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

Chapter 347 Exclusion
Emperor Yuanwu nodded, signaling everyone in the bedchamber to leave. Only when he and Shen Qingwan were the only two left in the bedchamber did he walk to her bedside and sit down.

"My mother was very worried about the Empress's illness. This morning she summoned me to Cining Palace and scolded me for a long time. It was indeed my fault in this matter."

Emperor Yuanwu spoke in a calm tone, as if he were talking about something unrelated to himself, but these few simple words made Shen Qingwan's pupils tremble violently.

Even if Emperor Yuanwu was wrong in this matter, he was still the emperor.

How could a great emperor easily admit his mistakes in front of others? Was it simply because she was the empress?
Shen Qingwan looked up at Emperor Yuanwu in disbelief, just as he was looking right at her.

At this point, she was almost certain that the Empress Dowager, Emperor Yuanwu, Zhen'er, and possibly everyone in the harem believed that her illness was related to her beating Yan Pin's personal maid and being punished by Emperor Yuanwu.

Shen Qingwan couldn't help but swallow hard. It seemed that this misunderstanding was all caused by Physician Zhang's words, "anger attacking the heart."

At this moment, she began to doubt Zhang Taiyi's medical skills. If it weren't for the fact that he had been in the Imperial Hospital for so many years and was one of the top doctors there, she would have really doubted whether Zhang Taiyi was a quack.

Which pulse did she take to diagnose her as having a sudden attack of internal heat?

Is it not just a simple viral infection?
In the end, it's all Prince Rui's fault. He told her to add honeysuckle to her tea early on, and what's even more ridiculous is that she actually did it.

Whether it was because the honeysuckle was ineffective or because Prince Rui possessed the ability to foresee the future, she ultimately could not escape this cold.

It seems that the original owner also nearly lost his life due to a cold back then.

Even with the poor medical skills at that time, Physician Zhang's medicine brought down her high fever. Could it be that the original owner deliberately refused to take medicine because she was afraid of being treated? Otherwise, how could she have lost her life?

Given the original owner's arrogant and domineering personality back then, she didn't seem like someone would do something so drastic. Could it be that someone tampered with her medicine?
So who could this person be?

Emperor Yuanwu rarely took the initiative to admit his mistake to Shen Qingwan, but after he finished speaking, he still looked at her with a solemn expression and showed no intention of acknowledging him. This made Emperor Yuanwu, who had always been fawned over in the harem and had never taken the initiative to admit his mistakes to anyone, feel very unhappy.

He couldn't help but cough lightly, which brought Shen Qingwan back to her senses.

"Your Majesty, I have taken the medicine prescribed by Physician Zhang and am feeling much better now. Why haven't you gone to court at this hour? If Your Majesty has something to attend to, please go ahead and do your business. I will take two more doses of medicine later and then I will be fine."

If Shen Qingwan hadn't acted so nonchalantly, Emperor Yuanwu would have really thought she was still angry after hearing her irrelevant answer. But her calm and composed expression showed no sign of anger at all.

This left Emperor Yuanwu feeling quite uneasy...

A man's desire to conquer naturally means allowing his woman to be completely beyond his control, but Shen Qingwan is precisely the kind of woman he cannot fully control.

"Does the Empress's words indicate that she still harbors resentment towards me?" Emperor Yuanwu's eyes were deep, tinged with an indescribable anger.

"Your Majesty, I am already ill. I am so weak that even the slightest movement leaves me drenched in sweat. I have no strength left to argue with you." Shen Qingwan sighed helplessly in her heart. Before she spoke, Emperor Yuanwu had not noticed, but after she finished speaking, he suddenly realized that in just a short while, her forehead was already covered with a fine layer of sweat.

Emperor Yuanwu hurriedly helped her lie down. "In short, this matter was my fault. However, as a monarch, I naturally have my own difficulties. There are some things that I cannot discuss with the Empress at this time. In the future, I will certainly give the Empress an explanation. I'm afraid that the Empress will have to suffer for some time to come."

Shen Qingwan pulled the blanket tighter around herself, feeling speechless. Since she was speechless, she simply stopped talking.

This inevitably brings to mind the last time Emperor Yuanwu punished Gao Da, using her as a pretext to punish him. It seems that this time, she will inevitably bear another bad reputation.

Anyway, it wasn't the first time. Receiving the palace salary and enjoying the rewards from Emperor Yuanwu and the Empress Dowager, one always has to make some sacrifices.

Shen Qingwan was simply curious about what Emperor Yuanwu intended to use to punish the people he wanted to punish this time.

Even if he had a flawless plan, her beating of Consort Yan's personal maid should not have been part of his plan. Could it be that she forced her way in?

Shen Qingwan discovered that these princes were all incredibly shrewd and calculating. If they set up a fortune-telling stall, they might make a fortune, perhaps even more than he would as emperor.

She was already sick, and now, perhaps because she was thinking too much, she felt a buzzing in her head and was a little dizzy.

Shen Qingwan thought to herself that she could do whatever Emperor Yuanwu wanted, since she was powerless to stop him anyway. She might as well take this time to rest and recuperate.

Without the morning greetings from the palace officials, she could sleep in and avoid the painful early mornings, which was indeed a good thing.

Emperor Yuanwu wasn't sure if the Empress had understood what he was saying. Seeing that she looked unwell and her forehead was covered in sweat, he reached out and touched her forehead.

The icy touch made Shen Qingwan open her eyes with a start, and for a moment, she felt her breath catch in her throat.

She initially thought Emperor Yuanwu wanted to do something to her, a patient, but it took her a while to realize that he was just checking her temperature.

Shen Qingwan breathed a long sigh of relief, but his hand on her forehead made her feel very uncomfortable. She wanted to dodge, but she was lying flat on the bed, and unless the bed collapsed, there was nowhere for her to hide.

Emperor Yuanwu's lips unconsciously curved into a slight smile as he looked at her nervous expression.

He had only intended to touch her forehead to see if her fever had subsided, but now he had other thoughts.

Shen Qingwan's eyes widened. It seemed to be the first time she had been so close to him. A faint fragrance emanated from his fingertips, probably the same kind of incense used in the Hall of Mental Cultivation. As for what kind of incense it was, Shen Qingwan didn't know. The fragrance permeated her nostrils, making her feel very uncomfortable.

She didn't understand that sentence before: when you don't like someone, you will have a physiological aversion to that person.

At that moment, she seemed to understand...