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

Chapter 104 Ingenious Design
"But if His Majesty knew that the Eldest Princess had left Kunning Palace in tears," Xia Mei said with a smile, "I wonder if His Majesty would blame him?"

Consort Xian seemed to be in a good mood upon hearing this, and the smile on her face softened considerably.

After leaving Kunning Palace, the eldest princess originally intended to return to Xingshuang Pavilion to rest and wait for Emperor Yuanwu to finish court before going to Yangxin Hall. However, after Shen Qingwan gave her a few pointers, she went directly to Cining Palace halfway there.

This return was not her original intention.

When Emperor Yuanwu sent people to bring her back to the palace, she thought Moganbu was doomed, but now it seems there is still a chance.

What she regretted most at this moment was not coming to pay her respects to Shen Qingwan sooner; she should have come as soon as she entered the palace yesterday.

The eldest princess started crying as soon as she entered Cining Palace, and the children cried along with her.

Just now, Shen Qingwan said that the Empress Dowager was mindful of past relationships and was wholeheartedly trying to do good. Whether Moganbu still has any room for maneuver depends on how much misery she can play. In short, she should cry as much as she can suffer.

The three men embraced the Empress Dowager, weeping uncontrollably until her eyes were red from crying.

"Alright, child, I know what you're thinking. Don't be sad anymore. Consort Xiang is gone. Please accept my condolences," the Empress Dowager comforted her.

"Your Majesty, I ask for nothing else. I can give up everything. I only wish for my family to be safe and sound. In fact, Moganbu has long wanted to submit to the court, but his younger brother has always been unruly. I beg Your Majesty to have mercy and spare Moganbu's life for the sake of my two children." The princess knelt down and kowtowed several times.

"After the Emperor finishes court, I will ask him about his plans for you and your son. You know the rules of our inner palace; the inner palace is not allowed to interfere in politics," the Empress Dowager said helplessly.

"Your Majesty, I understand. With Your Majesty's words, I can die without regret." The Princess expressed her gratitude.

After the concubines paid their respects and left Kunning Palace.

Jiang Wenlan carried a painting and calligraphy scroll into the main hall of Kunning Palace.

"Your subject greets Your Majesty the Empress. May Your Majesty live a thousand years!" Jiang Wenlan knelt on the ground and performed the kneeling ceremony.

"Your Highness, why are you here at this hour?" Shen Qingwan asked in surprise. "Don't you need to go to the study at this hour? You didn't skip class again, did you?"

"Your Majesty, please rest assured, I study diligently every day. Today, my tutor even praised me for making great progress." Jiang Wenlan said, "My tutor said that since it's close to the New Year, we've been given a few days off to make some calligraphy and paintings to give to our mothers as New Year's gifts. I no longer have a mother, so I wanted to give my paintings to Your Majesty."

Shen Qingwan felt sorry for him, and wondered why the tutor in the Imperial Study could speak so carelessly.

Whether it was an unintentional mistake or a deliberate act is hard to say.

Shen Qingwan gestured for Jiang Wenlan to sit down and then had some food brought over.

"Your Highness, may I see what you have drawn?"

"of course can."

Jiang Wenlan put down the pastries in her hand, wiped the crumbs off her clothes and hands, and opened the painting she had brought. It was a blooming peony.

Shen Qingwan was taken aback, seemingly not expecting that such a large piece of paper would only contain a single peony flower.

"What does Your Majesty think of my painting?" Jiang Wenlan asked leisurely.

"The painting is exquisite and the lines are smooth; it can be described as ingenious." Shen Qingwan didn't deliberately praise it; the painting was indeed very well done, not at all like the work of a seven-year-old child. "But I don't quite understand why the First Prince painted the peony in white instead of red." "The peony is the king of flowers, just like the Empress, who is a model of virtue for the world. But red is too flamboyant. I think white peonies are more suitable for the Empress, representing nobility and dignity, and a person of integrity. White peonies, like the Empress, rise from the mud unsullied, pure and holy." Jiang Wenlan said earnestly.

Shen Qingwan couldn't help but laugh when she heard his words.

Untainted by the mud.

The words may be crude, but the principle is sound; the imperial harem really is like a quagmire. However, she felt that she herself was not so noble.

"Your Majesty, there is something I don't understand," Jiang Wenlan said thoughtfully.

"What is it?" Shen Qingwan asked Zhen'er to bring a basin of clean warm water. She put Jiang Wenlan's hands in the warm water to wash them clean: "From now on, if your hands are dirty, you are not allowed to rub them on your body. You must wash them clean."

"Your subject will humbly follow Her Majesty the Empress's teachings," Jiang Wenlan said.

"What did the eldest prince want to say to me just now?" Shen Qingwan thought of the words she hadn't finished saying earlier.

"What I'm trying to say is, since Your Majesty the Empress is the mother of all people, then she is also my mother. So why do I address Your Majesty the Empress as Your Majesty the Empress, instead of Imperial Mother?" Jiang Wenlan asked, puzzled.

This question stumped Shen Qingwan as well.

According to the rules of the imperial harem, regardless of which concubine gave birth to a prince or princess, they should all address the Empress as "Empress Mother".

However, when the original owner first entered the palace, her actions made it difficult for the women in the harem to submit to her. In addition, Jiang Wenlan and Jiang Wanying were born before the original owner married Emperor Yuanwu. After entering the palace, they did not change their address and no children were born, so they were always called that.

Given the original owner's personality, she would probably find it difficult to tolerate the children of the concubines in the harem, let alone allow them to call her "mother".

Jiang Wenlan was right; Shen Qingwan understood his intentions.

As for what the princes and princesses actually call her, she doesn't really care. She's just afraid that if she changes her address now, some people will start to care.

It might even arouse Emperor Yuanwu's suspicion, making him think that she wanted to keep Jiang Wenlan by her side.

"Has the eldest prince met Consort Yao?" Shen Qingwan asked.

"I saw Consort Yao once before, from afar. At that time, the servants around me told me that Consort Yao looked very much like my birth mother," Jiang Wenlan said thoughtfully.

"Does the eldest prince think that Consort Yao resembles his birth mother?" Shen Qingwan countered.

"It's similar, yet it's not!"

"What do you mean by that, Your Highness?"

"Compared with the portrait of my birth mother, Consort Yao seems to have some resemblance, but upon closer inspection, she is not similar at all. The reason she is similar is because everyone says she is. The reason she is not similar is because in my heart, my birth mother is unique and irreplaceable, so I feel that she is not similar."

Shen Qingwan nodded as she listened to Jiang Wenlan's words. Perhaps because she had never had a mother since childhood, she always felt that Jiang Wenlan's ideas were much more mature than those of children his age, and even more insightful than those of some adults.

"Actually, whether the eldest prince calls me Empress or Imperial Mother, it's all the same. As long as the eldest prince regards me as his Imperial Mother in his heart, then whatever he calls me is just for others to hear..."

(End of this chapter)