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

Chapter 149 The Queen Mother is Angry

"Oh, right, Your Majesty, there's one more thing."

"what?"

At this moment, Shen Qingwan had not yet recovered from the fact that she had called out Prince Rui's name in her sleep, and responded absentmindedly.

"When His Majesty came yesterday, he asked me if I had encountered those bandits on Huguo Temple Mountain. I said no, I was down the mountain. These guards are really too irresponsible these days. They can't even tell the difference between up the mountain and down the mountain."

Zhen'er kept rambling on, which made Shen Qingwan feel a chill run down her spine.

When she returned to Huguo Temple from the imperial palace, Emperor Yuanwu had left early and had specially arranged for someone to wait for her at the foot of the mountain, just to let them know that he had to go back first.

If that's the case, they wouldn't have gone up the mountain, so how could they have been killed there?

The only possible reason for Emperor Yuanwu's question was to test him.

"What else did His Majesty ask?" Shen Qingwan asked solemnly.

"When His Majesty heard that we encountered those bandits at the foot of the mountain, he asked me if Prince Rui had come out to help us since there is a palace for him at the foot of the mountain."

Prince Rui?
Upon hearing this, Shen Qingwan felt breathless: "What did you say?"

"This servant said that when we encountered those bandits, I protected Your Highness in the carriage and never left your side for a second. It was only when the monks from Huguo Temple heard the noise and rushed over that they opened the carriage curtain and helped Your Highness out of the carriage. Only then did I realize that so many people had died outside." Zhen'er repeated to Shen Qingwan what she had told Emperor Yuanwu.

Shen Qingwan let out a long sigh: "Don't tell anyone about the help Prince Rui gave us."

"Your Majesty, please rest assured, I know what is important and will not say anything that might cause misunderstandings."

Shen Qingwan nodded with satisfaction: "Have the imperial kitchen send over some food. I'm suddenly feeling a bit hungry."

Halfway through dinner, the sound of a eunuch announcing something came from the direction of the entrance to Kunning Palace.

"The Empress Dowager has arrived, and Consort Xi has arrived as well."

Why is the Empress Dowager coming so late? Shen Qingwan hurriedly put down her chopsticks and had someone clear away everything on the plate.

"Daughter-in-law greets Mother."

"Get up quickly."

The Empress Dowager reached out and helped Shen Qingwan up. "I heard the Empress was frightened. Are you feeling better now?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty, I am now fine." Shen Qingwan helped the Empress Dowager sit down on a chair in the main hall.

"Your Majesty cannot simply take a few doses of medicine and let it go just because you are young and have some minor ailments. You still need Imperial Physician Zhang to take good care of you. Last year's illness took a toll on your health. It's not something that can be cured overnight." The Empress Dowager held Shen Qingwan's hand and earnestly instructed her.

"It's my fault for being unfilial and causing Mother Empress some worry. She even came all this way so late," Shen Qingwan said apologetically.

"It's alright that I'm coming so late, but this Emperor is really getting more and more outrageous. I've heard about what happened yesterday and I reprimanded him. Since we went out together, we should go back together."

“Mother, I understand that the Emperor is concerned about the affairs of the court. It was just a coincidence that we encountered bandits and robbers. I was just frightened, but thankfully I was not injured,” Shen Qingwan said.

"It's good that you're not hurt..."

Before the Empress Dowager could finish speaking, Zhang Mama entered from outside the hall. "Your Majesty, I have already sent someone to invite the Emperor. He has come, but halfway there, the people from Yanxi Palace said that Consort De was suffering from abdominal pain, so they asked the Emperor to leave." "Outrageous!" The Empress Dowager's face darkened, filled with anger. "This Consort De is becoming more and more outrageous. Taking advantage of her pregnancy, she has caused so much trouble to compete for the Emperor's favor. She wishes the Emperor would stay in her palace every day. If she gives birth to an imperial heir in the future, wouldn't the entire harem belong to her? She wouldn't even need to respect me anymore."

"Your Majesty, please calm down," Shen Qingwan comforted her. "It's not easy for Consort De to get pregnant. Be careful. She's just worried about the prince in her womb."

"It's natural to be careful when a concubine is pregnant. But clinging to the emperor and preventing him from visiting other concubines' palaces is tantamount to using pregnancy to compete for favor, which violates the rules of the palace. The emperor isn't someone she has to have alone. Now that she's pregnant and can't serve the emperor, she should be advising him to visit other concubines' palaces more often." The Empress Dowager became angrier the more she thought about it. "With her around, even I can't get the emperor to come."

The Empress Dowager's words were perfectly reasonable.

But the concubines in the harem are too busy vying for the emperor's favor to give it up.

"Your Majesty, please calm down. Consort De's pregnancy has been unstable ever since she became pregnant. Perhaps she is truly unwell."

Shen Qingwan was speechless. Although the Empress Dowager had come to see her, she did not expect that after sitting down, Consort De would throw such a tantrum.

The Empress Dowager scoffed, "Even when Consort Rou was pregnant, she didn't cause this much trouble. Now she's almost due."

Shen Qingwan didn't speak, but a strange glint flashed in her eyes.

Although Consort Rou had the Empress Dowager's protection during this pregnancy, everything from her promotions to her pulse had been too smooth.

Children in the imperial harem who manage to grow up safely are almost always facing death, even Emperor Yuanwu and Prince Rui were no exception.

Hopefully, Consort Rou will be able to give birth to this child smoothly.

"Alright, I've come to see you. Since the Empress is alright, I'll go back now."

Xi Changzai helped the Empress Dowager to her feet and curtsied to the Empress.

"Mother, your daughter-in-law will see you out." Shen Qingwan also stood up.

"Your Majesty, there's no need to see me off. Please get some rest. You're not feeling well, so don't go out in the cold wind and catch a chill."

When Consort De sent someone to invite Emperor Yuanwu, she was unaware that the Empress Dowager had also sent a message.

Although Emperor Yuanwu did not take this matter too seriously, the Empress was frightened and was treated by the Imperial Hospital and was fine, but she still needed to rest for some time. In comparison, the imperial heir was naturally more important, since there were few princes in the harem and few pregnant concubines.

After Consort Lan left, only the child in Consort Rou's womb remained.

Consort Rou is too gentle and mild-mannered. In the future selection of the crown prince, not only the prince himself, but also his mother will be of great importance.

Based on this comparison, Emperor Yuanwu favored Consort De's pregnancy more.

The following morning, the concubines from all the palaces went to Kunning Palace to pay their respects to Shen Qingwan.

Consort De arrived early in the morning in her luxurious palanquin.

"Consort De? Being pregnant should exempt her from paying her respects to the Empress in the morning, so why is she here so early?" Consort Xian looked at her from afar, both satisfied and puzzled.

"Your Majesty slept well last night, and there's something you might not know. Last night, the Empress Dowager took Consort Xi to visit Her Majesty the Empress. Zhang Mama went to invite the Emperor, but unexpectedly, the Emperor was halfway there when Consort De invited him instead. I heard the Empress Dowager was furious," Xia Mei said.

Consort Xian sneered, "Now that she is carrying the emperor's child, she is very precious. What can the Empress Dowager do when she gets angry? She has never given her a single word of reprimand."

(End of this chapter)