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

Chapter 367 Vegetarian Dishes
"His Majesty has long harbored designs on the Pang family and wanted to wipe them out in one fell swoop. However, the matter is far-reaching, and there isn't enough evidence against some of the Pang family's remaining followers, so it's impossible to eliminate them completely," Xia Mei sneered. "From the second day I began serving you, Eunuch Jixiang came to me. You've always thought that the person fighting against you is the Empress, but it's actually the Emperor. I was just doing the Empress a favor, but she's much smarter than you. She saw through the lie immediately that the letters I sent over the first time were fake..."

As Xia Mei spoke, she walked behind Pang.

She picked up the crumpled white silk from the ground and put it around her neck. "Your Highness, let me send you on your way. This is the last time I will serve you..."

Before Pang could react, she felt her neck being strangled. Her face turned bright red. She tried to struggle, but Xia Mei, who was standing behind her and had her neck tightly choked, was not going to give her a chance to survive.

Tears seemed to be forced out by that white silk ribbon; her mouth was open, but she couldn't utter a sound from the pain.

The surrounding air grew thinner and thinner, and gradually, her consciousness blurred. Her fingers, clutching the white silk ribbon, slipped down...

"Your Majesty, Lady Pang has passed away." Zhen'er walked solemnly to Shen Qingwan.

Dead?

"His Majesty bestowed the white silk last night, why is it only now..."

“I heard that Madam Pang was very stubborn and refused to die no matter what. Even the eunuch who was ordered to send her on her way could not do anything to her. Later, it was her personal maid, Xia Mei, who strangled her to death. Her eyes were still open…” Zhen’er said, and couldn’t help but shudder.

"Never mind." Shen Qingwan lay lazily on the bed. "Go tell the imperial kitchen that lunch will be vegetarian today."

Zhen'er: ? ? ?
“Your Majesty, now the whole palace knows you miscarried. Who eats vegetarian food during postpartum confinement? Even if we're just pretending, shouldn't we at least make it look convincing?” Zhen’er asked cautiously.

"It's just lunch," Shen Qingwan said calmly. "Just give the orders as I instructed."

It wasn't that she had no appetite, but Pang Shi had fought with the original owner for so long, only to end up with such a tragic fate.

I want to help the original owner show some respect to their former rival.

In the instant Shen Qingwan was lost in thought, Consort Ying walked in.

"This concubine greets Your Majesty the Empress. May Your Majesty be blessed." Consort Ying curtsied, but her protruding belly made the curtsy difficult.

Shen Qingwan was somewhat surprised, "Why did Consort Ying come at this hour?"

"I heard that Your Majesty the Empress has been unwell, so I thought I should come and see you to put my mind at ease. Is Your Majesty feeling any better?" Consort Ying glanced at Shen Qingwan and said with a hint of worry, "Although Your Majesty is young, if you don't take good care of yourself during your postpartum period, it can still be very harmful to your health. Your Majesty should stay in bed and rest carefully."

Shen Qingwan was somewhat at a loss for words, but since Emperor Yuanwu said she had miscarried, she couldn't very well explain anything, so she could only reply, "Lying in bed for too long is uncomfortable, so I wanted to get up and walk around. I was just thinking of going back to lie down."

"Then I will escort Her Majesty the Empress to her palace to rest," Consort Ying said, standing up.

Shen Qingwan let her support her. Although Consort Ying was pregnant, she moved around lightly. She had always heard that women who were pregnant with girls were heavy. Although she did not doubt the imperial physician's medical skills, her light and graceful appearance made it seem like she was really carrying a girl.
The Pang family affair made Shen Qingwan see through Emperor Yuanwu; nothing, no matter how much he purged his children, could compare to the interests of his former dynasty.

The women in the harem were merely a means for him to control the court. Anyone who couldn't be used by him would become a pawn to be discarded forever. The harem would never lack women; as the old batch died, a new batch would enter, each young and beautiful, each more charming than a flower. There was no question of liking or disliking.

Shen Qingwan had witnessed the Rong family's past downfall, and she was most worried that the Rong siblings would one day suffer the same tragic fate as Pang Shi.

"Your Majesty, when I came here, I brought a thousand-year-old ginseng from the palace. It was obtained by my brother during his campaigns. Your Majesty is currently weak, and it would be best to use it to nourish your body."

Ginseng replenishes vital energy, promotes the production of body fluids and nourishes blood, calms the mind and improves intelligence, let alone thousand-year-old ginseng.

“Ginseng that enters the palace these days is extremely rare, even after a hundred years. Such a fine thing must have been found by General Rong for you to nourish yourself after childbirth. It is too precious for me to accept.” Shen Qingwan declined.

"Although this ginseng is said to be a thousand years old, that's just an empty claim. I don't believe any ginseng can live that long. It's just a little bigger and of better quality than ordinary ginseng. My brother said that this kind of thing is very common in the mountains and is not rare. Your Majesty, there's no need to refuse. If it weren't for Your Majesty's care back then, my brother would probably not be in this world anymore. Your Majesty saved my brother's life."

Consort Ying's eyes reddened, making it difficult for Shen Qingwan to refuse. "Since you say so, then I will accept it for now. After you successfully give birth to the imperial heir, I will find some good tonics to help you recover."

"If Your Majesty says so, you are really being too kind. Helping Your Majesty share your burdens is what we concubines should do."

"You're heavily pregnant now, so you need to be extra careful in everything you do. I heard you had severe morning sickness before, are you feeling any better now?"

"Your Majesty, I haven't been vomiting for some time now, and my appetite has improved quite a bit recently. However, I probably don't eat much to begin with, and I don't have the same good appetite as Consort Xi. Even though I'm no longer experiencing morning sickness, I still can't eat much. Consort Xi and I were pregnant around the same time, but Consort Xi's belly looks much bigger than mine." Consort Ying couldn't help but sigh.

Shen Qingwan's brow twitched slightly as she listened to her words. "Everyone's constitution is different, and there's no point in comparing them. As long as the child is healthy, it doesn't matter if the child is a little bigger or smaller. Just raise the child slowly after it's born."

"Your Majesty is absolutely right."

Consort Ying sat by the bed and chatted with Shen Qingwan for a while before getting up. "Your Majesty, please rest well. I will come to see Your Majesty another day."

"Zhen'er, help me see Consort Ying off."

"Yes, Queen."

Just after Zhen'er left, Emperor Yuanwu arrived.

"May Your Majesty enjoy boundless blessings and peace." Shen Qingwan rose and bowed.

"The Empress is not feeling well, so there is no need for her to rise and bow." Emperor Yuanwu waved his hand dismissively, took off his hat, and handed it to Wu Jixiang.

No matter how Shen Qingwan listened, she found these words offensive. It might be one thing for someone unaware of the situation to say something, but for him…

"Why didn't His Majesty say he was coming sooner? I just had the Imperial Kitchen send over a table full of vegetarian dishes, but I'm afraid none of them will be to His Majesty's liking."