Harem Daily Life

Chapter 1016 He Qian Leaves Beijing

After kneeling and paying his respects, Chang Tai secretly wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes with his sleeve as he left the room. Xiang Lan saw him off and said with amusement, "You're a father now, why are you still crying? Don't let those guys see you, or what will become of your dignity as Chief Steward Chang?"

Chang Tai coughed lightly: "Your Majesty is kind-hearted. I have never seen any other master treat us eunuchs like this, as if we were human beings."

He carefully placed the longevity lock bestowed upon him by the Empress into his bosom: "You should go back now. It's getting hotter and hotter. The ice in the Empress's room can't be cut off. I'll have the Imperial Household Department send some more over."

Xianglan went back inside and quickly lowered the curtain to block out the heat from outside.

Tao Yanyan looked tired and took a storybook to lie down on the chaise longue: "The Fourth Princess said she will be going to the palace to say goodbye tomorrow. Go to the storeroom and pick out a couple of things as a reward. It's so hot, and it must have been hard for her to travel all the way to Yanzhou."

Xianglan smiled and said, "This servant has already picked them out, Your Highness, please rest assured. I heard that Consort Liang has been depressed for many days since she learned that the Fourth Princess was going to leave the capital with the Fourth Prince Consort. The imperial physicians have visited her several times and said that it was due to emotional distress, and prescribed some calming and sleep-inducing prescriptions."

Tao Yanyan said calmly, "A daughter should be mentally prepared for marrying far away. When Yue Rong came to the palace last time, didn't she say that her younger sister got married and was also traveling with the Fourth Princess this time?"

Xianglan nodded: "This servant has also prepared a reward. If it is to be sent to the Hua family, it can be sent in the next day or two."

Tao Yanyan waved her hand: "Just give it to Jin'an. Let him decide what to do. If he wants to give it away, he can; if he doesn't, he can keep it to give away." After all, she's just a sister who doesn't get along with Hua Yurong, so she's not worth Tao Yanyan's concern.

The following day, He Qian brought Jing Mubai to the palace to bid farewell to the Emperor and Empress.

He Linzhang went to court. He Qian and her husband first came to Chang Le Palace to pay their respects to the Empress. Tao Yanyan saw that He Qian had become even more beautiful two months after her marriage. She couldn't help but marvel at how good her looks were, saying that she was indeed blessed with good genes and had a resemblance to the beautiful Consort Li in her prime.

Looking at Jing Mubai's spirited appearance, it seems the two are newlyweds, enjoying a harmonious and loving relationship.

"When you go to Yanzhou in the future, Fourth Princess, please take good care of yourself and write home more often. Your father and mother are looking forward to your return. Also, Fourth Prince Consort, Fourth Princess is a precious daughter of the emperor. You should give her more leeway in everything you do, and you should have a harmonious marriage and have a child soon."

Tao Yanyan is only thirty-three years old, but she's already quite adept at pressuring people to get married. After all, she's already a grandmother. Every now and then, the eldest princess brings her child to the palace to visit her. Seeing the little guy's round and adorable appearance, her heart melts.

Jing Mubai immediately pledged his loyalty and made many promises to Tao Yanyan. Seeing that lunchtime was approaching, Tao Yanyan said, "Your father will be having lunch at your mother's palace today. You two should go there early as well, as His Majesty will be leaving court soon."

The Fourth Princess rose and knelt to pay her respects to Jing Mubai. Xianglan took the gifts she had prepared for the Fourth Princess and handed them to the servants attending to her.

After they had walked quite a distance from Chang Le Palace, Jing Mubai said, "You usually look displeased when you mention the Empress, but today I see that Her Majesty the Empress is quite kind and approachable."

He Qian glared at him: "She's the best at putting on an act in front of others. What, a few nice words and she fooled you? Never mind, you won't be seeing her again anyway, so there's no need to know much about her."

Jing Mubai frowned. He Qian was a concubine's daughter raised by an imperial concubine, and in the end, she lacked the grandeur of a legitimate daughter. In some ways, she resembled his half-sister Jing Yuwei, but in some aspects of her interactions with others, she lacked the demeanor of a legitimate daughter.

However, He Qian was exceptionally beautiful, the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Since their marriage, with no elders in the household to keep them in check, they spent their days and nights together, and at one point, they didn't leave their room for three days and three nights.

He didn't know why he became so indulgent. It was as if he lost control as soon as he met He Qian. Perhaps it was because they were newlyweds, and he couldn't stop after his first taste of love.

Consort Liang hosted a lavish banquet in the palace, and He Linzhang came directly to reunite with them after court. Three days later, He Qian left the capital with the Marquis of Jing's heir, followed by members of the Hua family in a long procession.

Hua Yurong and Hua Ruyan had nothing left to say to each other, but since her parents were coming to see her off and the Zhou family was also there, she maintained appearances and stayed by Hua's mother's side, just going through the motions.

Hua Ruyan cried for a long time, unable to bear leaving the bustling capital.

“We thought you were marrying someone from nearby, so our dowry consisted of shops in the capital. Now that you’re going to Yanzhou, we need to replace those shops, but that can’t be done in a short time. Your father and I have discussed it, and one option is for us to run the shops for you and send you money every month. The other option is to cash them all out, take back the shops, and convert them into banknotes for you.”

Hua Ruyan wiped away her tears: "My daughter is so far from home, it's better to have more money to rely on. Besides, I don't want my parents to work too hard, having to manage the shop for me. So..."

Before Hua Yurong could finish speaking, she took out a box of silver notes and handed it to Hua's mother.

"What did I tell you? She would definitely choose the silver notes. Luckily, I had the foresight to prepare in advance."

Madam Hua took the silver notes and handed them to Hua Ruyan: "The total is 150,000 taels, all of which are in here. So it's settled then, the shop will be taken back, and the silver will be yours. Don't flaunt these silver notes. You're going to be someone's concubine, and your master and mistress will take care of your food, clothing, and other necessities. Don't act like a big shot or show off your wealth. If you get cheated out of your money, you'll have nowhere to cry."

Hua Ruyan accepted the box of silver notes and carefully put it into the carriage: "Mother, don't worry, I'm not stupid. My money is naturally for my children to use in the future, how could I use it to support others?"

Hua's mother sighed. She knew her daughter's character best. She was jealous and easily manipulated. With a few goading tactics, she would probably be tricked into having nothing left.

Fortunately, she had the foresight to assign two capable nannies to Hua Ruyan. She gave the two nannies a wink, and they nodded, assuring her to rest assured.

After the Hua family finished speaking, the Zhou family came forward and gave her some other instructions, all of which were to take care of Zhou Chen after she arrived in Yanzhou and to work together with him.

Hua Yurong helped her mother to the side and whispered, "The Zhou family is only concerned about their own son. Where is there even a shred of sincerity towards Hua Ruyan? They're such blockheads, insisting on jumping into that fire pit. We couldn't stop them."

Hua's mother patted her hand: "She's already lost her innocence, what else can we do? Anyway, your father and I have given her everything we could. The future is up to her own fate."

Hua Yurong glanced at Hua Ruyan, who was being surrounded by the Zhou family members with feigned concern, and sighed. However, she was also extremely relieved that she had broken off the engagement with the Zhou family.

The thought of marrying Prince Jin in three months made her smile.

"Mother, I'll go see the Fourth Princess off."

Hua's mother smiled; how could she not know that her eldest daughter wanted to see Prince Jin?

“Go ahead, this fourth princess is your future sister-in-law, and she is also Ruyan’s sister-in-law. We need to maintain a good relationship.”

Hua Yurong listened without saying anything and strode towards He Jin'an.