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

Chapter 351 Lack of Humanity

As the saying goes, it's easier to change mountains and rivers than to change one's nature.

Prince Yao couldn't understand it. They had met several times at palace banquets, but he had only assumed that the Empress was simply not favored and had changed her methods to compete for the Emperor's affections.

How can a person undergo such a drastic change overnight?

It wasn't just her personality; she also exuded an indescribable air of authority that he hadn't seen in the palace for a long time...

“Jiang Wenlan is a prince, and a prince has the demeanor of a prince. Even if Cao Wenya does something disrespectful or harms him, as a man, he would never lay a hand on a woman who is powerless to even kill a chicken. As for Prince Yao, I am a little curious. Is it the family tradition of Prince Yao’s mansion to disrespect a prince and to injure him?” Shen Qingwan’s beautiful face revealed a smile, but the smile seemed to carry a hint of sarcasm.

Prince Yao's face turned pale. "Your Highness is truly outspoken. How could you make such a big deal out of a child's play?"

“Whether it’s serious or not, the injury on the eldest prince’s head is real. Does Prince Yao think it’s a difficult thing to make the person who injured the eldest prince apologize to him?” Shen Qingwan’s voice gradually became stern.

"Your Majesty, I respectfully address you as my sister-in-law. Are you really putting on airs in front of me?"

Prince Yao gritted his teeth and spoke slowly and deliberately, his tone carrying an undisguised threat and warning. He wanted to use this method to make the woman in front of him back down, but Shen Qingwan showed no sign of backing down. Instead, she looked back at him with a firm gaze.

Inside the bedchamber, the servants trembled with fear, even breathing cautiously, lest the anger between Prince Yao and the Empress spill over onto them and they be implicated.

The two were deadlocked, neither willing to give in first. Instead, Cao Wenya burst into tears, "This palace is no fun at all! I want to go home, I want to go home..."

Before he could finish speaking, he plopped down on the ground.

Shen Qingwan frowned as she watched her cry, make a scene, and threaten suicide, displaying an ill-mannered behavior.

The Cao family, the maternal family of Prince Yao's wife, is also a prominent family in the capital. If such a beautiful girl is not properly disciplined, I'm afraid whoever marries her in the future will be unlucky.

"Alright, alright, your uncle will take you back to our palace now. The palace isn't fun, so we're not going to play here anymore."

As Prince Yao spoke, he grabbed her hand, intending to lead her away, but Shen Qingwan quickly stepped in front of them.

“Prince Yao, if you don’t apologize to the First Prince today, no one will leave this house.”

"Your Majesty the Empress." Prince Yao's voice was solemn and cold, devoid of any emotion: "There's no need to make things ugly for everyone over an unfavored prince. I see you look pale. Your Majesty should mind your own business first before meddling in other people's affairs. Could it be that Your Majesty has some other thoughts about this motherless eldest prince who is unwanted and neglected?"

Shen Qingwan stood firmly in place, without yielding an inch. "No matter what Prince Yao says today, she won't leave through this door until she apologizes to Jiang Wenlan. If Prince Yao can't discipline the children in his household, I, as the Empress, am the mother of the nation and would not mind helping Prince Yao teach the children. It is a great virtue to admit one's mistakes and correct them, but if one admits one's mistakes and does not correct them, it will surely lead to disaster in the future."

“You…” Prince Yao’s face turned ashen with anger. He pointed a finger at Shen Qingwan. It was clear that neither of them was willing to back down, and the tension had reached an uncontrollable point.

"Mother..." Jiang Wenlan leaned against the bedside and forced himself to sit up. "Mother, this matter is all my fault..."

Upon hearing this, Prince Yao's lips curled into a smug smile, but Jiang Wenlan hadn't even had a chance to utter the word "wrong."

A voice announced something from the doorway.

"The Empress Dowager has arrived! The Emperor has arrived!" Why is the Empress Dowager here?

Prince Yao's expression changed, and he hurriedly knelt down to pay his respects. Cao Wenya saw Prince Yao kneel down, but she still stood there arrogantly. This time, Prince Yao no longer indulged her. He punched the back of her knee and pulled her down. Cao Wenya groaned in pain and knelt down beside him.

"What exactly happened?" The Empress Dowager's face was grim. She didn't even notice the person kneeling on the ground and walked straight to the bedside. "How did you servants take care of him? He kowtowed for no reason and even bled. If anything happens to the First Prince, I will definitely cut off the heads of all the prince's servants."

Shen Qingwan breathed a sigh of relief as she listened to the Empress Dowager's words.

Whether Emperor Yuanwu loved Jiang Wenlan or not seemed unimportant at this moment. The Empress Dowager loved him and was willing to support him, so this matter was easy to handle.

Perhaps this is the special bond between grandparents and grandchildren, or perhaps there are so few children in the harem that princes seem incredibly precious.

"Your Majesty, please forgive me. It was all Wenya's fault. When Wenya was playing with the First Prince, she accidentally hurt him. But Wenya really didn't mean it." Prince Yao knelt on the ground, his attitude sincere.

Shen Qingwan: ...

Shen Qingwan couldn't help but curse his ancestors for eighteen generations in her heart.

@###￥！ @#￥%￥%……&——&%……￥#￥%%
This is just treating people differently based on their status!
This Prince Yao really changes his face faster than turning the pages of a book. Where did his arrogant and stubborn attitude go just now?

If he dared to repeat what he had just told her in front of the Empress Dowager, then...

She genuinely respected him as a man.

"Wenya? What an elegant name. She looks quite old. How could the maternal family of Prince Rui's wife raise such an unseemly child? If the Cao family cannot raise a child well, then let her stay in the palace and I will personally raise her!" the Empress Dowager reprimanded.

Shen Qingwan was slightly taken aback upon hearing the Empress Dowager's words.

She always felt that the Empress Dowager's words were meant to imply that the children were not being raised properly. When she came over, she had only heard that Jiang Wenlan had been pushed down and injured his head by Cao Wenya while playing with her.

Logically speaking, it's inevitable that two children will bump into each other while playing together, but the Empress Dowager immediately used the word "manners," which was clearly what she had just said to Prince Rui.

Could it be that the Empress Dowager had spies in the Prince's quarters all along?

Or is it that there were not only spies of the Empress Dowager, but also...

Thinking of this, Shen Qingwan raised her eyes and glanced at Emperor Yuanwu. Coincidentally, Emperor Yuanwu was also looking in her direction at that moment.

Their eyes met briefly, but Shen Qingwan quickly shifted her gaze to Jiang Wenlan.

She used to not understand why the original owner of this body became so arrogant and domineering in the palace, but now she understands it a little better.

When you encounter a group of inhuman beings like this, there's no reasoning with them.

"The Empress Dowager..."