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

Chapter 404 The Person Pretending to Sleep
"fine."

Shen Qingwan responded indifferently, not intending to complain to him about the fact that the Princess Consort of Prince Xiang had deliberately made things difficult for her.

After all, you can't wake someone who's pretending to be asleep.

Emperor Yuanwu was sitting right next to her. If he truly cared about her, he would have noticed the commotion much earlier. Why did he only belatedly ask her what was wrong at this point?

However, it was somewhat unexpected that Consort Shu would ask her to step forward and help her out of the predicament.

The singing and dancing in the Hall of Preserving Harmony resumed. Those who shared the same thoughts as the Princess Consort of Prince Xiang, seeing that the Empress was protected by Consort Shu and Prince Rui, dared not deliberately make things difficult for her anymore.

Who would dare risk offending these two people just to get the Empress to drink one more cup of wine?

Emperor Yuanwu glanced at Prince Rui, who was sitting to one side, and a playful smile appeared on his lips.

He spoke in a voice that was neither too loud nor too soft, just loud enough for Prince Rui to hear, "Today is your birthday, I will sleep in your palace tonight."

Perhaps his voice was too loud, because not only Prince Rui heard him clearly, but the Empress Dowager, who was sitting on the other side, suddenly changed her expression. "The Emperor's words are as if going to the Empress's palace is a charity. Could it be that he only went to her palace because it is the Empress's birthday today? Has he completely forgotten the rule set by our ancestors that the first and fifteenth of the month should be observed?"

Emperor Yuanwu lowered his eyes and said, "Your Majesty's reprimand is correct."

"The Emperor should visit Kunning Palace more often in the future, and not let himself be bewitched by some seductive concubines and forget the rules."

After the Empress Dowager finished speaking, she gave Consort Xia a cold glare.

Although the Empress Dowager did not name Consort Xia, everyone present knew that she was referring to her, and they were all secretly resentful.

Consort Xia had been in the palace for a long time but had never been favored. Later, when the Empress suffered a miscarriage and could no longer serve the Emperor, the Empress took Consort Xia to her own palace when Emperor Yuanwu stayed overnight in Kunning Palace, which could be considered as giving her a helping hand.

No one knows what kind of bewitching magic this Consort Xia used to make Emperor Yuanwu so fond of her, even to the point of favoring her exclusively.

It has been a long time since any concubine in the imperial harem has received such an honor.

I wonder if the Empress's actions have backfired.

Emperor Yuanwu's face was gloomy. Being reprimanded by the Empress Dowager in front of so many people was naturally embarrassing for him.

"Mother, His Majesty is already exhausted from his daily work of governing the country. It is my blessing as the Empress that any of the sisters in the palace can help him solve his problems."

The Empress Dowager's expression softened slightly upon hearing Shen Qingwan's words. "The Empress is virtuous, but the Emperor should be even more mindful of his conduct."

"Your Majesty is right. The Empress is virtuous and kind, which is my blessing. I will definitely treat the Empress well in the future." Emperor Yuanwu held Shen Qingwan's hand and solemnly promised the Empress Dowager.

"I hope the emperor will keep his word."

I don't know what's wrong with the Empress Dowager today. No matter what Emperor Yuanwu says, he can't make her feel at ease.

"Mother, your daughter-in-law believes that His Majesty can definitely do it."

Shen Qingwan smiled gently. She didn't mean to speak up for Emperor Yuanwu, but no matter what, today was her birthday banquet. If the Empress Dowager really got angry with Emperor Yuanwu, she would be the one who would suffer in the end.

Just now.

Consort Rou suddenly stood up, holding her wine cup.

"On such a joyous occasion, an old friend was also coming to entertain Her Majesty the Empress, so I took the liberty of inviting him in." An old friend?

What old friend?
Shen Qingwan looked up at Consort Rou in surprise.

She had very few memories of the original owner before she entered the palace; in fact, she had almost none.

Otherwise, she wouldn't still be completely unaware of the relationship between the original owner and Prince Rui at this point.

After she transmigrated into the original owner's body, Prince Rui protected her openly and secretly, which shows that there must have been a past between him and the original owner. His feelings for the original owner are obvious. So what about the original owner's feelings for him?

She didn't even know about something this important, let alone someone she knew.

Shen Qingwan had a vague sense of unease.

This old friend's visit is ill-intentioned.

As Consort Rou finished speaking, a man who looked like a monk walked in from outside the hall. His dark blue robe had several patches on it, and he held a string of prayer beads in his hand. He walked to the center of the main hall, knelt down, clasped his hands together, and performed a bow with his head touching his hands, keeping his heart level without touching the ground.

"This humble monk pays his respects to the Emperor, the Empress Dowager, and the Empress. Long live the Emperor! Long live the Empress Dowager! Long live the Empress!"

Emperor Yuanwu frowned, stared at the monk for a moment, then turned to Shen Qingwan and asked, "Are you acquainted with this person?"

Shen Qingwan was a little stunned by the question and didn't know how to answer for a moment.

She naturally didn't recognize the kneeling monk in front of her, but whether the original owner of this body was an old acquaintance of hers was something Shen Qingwan had no memory of.

But with so many people in front of her, she couldn't bring herself to ask whether the monk truly knew the original owner of this body, or whether he was just someone Consort Rou had randomly brought in to cause trouble.

If it were a matter of causing trouble, Consort Rou would not dare to let this person appear at such an important time, as almost all the imperial relatives are present, in addition to those in the harem.

Shen Qingwan quickly concluded that this person must have some connection with the original owner of the body, but she didn't know what kind of connection it was.

"Are you and the Empress acquaintances?"

Before Shen Qingwan could ask a question, Emperor Yuanwu spoke first.

"Your Majesty, this humble monk and Her Majesty the Empress are not old acquaintances. It's just that when Her Majesty the Empress was born, this humble monk happened to be passing by and saw auspicious clouds filling the sky, so I casually said, 'Auspicious clouds ride the wind.'"

Riding the wind amidst auspicious clouds?

Isn't it auspicious clouds riding phoenixes?
When Shen Qingwan was born, it was because of the phrase "auspicious clouds riding phoenixes" that people believed she had the destiny of a phoenix and thought she was the best candidate for empress.

Because of this, the Empress Dowager repeatedly asked the late Emperor to bestow a marriage upon her, forcing him to marry Shen Qingwan to Emperor Yuanwu, thus breaking up her engagement with Prince Rui.

Now, this monk casually utters "riding the wind amidst auspicious clouds," as if to tell everyone that it was the Shen family who deliberately publicized the matter and changed "riding the wind amidst auspicious clouds" to "riding the phoenix amidst auspicious clouds."

Almost simultaneously, everyone's eyes turned towards Shen Qingwan.

"No way, what does this monk mean by that?"

"You may not know this, but back then, the late emperor intended to make Prince Rui the crown prince. And coincidentally, Prince Rui was betrothed to the daughter of the Shen family who was born amidst auspicious clouds. At that time, everyone was saying that Shen Qingwan had the destiny of a phoenix, and if Prince Rui married her, his future position as crown prince would be secure."

"At that time, the Empress Dowager was in favor. Anyway, it's better to believe in such things than not to believe in them. She insisted on asking the late Emperor to grant her a marriage, snatched Shen Qingwan from Prince Rui's hands, and betrothed her to our Emperor."