The harem is too complicated; the empress, a lazy bum, wins by doing nothing.

Chapter 100 Knowingly and deliberately
As if to comfort her, Emperor Yuanwu patted Consort De on the back and said, "What's the big deal about how well or poorly you handle this? Just follow the ancestral rules. Why make yourself so tired?"

Consort De leaned against Emperor Yuanwu's chest: "With Your Majesty's words, I am relieved. Today's events are all my fault. I should have consulted the imperial physician first. Tomorrow morning, the whole palace will know that I am not pregnant. I will be so ashamed."

"Consort De is overthinking things. Besides, what's so shameful about it? If you don't have it now, you can always have it later," Emperor Yuanwu comforted her.

"I was just afraid that Your Majesty the Empress would misunderstand," Consort De said, her face full of grievance.

"Consort De is overthinking it. The Empress is not that kind of person," Emperor Yuanwu said calmly.

Not that kind of person?

When Consort De heard these words, the smile on her face froze.

When did Emperor Yuanwu become so protective of his empress?

"Ever since Her Majesty the Empress fell seriously ill, her temperament has changed quite a bit. She has become quite short-tempered. A few days ago, the newly arrived Consort Dong was scolded by the Empress for just saying a few words, and she even had her green head plaque removed."

Emperor Yuanwu frowned: "Is that so?"

"Your Majesty, how could I dare to lie about such an important matter?"

Consort De, drawing out her words, raised her eyes and glanced at Emperor Yuanwu.

"I don't ask for anything else, I just want to be able to serve Your Majesty. But I see how lucky my sisters are, one after another they have imperial offspring, I really envy them." Consort De grabbed Emperor Yuanwu's collar with one hand, her tone soft and charming: "Your Majesty, please stay tonight, okay?"

late at night.

Lightning flashed and thunder roared outside the window. The windows of the main hall of Kunning Palace opened and closed several times with the strong wind, crashing directly to the ground with a loud bang.

The entire Kunning Palace was instantly illuminated.

Shen Qingwan sat up in bed and drew back the curtains: "What's wrong?"

“Your Majesty, a window in the main hall was blown out by the wind. Su Tianhe has already taken people to repair it. I will be watching over it, so Your Majesty can rest assured and sleep peacefully,” Zhen’er said.

"Was that window broken before?" Shen Qingwan asked.

"It was just that it wasn't quite tight each time I inserted it. I fixed it a few times, but I didn't think it was a big deal, so I didn't ask anyone to replace it. Who would have thought that the wind would be so strong tonight and blow it off? Luckily, it didn't startle Your Highness."

Zhen'er herself was also startled.

Shen Qingwan raised her eyes and glanced at the window of the palace.

Even if the wind is strong outside, the mahogany lattice window of Kunning Palace is fixed in two places. Even if it is not closed tightly, such a heavy window would not be blown off to the ground by the wind.

Seeing Shen Qingwan staring blankly at the palace window, Zhen'er suddenly realized and said, "Your Majesty, do you mean someone has tampered with the window?"

Shen Qingwan shook her head: "Without evidence, it's hard to say, but if someone really has such intentions, I will absolutely not tolerate her."

“Your Highness, I’ve already had someone keep an eye on Xiao Cui. However, it’s cold today, and Your Highness is being considerate of your servants by having everyone keep watch inside at night. I’m afraid someone might have done something to her in the middle of the night. I’ll go and tell Su Tianhe later that from tomorrow onwards, everyone will keep watch outside at night.” Zhen’er said with a worried expression.

“No need.” Shen Qingwan resolutely refused: “If we make them stand guard outside again starting tomorrow, wouldn’t everyone in Kunning Palace think that the window wasn’t blown down by the wind, but was deliberately made? Not only would it be useless, but it would also alert the enemy. If it really was blown down by the wind, wouldn’t it be pointless to make them freeze while standing guard at night?”

"Your Majesty is absolutely right, I understand."

Zhen'er bowed and replaced Shen Qingwan's quilt with a new hot water bottle.

By the time she came out of Shen Qingwan's palace, Su Tianhe had already repaired the fallen window.

"What did Her Majesty say? She wasn't frightened, was she?" Su Tianhe wiped the rain from his face. "Her Majesty is kind; not only did she not punish you, she even allowed you to continue your night watch in the room." Zhen'er glanced at the people behind her and pulled Su Tianhe to a corner: "What do you think of this matter?"

“When the windows were being repaired just now, I checked them carefully and didn’t see any signs of tampering,” Su Tianhe frowned.

“The absence of any traces doesn’t mean nothing was done,” Zhen’er said cautiously. “The New Year is almost here, so we should be even more careful. We mustn’t let anything go wrong before the New Year, and also…”

Zhen'er glanced cautiously behind her: "Pay extra attention to that Xiao Cui."

Su Tianhe's eyes darkened: "Understood."

The next morning.

After Emperor Yuanwu left, Consort De yawned and was about to go back to sleep when Pei'er stopped her.

"Your Highness, what are you doing? You should change your clothes and pay your respects to the Empress," Pei'er reminded her.

"Greetings?" Consort De was a little sleepy.

Thinking about how it rained heavily last night, and given the Empress's usual behavior, she wouldn't need to pay her respects the next day. Why didn't she come to deliver a message today?

"Didn't anyone from Kunning Palace come to deliver a message?" Consort De asked, puzzled.

Pei'er shook her head: "Your Highness, it will be too late if you don't wash up now. Let me help you change your clothes first."

Concubine De: ...

I should have known I had to go to Kunning Palace to pay my respects to the Empress this morning.

Last night she didn't bother the Emperor as many times.

She was not only incredibly tired, but her back was also aching slightly.

Remembering the last time Consort Xian was late in paying her respects to the Empress for the night, and was rebuked by the Empress with a few words, becoming the laughing stock of the entire palace, Consort De also instructed her servants to speed up their work.

While ignorance is no excuse, knowingly committing a crime is an even more serious offense.

After a night of torrential rain, the rain stopped the next morning, but a lot of ice had formed on the ground.

The once smoothest cobblestone path is now slippery to walk on.

Consort De dared not act arrogantly and could only walk over step by step.

Yanxi Palace is not far from Kunning Palace.

However, by the time they arrived at Kunning Palace, Consort De's shoes were completely soaked.

I finally made it in time to pay my respects to the Empress.

"This humble servant greets Your Majesty the Empress. May Your Majesty be blessed."

Shen Qingwan sat on the chair in the center of the main hall and waved for them to sit down: "Thank you for your trouble, sisters from all the palaces. It's snowy and the roads are slippery. I hope everyone had a good journey here."

"Your Majesty, although there was a lot of ice on the road, most of the middle of the road has been cleared by the servants who cleaned it this morning. After a night of rain, the morning air is fresh, and this trip has made me feel much more refreshed," Consort Shu said with an embarrassed smile.

"The main reason I sent you sisters on this trip is to tell you something. Last night, the window of the main hall of Kunning Palace was blown down by the strong wind. Fortunately, it was nighttime. If it had hit someone during the day, the consequences would have been unimaginable. When you go back, you sisters in each palace should check carefully whether the doors and windows are loose, especially those palaces with children. You should check even more carefully to prevent anything from being blown down by the strong wind and injuring someone."

(End of this chapter)