get yourself hurt by being angry."

De Fei said angrily, "You also saw it tonight. His Majesty is so partial to me. How can I not be angry? He doesn't care about me or Ye Er at all."

Haitang had someone clean up the debris on the floor and helped Concubine De to rest aside. "Your Majesty, you are the only one left among the people who came out of the Eastern Palace together. You must be patient and wait until the eldest prince grows up."

Haitang offered Concubine De a cup of tea and said, "In my opinion, Your Majesty is now in charge of the harem and has all the power firmly in your hands. This is more important than anything else. You might as well bide your time and wait for General Rong and his men to return to the capital before making any plans."

Concubine De also knew that she was impulsive tonight.

She drank the tea and slowly calmed down. "If the border generals rashly return to the capital, it will probably arouse suspicion among the court officials. The return of my father and brother to the capital must be foolproof. We can only take it slow and plan for the long term."

Haitang nodded, "General Rong said in his letter that he will return to Beijing during the New Year holidays, first to visit his wife, and second because he is not feeling well and wants to stay in Beijing to recuperate. Madam, General Rong asked us to prepare a trustworthy imperial physician, and then we can tell him that the illness is more serious so that he can stay in Beijing. But we can't place anyone in the Imperial Hospital, who is the right one?"

De Fei pondered for a moment: "Of course, Doctor Xu can't do it, he is the Queen Mother's man, and the others..." De Fei searched in her mind: "This Doctor Liu is a skilled doctor, but it's a pity that he seems to have a close relationship with the one in Changle Palace."

Haitang agreed with Concubine De's words. After thinking for a while, she said, "There are also Imperial Doctor Zhao and Imperial Doctor Li. I don't see these two getting close to any imperial concubine on a daily basis."

Concubine De pinched her brows and said, "Then go and make arrangements. When father returns to the capital, I will ask Imperial Doctor Zhao to come to the house to diagnose his pulse."

Ever since He Yue, Jin An had a fight with the eldest prince, Tao Yanyan and Concubine De had repeatedly told them to try not to meet each other and to stay away from each other, so they lived in peace during their time in elementary school.

The wedding of Prince Yong and Princess Qinghe of Yan was scheduled for the twenty-sixth day of the winter month. Because Prince Yong was of noble status and Princess Qinghe represented the State of Yan, their wedding banquet was held in a grand and luxurious manner, making sure to highlight the significance of the marriage between the two countries and the majesty of the royal families of the two countries.

The King of Northern Yan also specially sent another delegation to escort the bride and discuss the new year's iron ore purchase contract between the Great Zhou and the State of Yan.

Prince Yong was marrying a princess for the sake of the country, so He Linzhang naturally had to attend in person to show his appreciation and respect. Even the Queen Mother came back from the Hot Spring Palace to attend the wedding banquet.

Tao Yanyan didn't want to go, mainly because the weather was cold, she wanted to stay in the warm house, eat some snacks, and read some storybooks. But she couldn't stand the three children's soft and hard persuasion, each of them wanted to go out of the palace to play, so she had to go with them.

Thinking that since the emperor was by his side, the security arrangements must be first-rate, he did not have to worry about anything going wrong.

The mother and her two children wore parent-child outfits and attracted the attention of many guests as soon as they arrived, especially the women from various families in the capital, whose eyes were all glued to Concubine Tao and her two children.

"Your Highness' belly is so big, I'm afraid it must be six or seven months. How did you maintain this figure? How come it looks like only your belly has grown, and there's nothing fat anywhere else?"

"My face is still smooth and bright, without any spots at all!"

"I heard that the Imperial Concubine is only 19 years old, and she has already been promoted to this position at such a young age. Wow, she is so favored!"

"I heard that the imperial concubine is pregnant with twins. The imperial family of the Great Zhou Dynasty has never given birth to twins. The imperial concubine is indeed a blessed person."

Everyone was talking about it, and many ladies had already started to gather around Mrs. Tao, asking about her well-being and trying to get closer to her.

Mrs. Tao has always been very low-key. Before she came out, Lord Tao had repeatedly warned her not to get too close to anyone recently. So, although she didn't understand why her husband had given her such a warning, she still smiled and politely talked to the ladies who came up to chat with her, but didn't really make friends with anyone.