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

Chapter 138 Marriage
Seeing that Shen Qingwan seemed genuinely angry, Liu Ruyan didn't dare to argue back: "Cousin, I really know I was wrong. Please, cousin, have mercy and let me leave the Sansheng Nunnery. I'm going crazy if I continue to wear the nun's robes and eat vegetarian food."

Just as Shen Qingwan was getting annoyed by her noise, the voice of a eunuch announcing something came from the doorway.

"The Emperor has arrived!"

Why did Emperor Yuanwu arrive at this hour? It's already time for dinner, and she hasn't prepared anything. Besides, Lady Liu and Liu Ruyan are still in the palace.

As Shen Qingwan was deep in thought, Emperor Yuanwu lifted the curtain and walked in.

"Greetings, Your Majesty! Long live the Emperor!" Liu Ruyan knelt on the ground and kowtowed.

Shen Qingwan was completely bewildered by her, but Emperor Yuanwu was even more bewildered than her. "This is..."

Shen Qingwan hurriedly took the hat from Emperor Yuanwu's hand, curtsied, and said, "This is my cousin from my maternal family. She came to the palace with my mother to visit me."

Emperor Yuanwu withdrew his gaze and walked straight into the hall, his eyes sweeping over Liu Ruyan kneeling on the ground without lingering for a moment.

Shen Qingwan lowered her eyes and glanced at her kneeling cousin before following Emperor Yuanwu into the palace.

"Why is the Emperor coming at this hour? He didn't even tell me beforehand so that I could have made preparations."

"When I was reading the memorials in the Hall of Mental Cultivation just now, Consort De had someone send over bird's nest and ate a couple of bites of walnut pastry, but I didn't have much of an appetite."

"Your Majesty, is there anything else you wish to discuss?"

Although Shen Qingwan didn't know much about Emperor Yuanwu, she knew in her heart that he was not just coming to Kunning Palace to chat with her casually; he would not come to the palace without a reason.

"Mo Ganxie is still clinging to the fact that the hostage prince is ill in the palace. He demands that I either release the hostage prince or marry a princess to him as his concubine!"

Concubine?

Shen Qingwan's brow.

This is no small matter. If our princess were to marry into that kingdom and become a queen, she could rule the harem.

Although it is called marrying far away, there is a fundamental difference between a marriage alliance and a political marriage.

The marriage alliance was a diplomatic alliance between the two countries, a powerful alliance. The marriage was only to temporarily ease the war, using a princess to bring about temporary peace between the two countries.

Whether it's a marriage alliance or a political alliance, she is a princess, so how can she be a concubine? Wouldn't that force Emperor Yuanwu to send troops to attack the northern desert?
Shen Qingwan felt that Mo Ganxie's actions were not really intended to marry the princess, but rather to deliberately provoke Emperor Yuanwu into sending troops.

It has a bit of a luring-the-enemy feel to it.

Could it be that Moganxie has already reached some kind of alliance treaty with its neighboring country?

If this happens, I fear there will be constant warfare throughout the year.

"What does His Majesty think?" Shen Qingwan asked calmly.

"I have just discussed this with the court officials for a long time. Sending troops now is not without a chance of victory. However, I just transferred the Grand General from the frontier to Lingnan. If I rashly transfer him back to the frontier now, I'm afraid the Northern Desert will think that there are no other generals available in the court besides the Grand General. Wouldn't that give our neighboring country an opportunity to make trouble? If they join forces with the Northern Desert to attack, I'm afraid..."

"I intend to support Rong Yuze, but he has neither military merits nor official rank. Even if General Rong's former subordinates are willing to follow him, I fear that rashly appointing him to lead troops to garrison the border would only undermine morale."

Emperor Yuanwu sighed: "If General Rong were still alive, I wouldn't be so worried."

"Your Majesty has come all the way through wind and snow, and your hands are icy cold. Please have a cup of hot tea to warm yourself up." Emperor Yuanwu took the teacup from her hands, and the faint fragrance of osmanthus blossoms filled the entire palace the moment the lid of the teacup was opened.

Although osmanthus tea was not Emperor Yuanwu's favorite, enjoying a cup occasionally was still pleasant.

When Shen Qingwan withdrew her hand, she turned her head and glanced in Liu Ruyan's direction.

Liu Ruyan stood up from the ground when no one paid any attention to her, but showed no intention of leaving the main hall.

That's incredibly tactless!
Emperor Yuanwu said he had no appetite, but it was time for dinner. Various dishes were laid out on the plates. Shen Qingwan and Emperor Yuanwu were talking in the bedroom, and the imperial kitchen staff were sending the dishes to the main hall one plate after another.

Liu Ruyan still showed no sign of leaving.

How can a person be so shameless?
"Miss, His Majesty and the Empress are about to dine. It's not appropriate for outsiders to be here. Please return to the side hall. I've had the kitchen prepare some food for you. Please eat in the side hall." Zhen'er curtsied and kindly reminded her.

After her afternoon nap today, Lady Liu went to Cining Palace to pay her respects to the Empress Dowager. She hasn't returned by this time, so she probably has dinner at Cining Palace before coming back.

When Lady Liu went there, she wanted to take Liu Ruyan with her, but after thinking it over, she was afraid that the Empress Dowager would ask about her recent situation, so she gave up the idea.

This wasn't exactly something the Liu family could be proud of, so they had to cover it up and there was no need for it to reach the Empress Dowager's ears. That's why they kept her in Kunning Palace.

"Why should I eat alone in the side hall when my cousin and brother-in-law are dining together?"

Seeing that she still hadn't gotten up, Zhen'er urged her repeatedly, "Miss, please don't disturb His Majesty's presence."

Liu Ruyan really doesn't understand her place. The Emperor and Empress are about to dine, yet she's still lingering here. She's already made her point so bluntly, but she still won't budge.

Isn't that a bit shameless?

Liu Ruyan glanced at Zhen'er's outstretched hand, still maintaining a polite demeanor, as if she wouldn't get up until Zhen'er left. Liu Ruyan snorted coldly and reluctantly returned to the side hall.

She had only been gone a short while when Shen Qingwan and Emperor Yuanwu emerged from the palace. Emperor Yuanwu's cloak was no longer there, and the snowflakes that had fallen on his head had been cleaned off as he entered.

Zhen'er guessed that the Emperor was coming directly, as if he had something to say to the Empress, so she dismissed the servants, leaving only her and Wu Jixiang to serve him in the room.

The two sat facing each other in front of the food platters.

Shen Qingwan placed a bitter melon in Emperor Yuanwu's bowl, saying, "Your Majesty, eat some bitter melon to cool down. There's no use rushing things; it's better to do the opposite."

"What do you mean?" Emperor Yuanwu actually ate the bitter melon in one bite. Normally, he didn't like bitter melon and thought it was nothing special. But now, perhaps because he was too annoyed, he found the bitterness lingering on his lips and teeth to have a unique flavor.

Emperor Yuanwu was not hungry because of the bird's nest sent by Consort De, but Shen Qingwan was still hungry.

She wondered if it was easier to burn fat when it was cold, but she always felt that she got hungry faster in winter than in other seasons.

Tonight, there was her favorite sweet and sour pork ribs, and Shen Qingwan ate to her heart's content. When the plate of sweet and sour pork ribs was almost empty, she reluctantly ate a bite of bitter melon.

Perhaps it was because she ate too many sweets that night, but after taking one bite, she almost swore.

I'm suffering so much!
If she hadn't watched Emperor Yuanwu eat it without even flinching, she wouldn't have eaten it!
"Your Majesty need not be in a hurry. Mo Ganxie is seeking the hand of a princess..."

(End of this chapter)