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

Chapter 207 Acting
Even if someone's rank is to be promoted, there must be a reason. You can't just promote someone on a whim, and you certainly can't promote someone just because they've been in the palace for a long time. If that were the case, there would be many concubines in the harem who have been in the palace longer than her, and you can't promote them all.

Since both the Empress Dowager and the Empress have the power to promote or demote officials, and the Empress Dowager hasn't directly asked for her rank to be raised, then she, the Empress...

"As for the matter of rank, whatever rank Mother deems suitable is fine with me, I have no objection." After Shen Qingwan finished speaking, she nodded sincerely to Consort Xi.

Xi Changzai indeed listened to her words. She didn't even wipe away the tears in the corners of her eyes. Instead, her expression softened a bit. However, the Empress Dowager's expression seemed even more unpleasant than before.

She had never agreed to Xi Changzai's request for promotion, precisely because Xi Changzai was her niece, and she wanted to avoid any appearance of impropriety.

The entire harem knew she was the Empress Dowager's niece, and no one dared to neglect her. It was truly incomprehensible why she insisted on being so obsessed with her rank.

Before the Empress arrived, she could still tell Consort Xi that the matter of promoting her rank needed to be discussed with the Empress before a decision could be made. However, she did not expect that the Empress would throw this hot potato back at her with just a few words.

The Empress Dowager's expression was rather unpleasant, and Shen Qingwan naturally noticed it as well.

Xi Chang was neither pregnant nor did she contribute anything to the harem, so she would absolutely not ask for a promotion.

If the imperial decree granting Xi a higher rank were stamped with her imperial seal, how would she gain the respect of the harem in the future?
With so many women in the harem, there were bound to be many problems.

If we add that she had just taken back the power to manage the harem from Consort Xian, and it was precisely the time to establish her authority and credibility in the harem, then naturally she couldn't allow Consort Xi to remain in a lower rank, lest she disrupt her peaceful life of being a lazy bum in the harem.

But she couldn't afford to offend the Empress Dowager.

She was the previous champion of palace intrigue. If we offend her over such a trivial matter, I'm afraid her future days won't be easy.

What to do?

Shen Qingwan's eyes suddenly lit up as if she had thought of something. Since her eyes were already clouded by sorrow, she grasped Xi Changzai's hand. "Sister, don't be sad. Look, you've only been in the palace for a short time, and the Emperor has already visited you so many times. You're already very fortunate. I've been married to the Emperor for three years, and he has never stayed overnight at my place. Whenever I think of this, I..."

Xi Changzai's crying stopped abruptly, and even the Empress Dowager's expression became somewhat indescribable.

Shen Qingwan forced out a few tears, seemingly even more heartbroken. She withdrew her hand from Xi Changzai's, lowered her eyes to wipe the corners of her eyes, and stood up with feigned strength. She bowed to the Empress Dowager, saying, "Please forgive me, Mother. I lost my composure. I will come to pay my respects to you another day."

Joy is always present: ...

Queen Mother:…

The Empress Dowager and Consort Xi exchanged a glance, then bent down to help Shen Qingwan, who was kneeling on the ground, up: "It was indeed the Emperor's fault in this matter. I will definitely summon the Emperor another day and give him a good scolding. Empress, please don't be too sad."

Shen Qingwan lowered her eyes and nodded, "Mother, I will take my leave now."

"Alright." The Empress Dowager looked troubled, unsure of what to say. "Zhang Mama, go and see the Empress off."

Once Shen Qingwan had stepped out of the bedchamber, the Empress Dowager withdrew her gaze and scolded Consort Xi with a hint of anger, "Look what you've done."

Xi Changzai turned pale with fright and immediately knelt on the ground, saying, "Aunt, please forgive me."

"We'll discuss forgiveness another day. I'm tired, you may leave now." The Empress Dowager rose in annoyance, leaving behind a departing figure for Consort Xi, who was kneeling on the ground. Shen Qingwan had just come out of Cining Palace. The biting cold wind swayed the withered branches, making a series of sounds. Dark clouds gathered, and the air was filled with the stillness before the rain.

"Your Majesty, it looks like it's going to rain. Let's hurry back." Before Zhen'er could finish speaking, raindrops began to fall from the sky.

Shen Qingwan covered her head with her hands and ran quickly towards Kunning Palace.

The rain was falling fast and heavy. No matter how fast Shen Qingwan ran, by the time she reached Kunning Palace, her hair was soaked and her clothes were completely drenched.

Ignoring her own soaked state from the rain, Zhen'er entered Kunning Palace, quickly ran to the bedroom, retrieved a blanket, and wrapped it around Shen Qingwan.

"Zhen'er, go change your clothes first, don't catch a cold later." Shen Qingwan reached out and pulled Zhen'er, who was busy running around.

"Your Highness, I'm fine. I'll change after Your Highness is ready." Zhen'er's hands didn't stop drying Shen Qingwan's hair. She turned around and instructed the people behind her, "Go to the kitchen and boil some ginger soup for Her Highness. Go get her a hot water bottle. You two go boil a big pot of water to prepare a bath for Her Highness. Her Highness has been weak since her serious illness. It has only just started to improve after so long of recuperation. It's so cold and she's been caught in the rain. You two need to hurry up and get things done."

Shen Qingwan, who had been shivering from the cold, felt a warmth in her heart upon hearing Zhen'er's words.

As Zhen'er wiped her eyes, tears streamed down her face. "Your Majesty, you should have listened to me and waited in Cining Palace. I would have called Jiaozhan over before we returned to the palace. If you had caught a cold, I would have been filled with remorse."

Shen Qingwan: ...

She had barely managed to escape from the Cining Palace, so she dared not go back.

She was truly terrified that the moment she stepped back into the Cining Palace, the Empress Dowager would send someone to fetch her a...

"What do you mean by death? You keep talking about death all the time, don't you feel any shame?" Shen Qingwan pulled Zhen'er away with heartache. "You keep talking about me. Look at you, your back is soaked through just now because you were shielding me from the rain. Listen to me, change into dry clothes before you come over. Let them serve you here first."

Zhen'er moved her lips, trying to hold on a little longer, but then she sneezed uncontrollably, "Achoo..."

Shen Qingwan's eyes darkened: "I now order you to take a bath and change your clothes, do you hear me?"

Zhen'er felt a little uncomfortable in her nose. She was worried that if she got sick, she might pass on her illness to Shen Qingwan, so she agreed.

After watching Zhen'er leave, Shen Qingwan spoke again, "Those who just went to Cining Palace with me, no matter what you were doing, go take a bath and change clothes, have a bowl of hot ginger soup in the small kitchen before coming over, and if you feel unwell, go see the imperial physician immediately."

"Yes." The group bowed and withdrew.

Shen Qingwan finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Although a cold is not a serious illness, in this day and age, it can be fatal and cannot be ignored.

"Your Majesty, the bathwater is ready..."

Shen Qingwan had just gotten up when Xiao Cui ran in from outside, "Your Highness, someone from Zhongcui Palace just came to say that Consort Rou is about to give birth..."

(End of this chapter)