Harem Daily Life

Chapter 761 The Queen Mother returns to Beijing

King Yong was truly shocked by Lin's death. After all, she was someone he once favored. At King Yong's insistence, Lin's funeral was held in a decent manner.

However, due to her low status, compared to Princess Qinghe's previous burial as a princess, Lin's funeral was much smaller. After the funeral, Princess Yong ordered all of Lin's belongings to be burned, and all her gold and silver jewelry was given to her family. Nothing was left in the palace, as if this person had never appeared in the Yong Palace.

In the golden autumn of October, it rained heavily for several days. Prince Yong missed Lin and caught a cold, and fell seriously ill. Tao Yanyan sympathized with Prince Yong and specially sent the imperial physician Zhao from the palace to stay in Prince Yong's mansion to diagnose his pulse and take care of him.

Time flies. It was winter when the empress dowager left last year. At the beginning of winter this year, Tao Yanyan received a letter from the empress dowager saying that she was going back to Beijing.

Tao Yanyan was naturally overjoyed, as if she had instantly found her backbone. With the Queen Mother by her side, Tao Yanyan felt that she was no longer the lonely child struggling. She finally had someone she could rely on, and this feeling made her feel extremely at ease.

It just so happened that Prince Yong had also recovered. Early that morning, Tao Yanyan took Prince Yong and Prince Jing to wait at the city gate to welcome the Queen Mother back to the capital.

Several children were also looking forward to the return of the Empress Dowager.

"Here it comes, that's the Queen Mother's carriage." Chang Tai was sharp-eyed and saw a long team heading towards the city gate at a glance.

He Xiaobao had long forgotten his grandmother, but his brothers and sisters had told him that she was a very kind grandmother who had particularly doted on him. Even his name, "He Siliang," was chosen by her herself. He Xiaobao stood on his short legs and peered into the distance. Unable to see anything, he hugged the thigh of his uncle, Prince Yong, and tried to lift him up.

Prince Yong also doted on him and held him in his arms. Tao Yanyan turned around and was startled for a moment, almost seeing He Linzhang standing there holding Xiaobao.

She was a little dazed, and it was only when Shuang'er called her and said that the Queen Mother had arrived that she came back to her senses and knelt down with everyone to greet her.

The Queen Mother did not get out of the carriage. She opened the curtain and took a look, then asked everyone to stand up. Then she called Tao Yanyan to her side and said, "You have been through so much and have worked hard this year."

Tao Yanyan's eyes flushed as she spoke, "The Queen Mother is back. I'm overjoyed. Your Majesty is tired from the journey, so please return to the palace early. We can talk slowly about anything."

The empress dowager nodded, glanced at the grandchildren behind Tao Yanyan, waved her hand, and the children came forward to pay their respects to the empress dowager.

"Good, good, good, you are all good children, and you are all growing up well. The Queen has worked so hard. This is Xiaobao, right? Come to the Imperial Grandmother and let the Imperial Grandmother hug you."

King Yong sent He Xiaobao up. He was a chubby little creature, but he was quite heavy.

"Hello, Empress Dowager!" He Xiaobao greeted in a baby voice, which melted the Empress Dowager's heart.

"Good, good, you are really good children. Your arms and legs are so fleshy." After saying that, she looked at the twins and said, "Cheng'er and Nuo'er, come up too. Let's take the Empress Dowager's carriage back to the palace."

Chang Tai immediately carried the crown prince up, and then carried the fifth princess up. The three children were all very cute, which made the empress dowager smile.

"Let's set off and return to the palace." Eunuch Qin lowered the curtain of the carriage, and everyone followed the empress dowager's carriage towards the palace gate.

Prince Yong accompanied the Queen Mother in the front of the carriage, while Gu Yi came to accompany Tao Yanyan's carriage.

Tao Yanyan lifted the carriage curtain and saw the dusty Gu Yi. With red eyes, he said, "Cousin, you have been away from the capital for so long. You must be missing your wife and children back home. Why don't you go back home first and rest for two days before entering the palace."

Gu Yi looked at her and said, "Forgive me for my incompetence. I was unable to obtain the Nether Grass. Your Majesty... is he still unwilling to reveal its whereabouts?"

Tao Yanyan sighed. "He's deliberately avoiding me. How could anyone possibly find him?" Ying Er had come once before and was brought before Tao Yanyan. Even when Tao Yanyan threatened him, he didn't reveal a single word. Tao Yanyan later sent Shuang'er to follow him, but she also lost him.

He Linzhang still wrote back, but he refused to reveal his whereabouts. Tao Yanyan thought of many places and sent people to look for him, but there was no further news.

Gu Yi's eyes darkened: "I have nothing to do after returning to Beijing this time. I will go look for him privately in a few days." Although he understood He Linzhang's approach, he made Tao Yanyan sad, so he had to find His Majesty.

He couldn't bear to see her sad.

After Gu Yi finished speaking, he handed over the gifts that Wang Xingchuan had given to Tao Yanyan and the children, and then returned to General Gu's mansion.

After the Empress Dowager and her entourage returned to Changchun Palace, Shu Cairen stepped forward and saluted Tao Yanyan: "I accompanied the Empress Dowager on her journey for recuperation. Fortunately, I have fulfilled my mission and returned safely. I hope the Empress is well."

Although Shu Cairen said this with a smile, the smile did not reach her eyes.

Tao Yanyan said calmly, "Ms. Shu has worked hard this time. I will discuss with the Empress Dowager and raise your rank to recognize your filial piety in accompanying her this time."

The Queen Mother held He Xiaobao in her arms and heard Tao Yanyan's words. She said, "She said she would accompany me and serve me, but in the end, I still have to accommodate her. It would be better if she didn't go with me. Queen, don't ask for too much. Just give her a beauty."

Shu Cairen was extremely angry. She had gone out with great difficulty and originally thought that she would be able to return and be re-proclaimed a concubine. However, she was only promoted to the fifth rank from the sixth rank, which was far from her goal.

But this was decided by the Empress Dowager, and no one could object. Shu Cairen had no choice but to express her gratitude and said, "Thank you, Empress Dowager, and thank you, Queen."

"Okay, you go back first. I have something to say to the Queen." The Queen Mother ordered her to leave. Concubine Shu concealed the jealousy in her eyes and respectfully took her leave.

After Concubine Shu left, Tao Yanyan asked curiously, "Concubine Shu... Oh, no, did Concubine Shu displease the Queen Mother in some way?"

The Queen Mother smiled and said, "Look at her pampered appearance. How could she possibly be someone who would travel far? She begged me to go on an outing, but she ended up feeling unwell all the way. She delayed most of my trip. If it weren't for her, I could have visited many more places!"

The Queen Mother couldn't have fun with such a troublemaker on the road.

Tao Yanyan thought something big had happened, but it was just this. She changed the subject and said, "It's great that you're back, Queen Dowager. Your Majesty left me and I've been unable to find him. And having to handle government affairs every day, I'm exhausted. Queen Dowager, please support me when you return!"