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

Chapter 193 Ability

Song of the Frontier

This piece seems to depict Wang Zhaojun's longing for her homeland, expressing a sorrowful and poignant emotion.

Could the person playing the pipa be Consort Wen, who just entered the palace today?

Mo Ganxie's sister, the princess of the northern desert?

The moment the pipa music stopped, Consort Ruan pressed her soft body against her and softly called out, "Your Majesty."

Emperor Yuanwu's thoughts were interrupted, and he suddenly came back to his senses.

"It's getting late, you should rest early." After saying this, Emperor Yuanwu turned his back and closed his eyes.

As Ruan Changzai looked at the back view that Emperor Yuanwu had left her with, her chest heaved heavily.

Who's so disgusting, staying up so late at night to play the pipa and ruin other people's good time?

If it weren't for that pipa music interrupting the conversation, Emperor Yuanwu would clearly have...

Ruan Changzai bit her lips until they turned white, and from behind, she hugged Emperor Yuanwu with one arm.

She didn't know when Emperor Yuanwu fell asleep, but she didn't sleep all night. After entering the palace, let alone receiving any favors, apart from some palace banquets, she could count the number of times she had seen Emperor Yuanwu on one hand.

Now that they've finally managed to get her attention, at the crucial moment, it turns out...

Before finding out about her situation, she had carefully calculated that it was an auspicious day for conception. There were so many pregnant women in the harem these days, and if she could give birth to a child, she would have someone to rely on even if she lost the emperor's favor in the future.

But the sound of the pipa interrupted them.

Ruan Changzai was filled with hatred and anger, but Emperor Yuanwu was already asleep, and no matter how much she pestered him, he seemed to have no reaction.

She dared not make too much noise, for if she woke up Emperor Yuanwu, she feared she would be in grave danger if he blamed her.

And so, after Emperor Yuanwu went to court, Ruan Changzai, dragging his tired body, changed his clothes and headed toward Kunning Palace.

Just as she reached the entrance of Jingyang Palace, she bumped into Consort Wen, who had changed into the same outfit as her.

When Consort Wen first entered the palace yesterday, she was wearing clothes and makeup typical of the northern deserts.

Now that she's dressed in palace clothes, Consort Ruan has to admit that she's stunned by her stunning beauty, especially her fair skin that seems to glow, as if you could squeeze water out of it.

Ruan Changzai felt inexplicably uncomfortable.

Consort Wen was not yet familiar with the rules of the palace. In the northern desert, the king's harem only had the distinction between the queen and the concubines. There was no difference in status between the concubines.

The two women stared at each other, and Consort Wen lowered her head first to greet her, "You must be Consort Ruan. From now on, we sisters will be living in the same palace, and I'll have to trouble Consort Ruan to take good care of me." Take good care of me?

Ruan Changzai listened to her words and couldn't help but scoff inwardly.

She's a high-ranking official, yet she still needs a lowly concubine like her to take care of her. Isn't that a deliberate sarcastic remark that her rank isn't as high as hers?

"Sister, you're too kind. I'm just a lowly concubine; how could I possibly take care of you? Perhaps when you have time, you can teach me how to use this pipa to seduce the Emperor in the middle of the night." Concubine Ruan finished speaking coldly, rolled her eyes at her, and turned to leave.

"Are all the women in your harem so rude? Our princess greeted her kindly, and who was she trying to impress with her sarcastic remarks?" Green Pine shouted angrily, then turned to Cui'er and asked, "From yesterday to today, you've been telling our princess that everything in the harem must be done according to the rules. How many rules are there in the harem? Are these the rules of your harem? Just because our princess came from the northern desert, you're deliberately bullying her."

Cui'er also looked troubled. "Your Excellency, this Consort Ruan... she... this..."

"What are you stammering about? Is there something you can't say? Or is it that our princess isn't one of your people and deserves to be bullied?" Green Pine said, grabbing Cui'er's collar with one hand. She was so agitated that it looked like she was about to throw a punch at her.

Cui'er was so frightened that she knelt down on the ground. "My lord, spare my life! My lord, spare my life! I know I was wrong."

Wen Guiren glared at Lvsong and helped Cui'er up from the ground. "We come from the Northern Desert. There are no such rules in the Northern Desert. Lvsong has been by my side since childhood and I have spoiled him. Please don't be offended if he frightened you. I will have Lvsong apologize to you later."

After Wen Guiren finished speaking, she gave Lvsong a wink. Although Lvsong felt indignant, she naturally had to listen to her mistress.

Green Pine spoke up: "I'm sorry."

Reluctantly, he at least apologized.

Although both of them were Consort Wen's personal maids, Lvsong was Consort Wen's dowry maid, and she was only assigned by the Imperial Household Department, so her status was naturally one level lower than Lvsong's.

Having apologized, she naturally couldn't hold it against him anymore.

Consort Wen held Cui'er's hand and said softly, "As a newcomer, there are many things I don't know about the rules. Please feel free to speak your mind. I really didn't understand what Consort Ruan was saying just now. I would appreciate it if you could give me some pointers so that I won't be impolite in front of Her Majesty the Empress later."

"This servant wouldn't dare." Cui'er hurriedly pulled her hand back from Consort Wen's grasp. "Actually, Consort Ruan's rank is below Your Highness's. In the harem, rank is the most important thing. Since her rank is low, she should have knelt down when she first met you. Just like when you go to Kunning Palace later, you should also pay respects to Consorts, Concubines, and the Empress. However, Consort Ruan is a capricious person who likes to act spoiled. In addition, she just served the Emperor last night, so she probably wants to show off in front of you. Your Highness should just ignore her. If she does it again next time, Your Highness can use your status to suppress her."

"Now that you've said that, I understand. Let's talk about this after we've paid our respects to Her Majesty the Empress. After all, it's our first time paying our respects to Her Majesty the Empress, and it wouldn't be good to be late." After saying this, Consort Wen walked in front, with Green Pine and Cui'er following behind.

Consort Xian took in the whole scene and sneered, "This Consort Ruan, didn't the Emperor spend the night in her palace last night? Why is she so angry so early in the morning? Someone like her, who can't even see the Emperor a few times a year, should be secretly happy to be able to serve him in bed now."

"Your Majesty, this servant heard from Consort Ruan's people in the palace this morning that His Majesty did not order water last night?" Xia Fuchuan replied.

"No water was served?" Consort Xian's shocked eyes trembled, then she laughed out loud. "This is really interesting. She's been waiting day and night for the Emperor to come. Isn't she very capable and competent? What? The Emperor stayed in her palace all night and didn't touch her at all. Could it be that the Emperor also thinks that she's a fool who would dirty her bed?"

Consort Xian was in a very good mood, and her steps became much lighter. After taking two steps, she suddenly stopped, turned around and said to Xia Fuchuan...

(End of this chapter)