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

Chapter 382 Confession
Seeing her crying and sobbing, Emperor Yuanwu's already gloomy face darkened even more.

"I didn't ask you anything, so how can you be wronged?"

Consort De's sobs faltered, "Your Majesty...Your Majesty."

"Your Majesty? I'm asking you, you just said you would send the First Prince back to the Princes' Residence, and this is how you're sending him back?"

Consort De was speechless. "I... just wanted to escort the eldest prince back to his residence, but he ran too fast and I couldn't catch up. Children are always mischievous."

"Your Majesty, that's not how it is."

Upon hearing this, the young eunuch kneeling to the side couldn't help but speak up, his voice trembling with tears, "It was clearly Consort Xian who said something to the First Prince that frightened him, which is why he ran to the Prince's place in fear. It wasn't what Consort De said."

Emperor Yuanwu's eyes darkened further, and his tone became even colder than before, "Consort De, is this what he said?"

"No..." Consort De's pale face had lost all color, but she still couldn't hide the panic in her eyes. "I didn't, why would I deliberately scare the eldest prince?"

"Then tell me, what exactly did you say to the First Prince that made him so afraid?" Emperor Yuanwu continued to press.

"I was just saying..."

At this point, Consort De suddenly froze.

She couldn't very well tell the Emperor directly that she only wanted to adopt the eldest prince and hadn't threatened him.

But if these words were to be spoken out, not only would Consort De's rank be affected, but even her maternal clan would be implicated.

Throughout history, the emperors have been most wary of having concubines in their harem who covet the position of crown prince.

Even if everyone has such thoughts, no one will reveal them unless they are truly tired of living.

"Your Majesty, I only chatted casually with the First Prince for a few minutes. I really didn't say anything to frighten him. Please don't pursue this matter any further."

"Not to pursue it further?" Emperor Yuanwu's narrow eyes narrowed slightly into a straight line. "What a fine line, 'not to pursue it further'."

Emperor Yuanwu's furious voice sent chills down everyone's spine, and the servants in the bedchamber instantly knelt on the ground, pleading, "Your Majesty, please forgive us."

"De Fei!"

"what!"

Consort De's eyes widened in surprise.

"If you hadn't just said that you would properly send the eldest prince back to the princes' quarters, how could I have entrusted him to you? If you really don't like the eldest prince, there's no need for you to put on a loving mother's face in front of me. If I had known that you would leave the eldest prince halfway, I would never have handed him over to you."

"Your Majesty, I was wrong, I was really wrong."

Consort De cried her heart out, kneeling on the ground and kowtowing repeatedly. It wasn't that she regretted anything; she was truly wronged.

When the eldest prince separated from her, he was perfectly fine. How did he fall like this as soon as he turned his head?

Although Emperor Yuanwu was angry, he couldn't really do anything to Consort De.

The eldest prince's fall looked serious, but he only suffered a minor scrape; it shouldn't be anything serious.

At most, Consort De was negligent in her duties and failed to take good care of the eldest prince, which caused him to fall. Ultimately, it was not Consort De who pushed him down.

"Consort De failed to take good care of the eldest prince and was confined to Yanxi Palace for three months to copy scriptures and pray for his well-being."

After Emperor Yuanwu finished speaking, he turned to Shen Qingwan, who was standing beside him, and said, "If the eldest prince comes to your palace for dinner again in the future, and it gets dark outside, don't let him go back to his prince's quarters. Just let him stay in Kunning Palace. You are the Empress, and all the children in the palace must call you Imperial Mother. Since you are an Imperial Mother, you should act like one." Shen Qingwan curtsied, "Your Majesty is right. When I return to the palace later, I will have someone prepare the side hall. If the eldest prince comes to Kunning Palace for dinner again, I will let him stay and won't let him travel back to his prince's quarters at night."

Emperor Yuanwu's expression softened somewhat; he had been genuinely furious when he heard that Jiang Wenlan had fainted from the fall.

Because of his anger, he felt a tightness in his chest, as if something was blocking it. Now, a sharp pain shot through him, and he couldn't help but raise his hand and rub his chest.

"Your Majesty, are you okay?"

Sitting next to him, Shen Qingwan naturally noticed this little action and couldn't help but ask.

Emperor Yuanwu slowly shook his head. The pain in his chest caused his flushed face to turn pale.

Just as Shen Qingwan was about to call the imperial physician over to examine Emperor Yuanwu, a soft cough came from beside the bed.

"Cough cough cough..."

"You're awake? Do you feel unwell anywhere?"

Jiang Wenlan looked around in a daze, as if she were somewhat afraid. With a flustered look in her eyes, she shrank into the corner of the wall.

Upon seeing this, Emperor Yuanwu completely forgot the pain in his chest and reached out to pull Jiang Wenlan to his side.

Before his fingertips even touched Jiang Wenlan, Jiang Wenlan screamed as if she had been startled.

The scream startled everyone in the hall.

"Hurry up and call the imperial physician in!" Shen Qingwan said sternly.

Consort De, kneeling on the ground, peeked in Jiang Wenlan's direction and looked quite surprised.

Could it be that after Jiang Wenlan parted ways with her, he really saw something or met someone?

Judging from his fearful expression, it really did seem like he had encountered a ghost.

ghost!
Upon hearing this word, Consort De recalled seeing Consort Li, who had been dead for many years, in the night, and how she thought she would come to claim her life.

Could it be that Consort Li missed her son and returned in the middle of the night, scaring the eldest prince so much that he tripped on his way home?

The more Consort De thought about it, the more she felt it made sense. As she continued thinking, she felt a chill run down her spine.

Upon hearing the sound, Imperial Physician Li quickly walked in from outside the hall.

When Emperor Yuanwu saw that the visitor was Physician Li instead of Physician Zhang, his expression changed drastically. "Where is Physician Zhang?"

Physician Li stammered, "Your Majesty, Physician Zhang was taken away by Prince Yao's men early this morning and has not yet returned."

Prince Yao's Mansion?
Upon hearing these words, Emperor Yuanwu was furious, his chest heaving violently: "Prince Yao is becoming more and more unruly."

"Your Majesty, I heard that Princess Consort Yao vomited blood last night. She is still in her postpartum period and her health is already compromised. If she is not properly treated, she may suffer from chronic illness."

Shen Qingwan's gaze darkened.

The fact that Prince Yao's wife suddenly vomited blood at this time is likely related to her brother's situation.

It can only be said that she is a pitiful person. She has been married to Prince Yao for so long without having any children. Her life in the Prince's mansion must have been very difficult. On the contrary, her family not only did not understand her difficulties at all, but also took advantage of her status as a princess to act arrogantly and domineeringly.

Her brother must have done many other heinous things besides murder, since people's hearts don't turn bad overnight.