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

Chapter 408 Hundred-Day Banquet

Emperor Yuanwu's health was deteriorating, and he had not visited Kunning Palace since Shen Qingwan's birthday.

The next time I saw Emperor Yuanwu was at the 100-day celebration of his two children.

On this morning, Consort Jin arrived at Kunning Palace early and personally styled Shen Qingwan's hair into a Lingyun bun.

Shen Qingwan had someone bring out the dress that Consort Jin had given her on her birthday.

Consort Jin's eyes widened in surprise. "Your Majesty, why didn't you choose a more festive dress for such an important occasion as today's palace banquet?"

Shen Qingwan smiled faintly, "This dress was embroidered by your own hand, and I like it."

Consort Jin smiled, her lips curving upwards, her eyes filled with tears.

Music began playing in the palace early in the morning.

As Shen Qingwan and Consort Jin walked out of Kunning Palace side by side, a faint fragrance wafted past her nose.

The scent wasn't floral, but rather ambergris?
Shen Qingwan's steps suddenly stopped.

Mo Gan Junyi?
He's getting bolder and bolder these days; he used to only dare to come out at night, but now he does it in broad daylight...

Shen Qingwan looked around. She knew in her heart that with Mo Ganjunyi's skills, if he didn't want her to see her, she definitely wouldn't be able to, especially since Consort Jin was beside her.

"Your Highness." Zhen'er quickly caught up, first glancing at Consort Jin, then solemnly saying to Shen Qingwan, "The envoy from the Northern Desert has come to report that Princess Chang Le has passed away."

Dead?

Ever since Liu Ruyan miscarried, I've heard that she's been in poor health, but I never expected that she would actually hold on until now.

The northern desert was never a peaceful place, so her marriage there was an inevitable outcome.

She tried to persuade and stop her back then, but Liu Ruyan wouldn't listen, and neither would the Liu family.

She has done everything she could for the original owner, and now it's all fate.

Shen Qingwan swayed unsteadily, and Consort Jin reached out to support her, saying, "Your Highness, be careful."

"It's nothing," Shen Qingwan said with a faint smile.

Baohe Hall.

As always, three tables were set up at the head of the table; the Empress Dowager was not present due to illness.

Shen Qingwan sat down beside Emperor Yuanwu. Even from a distance, the strong smell of medicine made her frown.

The dragon robe that used to fit her perfectly now looked loose and ill-fitting, and Shen Qingwan couldn't help but raise her eyes to glance at Emperor Yuanwu.

His face was sallow, he was skin and bones, his eyes were lifeless, and there were dark circles under his eyes. In just half a year, Emperor Yuanwu had been tormented into this state.

She had heard reports from the Imperial Hospital before, but she never expected it to be this serious.

Emperor Yuanwu glanced at Shen Qingwan as someone sat down beside him, but quickly looked away after just one glance.

As the music and dance began in the hall, Shen Qingwan glanced at the seated relatives while serving tea. Prince Yao's seat was still empty, but surprisingly, Prince Rui's seat was also empty.

It was expected that Prince Yao wouldn't come, since he hadn't appeared at any palace banquets since her birthday celebration. But why wasn't Prince Rui here today either?
Even if he no longer interferes in court affairs, such a significant event as the 100-day celebration for the two heirs should have required him to return beforehand, unless Emperor Yuanwu deliberately prevented him from being notified.
Shen Qingwan couldn't figure it out, so she simply stopped thinking about it.

Halfway through the palace banquet, when several high-ranking ministers raised their cups to Emperor Yuanwu to offer a toast, they brought up the matter of establishing an heir again.

Emperor Yuanwu's ashen face seemed to grow even uglier.

"My dear minister, you have repeatedly urged me to establish a prince as soon as possible. Do you think I am nearing my end?"

Emperor Yuanwu slammed his hand on the table and stood up, his body trembling uncontrollably as he braced himself with one hand on the table.

"Your humble servant dares not." The crowd knelt and bowed.

"Your Majesty, it is good to select a crown prince as soon as possible so that the court can be stabilized and the people can be prevented from having evil intentions and fighting each other every day, which would implicate innocent people."

"The princes are all still young, and the eldest prince is only 18. Lord Wen brings up the matter of establishing an heir to the throne in front of the emperor every day. Could it be that he has some ulterior motive?"

"Your Majesty is wise. Your humble servant is utterly loyal to you, and Consort Rou is devoted to you even more. How could she possibly have any selfish motives?"

No selfish motives?

Shen Qingwan sneered inwardly, "Whether she has ulterior motives or not, only Consort Rou herself knows best."

"What does Your Majesty mean?" Consort Rou's eyes flashed with a sharp light as she stepped forward from among the concubines.

"Now that things have come to this, I have a few things I must say." Shen Qingwan gave Su Tianhe a wink.

The brothel madam from the largest brothel in the capital, who had been imprisoned by Shen Qingwan, was brought up by Su Tianhe.

In recent days, based on the madam's testimony, Shen Qingwan also discovered that the person who had contacted the madam was the cousin of Jun'er, the personal maid of Consort Rou, and he was brought up as well.

Roupin might not have seen these two people before, but the moment Jun'er's cousin was brought up, the color drained from Jun'er's face and she turned deathly pale.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, spare my life! I was just following orders."

Shen Qingwan stood up and bowed. "Your Majesty, this man is the cousin of Jun'er, the personal maid of Consort Rou. He has been idle since childhood and loves brothels. Taking advantage of his cousin being the personal maid of a concubine, he forces women into prostitution all day long in the capital. The venereal disease that Consort Yan contracted was caused by this man buying the personal clothing of a sick prostitute from the madam at a high price. He then gave this clothing to a maid in the laundry department, who placed it with Consort Yan's personal clothing, causing Consort Yan to contract the venereal disease."

Upon hearing Shen Qingwan's words, everyone sighed in dismay.

Upon hearing the sound, Qiu Zongxi stumbled out from the crowd, knelt before the hall, and wept uncontrollably.

"Your Majesty, my daughter is innocent! Please, Your Majesty, grant me justice and clear my daughter's name! Your Majesty..."

With irrefutable evidence, no matter how much Consort Rou wanted to admit it, the facts were right in front of her.

She knelt before the palace, her face pale, her lips bleeding from being bitten. "Empress, do you hate me so much that you want to kill me?"

"But you harmed innocent people for your own selfish desires. All of this is your own fault." Shen Qingwan said, her eyes unchanged, each word distinct.

Consort Rou suddenly laughed out loud, "Empress, you keep saying that you don't fight or grab, but you're not being honest. The less you fight and grab, the more everything goes your way. You have the Emperor's favor, you have the eldest prince to dote on you, you have everything now, and you still want to drive us all out. Look at how many people are left in the harem now."

Shen Qingwan's eyes flashed with cold sharpness, but she smiled and said, "I just can't stand the filth in the harem. People use dirty tricks to rise to power. You know better than anyone how much filth is on your hands."

Consort Rou was trembling violently.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty the Empress, today is the hundred-day celebration for our two children. There is really no need to let these sordid matters spoil the mood. I think it is better to leave this matter to the Censorate to handle, so as not to spoil everyone's fun."