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

Chapter 41 Eyeliner
"Yes, Your Highness, I am Your Highness's person in life and in death. I will do whatever Your Highness asks me to do without batting an eye!" Zhen'er echoed.

Shen Qingwan: ...

No, you two!

Is Shen Qingwan that kind of person?
"Stop!" Shen Qingwan gestured for the two to pause. "We three already discussed whether I would gain favor last time. I feel it's necessary to have a more in-depth discussion now, which is..."

Zhen'er: ? ? ?
Su Tianhe: ? ? ?

"It means that no matter who the Emperor favors or which palace he goes to in the future, it is the Emperor's own choice. It has nothing to do with us, and we should not interfere!" Shen Qingwan said solemnly.

"Are you just going to ignore everything?" Su Tianhe's mouth gaped open in astonishment, as if an egg could fit inside. "What about the spies that Your Majesty had me plant in various palaces?"

Shen Qingwan: ...

what!
Eyeliner!?
When did she allow Su Tianhe to plant spies in various palaces?

She's already so lazy and indifferent, how could she possibly send people to plant spies in various palaces?

She had been wondering about it before.

Su Tianhe stayed by her side all day long, so he knew all the gossip in the palace.

So that's what she was waiting for!

wait wait wait!
No, no, no.

Su Tianhe was probably not referring to her, but rather the original owner of this body.

Shen Qingwan gritted her teeth: "Bring them all back!"

"Your Majesty," Zhen'er said anxiously, almost crying, "This is not good. If Your Majesty withdraws all those spies, we may not know anything about what's going on in the future."

"Isn't it good to know nothing? Think about it, no matter how much you know, the palace won't give you an extra tael of silver. The more you know, the more you do; the less you know, the less you do. Do the math: with the same monthly allowance, would you rather work more or less?"

Zhen'er thought about it seriously: "With the same monthly allowance, it's naturally better to do as little as possible!"

"And you?" Shen Qingwan looked up and glanced at Su Tianhe again.

"Of course, the less we do, the better. Who would be so stupid as to do more work for the same monthly salary?" Su Tianhe chuckled and scratched his head, seemingly a little embarrassed as he said these words.

“So…” Shen Qingwan patted the two of them on the shoulders: “Withdraw all those spies. If they want to stay in the palace, let them stay and continue serving. If they don’t want to stay, let them leave. If anyone asks, just say that the palace is saving money and releasing some of the unnecessary palace staff.”

"Your Majesty..." Su Tianhe hesitated for a moment, but when he saw Shen Qingwan glare at him, he instantly lost his confidence like a mouse seeing a cat: "Yes, this servant will take care of it in a moment."

"I'll repeat myself for you, I am already the Empress. As long as I quietly eat and drink well in the palace, that's enough. There's really no need for me to compete with those concubines anymore. Even if I compete, I can only ever be the Empress!"

Shen Qingwan wasn't sure if the two of them had understood what she was saying, but seeing them nod, she considered the matter closed.

No!

After eating and drinking her fill, she was particularly prone to drowsiness. She was afraid that if she continued talking, she would fall asleep on the spot. After a quick wash, Shen Qingwan climbed into bed and fell asleep.

The next morning.

After the concubines left Kunning Palace, Imperial Physician Zhang took Consort Li's pulse and said, "Your Majesty's rash is nothing serious. It's just a food allergy. You shouldn't eat eggs or similar things these days."

"Is Physician Zhang sure it's because of the eggs? Although I've never liked eggs since I was little, after I became pregnant with the imperial heir, I felt that eggs were quite nutritious, so I forced myself to eat two every day," Consort Li said, puzzled.

"Your Highness, although you weren't allergic to eggs before, your body has changed somewhat due to your pregnancy with the Emperor's child. There's no need to force yourself to eat things you don't like; a balanced diet is fine. I've prescribed a medicine for you. Wash yourself with it every morning and before bed, and the rash should subside within three days." Imperial Physician Zhang handed a prescription to Mo'er, Consort Li's personal maid.

"Thank you, Physician Zhang." Consort Li bowed.

After Physician Zhang left, Consort Li let out a long sigh of relief: "I thank Your Majesty the Empress. I tossed and turned all night and couldn't sleep. I thought I was not fortunate enough to have contracted some incurable disease."

"What nonsense are you spouting? The imperial fetus in your belly is a sensitive topic. Since the imperial physician said there's nothing wrong, then go back to the palace and take good care of yourself. You also need to pay extra attention to your diet from now on. If anything happens, or if you feel unwell, you must see the imperial physician as soon as possible," Shen Qingwan instructed.

"Yes, Your Majesty, I thank Your Majesty for your advice." Consort Li curtsied and said, "I was just afraid that others would think that I was using my pregnancy to curry favor. Please believe me, Your Majesty, I only wish that the imperial child can be born safely."

"I know what you're thinking. It's getting late, Consort Li, you should go back to your palace to rest. I need to go and pay my respects to the Empress Dowager."

"This concubine takes her leave."

Shen Qingwan was about to go to the Empress Dowager's palace when, unexpectedly, a eunuch from the Empress Dowager's palace arrived first.

"This servant greets Your Majesty the Empress. The Empress Dowager has instructed this servant to invite Your Majesty to Cining Palace."

"Did Mother say something?"

"This servant was unaware; the Empress Dowager only sent this servant to invite Her Majesty the Empress Dowager." The eunuch paused, "However... the Emperor is also present."

Was Emperor Yuanwu also there?
Why did the Empress Dowager summon her? Is she going to pressure her to have a baby again?
When Shen Qingwan arrived at Cining Palace, the entire palace was shrouded in gloom.

Emperor Yuanwu sat in his chair without saying a word, while the Empress Dowager's face was extremely grim.

Shen Qingwan: ...

Her pace slowed instantly.

"Her Majesty the Empress has arrived..."

Shen Qingwan: !!

She didn't want to drive there!
Is it too late for her to run now?
"Your Majesty, you've come at the right time. I have a question for you: do you know anything about what happened at Jingyang Palace?"

Jingyang Palace?
Could it be that the Empress Dowager was referring to Lan Cui's matter?
Shen Qingwan knelt on the ground: "Mother, I don't know why you are so angry. I have been taking good care of Consort Xian's health. As for other matters, I really don't know..."

As soon as Shen Qingwan finished speaking, Emperor Yuanwu glanced in her direction.

"What the Empress said is strange. If she knows nothing, how could she know about other things?" the Empress Dowager asked in return.

Shen Qingwan: !!

As expected of the previous champion of palace intrigue, he could detect the flaws in her words with just a few words.

"Mother, your daughter-in-law truly does not know. I suppose your anger is not related to Consort Xian's illness, so there must be something else at play!"

(End of this chapter)