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

Chapter 396 Sour taste
Jiang Wenlan's words brought Shen Qingwan back to her senses.

She paused for a moment, then smiled gently, "Alright, Your Majesty, please have a taste."

"The eldest prince really likes the empress and keeps his mother, the Empress Dowager, in his heart."

Shen Qingwan remained silent.

Emperor Yuanwu's words sounded rather sour.

"Quickly, quickly, put a piece in your Emperor's pocket too, or he'll get jealous."

Emperor Yuanwu coughed lightly, looking embarrassed, as if he was trying to cover something up.

Shen Qingwan raised an eyebrow, gesturing for Jiang Wenlan to serve food to Emperor Yuanwu.

He hesitated for a moment, then picked up a piece of fish and placed it on Emperor Yuanwu's plate, cautiously calling out, "Father."

"Your Majesty should really take a good look. Who does the First Prince favor? He gave you the meat from the belly of the fish, the best part of the whole fish, the meat that wasn't given to you, while I..."

As Shen Qingwan spoke, she glanced down at her bowl and awkwardly covered it with her hand.

Although both are pieces of belly meat, Shen Qingwan's bowl contains the upper part of the fish's belly, while Emperor Yuanwu's bowl contains the lower part.

The ones below are naturally not as plump and juicy as the ones above.

Emperor Yuanwu chuckled and shook his head, his face showing no anger, but rather an unprecedented smile of happiness.

Seeing the three of them enjoying themselves, Jun'er moved her lips, but before she could speak, Wu Jixiang pulled her out.

“Aunt Jun’er, the Emperor, the Empress, and the First Prince are having their meal inside. We servants should not disturb them. If we spoil the Emperor’s enjoyment, I’m afraid none of us can bear the consequences.”

“But…” Jun’er said with a troubled expression, “But I haven’t even told Consort Rou what she instructed me to do yet.”

Wu Jixiang's face darkened. "Is your mistress's words more important, or is disturbing the Emperor's meal more important?"

“Of course, the Emperor is the most important.” Jun’er was so frightened that her face turned pale.

"Alright, if there's nothing else, you can go back now." After saying that, Wu Jixiang turned around and went into the side hall.

Jun'er was left alone, standing outside the hall for quite a while.

She listened to Emperor Yuanwu's voice inside the hall.

"I see that the First Prince likes the Empress so much. How about we let him stay in Kunning Palace after his leg injury heals?"

As Emperor Yuanwu finished speaking, Shen Qingwan's heart skipped a beat, and she almost dropped the chopsticks from her hand.

What did Emperor Yuanwu mean by this?
Test?

She had indeed mentioned wanting to find a foster mother for Jiang Wenlan before.

But she didn't intend to keep him in Kunning Palace.

Although she doesn't reject the good thing of painless motherhood.

However, Emperor Yuanwu was inherently suspicious and never showed mercy to the concubines who posed a threat to him.

Perhaps in other people's harems, it's all about palace intrigue among concubines, but in Emperor Yuanwu's harem, there were concubines who died at his hands. The fact that Consort Lan was poisoned to death really shocked her.

However, Shen Qingwan quickly figured things out...

Consort Lan was drugged by someone else, and Emperor Yuanwu knew about it but did nothing about it, which can only be considered a crime of condoning.

It's wonderful that Consort Kexi is the Empress Dowager's niece, and she's currently pregnant. Shen Qingwan looked at how the Empress Dowager had pampered her like an inflated balloon, and seemed to understand.

Nowadays, childbirth is limited to natural birth, delivered by a midwife, and there is no cesarean section.

If Consort Xi continues to eat like this without realizing it, the child will be too fat to be born, and both mother and child may die. If the child is forced to be born, Consort Xi will suffer greatly during childbirth with such a large fetus.

The Empress Dowager had also given birth, so how could she not know this principle? The Imperial Hospital also had people who specialized in studying recipes to ensure a balanced diet so that the fetus could grow to a healthy weight without becoming too large.

It is clear that this was not because the Empress Dowager favored Consort Xi, but rather a deliberate act, most likely to save the mother and child.

The fact that this mother and son were able to successfully seize the throne among the late emperor's many sons, and that Emperor Yuanwu was not even the late emperor's most beloved child, is enough to prove the ruthlessness of their methods.

While feeling fear towards them, Shen Qingwan also became more wary.

At this moment, she wondered if, if she continued to languish like this, would she one day become a discarded pawn of Emperor Yuanwu?
Do not!
probably not!

Even if Emperor Yuanwu and the Empress Dowager were ruthless, they believed in auspicious clouds and phoenixes, and they believed that the original owner of the body had the destiny of a phoenix.

If it weren't for this, how could the Empress Dowager and Emperor Yuanwu have tolerated the original owner's reckless behavior for so many years?

As long as the "auspicious clouds and phoenixes" narrative holds true, she should be able to live a carefree life in the harem, free from worries about food and clothing.

“Father? Mother once told me that no matter which concubine in the harem gave birth to a child, it was her child, and she would love her as her own.”

Jiang Wenlan's expression was exceptionally serious and solemn. "Therefore, even if it were any child in the palace who was injured today, instead of me, Your Majesty would have taken good care of them. Perhaps it is because Your Majesty feels sorry for your son who lost his mother at a young age that you have shown him extra pity."

Shen Qingwan was quite surprised that Jiang Wenlan would say such a thing.

He was just a child under eight years old, yet he was able to dispel all of Emperor Yuanwu's suspicions with just a few words, and even grasp Emperor Yuanwu's feelings for Consort Li.

With a casual remark, he diverted all of Emperor Yuanwu's attention.

Sometimes, she really couldn't understand Jiang Wenlan. Was it just a coincidence that such a shrewd and calculating child met her for the first time while catching fish in the Imperial Garden?
Because of Jiang Wenlan's initial consonant, Emperor Yuanwu completely lost his appetite. He put down his chopsticks, took the handkerchief handed to him by the maid, wiped his mouth, and stood up.

"Your Majesty, please enjoy your meal. Tonight, I have chosen Consort Xia for my audience, so I will be going to the palace now."

Shen Qingwan curtsied and said, "Respectfully seeing off Your Majesty."

"Your subject respectfully sees off Father Emperor."

Emperor Yuanwu walked out of the side hall, but after taking a few more steps, he couldn't help but turn back and glance at the side hall again.

When Jun'er returned to Zhongcui Palace, Consort Rou was already getting impatient and was waiting outside the palace.

"How was it? Did you see the Emperor?"

When Consort Rou saw Jun'er from afar, she quickly went to greet her.

Jun'er looked troubled, and after a while she finally spoke, "I saw her."

"How was it?" Consort Rou asked immediately. "Did His Majesty approve of the ginseng I sent to the First Prince? Did he say when he would come to Zhongcui Palace?"

“Your Highness,” Jun’er shook her head with difficulty, “Perhaps I went at the wrong time.”

"what happened?"

“When I arrived, His Majesty, the Empress, and the First Prince were having dinner in the side hall, so…”

Jun'er was going crazy; she no longer knew how to describe the scene she had witnessed to Consort Rou.

Are we really going to tell Consort Rou about the heartwarming scene of the Emperor, the Empress, and the First Prince sitting together for a meal?