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

Chapter 273 Choking Her
"To put it bluntly, isn't it all about getting rid of the spies that others have planted in their own palaces, and using the newly appointed people to fill the vacancies, to conveniently plant their own spies in various palaces?"

"Huh?" Ji Changzai felt terrible after hearing her words. "Consort Shen, who told you all this? How are you so amazing? You know everything. Compared to you, I'm like a fool!"

Consort Shen's expression was somewhat complicated. Why did Ji Chang's words not sound like a compliment at all? "Alright, alright, let's not talk about this anymore. Let's hurry inside and pay our respects to Her Majesty the Empress."

Seeing Ji Changzai nod, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.

She really wanted to slap herself.

After the concubines arrived in twos and threes, they rose and bowed to the Empress, saying, "Greetings to Your Majesty the Empress, may Your Majesty live a thousand years!"

"Get up, everyone." Shen Qingwan had a perfectly timed smile on her face.

After the concubines took their seats, Consort Shu said, "Your Majesty, the Imperial Household Department sent word this morning that His Majesty has bestowed Qiujiang Pavilion upon Prince Rui. There has never been such a precedent in the palace. Although Qiujiang Pavilion is very close to Cining Palace, it has always been empty. Now that I am to take charge of it, I really do not know where to begin."

Shen Qingwan's brow twitched. Prince Rui wanted to keep a palace for himself in the palace?

Was Emperor Yuanwu insane?
How could you agree to something like this?
She wore her usual faint smile, but inside she felt a kind of indescribable turmoil.

This was no small matter in the imperial harem, as it was inhabited entirely by Emperor Yuanwu's concubines.

Mo Ganjunyi lives in the inner palace, which is already heavily guarded. Now, with the addition of Prince Rui, the situation is even more dire.

This harem doesn't look like a place for concubines to live; it's more like a border defense camp.

What does it look like?
Such a big matter wouldn't be handled directly by the Imperial Household Department. They must have come to Kunning Palace first. She went to the Princes' Residence early in the morning, but didn't see her, so she went to Yonghe Palace.

"What exactly does His Majesty mean? Why is he so comfortable letting Prince Rui live in the palace?"

Consort Shen was the first to speak, and as soon as her voice fell, the other concubines who dared not speak out also began to speak up.

"It can't be that bad. This Prince Rui travels all over the world all day long. He hardly ever stays in the palace, and he's hardly even in the capital. Isn't that boat that's moored on the lake in our Imperial Garden the one that's always belonged to Prince Rui?"

“Prince Rui has the best relationship with the Emperor. The only thing the Emperor did when he bestowed Qiujiang Pavilion was to move Prince Rui’s residence from the ship to the side of Cining Palace. Qiujiang Pavilion was originally located between Cining Palace and Yangxin Hall. Although it is also a palace in the inner palace, it is some distance away from where our concubines live. I suppose the Emperor thought this through carefully.”

"That's right. How could His Majesty be so foolish as to allow a prince to live in the inner palace?"

Consort Xian rolled her eyes in annoyance. "You can't say that. Although Qiujiang Pavilion is far from where we concubines live, it's not exactly outside the palace walls. No matter how far it is, it's not far if you're determined. With a prince living in the harem, it will be inconvenient for him to come and go. Why would His Majesty do this? Could it be that someone said something to His Majesty and did it on purpose?"

She looked up at Shen Qingwan. She still remembered that at the last palace banquet, at the entrance of the Hall of Preserving Harmony, she only said one thing to Shen Qingwan and didn't say anything unpleasant. Prince Rui deliberately brought up the fact that before she entered the mansion, all the powerful and influential people in the capital had come to the General's Mansion to propose marriage to her, and even threatened to tell the Emperor about it.

Did she say something wrong back then?
When the late emperor was still alive, it wasn't a secret in the palace that Shen Qingwan and Prince Rui had a marriage agreement. Since it wasn't a secret, why couldn't people talk about it? Now that I think about how Prince Rui protected Shen Qingwan back then, could it be that he still had feelings for her?

However, since she spoke so clearly, how could the people sitting below not understand her implied meaning?

Everyone looked at each other, some pretending to flip their hair, some picking up their teacups, and some simply lowering their eyes, pretending not to have heard anything.

Consort Xian was bold and spoke without thinking. Her meaning wasn't explicitly stated, but rather that the Empress had spoken on behalf of the Emperor to bestow Qiujiang Pavilion upon Prince Rui.

In this way, what is being said is not just that there is some unclear relationship between Prince Rui and the Empress, but that the Emperor is foolish and is being sold out while happily helping others count their money.
In that case, only someone like Consort Xian, whose maternal family is powerful, would dare to speak so openly.

They won't do that.

Even if they weren't thinking of themselves, they still had to consider their maternal families; so just listen and let it go...

Consort Xian thought her words would open a channel for the other concubines who were just chatting to continue her conversation, but to her surprise, no one spoke up after a long time.

She couldn't help but look at everyone. Apart from Consort De looking at her with a mocking expression, no one else seemed to want to say anything. Just as Consort Xian raised her eyes, Shen Qingwan looked at her calmly, as gentle as ever.

Consort Xian: ...

She gave an awkward laugh and lowered her eyes.

"If there's nothing else, let's disperse." Shen Qingwan said softly, glancing at Consort Xian as she looked away.

She didn't miss the expressions on Consort Xian's face, which were as fascinating as a revolving lantern.

Shen Qingwan withdrew her gaze without showing any emotion, her eyebrows twitching sharply, and she spoke with a hint of authority, "Now that the weather is warmer, everyone is not staying in the palace like when it was cold. There are quite a few pregnant concubines now, so we must be extra careful in everything we do. Don't let yourselves forget to be careful just because you haven't been out for a while and cause any trouble. Especially if there are princes or princesses, you might as well give your governesses a little more advice."

Everyone rose and bowed, "Yes, Your Majesty, we will remember Your Majesty's teachings."

Shen Qingwan spoke subtly, but those sitting below understood her perfectly.

There are many pregnant concubines now, so everyone should take good care of their own children and the servants in the palace. Be careful not to offend those pregnant concubines, and don't have any wicked thoughts. Otherwise, as the empress has already warned, if anything happens in the future, don't blame her for turning ruthless.

"If there's nothing else, you can all leave now." Shen Qingwan paused, then looked at Consort Shu. "Consort Shu, please stay for a moment."

"Yes, Queen."

Just as everyone left, before Shen Qingwan could even speak, Zhen'er rushed in from outside, "Your Majesty, something terrible has happened! Please go out and see what's going on!"