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

Chapter 28 Not Popular
"Get up."

Emperor Yuanwu glanced at the main hall of Xianfu Palace and asked, "Why didn't you go to see the opera?"

"Your Majesty, I do not enjoy crowds, so I did not go."

Emperor Yuanwu stopped speaking, and the two stood face to face in the courtyard, feeling inexplicably awkward.

Emperor Yuanwu had not seen Consort Jin since the incident at her home.

In just two short years, Consort Jin looked much thinner, and she no longer looked as radiant and energetic as before.

"Is Your Majesty here to see Consort Xi? She went to see a play. I'll send someone to look for her."

Emperor Yuanwu:? ? ?

No!

What's wrong with all the concubines in his harem?
Consort Rou asked him to dine in the Empress's palace, while the Empress asked him to rest in the palace of a concubine who had not yet been summoned to the Emperor's bedchamber. Consort Jin then asked him to find Consort Xi.

Are they all just too virtuous?
Or is it because he's so unpopular in the harem these days?

Emperor Yuanwu's face darkened.

Consort Jin was so frightened that she knelt down on the ground: "Your Majesty, please forgive me."

"Who said I came to see Consort Xi? Does this Xianfu Palace only have Consort Xi as its master?"

"This……"

Consort Jin raised her eyes and glanced at Emperor Yuanwu.

What exactly does the Emperor mean?
If you're not here to see Xi Changzai, are you here to see her?

how can that be!

"Has Consort Jin had dinner yet?" Emperor Yuanwu asked, then walked towards the main hall of Xianfu Palace.

"Not yet." Consort Jin stood up from the ground with a blank look on her face, took a few quick steps, and followed behind Emperor Yuanwu.

"Wu Jixiang, serve the meal."

"Yes!"

Consort Jin: ? ? ?
When Consort Xi returned from having dinner at Cining Palace, the candles in Consort Jin's bedroom had already been extinguished.

She stared at the palace maids and eunuchs standing at the door and asked in surprise, "Has His Majesty come to Xianfu Palace?"

“The one standing at the door should be Eunuch Jixiang. If Eunuch Jixiang is here, then the Emperor must have arrived.” Qiu’er asked in confusion, “Wasn’t the Emperor going to the Empress’s palace for a meal just now? Why did he suddenly come to Consort Jin’s place?”

"It must have been Her Majesty the Empress who persuaded the Emperor to come. Last time Her Majesty the Empress came, she saw Consort Jin being bullied by the people in the Imperial Kitchen. Even though she taught Gao Da a lesson at the time, in this harem, without the Emperor's favor, I'm afraid that after a while, those palace maids and eunuchs would bully her even more severely." Consort Xi couldn't help but sigh.

“If it’s really as Your Majesty says, then the Empress is truly a good person,” Xiang’er said.

“If the Empress were not a good person, why would my aunt have insisted on making her Empress? My aunt’s judgment is never wrong.”

"Your Majesty, don't worry. The Emperor is very busy with state affairs. He will remember you in a few days. Even if he doesn't come, there is still the Empress Dowager and the Empress." Xiang'er comforted her, "Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager's birthday is coming soon. You must make a good impression then. Maybe you can attract the Emperor's attention, gain his favor, and even conceive a prince or princess."

Xi Changzai gave a wry smile: "Let's go back to the palace."

The next morning.

After the ladies of the various palaces paid their respects at Kunning Palace, Shen Qingwan was no longer sleepy and decided to take a stroll in the Imperial Garden.

The eunuchs in the flower room were busy rushing back and forth in the Imperial Garden.

Among them was a batch of newly cultivated green chrysanthemums that were particularly special.

Shen Qingwan liked it and had several pots of it delivered to Kunning Palace.

After thinking for a moment, he had a eunuch send some more to Xianfu Palace.

The palace of Consort Jin is too desolate; it is precisely because it lacks flowers and plants that it appears so cold and quiet.

"Your Highness, why don't we send some to Consort Xian's palace as well?" Zhen'er kindly suggested.

Shen Qingwan: ? ? ?

"Why send anything to her palace?" Shen Qingwan asked, puzzled. "Your Majesty, don't you remember? When Consort Xian was newly pregnant with the Third Prince, you were angry and ordered all the flowers and plants in her palace to be stripped bare. Now the Third Prince is almost a hundred days old and still naked. Without your permission, who would dare to replant the flowers and plants?" Zhen'er said, glancing cautiously at Shen Qingwan.

Shen Qingwan: ...

This should be the original main trunk.

Fine!

Let her clean up the mess the original owner made.

"Then let's send some to Jingyang Palace as well," Shen Qingwan said calmly.

"Yes, Queen."

Zhen'er accompanied Shen Qingwan as they strolled around the Imperial Garden.

"Your Majesty, many people in the palace say that Your Majesty has changed a lot since your serious illness."

"What else was said?"

"And you said..." Zhen'er gave an awkward laugh, "There are some things Your Majesty is better off not hearing."

Shen Qingwan stopped talking. Even if she hadn't heard it, she could basically guess that it wasn't anything nice.

As the two were talking, a soft sobbing sound came from the bamboo forest.

Shen Qingwan curiously parted the bamboo leaves.

"Xi Changzai? What are you doing here?"

Xi Changzai turned around, saw Shen Qingwan, and hurriedly wiped away her tears: "Your Majesty the Empress."

"What's wrong? Did you suffer some injustice? Who bullied you?" Shen Qingwan asked with concern.

Xi Changzai wiped away her tears and shook her head: "Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. I am not wronged. No one has bullied me. I just miss home."

“If you miss home, you can send a letter to your mother and see when it’s convenient for you to visit her in the palace. Or you can visit the Empress Dowager’s palace more often.” Shen Qingwan knew she wasn’t telling the truth, but she didn’t expose her and comforted her by agreeing with her words.

"Thank you, Your Majesty. I will return to the palace now."

Shen Qingwan watched her departing figure and sighed silently.

What exactly happened to Emperor Yuanwu?

He favored all the concubines she didn't mention, one by one.

But Xi Changzai, he neither saw her nor noticed her, and it was no wonder that Xi Changzai was secretly wiping away her tears and feeling wronged.

Yesterday, Emperor Yuanwu went to Xianfu Palace, but he visited Consort Jin, who had been out of favor for many years.

During the Empress Dowager's birthday banquet, she needed to think about finding a time to persuade Emperor Yuanwu again. She feared that if too much time passed, it would be difficult to explain to the Empress Dowager, let alone to Consort Xi who was heartbroken.

Although Consort De and Consort Shu are now in charge of the affairs of the inner palace, she is, after all, the Empress.

I strolled around the Imperial Garden for a while.

Shen Qingwan decided to visit Cining Palace, firstly to pay her respects to the Empress Dowager, and secondly to discuss matters related to her birthday banquet.

According to the usual practice of the birthday banquet every year, it is usually done by inviting some opera troupes to perform.

But the last time she went to see a play, Shen Qingwan sat next to the Empress Dowager and felt that she didn't seem very interested in it.

After all, it's the Empress Dowager's own birthday banquet, so it's best to hear her thoughts.

"Daughter-in-law greets Mother."

As the Empress, Shen Qingwan had unrestricted access throughout the entire palace. Unless the Empress Dowager had given her specific instructions beforehand, she never needed to wait at the gate to announce her arrival or departure.

When she arrived at Cining Palace.

The Empress Dowager was playing chess alone in the main hall of Cining Palace.

"Why has the Empress come at this hour? Is there something you need?"

(End of this chapter)