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

Chapter 394 Death without evidence
Consort Rou finally came to her senses. "What did Father say?"

"Lord Wen said that the matter you asked him to investigate has made some progress, but it will take some time. Your Majesty, please be patient and wait a little longer."

Hear the sound.

Roupin's expression, which had just eased, instantly darkened again.

and many more.

How long has she been waiting? How much longer is she going to have to wait?
Consort Rou picked up the teacup in front of her, took a sip, and suppressed her irritation. "When you met Wu Jixiang just now, where was he going?"

Jun'er pursed her lips, looked up at her, and said, "It seems that... His Majesty is going to Kunning Palace for dinner tonight and asked Eunuch Jixiang to pass on a message to the Empress."

Are we going to Kunning Palace for a meal?

When Consort Rou heard those words, her eyes trembled violently.

The teacup in her hand slammed heavily onto the table, splashing tea everywhere.

"Your Highness, be careful! You're not burned..."

Before Jun'er could finish speaking, the teacup in Roupin's hand had already flown out and smashed against the door frame.

The moment the porcelain bowl shattered, it produced a loud bang.

Startled, Jun'er knelt down with a thud, pleading, "Your Majesty, please calm your anger."

"Hasn't Your Majesty been constantly pestered by that vile Consort Xia these days? Why did you suddenly decide to go to Kunning Palace today, which isn't the first or the fifteenth of the month?" Consort Rou's lips were tightly pursed, and her hands were clenched into fists at her sides, her knuckles turning white.

"Your Majesty, perhaps the Empress Dowager was angry because of the Emperor's matter. Zhang Mama personally went to Kunning Palace to invite the Empress over, and that's why the Emperor is going to the Empress's palace for a meal."

"Queen Mother?"

When Consort Rou spoke of this person, she felt a lump in her throat. A few days ago, she personally delivered the best medicinal herbs to the Empress Dowager. These herbs were obtained by her father from outside the palace at great expense. She herself had not been willing to eat them, but instead gave them to the Empress Dowager as a token of her respect.

Unexpectedly, before they could even see the Empress Dowager, Zhang Mama blocked them at the door, saying that the Empress Dowager was unwell and not fit to see anyone.

It's a pity that she sent out such high-quality medicinal herbs without ever meeting the person in question.

But what can we do?

When she is unwell, it is inconvenient to see her, but it is convenient to see the Empress. The Empress is not a royal physician, so seeing her can cure all diseases.

"I once said that after the child was born, I would hand it over to the Empress to raise. The Empress refused outright. I really thought she was someone who didn't fight or compete and took everything lightly. Now I realize that she didn't want to raise her child simply because she looked down on her Fourth Prince." Consort Rou sneered.

"Your Highness, please don't think like that. Our Fourth Prince is so noble, it's naturally best for him to stay by Your Highness's side," Jun'er advised worriedly.

Noble?

"No matter how noble he is, he is not as noble as the First Prince. Otherwise, the Empress would not have been so eager to curry favor with him, completely disregarding that she was still in confinement after childbirth, and went to the Prince's residence to take care of him for a whole night. Now she has simply brought him directly to the palace."

“Your Majesty, what good is it if the Empress treats the First Prince well? The Emperor will not allow the Empress to adopt the First Prince,” Jun’er said with certainty.

"Hmm?" Consort Rou looked up, puzzled. "What do you mean?"

“Your Majesty, think about it. The First Prince is Consort Li’s son. The Emperor has always harbored resentment towards him. If Consort Li hadn’t given birth to this child, she wouldn’t have died. What does that mean? It means that in the Emperor’s heart, this child is nothing short of a jinx…”

Before Jun'er could finish speaking, Consort Rou slammed her hand on the table. "What do you mean by 'jinx'? So many women die in childbirth. Does that mean every child born is a jinx?"

Jun'er trembled with fear. "Your Majesty, please forgive me. I misspoke."

Ever since the birth of the Third Prince, Consort Rou could no longer bear to hear the words "jinx".

Everyone in Zhongcui Palace knew about it, but when Jun'er was talking about the First Prince, she blurted out those two words without thinking. At that moment, she really wanted to slap herself.

Consort Rou remained silent for a while, seemingly calming down, before slowly saying, "Get up."

Jun'er shakily raised her eyes and glanced at her, making sure that Consort Rou didn't seem as angry as before, before carefully standing up from the ground.

"Alright, go and tell Father that he must hurry up and get this sorted out before the Empress's birthday banquet."

Jun'er curtsied and said, "Yes, Your Majesty."

The Emperor was to have dinner at Kunning Palace tonight. Now, the First Prince had been brought to the Empress's palace. The three of them sat together and had dinner in a harmonious atmosphere. It was probably because Emperor Yuanwu had drunk three cups of wine and was so pleased by the Empress and the First Prince that he directly issued an edict ordering the Empress to adopt the First Prince.

That would be a real problem.

An empress without princes and an eldest son without a mother's protection are both relatively easy to deal with.

If these two are really twisted together like a pretzel...

I'm afraid it will be difficult to bring them down in the future.

There aren't many princes in the harem now. As long as the Empress doesn't have a legitimate son, the remaining princes can forget about competing with her fourth prince for the position of crown prince.

The eldest prince, whom she used to look down on the most, has now become her biggest worry.

No!

We really can't just sit here and wait to die; we can't keep waiting any longer.

In any case, matters in the harem are always so unpredictable and always take unexpected turns.

Just like Consort Yan in the past.

She contracted the venereal disease without anyone knowing, and no one traced it back to her.

Now there's no way to verify the truth.

As long as she gets along well with the six palaces and the Empress.

Even if something happens in the harem one day, no one will think of her.

"Jun'er, go to the storeroom and find a hundred-year-old ginseng. Send it to the First Prince and tell him that I am not able to leave the palace to visit him right now. I will visit him when I am feeling better. Tell him to take good care of himself."

"Yes!"

Jun'er curtsied and turned to leave, but then suddenly remembered something. "Your Majesty, the eldest prince is still young. I'm afraid he can't use something like ginseng."

Consort Rou's face darkened. "Just send it as I said. Isn't the Emperor going to Kunning Palace for dinner tonight? This is for the Emperor to see, not for the First Prince to eat."

"Yes, I understand."

Jun'er's expression flashed through my mind like a revolving lantern. What was wrong with her today? Not a single word she uttered seemed to touch the heart of their mistress.
-
After Wu Jixiang came out of Kunning Palace.

Shen Qingwan instructed the small kitchen to prepare some dishes, and also asked the imperial kitchen to prepare some.

After all, Emperor Yuanwu's meals were not as casual as when she was alone in the palace.

Whether you eat it or not, you still have to put a table full of food.

Shen Qingwan actually doesn't understand the thoughts of people in this era.

Just like in the imperial harem, frugality and cost-cutting are always encouraged...