Harem Daily Life

Chapter 204: Moving to a New Home, New People

It was just a quick glance yesterday, but today Tao Yanyan made a special trip to take Xiao Jinan for a walk in Changle Palace and looked at all the rooms.

"Mother, this place is much bigger than Yingyue Pavilion." Xiao Jinan exclaimed.

"Jin'an will have more room to run and jump in the future. Are you happy?"

Xiao Jinan nodded, revealing a row of little white teeth, and smiled very cutely.

"Let's go and take a look at your room." Xiao Jinan's room was twice as big as the one in Yingyue Pavilion, and Xiao Quanzi was making his bed.

"Hey, where is Yin Jiu? Why haven't I seen him since I returned to the palace?" Xiao Jinan originally thought that Yin Jiu came to Changle Palace first, but he didn't expect that he didn't see him after walking around.

Tao Yanyan thought that Yin Jiu was not a eunuch after all, so he probably couldn't live in the harem, and most likely went to another place, so he said: "Wait until I see your father, and then ask how to contact Yin Jiu if there is anything. Okay, now let's see what's missing from Jin'an's room?"

Xiao Jinan first ran to the outer room and saw a large study.

"Mother, we are short of some books. But don't worry, we can fill it up slowly." The four treasures of the study were already on the table. Little Jin'an happily climbed onto the stool and sat down, shaking his head in a serious manner and saying, "The sun sets over the mountains, and the Yellow River flows into the sea. If you want to see a thousand miles away, you must climb to a higher level."

Everyone was amused by his little appearance. Qingfeng covered his mouth and said, "The Second Prince will definitely be a learned and knowledgeable university scholar in the future."

Dong Fang said, "The Second Prince is very serious about martial arts. I think he might be a great general with unparalleled martial arts skills."

Tao Yanyan did not comment. It didn't matter what kind of person he became in the future, as long as he was safe and happy.

After visiting Jin'an's room, it was almost time for lunch.

Caiyun had already prepared the food. As they were moving today and were in a hurry, she just made a few big stews. They were hot and everyone enjoyed the food with gusto.

After dinner, Tao Yanyan took a nap without fail. When she woke up, Mingyue said, "Jieyu, Chief Steward Li is here, and he brought ten people with him. He said that we can use six more people in the palace, four to serve you and two to serve the second prince. Please choose one."

Before, Tao Yanyan was a beauty and had eight servants to serve her. Now that she has been promoted to a concubine, the number can be increased to 12. Xiao Jinan's status is also different now, so naturally she needs people to serve her.

She simply washed up, combed her hair into a fresh bun, put on her casual clothes and went to the front hall.

"My humble servant greets Concubine Tao and pays his respects to her." Manager Li bowed respectfully. The five men and five women standing behind him knelt on the ground and kowtowed, paying their respects to Tao Yanyan.

"Everyone, get up. Manager Li is busy, so please bring someone here in person. Qingfeng, serve the tea."

"You are so polite, Concubine Tao. I am very happy to do things for you!" Butler Li was all smiles, and it seemed that he was genuinely happy.

"I came here today to send someone for Concubine Tao to choose. There are still four people in your palace and two people around the Second Prince. I have selected ten honest and capable people. Let me introduce them to you briefly."

Tao Yanyan nodded, and Manager Li started talking from the first person on the left and stopped at the last one.

Tao Yanyan looked around and finally selected three palace servants and three palace maids. He selected the two youngest ones and left them to Xiao Jinan. He asked one to follow Chang Tai and do some odd jobs.

The three palace maids were not very old, about fourteen or fifteen years old, but they looked very pretty.

"Changtai, Mingyue, take them down and settle them down. You two can decide what tasks to assign them. We'll see what specialties they have in the future and assign them suitable tasks."

Chang Tai and Ming Yue took the order and led their men down. The two young eunuchs selected for Jin An followed Dong Fang and Xiao Quanzi and were specially trained by the two.

When Li Zongguan saw that the matter had been settled, he wanted to get up and leave. Tao Yanyan said, "Zong Zongguan, please stay. I have something else I want to ask you first."

When Manager Li heard this, he immediately sat down, thinking that it must be about the royal property.

As expected, Tao Yanyan took a sip of tea and said, "Your Majesty and the Imperial Concubine are forcing me to participate in increasing the income of the royal industry. I wonder how many industries there are now, what they are, and where they are located. Do you have a detailed list?"

Manager Li said, "I have the account books in my hand. I will bring them to Concubine Tao for review after the New Year."

Tao Yanyan shook his head: "If it's convenient, please send it over in the next two days. I have nothing to do, so I'll take a look and get familiar with it first. By the way, when do you usually start work after the New Year?"

Manager Li said: "I will take a break on the first day of the Lunar New Year. I will be on duty on the other days."

Tao Yanyan was shocked: "Manager Li, don't you want to take a few more days off? You've been busy all year, you should take some time off and relax."

Manager Li smiled and said helplessly, "I am alone in my family. Even if I have free time, it is just to kill time. It is better to be on duty, walk around and see if there is anything to do. I will arrange it easily. However, other palace servants usually have their holidays on the fifth day of the first lunar month. The royal industries, farms and the like have to wait until the beginning of spring to start work. Other shops usually open on the eighth day of the first lunar month."

Tao Yanyan thought for a moment and said, "Then on the eighth day of the lunar new year, I'd like you to accompany me to visit all the properties. If you don't see them in person, I can't give you any advice."

But Chief Steward Li was a little embarrassed: "But the Concubine is the Empress of the Palace. It is probably against etiquette for her to go out to visit the shops and the imperial farm."

Tao Yanyan smiled and said, "It's okay. I'll wear men's clothes and you can do whatever you want. Since this job has been assigned to me, there's no reason for me to do it behind closed doors. I also want to hand in a satisfactory answer sheet to make His Majesty and the Imperial Concubine happy."

Especially the imperial concubine, if they want to find a job to embarrass her, she must make achievements and give them a good slap in the face, otherwise everyone will think she is easy to bully and manipulate in the future, then how can she live a good life? Dealing with these people all day long is exhausting.

Just shoot with one shot to silence other people's evil thoughts. When you have achieved results and made money, you can ask for a commission, which can also be regarded as labor income, right?

Seeing her insistence, Li Zongguan nodded in agreement. After all, whether the trip would be successful or not would still depend on whether His Majesty agreed. As a servant, he only needed to remind her, and there was no need to stop her.

Manager Li withdrew respectfully. Tomorrow was New Year's Day and he had to be busy somewhere else.

As soon as Manager Li left, Qingfeng said, "Jieyu, if you want to wear men's clothes at that time, I will make one for you first." There are still a few days left, so it's still in time.

Tao Yanyan nodded: "If you have time, do it. If you don't have time, go find Manager Sun of the Clothing Bureau. He just needs to make some clothes for Jin'an, so he can measure them at the same time."

Qingfeng hesitated, and Tao Yanyan looked at her before she said, "Jieyu, you don't know that during the time we were away, Manager Sun has been demoted and is no longer the manager. I heard that... the reason is related to Jieyu."

Tao Yanyan was completely confused, he was not even in the palace, how could someone be killed and still be related to him?