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

Chapter 270 Not Yet Fully Flying
"Alright, whether it's punishment or reward, His Majesty will decide. These are none of our business." Shen Qingwan gestured for someone to leave.

Because she knew that the situation in the harem would change soon.

She lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep, her mind filled with the scene of her encounter with Prince Rui that day.

She had disguised herself and sneaked into the Imperial Garden just to see him and find out if he was involved in General Pang's death. But when she met him, not only did she fail to get the questions she wanted to ask, she was also rendered speechless by Prince Rui's barrage of questions, leaving her feeling very angry.

Is Prince Rui out of his mind? He actually thought she was having an affair with a fourteen-year-old boy.

What on earth is he thinking?
And what about Mo Gan Junyi, who has free access to Chang Le Palace? Should she remind Emperor Yuanwu about this?

If we don't bring this up, it will always be a hidden danger. But if we do, she might get involved, which would be a real loss.

Shen Qingwan lay on the bed in annoyance, turning over and over again until the eastern sky began to lighten. She sat up from the bed, feeling somewhat irritated.

"Your Majesty." Zhen'er rushed over upon hearing the voice, "Your Majesty did not sleep well last night, is there anything wrong? Should I go and summon the imperial physician?"

Shen Qingwan slowly shook her head and glanced out the window. "What time is it?"

"Your Majesty, it's still early, around 5 a.m., please sleep a little longer," Zhen'er said, tucking the blankets around the bed.

Although Shen Qingwan lay back down on the bed, she was no longer sleepy.

Last night, Emperor Yuanwu was summoned to Jingyang Palace by Consort Xian in the middle of the night and has not left since. I imagine the upcoming greetings will be quite a spectacle.

Shen Qingwan sat up in bed again. "Forget it, I won't sleep anymore. I reckon the First Prince should be up by now. It's rare for me to get up so early, so I'll go have breakfast with him."

When Shen Qingwan arrived at the prince's residence, Jiang Wenlan had just finished washing up and hadn't had lunch yet. Usually, she would have someone inform him in advance before coming over, so it was quite rare for her to come uninvited like this.

Upon hearing the announcement, Jiang Wenlan hurriedly ran out of his bedchamber.

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

Shen Qingwan helped him up from the ground, "Why are you bowing so deeply?"

"Your Majesty is pleased to see you here." Jiang Wenlan was delighted, but couldn't hide his doubt. "Your Majesty came so early this morning, is there something you wish to see me about?"

"What, is there nothing wrong? Can't I come and have breakfast with you?" Shen Qingwan reached out and patted his head.

It had been more than half a year since Shen Qingwan first saw him catching fish by the lake in the Imperial Garden. She suddenly realized that Jiang Wenlan was much taller than before.

Upon hearing that Shen Qingwan had come to have breakfast with him, Jiang Wenlan was overjoyed and busied himself with preparations.

"No need for that. I'm not very hungry. You should eat quickly. I need to go to the study later."

"Your Majesty, you may not know this, but my master had originally arranged for us to go horseback riding and archery in the western suburbs today. However, he suddenly informed us yesterday that we couldn't go, so there were no more plans for this morning. He told us to go to the study in the afternoon instead," Jiang Wenlan said casually as she drank her porridge.

No need to go to the study?
Shen Qingwan looked at Jiang Wenlan with some surprise. He was dressed neatly and had already washed up before she arrived. "If you're not going to the study, why did you get up so early?" Shen Qingwan asked in surprise.

"I have always kept Your Majesty's teachings in mind: 'The lamp burns at midnight and the rooster crows at dawn; this is the time for a man to study. One who does not study diligently in his youth will regret it when he is old.'" Jiang Wenlan said earnestly.

Shen Qingwan felt a pang of sadness in her heart upon hearing this.

Is this what happens when children grow up without anyone to supervise them, making them more mature than their peers?
Jiang Wenlan showed her different sides of himself time and time again.

She found it hard to imagine that if Consort Li hadn't died, with her guidance and care, Jiang Wenlan would definitely be even more outstanding than he is now.

Shen Qingwan didn't even have time to feel sorry.

Jiang Wenlan had already given a wink to the old woman behind her, and the old woman, along with the servants standing in the hall, withdrew one by one.

After all the servants had left, Jiang Wenlan put down his chopsticks. "Your Majesty, yesterday I was reading in the palace and there was something I didn't understand. I wanted to go to Your Majesty's palace to ask you about it, but I didn't expect Your Majesty to come here so early this morning."

"Oh?" Shen Qingwan placed a piece of green vegetable into Jiang Wenlan's bowl and asked curiously, "What is it?"

“Last night, I was reading a book. There was a prince in the book who, like me, lost his mother at a young age. Later, he was fortunate enough to gain the favor of the Empress. However, the emperor in the book later adopted a son from the common people and brought him into the palace. The longer the adopted son lived in the palace, the empress in the book gradually felt that the adopted son was more talented in both literature and martial arts, and was superior to the prince in every way. Over time, the empress in the book grew to like the adopted son more and more, and abandoned the prince she had previously favored.” After Jiang Wenlan finished speaking, he turned to look at Shen Qingwan: “If Your Majesty were a person in this book, how would you deal with it?”

Shen Qingwan's smile froze for a moment.

Jiang Wenlan would never say this to him for no reason. The fact that he said this now can only mean that he was also in the Imperial Garden last night.

So the person standing behind the tree last night wasn't Prince Rui, but Jiang Wenlan; Prince Rui was just standing on the other side.

Jiang Wenlan's appearance in the Imperial Garden might be a coincidence, but Shen Qingwan couldn't quite figure out how he had managed to escape Prince Rui's notice.

She knew that Prince Rui was skilled in martial arts. Martial arts practitioners naturally have much more acute hearing than others. Did he not notice at the time?

Shen Qingwan knew that the adopted son she was talking about was Mo Gan Junyi, whom she had met by chance in the Imperial Garden yesterday.

"I didn't know the eldest prince was in the study. Did your teacher ever teach you this saying? 'I only wish my child were foolish and clumsy, so that he may reach the ranks of high officials without disaster or hardship.'" Shen Qingwan's face remained as gentle as ever.

"Forgive my ignorance, Your Majesty, for I beg for your guidance."

As Jiang Wenlan spoke, he put down his chopsticks and tried to get up to bow, but Shen Qingwan quickly pressed him down.

She raised an eyebrow, gesturing for him to continue eating the soup in his bowl.

Shen Qingwan smiled and said slowly, "What this means is that everyone hopes their children will be smart, but the poet was too clever for his own good. The poet only hoped that his children would be a little foolish and dull, so that they could live peacefully to become high-ranking officials. I especially like this poem. I think that in the harem, being too smart is often not a good thing. When one's wings are not yet fully grown, being a little foolish and dull is the best way to protect oneself."

Jiang Wenlan suddenly realized, "Your Majesty is right, I have learned my lesson!"