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

Chapter 363 Miscarriage
Shen Qingwan couldn't help but curse in her mind.

The menstrual blood had to come at this exact moment, of all times. Her clothes and chair were stained with blood. The entire palace was filled with palace maids and eunuchs, and Emperor Yuanwu was sitting right next to her. It was truly humiliating.

Just as Shen Qingwan wished she could disappear into a crack in the ground, Emperor Yuanwu abruptly stood up, grabbed Pang Shi from her, pushed her to the ground, and roared at Consort Rou, "Consort Rou, what are you doing? How dare you plot against the imperial heir!"

Murder of the imperial heir?

When Shen Qingwan heard those four words, her eyes widened instantly, and she looked up at Emperor Yuanwu in surprise.

What exactly is this scoundrel emperor up to?

Is he crazy? He fell asleep while eating that night. Doesn't he have any idea what happened?

How could you say such a thing?

But such a thought vanished in an instant, and she immediately understood what Emperor Yuanwu meant.

He wanted to use her to deal with Consort Rou while dealing with Lady Pang.

only……

When exactly did he begin to harbor resentment towards Consort Rou?
Although Consort Rou was framed when she gave birth to the Fourth Prince, a thunderbolt struck her Zhongcui Palace.

But the misunderstanding had already been cleared up at that time. She did not think that Emperor Yuanwu would deliberately distance himself from Consort Rou because of this. Based on Shen Qingwan's understanding of him, anyone who could make him deliberately distance himself from or deliberately favor someone must be related to his imperial power.

Since having the Fourth Prince, Consort Rou has indeed lost some of the gentleness she had when she first entered the palace, and instead has become more ambitious.

Women in the imperial harem often share a common flaw: when they don't have children, they long for one of their own so they can have someone to rely on and be content. But once they have their own children, they start plotting to compete for the supreme throne.

When Consort Rou first entered the palace, she seemed quite clever. After all, she was the first concubine in the harem after Consort Pang to be favored by the emperor and promoted three ranks immediately upon entering the palace.

She could have risen to prominence after giving birth to a prince, but she was framed during childbirth, and after her confinement period, many new women frequently entered the harem.

Her heart began to ache...

Shen Qingwan was unaware that she had started her period and was not experiencing abdominal pain. However, in the blink of an eye, she was in excruciating pain in her lower abdomen, which caused her face to visibly lose all color and turn pale. She broke out in a cold sweat from the pain all over her body.

Zhen'er then realized what was happening. "Your Majesty, are you alright? Is your stomach hurting badly? Would you like me to help you to bed to rest?"

"Imperial Physician Zhang!" Su Tianhe called out anxiously, "Imperial Physician Zhang, please take a look at Her Majesty the Empress. She's pale from the pain."

The sound fell.

While everyone was distracted, Zhen'er glanced up at Su Tianhe, who turned his head away somewhat awkwardly.

Of all the people in the palace, only the two of them knew that nothing had happened between Emperor Yuanwu and Shen Qingwan the night he stayed at Kunning Palace.

But since Emperor Yuanwu had said so, they naturally had to continue in the same vein.

Physician Zhang knelt before Shen Qingwan, and his expression froze the moment his fingertips touched her wrist.

Such astonishment lasted only a moment, so fast that no one could catch it, before Imperial Physician Zhang knelt on the ground, clasped his hands in a fist and said, "Your Majesty, please forgive my incompetence, Her Majesty the Empress has miscarried!"

Miscarriage...!

Shen Qingwan: ...

Indeed, not just anyone can be the head of the Imperial Medical Academy. He didn't even need to glance at Emperor Yuanwu to continue the performance.

Physician Zhang, a top doctor in the Imperial Medical Academy, should have been able to tell just by taking her pulse that she had simply had her period and had not miscarried.

Consort Rou's expression hardened, and her body swayed violently uncontrollably. Her knees buckled, and she almost fell over.

She only wanted to get rid of Pang Shi's entanglement; she only pushed Pang Shi, so how did it cause the Empress to miscarry?

Even if it was an unintentional mistake, who would care whether the crime of plotting against the imperial heir was intentional or unintentional, especially since the child in the Empress's womb was the legitimate heir?

Ponzi was completely dumbfounded.

What on earth just happened?
She only stumbled; she didn't hit the Queen's stomach hard. How could she have miscarried out of nowhere?

"Pang and Roupin plotted to harm the imperial heir. They were given a white silk noose, and Roupin was stripped of her title and demoted to the rank of Noble Lady."

Emperor Yuanwu lifted Shen Qingwan from the stool and strode out of Zhongcui Palace.

Shen Qingwan felt uncomfortable being hugged so tightly. She felt as if hundreds of ants were gnawing at her body, making her feel uncomfortable all over.

When Emperor Yuanwu stepped out of the Zhongcui Palace gate, Shen Qingwan couldn't help but say, "Your Majesty, there's no one here anymore. Why don't you put me down and let me walk by myself?"

Emperor Yuanwu suddenly stopped in his tracks. He lowered his eyes and glanced at Shen Qingwan. "I said the Empress has something to attend to. Does the Empress have any objections?"

Shen Qingwan: ...

The implication is that he said she had miscarried, and the entire Imperial Hospital and even the entire harem believed that she had miscarried.

"No." Shen Qingwan pursed her lips deeply. "I just felt that Zhongcui Palace is not close to Kunning Palace. If you carry me back like this, your arms might hurt when we get there."

Emperor Yuanwu sneered, "The Empress really is thinking of me."

Shen Qingwan: ...

No matter how she listened to these words, she felt that Emperor Yuanwu was being sarcastic and unsettling.

"Last time you punished the palace maids around Consort Yan, I punished you by confining you to Kunning Palace to reflect on your mistakes. I did indeed do something wrong in this matter," Emperor Yuanwu said calmly.

Shen Qingwan looked up at him with a hint of surprise.

She pondered carefully what Emperor Yuanwu meant by those words.
His bringing this up now is by no means accidental; in fact, it's highly likely he did it intentionally.

By confining her to Kunning Palace to reflect on her mistakes, he made it known to all in the palace that his favor towards Consort Yan was not just a passing fancy.

This not only allowed Consort Yan to become arrogant and disregard the Pang family, but also accelerated the Pang family's desire to exploit Consort Yan's favor and incite their clan.

Despite all his calculations, Emperor Yuanwu probably never anticipated that Consort Yan had deliberately avoided Lady Pang from the moment she entered the palace, and had no intention of having an affair with her.

Although things didn't go as smoothly as he expected, he eventually got a result that Emperor Yuanwu was quite satisfied with.

Shen Qingwan was curious whether the fact that Consort Rou was implicated, demoted, and stripped of her title was an accident or part of his plan.

He carried her all the way back to Kunning Palace, so those who said she had fallen out of favor can probably shut up now.

Just as Shen Qingwan was lost in thought, someone walked towards her...