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

Chapter 369 Osmanthus?

"It's all my fault. I shouldn't have brought these things up and made Consort Xia sad," Shen Qingwan said remorsefully. "But now that I've entered the palace, I'm the Emperor's person. What's past is past. I should serve the Emperor well. If I can give birth to a son or daughter, I'll have someone to rely on in the future."

Although Shen Qingwan disliked such words of advice, it seemed that at this time, they were the most effective.

Consort Xia seemed to have heard what was on her mind, and her face was noticeably less sad than before. "Thank you for your kind words, Your Majesty, but I'm afraid I don't have such good fortune."

“How could there not be?” Shen Qingwan took her hand. “You are so young and beautiful. As long as you pay more attention to the Emperor, he will definitely like you.”

"If Your Majesty truly values ​​me, I will certainly thank Your Majesty for your kind words today." As Consort Xia spoke, she seemed less happy. "However... I have contracted such a disease, and even if I recover, I fear Your Majesty will still be wary of me and will never visit my palace again."

"No," Shen Qingwan said firmly.

"Hmm?" Consort Xia seemed puzzled, drawing out the last syllable.

Consort Xia was innocently implicated. If she was ill, then Emperor Yuanwu would be the first to be implicated; he should be the one who is most ill.

If you can capitalize on a man's sense of guilt, how could you possibly lack favor?

In addition, in the harem nowadays, people either die or are punished; if they are pregnant, they cannot serve the emperor, or they are banished to the cold palace.

Of the few remaining concubines, only a handful were capable of bearing children.

Shen Qingwan felt that Emperor Yuanwu would use his strength in a useful way, so Xia Guiren still had a good chance of gaining favor, it mainly depended on whether she was willing to do so.

"If you are willing, I can try to help you," Shen Qingwan said softly.

"Try?" Consort Xia was a little confused. "I am ignorant, please enlighten me, Your Majesty the Empress."

Shen Qingwan waved to her, and Consort Xia got up and walked to her side, leaning down and getting closer.

As Consort Xia listened, her face changed color like a palette, until even her ears turned red.

"Your Majesty," Consort Xia said shyly, her cheeks flushing.

"If you really want to gain favor, do as I say."

After Consort Xia left.

Shen Qingwan remained in the same spot, staring in the direction she had left, and sat there for a while before getting up.

It turns out that the person on that day was her...

Zhen'er helped Shen Qingwan walk towards the palace. She asked, puzzled, "Your Highness, what did you just say to Consort Xia? I think Consort Xia is almost dying of embarrassment."

Shen Qingwan couldn't suppress the upward curve of her lips. She suddenly stopped and turned to look at Zhen'er. "What? You want to hear it too?"

"No...no no no."

Zhen'er waved her hands incoherently, almost using both hands and feet, "What is Your Highness saying? This servant is just curious, I have no desire to hear it."

Shen Qingwan gazed at her gently for a while. In this era, a woman's ultimate destiny was still to marry and have children.

As for whether she lives well or not, it all depends on her husband's preference.

"Zhen'er, you're not young anymore. Have you ever thought about getting married?" Shen Qingwan paused. "If you have this thought, or if you have a man you like, tell me. I will definitely help you and ask the Emperor to grant you a marriage. Whether you become a wife or a concubine, with me by your side, your husband's family will never dare to look down on you."

Zhen'er froze for a moment, blinked, and tears involuntarily fell. "Your Majesty, what do you mean by that? Do you not want Zhen'er anymore? Did Zhen'er do something wrong to upset Your Majesty? This is my punishment of kneeling." Shen Qingwan: ...

Shen Qingwan pulled her back. "What are you talking about? I'm just thinking about your future. You're different from Su Tianhe. He's destined to serve in the palace for the rest of his life. Even if he doesn't follow me in the future, he'll have a new master. But you can choose. You can choose to leave the palace and walk out of this dark and treacherous palace."

Zhen'er shook her head uncontrollably. "This servant will not leave the palace. This servant does not want to get married. This servant only wants to serve Your Majesty. As long as Your Majesty does not find this servant stupid, wherever Your Majesty goes, this servant will go."

"Alright, alright. If you ever find someone you like, be sure to tell me. I will definitely stand up for you." Shen Qingwan comforted her by raising her hand and patting her head.

"Your Majesty, you're acting so strangely today, saying such odd things." Zhen'er pouted. "Zhang Mama has served the Empress Dowager her whole life, and she's never married, has she? She's doing just fine, so why does Your Majesty keep pushing me away?"

Shen Qingwan: ...

It's surprising that the original owner's personal maid had such high awareness.

"Alright, alright, I was wrong. I won't say it again..."

Shen Qingwan lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep. She felt uneasy, as if something was about to happen.

After a long time, she seemed to dream of herself, and also seemed to dream of the original owner's childhood...

The little girl was dressed in a bright red brocade dress. She was standing on a noisy street when suddenly everyone around her disappeared and a group of people with knives in their hands and ferocious faces appeared.

Terrified, she turned and ran, with the men chasing after her.

As they ran, it grew darker and darker until they reached the edge of a cliff, where the group of people had vanished.

She was so scared she kept crying and crying...

A little boy stood on the edge of the cliff, holding a piece of osmanthus cake in his hand.

He walked up to her and said, "Don't cry. I'll give you some osmanthus cake. Mother said that after eating osmanthus cake, you can't cry anymore."

Just as she reached out to take the osmanthus cake, the group of people who had been chasing her suddenly appeared out of nowhere, and a knife slashed across her cheek and plunged into the boy's body.

The moment the little boy was kicked off the cliff, blood splattered into her eyes, blurring her vision. A golden phoenix flew out from her eyes.

"what……"

Shen Qingwan woke up from her dream in a cold sweat.

"Your Highness, are you alright?" Zhen'er quickly walked to the bedside and reached out to wipe the sweat from her forehead. "Your Highness, why are you sweating so much? Did you have a nightmare?"

Shen Qingwan didn't speak, she just breathed heavily.

It seems like she hasn't dreamt in a long time...

What a strange dream!
What does this dream mean?
Is there some hidden meaning behind this?
Zhen'er poured a bowl of tea and placed it in Shen Qingwan's hands. "Your Majesty, please have a few sips of tea to calm your nerves."

Shen Qingwan nodded slowly. She took the teacup from Zhen'er, skimmed off the tea leaves floating on the surface with the lid, and took a small sip.

Osmanthus fragrans?

Zhen'er asked in surprise, "Your Highness, is there something wrong with this tea?"

Shen Qingwan paused for a moment, "Zhen'er, do you know about Prince Rui's mother?"