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

Chapter 365 Adoptive Mother
"Oh?" Emperor Yuanwu turned his head and glanced at her, his tone drawn out. "Empress, tell me, what are the duties of an empress?"

Shen Qingwan: ? ? ?

Is Emperor Yuanwu having trouble sleeping and trying to kill time by chatting with her?

A moment of passion is worth a thousand pieces of gold. She really felt sorry for Emperor Yuanwu. He wasted such precious time talking to her in official jargon instead of having children with his concubines.

"As Empress, it is my duty to manage the harem for the Emperor and take good care of the imperial heirs," Shen Qingwan said firmly.

"Anything else?" Emperor Yuanwu said, glancing at Shen Qingwan again.

besides……?
"A dutiful and filial mother."

"anything else?"

Shen Qingwan: ? ? ?

There aren't that many left.

"Harmony within the palace."

"Hmm," Emperor Yuanwu responded calmly, "Anything else?"

“Reduce the expenses of the harem.”

Shen Qingwan said confidently, as she was calculating in her mind what she could do after Emperor Yuanwu said "And then what?"

Unexpectedly, this time, Emperor Yuanwu not only didn't speak, but instead turned over heavily as if he was angry, leaving her with his back to her.

Shen Qingwan: ...

Was she wrong?
However, this made Shen Qingwan feel much more at ease.

She was already feeling unwell during her period, and on top of that, she had been busy for so long because of the Zhongcui Palace incident. After drinking that bowl of warm ginger tea, her body felt warm, and with a hot water bottle in her arms placed on her stomach, the stomach pain subsided. Before long, her breathing became long and even, and she fell into a deep sleep.

Shen Qingwan fell asleep, but Emperor Yuanwu couldn't sleep at all.

The moment the silence beside him completely subsided, he felt a chill; the blanket that had been covering him was gone.

He turned around, just as he was about to pull the blanket back, Shen Qingwan also turned over. Her hand, in the instant she turned, landed on Emperor Yuanwu's face, and the hot water bottle in her hand slid down her fingertips, hitting his nose.

Emperor Yuanwu felt a lump in his throat, let out a muffled groan, and sat up abruptly in bed. He rubbed his nose with his hand and glared angrily at the person beside him.

Unfortunately, Shen Qingwan was sleeping soundly, completely unaware of the huge trouble she had caused, and instead lay sprawled out, taking up most of the bed.

Once Emperor Yuanwu got up, it became difficult for him to lie back down, especially since he was worried that she might pull something out of the blanket and smash his face in two.

Emperor Yuanwu sat up in bed in agitation, "Wu Jixiang, Wu Jixiang."

Wu Jixiang was dozing off outside the door when he heard the noise and was instantly awakened. His hat fell off his head and almost hit his face.

He stood up in a panic and glanced at Zhen'er, who was keeping watch to the side.

Based on his understanding of Emperor Yuanwu, having been by his side since childhood, he could tell that there was a hint of anger in the tone of Emperor Yuanwu's voice when he called his name just now.

Weren't those two already asleep?
Why call him in in the middle of the night? Besides, the Empress just... it's not convenient for her to serve the Emperor right now, so she certainly wouldn't be calling for water. Zhen'er heard this and stood up as well. She waited for Shen Qingwan's voice, but after a while, Wu Jixiang had already gone in, and she still hadn't heard Shen Qingwan call her. She was hesitating whether to go in or not.

Emperor Yuanwu, disheveled, pushed open the door of his bedchamber and walked out, his face appearing quite unwell.

"Oh dear, Your Majesty, what are you doing in the middle of the night? Your...your clothes..."

Wu Jixiang followed behind, hurriedly helping him straighten his clothes, "Your Majesty, please slow down... please wait for this servant..."

Zhen'er: ? ? ?
What's going on?
Before she could even react and bow, Emperor Yuanwu had already strode out of the gates of Kunning Palace.

Oops!

Zhen'er rushed in with a start and saw Shen Qingwan sleeping soundly, but the blanket on her body had been kicked off to one side. She skillfully pulled the blanket back and covered Shen Qingwan with it, then sat on the edge of the bed and lazily yawned.

The next morning.

When Shen Qingwan woke up, she saw Kong Kong beside her and asked in surprise, "Zhen'er, where is the Emperor? What time is it? Did the Emperor go to court so early?"

Zhen'er's expression was somewhat complicated. "Your Majesty, you slept soundly last night. The Emperor left in the middle of the night."

what?
Did he leave in the middle of the night?

Why didn't she know?
However, this is not hard to understand. Why would Emperor Yuanwu leave his many concubines neglected and stay in her palace, where he could not serve him?

Shen Qingwan had just finished washing up and sat down at the food plate when Su Tianhe came over. "Your Majesty, the First Prince has arrived."

Jiang Wenlan?
Why did he come at this hour?
Shen Qingwan quickly put down her chopsticks and went outside.

Jiang Wenlan was standing in the courtyard when he saw her. He was clearly startled. He paused in his movement to kneel down and quickly ran to Shen Qingwan. “Empress Mother, you are weak right now and cannot be exposed to the wind. Why did you come out? Let me help you back to bed.”

Shen Qingwan was startled, and suddenly remembered that, according to Emperor Yuanwu, she was on the second day after her miscarriage, which was the weakest time of her life, and she really shouldn't have gotten out of bed.

"Your Majesty is not that delicate. Your Majesty just heard that you came and wanted to see you. Why didn't you go to the Imperial Study at this hour?" Shen Qingwan let Jiang Wenlan support her as she walked towards the bedroom. As she passed the food plate, she glanced longingly at the congee and side dishes on it.

"It's still early. After I've seen Your Majesty, I'll go to the study. Your Majesty, please rest well. I'll come to see you again after I leave the study. If there's anything Your Majesty needs to do, please instruct the servants to do it. At this time, Your Majesty should try not to get out of bed. Only by taking good care of your health can you give birth to a legitimate son with Your Majesty as soon as possible."

Shen Qingwan: ...

The imperial harem is too chaotic; not only are mothers-in-law pressuring women to have children, but children themselves are also pressuring them to have children.

Although she didn't understand, she had to accept that the ultimate reliance of a woman in the harem was definitely not the emperor, but rather a promising son.

Jiang Wenlan's words to her today made her realize that he had grown up and was no longer the child who only knew how to catch fish by the lake.

Not only have they grown up, they've also grown taller. I reckon in another two years, they'll be taller than her.

"Alright, alright, I've remembered everything you said. It's getting late, hurry up and go to the study, or your teacher will punish you if you're late," Shen Qingwan said softly.

"Then I will come to see Your Majesty from the study. Your Majesty must not get out of bed again. If any concubines from the harem come to disturb you, Your Majesty should use your empress's authority to send them away, so as not to disturb Your Majesty's rest." Jiang Wenlan's expression was serious and earnest.

Shen Qingwan felt a little uneasy. She always felt that this child, who had no mother by his side since childhood, was much more mature than children of the same age.

What if we found him a suitable foster mother in the imperial harem?