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

Chapter 35 Hint
"It is my brother Rong Yuze. At the beginning of the year, he suddenly fell seriously ill for some unknown reason. He saw many doctors and took a lot of medicine. Later, he improved, but for some reason, just three days ago, after taking the medicine, he started vomiting blood. He was on his deathbed. My father had been fighting on the battlefield for many years and passed away. Not long after my father passed away, my mother also passed away. I was raised by my brother. I beg Your Majesty to allow me to leave the palace to see my brother one last time!"

Shen Qingwei then remembered.

Rong Ying's father was a first-rank general stationed on the frontier, who died in battle.

During the selection process, Shen Qingwan was curious why Consort Rong, whose appearance was not considered outstanding among the candidates, was chosen by Emperor Yuanwu, who had not taken a liking to many of the more beautiful candidates.

Looking back now, Emperor Yuanwu kept her in the palace not because he coveted her beauty, but because he wanted to take good care of her for the rest of her life, as a way of paying tribute to General Rong's spirit in heaven.

Little did she know that Consort Rong had an older brother.

"Don't be anxious. Now that you've entered the palace, you have to abide by the rules. You can't just leave the palace whenever you want. Even if you miss your family, you can only let your family visit you in the palace. However, given your brother's current condition, it's probably not suitable for him to enter the palace. I'll send a royal physician to your residence to check on him later."

Consort Rong sobbed, "This concubine thanks Your Majesty the Empress."

Although Consort Rong and her brother were both descendants of General Rong.

The previous dynasty was in chaos due to the corruption of the governor of Anhui, so Shen Qingwan couldn't directly approach Emperor Yuanwu about it.

After Consort Rong left, Shen Qingwan went to the Imperial Hospital in person.

Physician Zhang went to the General's Mansion and quickly received a reply.

Rong Yuze is seriously ill, but it's not incurable. However, the General's Mansion has been in decline for many years, and treatment would require a large sum of money.

Although Consort Rong had entered the palace and been granted the title of Consort, she could not use the palace rewards to treat Rong Yuze's illness.

Talk and talk.

The problem is that we didn't have the money for treatment, which delayed the process.

Shen Qingwan immediately rewarded him with gold and silver, and also sent several palace maids to serve him.

For several days in a row, Physician Zhang went to General Rong's mansion every day to treat Rong Yuze's illness.

Rong Yuze gradually recovered.

Shen Qingwan also had someone spend money to slightly renovate General Rong's mansion.

Although it cannot be restored to the state it was in when General Rong was still alive, it is better than being overgrown with weeds.

The palace maids who had been sent there earlier stayed on and served the general's mansion year-round.

When the palace maids returned to the palace to pack their things.

Shen Qingwan even summoned the four of them to Kunning Palace.

"I am sending the four of you to serve at General Rong's residence. Do not feel any sense of loss. Although General Rong is no longer with us, he was a meritorious official of ours, and His Majesty has always remembered him. Your monthly stipends will be paid from me, and I will send them to you on time every month. If you serve well, your rewards will not be less than those in the palace. When you reach a certain age, if you wish to stay and continue serving at General Rong's residence, then stay. If not, I will also reward you with some silver so that you can return to your hometown and get married. Do you all understand?"

The four replied in unison, "Yes, we understand."

Zhen'er gave each person a money bag filled with loose silver.

"Go down!"

"Thank you, Queen, for the reward."

The four men, carrying their reward money and bundles, left the palace in high spirits.

Emperor Yuanwu learned of this ten days later.

He was sitting in the Hall of Mental Cultivation reading memorials when Wu Jixiang recounted the whole story to Emperor Yuanwu.

"It's truly unbelievable that our Empress, though not very old, still possesses such majesty. General Rong also died on the battlefield. If his son had died because there was no money for medical treatment, who knows how many people would have gossiped about him?" Wu Jixiang sighed.

The Empress... isn't very old. But she's changed so much!
Emperor Yuanwu thought it would be good enough if she could send an imperial physician to treat him, but he did not expect that she could also find someone to renovate General Rong's mansion and assign people to serve him.

Rong Yuze was ill for so long because he had no money for treatment, so it was certain that he was injured. Although Doctor Zhang had a miraculous cure and pulled him back from the brink of death, if he didn't take good care of himself, he would probably be back to his original state soon.

Shen Qingwan not only handled this matter well, but she handled it beautifully.

He hadn't entered the harem for over half a month.

That evening, before his dinner, Emperor Yuanwu went directly to Kunning Palace.

He didn't tell me beforehand.

Shen Qingwan didn't know he would come.

So when Emperor Yuanwu arrived, Shen Qingwan was making desserts.

"Did the Empress make all of these?" Emperor Yuanwu asked curiously, looking at the pastries on the table.

“Yes.” After saying that, Shen Qingwan picked up a piece and handed it to Emperor Yuanwu: “Your Majesty, would you like to try some?”

Zhen'er's eyelids twitched, but it was too late to stop her.

He watched as Shen Qingwan handed a piece of crab roe paste to Emperor Yuanwu, who then put it in his mouth and ate it.

Zhen'er: ...

Their empress must be crazy!
Everyone in the palace knew that Emperor Yuanwu hated crabs the most.

She actually gave him pastries made with crab.

She likes to eat it herself, and it's fine if she eats it secretly in the palace, but why does she have to give a piece to the emperor?

Isn't this like putting your head on someone's neck and waiting to be chopped off?
Shen Qingwan watched as Emperor Yuanwu's Adam's apple bobbed up and down, making sure he had swallowed it, before asking, "Your Majesty, was this pastry delicious?"

"Not bad, fresh and sweet." Emperor Yuanwu seemed to have taken a liking to it and walked over to several other plates of pastries, taking a bite of each one.

Having grown accustomed to the pastries made by the imperial kitchen, I surprisingly found them quite delicious.

"Did the Empress make all of these?" Emperor Yuanwu asked curiously.

"Yes, when I have nothing to do in the palace, I make some pastries. Sometimes I send some to the Empress Dowager, sometimes to the concubines, and sometimes to the First Prince."

Emperor Yuanwu arrived, and Shen Qingwan felt it inappropriate to keep fiddling with the pastries by herself.

After she finished speaking, she washed her hands and sat down with Emperor Yuanwu in front of the food platter, which was filled with the pastries that Shen Qingwan had prepared earlier.

A palace maid brewed a pot of osmanthus tea, and Shen Qingwan poured him a cup.

"Your Majesty, please try the osmanthus tea. Is it delicious? When the osmanthus blossoms, their fragrance travels for miles. Now that it's late autumn, it's the perfect time to drink osmanthus tea," Shen Qingwan said.

"When I visit the palaces of my concubines, they always prepare for me in advance, including my favorite Imperial Longjing tea. It seems that when I visit the Empress's palace, I will have to cater to the Empress's taste."

As Emperor Yuanwu spoke, he still picked up his teacup and took a small sip.

"tasty?"

"not bad."

"Therefore, Your Majesty cannot always stick to the same thing. Over time, your body's nutrition will become monotonous. If Your Majesty wants to prolong your life, you should eat a more balanced diet."

Emperor Yuanwu raised an eyebrow and smiled: "Why does the Empress's statement sound like it's implying something to me?"

(End of this chapter)