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

Chapter 44 Folk Methods

Shen Qingwan listened patiently to her finish speaking, then looked up at Consort Bai and asked, "Is she right?"

"This..." Consort Bai knelt on the ground, not daring to raise her head: "This concubine..."

"I'm asking you, is what she said right or wrong? You've been stammering for so long, what do you mean by that? If there's anything wrong, just say it directly. I'm always fair in my punishments, I will never wrong an innocent person, and I will never tolerate anyone who stirs up trouble in the harem."

Lady Bai trembled with fear: "Your Majesty, I know I was wrong, please forgive me."

"Consort Bai punished the innocent palace maid, deducted her salary for a year, sent her to the ancestral hall to reflect on her mistakes, and made her copy Buddhist scriptures." After Shen Qingwan finished speaking, she lowered her eyes and glanced at Lan Cui kneeling on the ground: "Zhen'er, go to the Imperial Hospital to find an imperial physician to take a look at her and get some medicine. She is a very pretty girl, so don't leave a scar on her face."

"This servant thanks Your Majesty the Empress for your kindness." Lan Cui kowtowed in gratitude.

Shen Qingwan went to see Consort Xian in her palace. Although she was still lying in bed and unable to move, just like a few days ago, her complexion was noticeably better. Her face was no longer as pale as paper as before. However, she could still only lie down and was unable to speak. She was extremely weak.

Shen Qingwan chatted with the imperial physician for a few minutes and asked him about Consort Xian's condition. When Consort Xian fell, her waist hit a stone, which was the most serious injury. She also hit her head when she fell. It would probably take some time for Consort Xian to wake up.

Having asked enough questions, Shen Qingwan was about to leave when Su Tianhe hurriedly walked in from outside.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, something terrible has happened! Someone from Yonghe Palace has come to deliver a message, requesting that Your Majesty come over."

"What's wrong? What happened to Consort Shu?"

"Your Majesty, it's not Consort Shu, it's the Third Prince. The Third Prince fell ill the night he was brought into Yonghe Palace, and he developed a high fever this morning. It seems quite serious. The Emperor and the Empress Dowager are on their way to Yonghe Palace right now. Your Majesty, you should go and see him as soon as possible."

Shen Qingwan frowned. Wasn't the Third Prince perfectly fine before? How come he fell ill after arriving at Yonghe Palace? This matter must be more complicated than it seems.

When Shen Qingwan arrived at Yonghe Palace, the Emperor had already arrived a step ahead of her. She and the Empress Dowager entered the gates of Yonghe Palace almost one after the other.

Emperor Yuanwu already had few children, and now that the third prince is ill, even the Empress Dowager came in person.

"Your daughter-in-law greets Your Majesty, may Your Majesty be blessed." Shen Qingwan curtsied.

"What time is it now? Empress, there's no need for so much formality. Quickly come with me to see the Third Prince." The Empress Dowager was so anxious that she almost twisted her ankle.

"Mother, be careful." Shen Qingwan supported her arm.

After the Empress Dowager regained her footing, she sighed deeply: "I'm getting old, I'm really useless now, I can't even walk properly."

"Mother, please don't say that. You're just worried about the Third Prince. Don't worry, he's a lucky man and he'll be alright," Shen Qingwan comforted her.

"I hope so."

When Shen Qingwan helped the Empress Dowager to her bedroom in Yonghe Palace, Emperor Yuanwu was standing at the entrance of Yonghe Palace talking to the imperial physician.

"Mother, why did you come here in person?" Emperor Yuanwu turned his head upon hearing the voice.

"I was worried about my grandson, so I came to see what the imperial physician said," the Empress Dowager said, craning her neck to look at the bed where the Third Prince was lying. Consort Shu sat by the bed, her hair somewhat disheveled, her clothes no longer as neat as usual, and when she turned her head, the dark circles under her eyes were undeniable.

Seeing that the Empress Dowager and the Empress had arrived, she hurriedly stood up and bowed, saying, "This concubine greets Your Majesty the Empress Dowager and Your Majesty the Empress. I have been disrespectful. Please forgive me."

"It's alright." The Empress Dowager quickened her pace and reached out to help Consort Shu.

However, Consort Shu remained kneeling on the ground, refusing to stand up. Her eyes were red, and tears kept welling up in them. "It's all my fault. It's all my fault. I failed to take good care of the Third Prince and let down the Empress Dowager, the Emperor, and the Empress. If anything happens to the Third Prince, please punish me, Empress Dowager..."

"Consort Shu, you mustn't say such unlucky things. It's perfectly normal for children to get sick or have misfortunes. What exactly did the imperial physician say?" Shen Qingwan stopped Consort Shu from saying anything more.

Consort Shu's demeanor didn't seem to be feigned. After all, the Third Prince wasn't her own son, and if something happened to him, it would inevitably lead to gossip later on. No matter how hard she tried, it would still give her something to talk about. When Consort Shu agreed to raise the Third Prince, she had thought of this, but she didn't expect that what she feared would happen. The Third Prince had only just arrived at Yonghe Palace when he fell ill.

"Your Majesty, the imperial physician said that the Third Prince has a cold and flu-like illness and prescribed medicine. However, the Third Prince is too young and has been sleeping all the time. He won't take the medicine, and since he fell ill, he won't even drink the wet nurse's milk. What should we do?" Consort Shu was so anxious that tears streamed down her face. Besides feeling sorry for her child, she was even more worried that something might happen to the Third Prince in her care.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, Your Majesty the Empress, actually, the Third Prince's illness wasn't serious at all. He could have been cured with two doses of medicine. However, the Third Prince is too young to be fed the medicine. He cried incessantly after just one sip, and then vomited it all up in no time," the imperial physician said helplessly.

“The medicine is too bitter. Not to mention a baby who is only a few months old, even adults sometimes have babies who can’t swallow it. Besides, the Third Prince is not feeling well right now. Why don’t we let the wet nurse take the medicine and see if it can be turned into breast milk?” Shen Qingwan said.

“That is indeed a method. If we really can’t get it to go in, we can only try it first,” the imperial physician replied.

Emperor Yuanwu nodded and went into the palace to check on the Third Prince. The Third Prince was not sleeping soundly. Every now and then, he would whimper and cry. His chubby cheeks were flushed red from a fever, and there were still tears on his eyelashes that he hadn't had time to wipe away.

The Empress Dowager was unwell and fearing that she might catch her illness, so she stayed at Yonghe Palace for a while before returning to her palace.

Emperor Yuanwu sat in the main hall of Yonghe Palace, his brow furrowed, clearly in a bad mood.

"Consort Liang has arrived..."

Emperor Yuanwu raised his eyes and glanced towards the doorway: "Why has Consort Liang arrived at this hour?"

"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to Your Majesty and Your Majesty the Empress." Consort Liang curtsied. "I heard that the Third Prince is ill, so I came to see him."

"The Third Prince has already fallen asleep. I just fed him a mouthful of medicine, but he vomited it up before he could even swallow it." Emperor Yuanwu was in a somber mood.

Consort Shu came out of her palace upon hearing the sound: "Consort Liang is here."

"Your Highness, Consort Shu, I've come to see the Third Prince," said Consort Liang.

"You're so kind, sister." Consort Shu said listlessly, inviting Consort Liang to sit down.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty the Empress, Your Highness Consort Shu, when the Second Prince was little, he was often sick. It's normal for children to have difficulty taking medicine. There's a folk remedy from my hometown..."

(End of this chapter)