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

Chapter 115 The Eldest Son
"Your Majesty, please think it over. In this cold weather, if you really soak in cold water, your body will definitely not be able to withstand it."

Zhen'er cried as she knelt on the ground and kowtowed repeatedly.

"Your Majesty, please listen to Zhen'er. You mustn't take a cold bath, Your Majesty."

Shen Qingwan took off her shawl, stared at the bucket of cold water, and resignedly closed her eyes.

She lightly touched the bucket of cold water with her toes.

The icy, bone-chilling sensation quickly spread from her toes throughout her body, causing her to shiver involuntarily.

This is freaking so cold!

I've seen those palace women who poured cold water on themselves before; they were definitely ruthless characters.

She took a deep breath and had just lifted one foot when Xiao Cui hurriedly walked in from outside.

"Your Majesty, the eunuch Jixiang, who is by His Majesty's side, just reported that Prince Rui has entered the palace and is currently drinking in the Hall of Mental Cultivation. He will not be dining at Kunning Palace tonight and told Your Majesty not to wait for him."

What the hell?
not coming?
Why didn't you say so earlier?
Shen Qingwan quickly pulled her raised foot back, deftly picked up the cloak from the ground, and wrapped herself up tightly from head to toe.

Luckily, she was indecisive; if she had been more decisive, the icy water would have frozen her to death.

"Quickly bring me two hot water bottles, I'm freezing to death!"

Zhen'er: ? ? ?
Shen Qingwan curled up, sneezed several times, and walked towards the palace.

Zhen'er, who was kneeling on the ground crying with tears streaming down her face, was stunned. She turned around and glanced at Shen Qingwan's back. She hurriedly got up from the ground, not even remembering to wipe her tears. She got up from the ground with a blank look on her face and went to bring Shen Qingwan a hot water bottle.

What's wrong with their mistress?
Could someone have cast a curse on me?

That's not right. They have Buddha statues in their palace. That shouldn't be the case.

Then they must have been scared by that bucket of cold water.

She said that it was not advisable to soak in cold water on this day, but her mother did not believe her.

Why did you suddenly stop washing up as soon as you heard the Emperor wasn't coming tonight?

Could it be because...

Zhen'er's eyes widened instantly, as if she had discovered some earth-shattering secret.

Lying in bed, hugging two hot water bottles for a while, Shen Qingwan finally recovered. After getting dressed, she sat in front of the food tray, staring at the sumptuous dinner on the table, wondering which dish to eat first.

Egrets peering at shark fins from the rice paddies, even rat intestines and shark fins are considered delicacies.

Shark fin is already a rare delicacy, and when paired with the fragrance of osmanthus, it becomes an absolute delicacy. Let's start with this Osmanthus Shark Fin Soup.

Meanwhile, in the Hall of Mental Cultivation, Prince Rui picked up a piece of osmanthus-flavored shark fin with his chopsticks and placed it in his bowl: "New year, new look. The Imperial Kitchen has actually managed to produce such fragrant shark fin. Osmanthus paired with shark fin is indeed novel."

"If we're talking about novelty, the things made in your sister-in-law's small kitchen are the most novel. Ever since your sister-in-law fell seriously ill, she's been staying in the palace all day, thinking about food. During the New Year, she even made candied skewers for the princes and princesses in the palace. The candied hawthorns we usually eat are made from hawthorn, but she's really intrigued by stringing together all kinds of fruits and chestnuts. That's quite novel," Emperor Yuanwu said.

"Oh?" Prince Rui said in a drawn-out tone, "It seems that the relationship between Your Majesty and Your Majesty has improved quite a bit. Now that Your Majesty has mentioned it, I am quite curious about Your Majesty's cooking skills."

"The Empress used to be so troublesome, and I found her incredibly annoying every time I saw her. After her illness, not only did she become much calmer, but she even..."

In some cases, they can even get straight to the point.

However, these matters are confined to him and her and cannot be known to any third party.

Prince Rui, holding his wine cup, listened to Emperor Yuanwu's words and looked up at him: "Why did you suddenly stop speaking halfway through, Your Majesty?"

Emperor Yuanwu's lips curled into a slight smile. Not understanding why, he picked up his wine cup, raised it to Prince Rui, and downed it in one gulp: "My brother is not young anymore. Why hasn't he married a wife yet? He's always alone, and even the New Year is cold and lonely for him."

"Your Majesty's family is so large and prosperous, the loss of one younger brother is no problem." Prince Rui gave a wry smile, tilted his head back, and drank a cup of wine. "I heard that Your Majesty has promoted the daughter of the Grand General to the rank of Imperial Concubine. Isn't Your Majesty worried about the future..."

"To appease my heart, some formalities must be observed. The Grand General only has one daughter. If she is not doing well in the harem, how can she serve me with peace of mind on the front lines?" Emperor Yuanwu's eyes deepened. "Therefore, I have been thinking these days about whether I should ask the Empress for a legitimate son. In this way, we can put an end to the inappropriate thoughts of some people. Now that the Empress is in charge of the harem, it is indeed much more harmonious than when the Consort was assisting in managing the six palaces."

Prince Rui swirled the wine in his cup: "But has Your Majesty ever considered that the harem appears peaceful now because the Emperor doesn't favor any of his sons, and there are no points of conflict? If the Empress were to have a legitimate son, then the eldest son would be chosen over the most virtuous, and the legitimate son would be chosen over the eldest. The legitimate son would become the biggest threat to all the concubines in the harem. The Consort's son is currently under the care of Consort Shu. If the General were to take pity on him, not only would the Empress and the legitimate son be in danger, but even Consort Shu's family would be implicated. I'm afraid that at that time, it won't just be the harem that will cause trouble."

Emperor Yuanwu's gaze grew increasingly somber, and with each word spoken by Prince Rui, the movement of his fingertips swirling the wine cup gradually slowed.

"The Empress is still young. Since the Emperor appreciates her ability to manage the harem, not having a legitimate son may not be a bad thing. The Emperor is in his prime, so why rush things? Consort Rou and Consort Lan are both pregnant. Why doesn't Your Majesty allow more offspring in the harem, so that those with ulterior motives in the palace can be distracted, and then it won't be too late to have a legitimate son?"

Emperor Yuanwu hesitated for a moment, then looked up at Prince Rui and said, "If my brother hadn't come to the palace to meet with me today, I would already be staying in the Empress's palace."

"It seems that it was the younger brother who disturbed the good time of the elder brother and sister-in-law. The younger brother deserves to die. He shall punish himself with a cup of wine." After saying this, Prince Rui filled his cup with wine and drank it all in one gulp.

"We're happy today, let's not talk about this, let's drink..."

When Emperor Yuanwu woke up the next day, Prince Rui had already returned to his palace.

He sat on the bed, staring out the window for a while, and then asked Wu Jixiang to invite Physician Zhang from the Imperial Hospital over.

"Your Majesty, I have had a hangover soup prepared. Please drink it while it's hot. Drinking too much alcohol can easily lead to intoxication and harm your health. Forgive my bluntness, but Your Majesty should take better care of your health."

"I know it well."

After Emperor Yuanwu finished speaking, he looked up at Wu Jixiang, who quickly led everyone in the palace out and closed the palace gates behind him.

"I have another matter I would like to ask Imperial Physician Zhang. How is the Empress's health today after taking her pulse?"

Physician Zhang's eyes flickered: "Your Majesty, Her Majesty the Empress is not in any serious condition. She has just been seriously ill, which has damaged her health. Although she looks well, her body is actually weak and she will need some time to recover."

(End of this chapter)