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

Chapter 401 Not Wanting to Be Bound

That's what it's said, and that's the logic behind it.

But she didn't want to be tied down.

No matter which concubine the eldest prince lives under in the future, he will have to call her Empress Dowager. And no matter which prince inherits the throne, she will always be the Empress Dowager.

Since the outcome is the same, why should she create such trouble for herself? If she arouses the suspicion of the Emperor and Empress Dowager, it will only cause unnecessary trouble for the eldest prince and affect his future.

"There's no rush. Although the eldest prince is old, he's still not eight years old. Take your time and you'll find the right one."

"By the way, Your Majesty, a few days ago, when Imperial Physician Zhang came to check on the Third Prince's pulse, he mentioned Consort Ying."

"What happened to Consort Ying?" Shen Qingwan asked in surprise.

"The Imperial Physician Zhang said that Consort Ying is having a daughter this time."

daughter?

My daughter is doing well.

Shen Qingwan had always hoped that Consort Ying's pregnancy would be a daughter, since Emperor Yuanwu was unlikely to father a son with the daughter of a military family.

"Does Consort Ying know?"

"I understand." Consort Shu pondered for a moment. "At first, I was afraid that if she knew about this, she would be unhappy and it would affect her pregnancy. But after all, the child is in her belly, and some things cannot be hidden. I really didn't expect that when Consort Ying found out that the child in her belly was a girl, she was so happy that she shed tears. She said that she had always hoped for a daughter, so that she would not follow the old path of the Pang family, and could protect her brother and the lives of the Rong family, young and old."

"It's truly remarkable that she could think this way; Consort Ying is a sensible person," Shen Qingwan said with a smile.

"Yes, it can be said that we are blessed by God." Consort Shu couldn't help but sigh.

Emperor Yuanwu was a ruthless man. Almost none of the families of the concubines who had helped him ascend the throne met a good end.

While it can't be said that he would discard someone after they've served their purpose, he would never allow anyone to covet his throne. Anyone who made him feel threatened would be eliminated.

Pang Shi just could never see this point. If it weren't for the Third Prince, perhaps she wouldn't have suffered such a terrible fate. At least she would have survived and lived out the rest of her life in the palace. Her father might not have been so feared by Emperor Yuanwu that he was assassinated.

Although the women in the harem are not allowed to interfere in politics, which woman in the harem is not closely connected with the court?

"Your Majesty, Consort Rou seems to be quite restless lately. I've already had someone keep an eye on her." After saying this, Consort Shu moved closer to Shen Qingwan. "Last night, someone was loitering around the entrance of Kunning Palace. I was afraid of alerting them, so I only had someone follow them from a distance, not daring to get close. Later, they disappeared around the corner of Zhongcui Palace. Your Majesty, since you are recuperating in the palace, you must have someone keep a close eye on things these days, lest something go wrong."

A figure?

When Shen Qingwan heard those two words, her heart skipped a beat for no apparent reason.

After Consort Yan died, only Consort Rou lived in Zhongcui Palace. If a eunuch who came to wander outside Kunning Palace disappeared at the entrance to Zhongcui Palace, people would mistakenly think he was Consort Rou's man.

But deep down, Shen Qingwan had a feeling that this person might not really have been sent by Consort Rou.

"Has Prince Rui visited the palace these days?"

Shen Qingwan spoke calmly, and what seemed like a follow-up question made Consort Shu's eyes tremble. "Your Majesty the Empress, I heard that Prince Rui went to Jiangnan a few days ago."

Jiangnan?

A few days ago?
Did they visit the First Prince at Kunning Palace and then leave?
Shen Qingwan's days of slacking off came to an end soon.

Three days before her birthday, her "postpartum confinement" was finally over.

She was woken up early by Zhen'er. She used to sleep until she naturally woke up every day. Now she was sitting in front of the dressing table, letting the palace maid comb her hair, looking utterly hopeless.

Sleepy……

She racked her brains but couldn't understand who had set such a brainless rule that concubines had to pay their respects to the Empress every day.

The women in the harem complained all day about how boring they were in the palace. If they were so bored, why didn't they sleep for a few more hours?

There's no better way to kill time than sleeping.

If you get up before dawn, the day will feel much longer, won't it?
When Shen Qingwan arrived at the main hall, all the concubines had already arrived.

However, in just a few days, the harem was missing several people, all of whom were of high rank. In addition, Consort Xi and Consort Ying were pregnant and no longer needed to come to Kunning Palace to pay their respects. The huge main hall suddenly became cold and deserted.

"This humble servant greets Your Majesty the Empress. Long live the Empress!"

"Get up."

Shen Qingwan smiled and, as usual, asked about the children's situation. Hearing that everything was fine, they chatted for a few more minutes.

Without the Song and Pang families, the morning greetings were filled with bickering, which was quite boring. After sitting for a while, I dismissed everyone.

Jiang Wenlan's leg injury had healed, and she had planned to move out of Kunning Palace in the next couple of days. However, it happened to be Shen Qingwan's birthday, and there were many people coming and going to Kunning Palace to offer their congratulations. She spent almost the entire day seeing the female relatives of the imperial clan and couldn't spare the time to help. So she decided to wait until after the birthday before letting him return to the prince's residence.

Shen Qingwan's birthday celebration was still held in the Hall of Preserving Harmony, with the opera troupe performing all day, making it even more lively.

Even when the concubines in the palace celebrated their birthdays, even if it was a full year, they did not receive such treatment. But she was different; she was the Empress. Her birthday celebration was not only grand and lavish, but the Empress Dowager also came in person.

Prince Rui entered the palace in the afternoon while watching a play. At that time, Shen Qingwan was sitting side by side with the Empress Dowager, listening to the opera troupe singing the song "Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai".

She had heard this play countless times, and each time the Empress Dowager would be moved to tears.

"It's so tragic, so tragic. Lovers can't be together in the end, and even in death they can turn into butterflies and fly together. It's so tragic."

As the Empress Dowager spoke, she wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes with a silk handkerchief.

"Mother, if you look at it from another perspective, although Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai loved each other, Ma Wencai also truly loved Zhu Yingtai, which is why he tried every means to marry the woman he loved."

The Empress Dowager was not comforted at all by Shen Qingwan's words, and cried even more bitterly.

"No matter the reason, even if he has power and influence, he cannot use his power to separate Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai. Liang Shanbo would not have been depressed and heartbroken because of missing Zhu Yingtai, and would have died with resentment. In the end, it was all because of Ma Wencai."

Shen Qingwan: ...

The Empress Dowager's words made it seem as if she hadn't separated the original owner from Prince Rui for her own selfish interests.

If Emperor Yuanwu had insisted on marrying Shen Qingwan, who was already engaged to Prince Rui, Prince Rui would not have fallen seriously ill.

It was that monk's casual remark, "Auspicious clouds riding a phoenix," that forcibly separated the original owner and Prince Rui.

Emperor Yuanwu was no different from Ma Wencai.