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

Chapter 374 Grievance
Emperor Yuanwu nodded in agreement, "But there always needs to be some kind of hype for promotions."

"In a few days, the Third Prince will turn one year old. Why don't we wait until his first birthday to hold the investiture ceremony together?"

After a pause, Shen Qingwan continued, "Now that the Emperor's court is peaceful and harmonious, it is indeed time to take a look at the harem. There has been no one pregnant in the harem for quite some time."

Emperor Yuanwu raised his eyes and glanced at her. "Does the Empress mean to imply that she is blaming me for favoring Consort Yan all this time?"

"Your Majesty, you have truly wronged me." Shen Qingwan's face darkened, as if she were angry. "If the harem cannot produce more offspring soon, I will be punished when I go to Cining Palace to pay my respects to the Empress Dowager."

Emperor Yuanwu chuckled lightly, "So, to demonstrate her virtue, the Empress arranged for all the concubines to reside in her own palace."

Shen Qingwan: ...

The way Emperor Yuanwu said it sounded like he was being hypocritical, like he had gotten a good deal but was still being ungrateful.

"Then the Emperor doesn't like my arrangements, so I won't make any more arrangements in the future."

"I am only afraid that I will wrong the Empress."

Shen Qingwan thought to herself that Emperor Yuanwu was just saying some insincere official words, "As long as the six palaces are harmonious, I, as the empress, will not feel wronged."

As they talked, they fell silent and simply sat side by side, each drinking their own tea.

Shen Qingwan knew that he had chosen Consort Xia, but since things had already come to this point, Emperor Yuanwu couldn't just turn around and leave.

To give him a way out, Shen Qingwan reluctantly yawned.

"Is the Empress tired?" Emperor Yuanwu said, standing up. "Since the Empress is tired, she should rest early. I will come to see you another day."

"Congratulations to the emperor."

Shen Qingwan stood up and bowed.

After Emperor Yuanwu left, Shen Qingwan took a book and sat on the chaise longue to read it.

After the palace maid finished packing, Zhen'er lit some benzoin incense and brewed a pot of osmanthus tea. She glanced cautiously at the Empress, feeling that Emperor Yuanwu had left too quickly and that the Empress might feel uncomfortable.

After a while, Shen Qingwan continued reading and drinking osmanthus tea, appearing completely at ease, as if she hadn't taken what had just happened to heart at all.

Zhen'er found it increasingly difficult to understand what the concubines in the harem were thinking.
Why are they all vying for the Emperor's favor, yet none of them seem to care about him at all?

If they truly dislike the emperor.

So why do we even need to fight over this?

Zhen'er couldn't figure it out, so she simply stopped thinking about it. Only the Empress seemed to be doing well, and the other concubines in the palace didn't seem to have much to do with her anymore.

"Your Highness, you ate such a greasy meal tonight. Would you like me to get you some fresh fruit to help you cleanse your palate?"

If Zhen'er hadn't said anything, she wouldn't have thought much of it. But after Zhen'er brought it up, she realized that the meat dishes on the table just now weren't as satisfying as the vegetarian dishes from that day.

Unfortunately, Emperor Yuanwu was fond of her, so she had no choice but to swallow her pride and accompany him.

"Go cut some apples, cut a lot, and you can all have some too..."

When Emperor Yuanwu arrived at Xianfu Palace, Consort Xia was already waiting at the palace gate.

A red satin bodice covered her chest, over which she wore a red gauze robe. Through the semi-transparent red gauze, her jade-like skin and slender arms were faintly visible. Her ten fingers, as delicate as scallions, caressed the strings of the zither, from which flowed melodious and moving music. Seeing Emperor Yuanwu approach, she curtsied and said, "This concubine greets Your Majesty, may Your Majesty be well."

"Get up." Emperor Yuanwu reached out and helped her up. "Although it is spring, it is not summer yet. You are dressed so lightly. Don't wait outside, or you will catch a cold."

"Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty." After saying this, Consort Xia curtsied again. "I will be careful."

Consort Xia took Emperor Yuanwu's arm and walked towards the imperial bedchamber.

Only one lamp was lit in the bedchamber, its dim light casting a soft, warm yellow glow. Especially since Consort Xia was only draped in a thin veil, her graceful figure was faintly visible under the lamplight.

"What incense did you light? It smells so good!" Emperor Yuanwu's expression was somewhat dazed.

"These are spices that I specially prepared for Your Majesty. Do you like them?" Consort Xia hooked one arm around Emperor Yuanwu's neck and slid into his arms.

The next morning.

Early in the morning, Consort De went to Kunning Palace with her maid, Pei'er.

"Your Majesty, you've finally come to your senses. This servant still believes that the Empress is cunning. I don't know what tricks Consort Xia used to get so close to the Empress, and the Empress even helps her compete for favor."

Consort De sneered, "When I was with the Empress before, I never saw her help me win the Emperor's favor."

“Your Majesty, when you and the Empress were on good terms, the Emperor didn’t even pay attention to the Empress. She was too busy taking care of herself. Besides, back then, the Emperor would come to you whenever he had free time, so he didn’t need anyone to help you win the Emperor’s favor.”

Consort De listened and couldn't help but sigh.

Yes!

She was once favored, but that was all in the past.

Emperor Yuanwu had not visited Yanxi Palace for a long time; he had probably long forgotten that there was such a person as him in the harem.

“Your Majesty, don’t worry. No matter what, your relationship with the Empress was very good before. It only soured later because of Lady Pang. Now that she’s dead, the rift between you and the Empress should disappear with her death. You should visit Kunning Palace more often. The Emperor doesn’t dine at the Empress’s palace very often these days, so you might run into her one day. If you do, the Empress will naturally remember Your Majesty. Your Majesty, please don’t be anxious,” Pei’er advised.

Yes!

To gain favor, one must be able to see the Emperor. Now, she can't even see the Emperor, so what's the point of talking about being favored?

When Consort De arrived at the palace gate, she happened to run into Noble Lady Xia.

"This concubine greets Consort De. May Consort De be blessed." Consort Xia curtsied.

Consort De looked her up and down, and said with a half-smile, "Now that Consort Xia is favored, she really has a lot of airs about her. You, a mere consort, can just bend your knees when you see me? Did you not learn proper etiquette from your governesses when you entered the palace, or do you simply not respect me at all?"

Consort Xia frowned slightly and knelt on the ground. "This concubine greets Consort De. May Consort De be blessed with good health and longevity. It was my fault for being impolite. Please forgive me."

Concubine De: ...

The words of reprimand that Consort De wanted to say stuck in her throat.

She never expected that Consort Xia would be so sensible as to kneel down on the ground.

The favored concubines in the palace, the day after serving the emperor, would be so eager that their eyes would grow to their eyebrows.

This Lady Xia...