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

Chapter 338 Women
Just as Su Tianhe finished torturing Xia'er, a young eunuch walked in from outside. "Eunuch Su, a report came from Zhongcui Palace that Consort Rou felt unwell when she woke up this morning, as if she had a miscarriage."

When Su Tianhe told Su Qingwan about this, she was sitting in front of her food tray having breakfast. "Your Highness, would you like to go and take a look?"

Of course, we should go see it.

Having offspring is a major matter in the harem. Although she knew in her heart that Consort Rou's pregnancy might not be able to be saved, she still had to do everything that needed to be done in terms of appearances.

Shen Qingwan really couldn't understand why this Consort Rou, who had only given birth to the Fourth Prince so recently and had already suffered a difficult childbirth that damaged her body, would not take the time to recover properly before becoming pregnant again so quickly. Did she really not care about her own health for the sake of favor and glory?

Medical care was limited in that era. Even if the imperial physicians were highly skilled, once a woman miscarried, her chances of having children again were very slim. Especially in the treacherous imperial harem, being able to give birth to two or three children in a row was considered extremely fortunate.

Shen Qingwan had little appetite because she had gotten up too early, and when she heard that Consort Rou was not feeling well, she simply went to Zhongcui Palace.

"What's wrong with Consort Rou? What did the imperial physician say?" Shen Qingwan asked with concern as she entered Consort Rou's bedchamber.

"Your Majesty the Empress." Consort Rou, lying on the bed, tried to get up upon hearing the voice.

"Consort Rou is unwell, there is no need for such formalities."

"Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty." Consort Rou lay on the bed, her face pale. In just a few words, her forehead was already covered in a layer of cold sweat, showing that her discomfort was not as simple as just a miscarriage.

"Consort Rou is pregnant now, so she should take good care of herself and try to think more positively about everything. His Majesty values ​​offspring the most. If you can give birth to another son or daughter for His Majesty, your status will be extremely noble," Shen Qingwan said softly.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Consort Rou's eyes were filled with tears. "This concubine will remember Your Majesty's teachings."

"Please rest well, Consort Rou. I will return now."

After Shen Qingwan finished speaking, she instructed the people from Zhongcui Palace, "You guys, take good care of Consort Rou."

"Yes, Queen."

Shen Qingwan had just come out of Consort Rou's palace when she saw Consort Yan helping Xia'er into the side hall.

Seeing her struggling, Shen Qingwan suddenly stopped, her brows furrowing deeply as she muttered under her breath, "Did I hit her too hard?"

"Your Highness, what are you saying?" Zhen'er said indignantly. "What do you mean by hitting too hard? If you ask me, she only slapped him fifty times. That was clearly too light. Consort Yan is relying on her maternal family and has no manners. Even her personal maid dares to shout and make a scene in Kunning Palace. If Your Highness doesn't punish her severely, I'm afraid the rules of the harem will have to be changed to take Consort Yan's surname."

Shen Qingwan remained silent and walked towards Kunning Palace. After taking only two steps, she heard two palace maids sweeping and cleaning talking on one side of the flower bed.

"When I was having breakfast just now, the gatekeeper told me that Prince Rui left the palace at 1:00 AM yesterday."

"The hour of Chou? Didn't His Majesty already bestow Qiujiang Pavilion upon Prince Rui for residence? Why is he returning to the Prince's residence so late?"

"Perhaps there's someone important waiting for him at the Prince's residence. You know, our Prince Rui isn't young anymore. Although he hasn't married, that doesn't mean there aren't any women in the Prince's residence."

"Really? It's always been said that Prince Rui is virtuous and has never had any woman by his side. The Emperor has also been urging Prince Rui to get married. If he really has a woman he likes, why doesn't he ask the Emperor to grant him a marriage?"

"You don't understand. If the woman Prince Rui likes is inconvenient to marry, or if she's the daughter of a disgraced official, or just a girl from an ordinary family, or if Prince Rui is so fond of traveling the world that if this woman was met in a brothel, keeping her in his household would be fine, but how could the royal family allow a prince to marry such a woman and have her recorded in the family genealogy?" "Now that you mention it, it does seem to make a lot of sense. I never thought Prince Rui was such a devoted lover..."

Zhen'er glanced at Shen Qingwan and saw that she looked somewhat serious. She hurriedly coughed lightly, interrupting the two of them.

The two young palace maids, who were chatting happily, were so frightened when they saw the Empress right behind them that they knelt down on the ground, trembling all over.

"Your Majesty, please forgive me. This servant deserves to die. This servant deserves to die."

The news that the Empress slapped Consort Yan's personal maid this morning has already spread throughout the palace. If the Empress were to encounter them gossiping behind her back now, especially about the Prince's residence, she would definitely be doomed.

Shen Qingwan glanced down at the two of them with a calm expression, "What were you talking about just now?"

"Your Majesty, please spare me! I truly know I was wrong. Please forgive me this time, and I promise I will never dare to do it again."

Shen Qingwan frowned slightly as she looked at the two of them, who were terrified. "I'm asking you, what time did you say Prince Rui left the palace last night?"

"Ugly... Ugly hour".

When Shen Qingwan heard "Zi Shi" again, her furrowed brows deepened even further.

Last night, when she returned to the palace from the Empress Dowager's place, it was not yet 9 PM, while he did not leave the palace until 1 AM.

Where did he go during that one hour, such a long time?
Shen Qingwan felt increasingly unable to understand Prince Rui, which reminded her of the night Emperor Yuanwu stayed at Kunning Palace. She couldn't sleep in the middle of the night and came out of the palace, where she heard people talking in the corner of the wall.

She remembered hearing it very clearly; it was a woman's voice. But who was the person with that woman?

Could it be Prince Rui?

She had almost forgotten about it, and even when she heard it, she simply thought that a palace maid and a guard were having a secret rendezvous in the palace in the middle of the night.

Shen Qingwan always felt that the rumors in the harem were not entirely unfounded. Could it be that Prince Rui really had a lover, a concubine?
He went to great lengths to get Emperor Yuanwu to reserve a residence for him in the harem, just so that it would be convenient for him to meet with her.

So, when she overheard him asking when he planned to make his move, was it an elopement?
That's exciting!

Shen Qingwan thought about it more and more and felt that her analysis made sense, but who exactly was this woman?

"By the way, go and tell Consort Shu to replace the guards with a new group, and make sure not to mention what happened last night," Shen Qingwan solemnly instructed.

"Yes, Your Majesty, rest assured, this servant knows what to do."

Zhen'er had just stepped out when Emperor Yuanwu hurriedly walked in.

Judging from his expression, he seemed somewhat...

"Greetings to Your Majesty, may Your Majesty be well." Shen Qingwan curtsied.