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

Chapter 95 Offering Sea Lanterns
Consort Rou rose and bowed.

"Since the pot has already been delivered, Consort Rou should have her meal at Kunning Palace before returning," Shen Qingwan suggested.

Consort Rou was taken aback by the Empress's words: "Your Majesty... this is not a good idea."

“What’s wrong with that? We’re all sisters in the palace. You’ll have to eat when you get back anyway, so why don’t you stay here and have a meal with the Emperor and me before you leave?” Shen Qingwan said.

Emperor Yuanwu raised his eyes and looked at Shen Qingwan.

Originally, she had other thoughts in mind, but seeing that Shen Qingwan had naturally sat down in front of the food plate without any displeasure on her face, and seemed to sincerely want to invite Consort Rou to stay for dinner, she spoke up: "Since the Empress has said so, Consort Rou, please stay for dinner before you go back."

"Yes." Consort Rou curtsied. "This concubine thanks Your Majesty and Your Majesty the Empress for your grace."

Now that Consort Rou is pregnant, the imperial kitchen learned that she would also be staying for a meal, so they added a few more of Consort Rou's favorite dishes.

Consort Rou stood in front of the food tray until Emperor Yuanwu sat down before she sat down herself.

Shen Qingwan wasn't ignorant of etiquette; she sat down before the Emperor. However, she felt that there was no need for her and the Emperor to deliberately perform such rituals, especially since they were in her own palace. If she had to stand up to express her gratitude for every word she spoke and kneel to pay her respects for every action she took, wouldn't that make them seem distant from each other?

Since Emperor Yuanwu never held this matter against her, she found herself much more at ease with him.

Emperor Yuanwu and Shen Qingwan had already started eating when Consort Rou picked up her chopsticks.

"Does Consort Rou like hot pot?" Shen Qingwan asked in surprise. "If she doesn't like it, that's alright. See what she wants to eat, and we'll have the imperial kitchen bring some more."

Shen Qingwan's words drew Emperor Yuanwu's attention, who also looked towards Consort Rou.

"Your Majesty, I do enjoy eating hot pot. Before entering the palace, I often ate hot pot with my father and mother at home in the winter. When it was cold, the whole family would sit together and eat hot pot, which made us very happy. It's just that I haven't eaten it for a long time, and seeing the hot pot suddenly made me miss my mother a little." A hint of sadness flashed in Consort Rou's eyes, and her eyes welled up with tears.

"When a concubine in the palace becomes pregnant, her mother can enter the palace to serve her when the pregnancy reaches a certain stage. After the New Year, I will have someone bring your mother into the palace. Consort Rou, there is no need to be sad," Emperor Yuanwu comforted her.

Consort Rou lowered her eyes and nodded: "This concubine thanks Your Majesty."

Emperor Yuanwu saw that she seemed genuinely sad, so he took a piece of meat from the pot and placed it in her bowl: "Eat quickly."

"Your Majesty, I thank you for your grace."

Shen Qingwan sighed inwardly; it was difficult for women who entered the harem to reunite with their families.

Consort Rou is only 17 years old this year. She must have been a pampered child at home. After participating in the imperial concubine selection and entering the harem, she has not seen her mother and father for nearly half a year.

"Why doesn't Your Majesty send Consort Rou's mother to the palace before the New Year? After all, there's only a few days between the New Year and the New Year. It would be better to let Consort Rou's mother enter the palace earlier so that she can spend the New Year with Consort Rou in the palace."

Upon hearing Shen Qingwan's words, Consort Rou suddenly raised her head, a glint of light flashing in her eyes. She turned to look at Emperor Yuanwu, her eyes full of anticipation.

Emperor Yuanwu frowned and thought for a moment: "The Empress should still make the decisions regarding matters in the inner palace. Since the Empress has granted permission for your mother to enter the palace before the new year, then let's follow the Empress's wishes and let your mother stay in the palace for the time being. Now you are living alone in Zhongcui Palace, so you can make your own arrangements."

Consort Rou was so happy that tears streamed down her face. She rose and knelt on the ground, saying, "Your Majesty and Your Majesty the Empress are so kind to me."

This "thank you" was clearly much more heartfelt than the previous ones.

"Alright, you're pregnant, don't kneel all the time. Aren't you afraid of hurting the baby? Get up and have your meal," Emperor Yuanwu scolded.

"Your Majesty is right, I will definitely pay attention." Consort Rou was very happy. Throughout the meal, the corners of her lips couldn't be suppressed by the smile. She thought that although living alone in Zhongcui Palace was quiet, she didn't even have anyone to talk to, and she felt very bored on weekdays.

Halfway through dinner, Emperor Yuanwu brought up Master Wuchen: "I've been thinking these past two days about whether I should visit Huguo Temple again before the New Year."

"Didn't His Majesty just go there? Why are you going again?" Shen Qingwan asked in surprise.

"I usually only go around the time of the Lunar New Year, and then I stop going. But this year, a lot has happened in the court, and the harem is not peaceful either. I was thinking of offering a sea lantern during the New Year to pray for good weather, peace and prosperity in the coming year, and for the two pregnant concubines to give birth to the imperial heir smoothly." Emperor Yuanwu frowned, as if he had some concerns.

“If Your Majesty feels at ease this way, it would be good to go. Huguo Temple is not far from the palace, and the round trip will only take two days, so it won’t delay things too much,” Shen Qingwan said calmly.

“But…” Emperor Yuanwu paused.

"Since His Majesty has already made up his mind, it would be best to get this done as soon as possible," Shen Qingwan said while eating.

"Oh?" Emperor Yuanwu drawled, "So it seems the Empress also approves of this?"

Shen Qingwan did not directly answer his question: "The master of Huguo Temple is called Wuchen, and the abbot of Sansheng Temple is called Master Wuyu. Both masters are abbots of royal temples. One has renounced worldly desires, and the other has renounced all desires. Since monks can see through everything, then we who worship Buddha are just entrusting our worldly desires to Buddha. If Your Majesty has such thoughts, you should also renounce them."

Emperor Yuanwu nodded in agreement: "What the Empress said is very true."

He took another bite of the pot, then looked up at Shen Qingwan and asked, "Your Majesty's insights are becoming more and more unique."

Shen Qingwan: ...

She felt that Emperor Yuanwu's words didn't sound like a compliment at all.

"It's truly unexpected that Her Majesty the Empress has such a deep understanding of Buddhism," said Consort Rou.

Research?

It's not really research, since she hasn't achieved complete enlightenment yet. She's just looking for some inspirational stories in this day and age, and it seems like there's nothing else to research besides Buddhism.

Shen Qingwan moved her lips but hadn't had a chance to speak yet.

Emperor Yuanwu spoke first, saying, "The Empress does indeed possess many things that I did not know before."

Shen Qingwan: ...

It's not that they didn't know before, but rather that they simply didn't want to know.

However, Shen Qingwan did not dwell on these matters.

I just felt that the hot pot was a bit too salty tonight, and it was even saltier when dipped in her secret chili sauce.

Shen Qingwan picked up the osmanthus tea beside her and took a big gulp.

Seeing how satisfied she was with her tea, Emperor Yuanwu also picked up his teacup, but his tea-drinking movements were much more elegant than Shen Qingwan's.

Emperor Yuanwu held a teacup in one hand and picked up the lid with the other. He used the lid to skim the tea leaves from the cup, his fingertips pausing slightly.

(End of this chapter)