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

Chapter 320 Hug together for warmth
Doctor Zhang was startled and almost dropped his medicine box on the ground, but luckily the dark figure reacted quickly and grabbed him.

"Ouch, ouch!" Doctor Zhang steadied himself in a panic. "You're here in the middle of the night, all alone. You're scarier than a ghost..."

The last word, "person," was only uttered by Physician Zhang before the sound abruptly caught in his throat.

When he looked up at the person in front of him, his eyes widened in surprise. This was the person who had saved his younger brother and was said to be the benefactor of the Shen family.

Physician Zhang hurriedly steadied himself, his expression becoming tense. He placed his medicine box on the ground, clasped his hands together in front of his chest, and bowed to the man before him.

The man was clearly taken aback, and took a step back, pressing his palms together in return. His back was noticeably more bent than that of Physician Zhang. "Physician Zhang, I am just a lowly guard. How can I accept such a grand gesture?"

Physician Zhang ignored his words, his expression remaining gentle. "May I ask where in the palace the guard is stationed?"

"I am a guard of Prince Rui's residence." The man's attitude was indifferent, and it seemed that he did not want to talk to him. But then he seemed to suddenly think of something, and his expression changed and he became warm. "I accompanied the prince to the palace today. The prince had something to do just now and asked me to wait for him here, but I did not expect to offend Physician Zhang."

"How dare I, how dare I?" Physician Zhang paused. "This head guard seems familiar, as if I've seen him somewhere before. May I ask his name?"

"Gu Fan".

"Gu? I've lived in the capital for so many years, and I don't recall ever hearing of a prominent family with the surname Gu. Are you perhaps from out of town?" Physician Zhang asked curiously.

Gu Fan paused for a moment, "The prince saved my life. Gu Fan is the name bestowed upon me by the prince, not a surname. Physician Zhang, there is no need to worry about this matter too much."

Seeing that the conversation had already gone this far, and that further discussion was pointless, Physician Zhang decided to change the subject, "I wonder if Guard Gu has ever saved a physician..."

But he was interrupted by a hearty laugh before he could finish his sentence. "Doctor Zhang, why are you carrying your medicine chest so late? I wonder which lady in the palace is feeling unwell?"

Physician Zhang bowed and said, "This humble subject greets Prince Rui. May Prince Rui be blessed."

"No need for such formalities, Physician Zhang."

"Replying to Prince Rui, Her Majesty the Empress said she was having trouble sleeping at night, so I came to bring her some calming medicine."

"Ever since my sister-in-law fell seriously ill, her health has not been very good. My brother has mentioned this to me many times. It is truly hard for Physician Zhang to come to Kunning Palace so late to see patients," Prince Rui said with emotion.

"Your Highness is too kind. This is all I should do," Physician Zhang said respectfully. "If Your Highness has no other instructions, I will return to the Imperial Hospital."

"Physician Zhang, please take care." Prince Rui stepped aside to make way for him.

Once Physician Zhang's figure had completely disappeared into the night, Prince Rui's face, which had previously held a gentle expression, instantly turned gloomy. His lips twitched violently, and the muscles in his face suddenly tightened, as if every line was filled with ruthlessness.

What did you just say to him?

Gu Fan's eyes widened in surprise. "Your Highness, I just saw him come out of Kunning Palace. I was wondering if the Empress was feeling unwell since it was so late, so I spoke to him a few more times. Imperial Physician Zhang only casually asked for my name. I thought that since it was given to me by Your Highness, I told him."

Prince Rui remained silent for a long while. "Do you remember the doctor I asked you to rescue from the bully before?"

“I remember.” Gu Fan’s expression was solemn, and he already had some guesses in his heart. “That person is Physician Zhang’s younger brother.” Prince Rui paused. “When you enter the palace again in the future, let Gu Nian come with me. You should try to stay away from the palace as much as possible to avoid causing unnecessary trouble.”

"Yes." Gu Fan lowered his head. "Has everything been taken care of, Your Highness?"

Prince Rui nodded. "Go and spread the word that I got drunk at the Prince's residence tonight and wanted to go to the palace to play chess with my brother, but he chose Consort Wen instead and went back drunk."

"Yes."

Prince Rui took two steps toward the outside of the palace, then stopped. He turned and looked toward Kunning Palace for a while, his gaze so deep it blended into the night.

The news of Shen Qingwan summoning Physician Zhang late at night quickly spread throughout the entire harem. It was originally not a big deal, but it happened to fall into other people's mouths and caused a lot of trouble for no reason.

The following morning, the various concubines arrived at Kunning Palace earlier than usual to pay their respects.

"Have you heard?" Consort De had just reached the entrance of Kunning Palace when she saw Consort Rou hurrying by and rushed over to her.

"What did you hear?" Consort Rou's expression was not good, and there were dark circles under her eyes.

"Oh, little sister, what's wrong? Didn't you sleep well last night?" Consort De asked with a hint of concern, startled.

This question completely stumped Consort Rou. She couldn't very well tell others that she was tossing and turning in bed, unable to sleep, because she had been listening to the commotion between Emperor Yuanwu and Consort Wen in the side hall.

Consort Rou sighed, "It's all because of the Fourth Prince's antics. Before the birth, I was looking forward to his arrival every day. Now that he's really born, he's keeping me up at night."

"How can that be? Sister, you must take good care of yourself. Even if not for yourself, you must do so for the Fourth Prince. You are a prince's daughter; you must not end up like the Empress..."

"The Empress?" Consort Xian asked in confusion, "What's wrong with Her Majesty the Empress?"

Upon hearing this, Consort De couldn't help but cover her face with her silk handkerchief and sneer, "Yesterday, Huang Shan went to Consort Wen's palace, and our Empress couldn't sleep at night and even invited Imperial Physician Zhang over."

Consort Rou's expression was somewhat indescribable, and for a moment she didn't know what to say.

"Speaking of the women in the harem, which one doesn't compete? I thought the Empress had really changed and didn't care about anything anymore. Now that the Emperor has only stayed at Kunning Palace once, she can't stand it when he goes to other concubines' places. She even called the imperial physician. If the Emperor chooses Consort Yan again today, will the Empress faint from anger?"

Consort De became more and more excited as she spoke, completely unaware that Consort Rou, standing to the side, had visibly lost all color in her face, turning deathly pale.

She had been trying to win over Consort De so they could stick together and support each other, but little did she know that Consort De was just deliberately trying to make a fool of her.

The claim that the Empress couldn't stand it and fainted from anger is clearly a direct reference to her.

Pointing fingers at mulberry trees and scolding huai trees?

This Consort De really thinks she's an easy target.