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

Chapter 137 Disowning relatives
Since they were already there, Shen Qingwan couldn't very well turn them away. She withdrew her hand from Liu Shi's and walked towards the main hall.

Whether it was because Liu Ruyan had been properly lectured by Lady Liu before entering the palace, or because she had spent a long time at the Sansheng Nunnery, she was noticeably quieter than usual at this moment.

Shen Qingwan had lunch prepared, and the three of them sat down together. After lunch, she tidied up the side hall for Liu Shi and Liu Ruyan to rest.

The heavy snow has been falling since last night and shows no sign of stopping. It is said that a timely snowfall promises a good harvest, and with such heavy snow this year, there should be a good harvest in the fall.

Shen Qingwan stood in the snow, feeling sorrow in the autumn wind as she painted a fan. Emperor Yuanwu was furious about an urgent memorial from the frontier.

"This is outrageous! This Moganxie is going too far. For the sake of peace on the border, I have already made concessions, but he is pushing his luck. He claims that the hostage was treated disrespectfully in the palace after leaving, and he insists that I marry a princess to him as a concubine in the northern desert. This is utterly absurd!"

Emperor Yuanwu was so angry that he threw the memorial on the ground.

Shen Qingwan curtsied and picked it up. Although it wasn't a secret report, as someone in the inner palace, it was still inappropriate for her to see such a thing. She closed the memorial and placed it on the table. "Your Majesty, please calm down."

Calm down!
How can he possibly calm down now!
"The princess is too young. How can she be sent away for a political marriage at such a young age? Putting aside how old Mo Ganxie is, he already has a queen in his harem. How can our princess be sent to be someone else's concubine?" Emperor Yuanwu suddenly raised his head, his voice rough and full of anger.

When Shen Qingwan learned of this, she sighed inwardly.

Emperor Yuanwu had few children to begin with, and if they were princesses, Jiang Wanying was the only one at this time.

It is indeed a headache.

When Consort Zhen learned of this, she disregarded the heavy snow outside and cried all the way to Kunning Palace, her shoes soaked through. Upon seeing Shen Qingwan, she knelt on the ground, pleading, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, you must do justice for me! Wanying is not even ten years old, how can she be sent to a political marriage? Isn't this going to kill me?"

“Consort Zhen, please stand up and speak.” Shen Qingwan bent down to help her up.

However, Consort Zhen was crying so hard that she couldn't be pulled up.

"Although I am only a concubine, I have no say in front of the Emperor. I have no other desires in this life. I know that Wan Ying is just a princess, so I naturally do not expect her to have any future. I only hope that she can find a good husband to live a peaceful life. I beg Your Majesty the Empress to grant my wish." Consort Zhen kowtowed repeatedly.

Shen Qingwan couldn't lift her up, so Zhen'er rushed over to help.

"Consort Zhen, please don't be so upset. When our lady heard about this, she was also shocked. Our lady has always doted on the eldest princess, so how could she bear to send her to a marriage alliance at such a young age? The emperor has not agreed to this, so there must still be a chance."

Zhen'er's persuasion finally brought Consort Zhen back to her senses somewhat.

“Consort Zhen, I understand your feelings. Not only you, her birth mother, but even I would be reluctant to let the eldest princess go to a political marriage at such a young age. I will try to find a way to see if there is any chance.”

After hearing Shen Qingwan's words, Consort Zhen finally stood up from the ground. Her eyes were red from crying. She talked with Shen Qingwan for a long time in Kunning Palace before leaving.

Just as Consort Zhen left, Liu Ruyan walked in from the side hall.

"Cousin, will the Emperor really marry the princess to him?"

Shen Qingwan remained silent, unsure of Emperor Yuanwu's thoughts. Although the princess was young, Emperor Yuanwu's attitude was clear after the last battle in Mobei. He needed the support of the Grand General and naturally didn't care about the military power in his hands. In fact, when vying for the position of Crown Prince, he desperately wanted to use connections to give him more military power.

But things are different now. In this peaceful and prosperous era, his worries have naturally changed. He's worried that she might become too powerful and hold too much authority. Otherwise, he wouldn't have demoted her just because of a small mistake by Consort Xian. "Once the snow stops, you should go back with your mother as soon as possible. It's not suitable to stay in the palace for long." Shen Qingwan picked up her teacup and took a sip of the osmanthus tea.

"Is my cousin trying to kick me out?" Liu Ruyan looked very dissatisfied.

"The harem is inhabited by the emperor's concubines. Even if you are my cousin, you cannot stay there permanently. There are rules in the palace." Shen Qingwan's eyes turned cold.

"It doesn't matter if I don't live in the palace. My cousin promised to let me go home, so I'll leave the palace immediately." Liu Ruyan pouted, her eyes full of dissatisfaction.

Shen Qingwan was speechless. "This is the inner palace. How can it be a place for you to cause trouble? The trouble you caused back then was already an honor to send you to the Three Saints Nunnery."

"Cousin!" Liu Ruyan said discontentedly, "You are the Empress. Although I made a mistake back then, you have punished me and scolded me. It's been more than half a year. Your anger should have subsided by now."

"This isn't about whether you've calmed down or not. Marriage is no child's play, especially since it's an imperial marriage. How dare you let your half-sister take your place?"

"Cousin, I really know I was wrong. Besides, Young Master Zhao is already married. Please let him leave the Three Saints Nunnery. I really can't stand eating those vegetarian meals every day!"

Just now, Shen Qingwan thought that she had changed her personality after living in the Sansheng Nunnery for more than half a year, but she never expected that she was just pretending to be obedient to get her to agree to release her.

It's understandable that Liu Ruyan didn't want to stay at the Sansheng Nunnery; after all, no young girl would willingly enter a Buddhist monastery.

If she were to return so easily, the Rong family would likely seize upon the matter, accusing her, the current Empress, of protecting her cousin. If the matter were to escalate to Emperor Yuanwu's ears, she might not be able to protect Liu Ruyan.

Even if one day they agree to let her go home, it certainly won't be now.

"Cousin, you are already the Empress, why make things difficult for me? It's just a matter of nodding in agreement, yet you still refuse. Could it be that you have other plans?"

"Shut up!" Shen Qingwan's eyes were full of anger: "You've been in the Three Saints Temple for so long, and you haven't made any progress. You're still spouting nonsense. Go back and pack your things now, and leave the palace before dinner."

"Cousin, you've really gone so far as to disregard your own family for your own wealth and status!"

"If I weren't the Empress, I could still protect you a little. I'm afraid that when the Rong family found out that you had your half-sister impersonate you and marry into the Rong family, you would have been thrown into prison long ago. How could you be here today, making trouble in front of me?"

Emperor Yuanwu was meticulous and found it difficult to trust anyone. Whoever he was close to or wanted to support, his interests would naturally gravitate towards that person.

Now he wants to support the Rong family and suppress the General's Mansion.

If she doesn't handle this matter properly, it will definitely become a handle against her in the future.

Judging from Liu Ruyan's personality, her half-sister must have been bullied by her all these years. Now that she has given birth to a son for Rong Jingxuan, even if it's for the sake of the child, the Rong family won't really divorce Liu Miaoling. Back then, she was forced to marry in place of another, so all the blame will fall on Liu Ruyan alone.

Shen Qingwan was actually protecting her by doing this, but Liu Ruyan didn't appreciate it at all.

(End of this chapter)