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

Chapter 250 The Queen Mother is critically ill
"What's wrong?" Shen Qingwan put down the ledger in her hand.

Hearing Su Tianhe's flustered voice, Consort Shu and Consort Jin looked up at him simultaneously.

"The Empress Dowager has fainted."

what?
Shen Qingwan's eyes widened in surprise, and she immediately stood up from the stool.

Consort Shu and Consort Jin were also so shocked that they were speechless.

"Has the imperial physician been summoned?" Shen Qingwan stood up and walked quickly toward the palace gate.

"Your Majesty, you were just looking at the account books with Consort Shu and Consort Jin. There is something I haven't had a chance to report yet. General Pang was injured by an assassin with a hidden weapon in the military camp last night and is suffering from a severe poison. His Majesty has ordered the Imperial Physician to take several highly skilled physicians from the Imperial Hospital and set off for Lingnan at noon."

General Pang was wounded by an assassin using a hidden weapon while in the army.
Although Shen Qingwan didn't understand martial arts, lightness skills, or internal energy, did General Pang not even have this much precaution after fighting abroad for so many years?
Even if he was sleeping soundly for some special reason, did the soldiers stationed outside his tent not notice at all?

Shen Qingwan felt that this matter was not so simple.

"I reckon General Pang is probably in grave danger this time. Your Majesty, you may not know this, but today Consort Xian knelt at the entrance of the Hall of Mental Cultivation and kowtowed until her head was bleeding, all to beg the Emperor to let her leave the palace to see General Pang one last time." Su Tianhe said, tilting her head and sighing. "After begging for so long, the Emperor still hasn't agreed to let her leave the palace."

Shen Qingwan didn't speak, but another thought crossed her mind: "Did Prince Rui come to the palace today?"

Prince Rui?
Su Tianhe didn't react for a moment, and after a while he slowly said, "Your Majesty, it seems that after Prince Rui left the palace, he went to Jiangnan. As for when he left and where he went, this servant will need to inquire carefully before I can report back to Your Majesty."

"No need." Shen Qingwan quickened her pace.

When she arrived at Cining Palace, almost all the imperial physicians from the Imperial Medical Academy who had not gone to Lingnan were gathered in the palace's sleeping quarters.

The Empress Dowager lay in bed, her face pale and coughing incessantly.

"Empress Dowager." Shen Qingwan walked to the Empress Dowager's bedside, her brow furrowing slightly. She glanced around, then turned to the imperial physician and asked, "What is Empress Dowager's condition? Wasn't your cough cured? How could it suddenly relapse so severely?"

"Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager's health has always been taken care of by Imperial Physician Zhang. However, Imperial Physician Zhang is not in the palace at the moment. I have just taken the Empress Dowager's pulse. The characteristics of her pulse are that it is slow, thin and hesitant, like a rope without elasticity, indicating insufficient Qi. I deduce that it is caused by insufficient Qi and blood, weak spleen and stomach, Yang deficiency, phlegm retention, and other ailments."

The person who answered was Physician Li, who had been taking care of Consort Li's health all along.

Shen Qingwan didn't know much about this person, but she had doubts about his medical skills, not to mention what Consort Li had been like before.

Shen Qingwan didn't understand the pulse symptoms he just mentioned, but she did understand the point about insufficient qi and blood.

Previously, Prince Rui had bought a lot of Dong'e donkey-hide gelatin from outside the palace and distributed it to various palaces, with the Empress Dowager receiving the most.

If she hadn't come over a few days ago and dined with the Empress Dowager, she naturally wouldn't have known that the Empress Dowager didn't like eating donkey-hide gelatin, yet felt that it was indeed a good thing for nourishing the body, so she crushed it and put it into the porridge she drank every day.

Even if one's body is weak, it's hard to believe that someone consuming donkey-hide gelatin daily would suddenly experience a relapse of their cough due to insufficient qi and blood.

"Physician Li, shouldn't you take the Empress Dowager's pulse again..." Shen Qingwan hesitated, glancing behind Physician Li, hoping to find a familiar physician. But after looking for a while, she realized that among all the physicians in the room, she couldn't recognize a single one. "What does Your Majesty mean by this? Do you think I made a mistake in taking the Empress Dowager's pulse just now?" Physician Li also looked unconvinced, his arms crossed.

“Of course not.” Shen Qingwan said solemnly, “I’m just afraid that Physician Li’s diagnosis is wrong and delays the Empress Dowager’s treatment, and I can’t afford to suffer the consequences.”

"Your Majesty, I have served in the palace for decades. I was already serving in the palace when the late Emperor was still alive. If Your Majesty questions my medical skills, you may report to the Emperor and have me dismissed from my post." Imperial Physician Li's eyes were firm.

Shen Qingwan was completely speechless, so she simply stopped talking.

Just then, the voice of a eunuch announcing something came from the entrance of the palace.

"The Emperor has arrived!"

The Emperor arrived just in time, and Shen Qingwan breathed a sigh of relief.

"Greetings, Your Majesty! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"

Emperor Yuanwu walked quickly and hurried towards the Empress Dowager's bedside. Shen Qingwan quickly got up and made room for him.

"Mother, how are you feeling?" Emperor Yuanwu asked anxiously, holding the Empress Dowager's hand.

"Emperor...cough cough cough...no...don't worry...cough cough cough." The Empress Dowager gasped for breath, "It's...it's all...cough cough...old...cough cough...ailment..."

"Mother, please stop. It's all my fault for not thinking things through. I shouldn't have sent all the highly skilled physicians from the Imperial Medical Academy to Lingnan. But I was really worried when I heard that General Pang was poisoned and was in critical condition."

"Your Majesty need not say more, I understand. General Pang Da fought for the country, and now he has been assassinated in the army, his fate unknown. Your Majesty sending the imperial physician shows your concern for General Pang Da's safety; this is what Your Majesty should do." The Empress Dowager patted Emperor Yuanwu's hand twice, coughed a few times, and then said slowly, "Your Majesty need not blame yourself, I understand. My health is fine, it's just some old ailment... cough cough cough... this cough always flares up in the spring, it's nothing serious. Have the Imperial Hospital prepare two doses of medicine for me according to the old prescription, I'll be fine after taking it..."

Before the Empress Dowager could finish speaking, she coughed violently again, and Emperor Yuanwu's expression became even more solemn: "What are you all standing here for? Can't you see how much pain the Empress Dowager is in? Hurry up and go and prepare the medicine."

Emperor Yuanwu roared, and everyone in the room was so frightened that they all knelt down.

Physician Li trembled slightly, straightening his posture slightly. "Your Majesty, I have just taken the Empress Dowager's pulse and prescribed medicine. I estimate that the medicine will be ready soon. I will go and fetch it for the Empress Dowager to take."

"Hurry up and go!" Emperor Yuanwu said angrily.

Shen Qingwan moved her lips, but before she could speak, Imperial Physician Li had already handed the bowl of decocted medicine to Emperor Yuanwu: "Your Majesty."

Shen Qingwan: ...

The medicine was prepared just in time!

To show his filial piety, Emperor Yuanwu even took a spoon and stirred the medicine in the bowl himself, then scooped up a spoonful and blew on it...