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

Chapter 105: Slip of the tongue
"If the First Prince doesn't like me from the bottom of his heart, even if he calls me Empress Mother, he won't be close to me in his heart, will he?"

Shen Qingwan reached out and straightened his collar: "You are still young, and there may be some things I say that you don't quite understand. In this harem, if you want to live well, you must remember two sentences: don't show your joy or anger, and don't let others know your thoughts."

"No, Your Majesty, I am already quite old. I can understand what Your Majesty means."

Jiang Wenlan crossed his arms and knelt on the ground, kowtowing to the Empress: "Your subject will not allow anyone to guess my thoughts from my mood. Your subject thinks the pastries made by Your Majesty are very delicious. Your subject will come to ask Your Majesty for some more another day."

Watching his departing figure, Shen Qingwan's expression relaxed for a moment.

"Your Highness, what did the First Prince just say to you? Did he want Your Highness to adopt him?" Zhen'er asked curiously, standing beside Shen Qingwan.

"What I just said to the First Prince, he said he understood. What about you?" Shen Qingwan turned her head and glanced at her.

Zhen'er's expression hardened: "This servant knows her mistake."

"There must be no next time."

"Yes."

Zhen'er was so startled that she couldn't help but shudder. This was the first time Shen Qingwan had spoken to her so seriously since Shen Qingwan's serious illness.

It seems she really did misspoke this time.
-
The eldest princess has caused quite a stir in the palace these past two days. Emperor Yuanwu is truly fed up with her crying and tired of it all.

Having just left the Hall of Mental Cultivation, he was summoned to the Palace of Compassion and Tranquility by the Empress Dowager.

When Emperor Yuanwu arrived at Cining Palace, Shen Qingwan was sitting next to the Empress Dowager. His already unpleasant expression instantly turned even more so.

He wondered why the Empress Dowager had summoned him at this hour, only to find out that the Empress was also there.

It's likely that the Empress Dowager has been gossiping about the Eldest Princess quite a bit.

"Has the Empress been quite idle these past two days?" Emperor Yuanwu said sarcastically.

"I heard that the Empress Dowager was not feeling well, so I came to see her. Now that the Emperor has arrived, I will take my leave." Shen Qingwan said, getting up to leave.

The Empress Dowager reached out and grabbed her arm: "Why are you leaving so soon? Don't go. Stay and talk to me. I'm getting annoyed by the Princess these past two days."

Emperor Yuanwu's expression softened somewhat: "It's all because I failed to handle the affairs of the previous dynasty well, causing Empress Dowager worry."

"Although the matter of the Eldest Princess is from the previous dynasty, it is still part of the inner palace. If the two countries go to war again today, then what was the point of marrying the Eldest Princess to him back then?" The Empress Dowager sighed. "The late Emperor cared deeply for the people. As a princess, she went to the northern desert for the peace of the country, all to reduce the chaos of war. If the two countries were to fight, the first to suffer would be the people. Does the Emperor not even understand this principle?"

"Your Majesty, I am aware of the turmoil of the conflict between our two countries. However, the Northern Desert is too arrogant and bullying. If we don't teach them a lesson, they will think that I, Emperor Yuanwu, am easy to bully," Emperor Yuanwu said indignantly.

"Does the emperor intend to use the blood of countless people to fight for this honor?" the Empress Dowager retorted.

"Of course not." Emperor Yuanwu sighed. "How could your son do such a foolish thing?"

"Your Majesty is wise. The Grand General has captured Moganbu and brought the Princess into the palace. Isn't this a provocation to the entire Northern Desert? Although the Northern Desert is not as prosperous as ours, it is still full of barbarians. If a war really breaks out, even if the warriors of the Northern Desert cannot fight a hundred against one, they can certainly fight ten against one. Your Majesty is not trying to embolden others and diminish your own prestige. I just want to give Your Majesty a word of advice. If you execute Moganbu now, you will be giving the Northern Desert the perfect excuse to rise up in rebellion," the Empress Dowager said.

“Actually, judging from the way the Eldest Princess has been moving around the inner palace these past few days, it’s clear that Moganbu has treated her quite well all these years. Otherwise, why would she suffer like this? If Your Majesty is willing to treat her well, she can just raise her two children peacefully in the inner palace. Why make things difficult for herself?” Shen Qingwan said. “That child is pitiful. When Consort Xiang left, she couldn’t even come back to see her one last time. She’s been in the northern desert for so many years. Your Majesty should think twice about some things. If this war really breaks out, I’m afraid there will be a lot of gossip. If Moganbu treats the Eldest Princess badly, Your Majesty can immediately send troops, and I will not stop you. But Moganbu treats the Eldest Princess well. If Your Majesty insists on doing so, I’m afraid that in the future, if you want to use the princess for a marriage alliance to quell the war, it will be difficult to convince the people.” The Empress Dowager couldn’t talk about the affairs of the previous dynasty, so she could only talk about the marriage alliance.

Marriage alliances between emperors and princesses occurred throughout Chinese history, and Emperor Yuanwu could not easily refute them.

"Your Majesty's words are quite right. I will reconsider now." Emperor Yuanwu's attitude softened.

Seeing that Emperor Yuanwu had relented, the Empress Dowager stopped saying anything more.

"If Your Majesty has nothing to do this afternoon, please stay and have dinner with the Empress before you leave. It has been a long time since I have dined with Your Majesty."

When Emperor Yuanwu and Shen Qingwan came out of Cining Palace, it was already dark outside.

"What is the Empress's opinion on this matter?"

Just as he stepped out of the Cining Palace gate, Emperor Yuanwu turned around and asked.

"I don't know." Shen Qingwan blurted out without even thinking.

Emperor Yuanwu:...

"The Empress's perfunctory attitude is too obvious," Emperor Yuanwu chuckled.

"Yes." Shen Qingwan nodded with certainty.

Emperor Yuanwu:? ? ?

"Just now in the Empress Dowager's palace, the Emperor only saw me sitting there and already thought I was gossiping behind his back. Now, how dare he say anything more?" Shen Qingwan said weakly, "If Your Majesty has nothing else, I will go back to the palace to rest."

Emperor Yuanwu chuckled and shook his head: "Is the Empress angry?"

"You are the Emperor, who dares to be angry with the Emperor?" Shen Qingwan said leisurely.

"I misunderstood you just now. Empress, can you tell me your thoughts now?"

Shen Qingwan dared not keep up the pretense with Emperor Yuanwu any longer; that was enough.

After all, Emperor Yuanwu was the emperor, and everyone around him fawned over him.

If you don't control yourself properly, you might end up getting yourself killed.

In fact, Emperor Yuanwu had this idea because the original owner of the body had often gone to the Empress Dowager to complain.

"With the two countries at war, it's unlikely that Mobei would sacrifice its interests for a mere princess. Even without her, they could marry a younger and more beautiful one. Just like if the Emperor couldn't bring back the Eldest Princess, he probably wouldn't change his mind just because she's in Mobei. Didn't the Emperor already take down Moganbu before bringing back the Eldest Princess? I don't understand the affairs of the previous dynasty, but having lived in the palace for so long, I understand one thing: concubines are not as important as princesses, and princesses are not as important as princes. Why doesn't the Emperor take this opportunity, using the Eldest Princess as an excuse, to keep Moganbu here?"

(End of this chapter)