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

Chapter 16 Zhen'er is missing

Could it be that Emperor Yuanwu was just making excuses for her?

Was it just a formality?
It shouldn't be.

In the past, even if Emperor Yuanwu hadn't said anything...

The empress herself would also start making a fuss.

What on earth is going on today?
"I heard that Prince Rui is waiting in the Hall of Mental Cultivation to have dinner with the Emperor."

"What about the Empress?" Consort Xian pressed on, unwilling to give up.

"Dinner has already been served at Kunning Palace. I just heard that the Imperial Household Department learned that the Empress had punished the head chef of the Imperial Kitchen. They were so frightened that they sent all the money they had withheld from Xianfu Palace's monthly allowance over the years, along with a bunch of other things, as an apology."

Consort Xian's eyes darkened.

Since the Empress recovered from her serious illness, not only has the Empress herself changed, but it seems that even the Emperor has changed.

If things continue like this, I'm afraid that sooner or later, the power in the harem will return to the Empress's hands.

So many beautiful young women entered the palace and gave birth to children.

So she...

"Your Highness, Consort Xian, you must do justice for this servant!" Gao Da knelt on the ground, crying and shouting, "In this palace, Your Highness is my only family. If Your Highness does not do justice for this servant, this servant might as well just kill himself."

"I'm not trying to criticize you, but why did you have to provoke her? Even if the Emperor and Empress Dowager dislike her, she is still the Empress, and I have to show her respect." Consort Xian was speechless, blew on her tea, and took a small sip.

"Your Majesty, how could this servant dare to provoke her? Whenever Kunning Palace needs food, this servant always sends the best of it. This servant never expected that she would go to Xianfu Palace in the middle of the day for no reason." Gao Da sighed deeply as he spoke.

"You only received ten strokes of the cane, and your bones weren't injured. It seems the eunuch who administered the punishment wasn't too harsh. You can still get out of bed, so take good care of yourself and you'll learn your lesson. I've already had the best wound medicine sent to your palace." Consort Xian's brows furrowed even deeper: "Let's leave it at that."

That's it?

Gao Da was taken aback.

Consort Xian casually said, "That's the end of it," and that was the end of it?

Then all those ten lashes he took were for nothing.

Moreover.

Consort Xian knew about this beforehand. If it weren't for her approval, how could he have dared to do such a thing to Consort Jin so blatantly?

Now that the truth has come out, does Consort Xian want to absolve herself of all responsibility?

"Your Majesty, that's not what I meant."

"Just say what you have to say. Even the Emperor doesn't want to get involved anymore, so what can I say? Do you expect me, a mere concubine, to go against the Empress?" Consort Xian said impatiently. "From now on, stop talking about how we're related in the palace! You almost got me into trouble today."

"This servant is innocent! How dare this servant mention our kinship in the palace and cause trouble for Your Majesty? Your Majesty is only able to protect this servant because you are doing well in the palace. It was the Empress who brought it up and said that she knew about our kinship, which is why she punished this servant with a cane." Gao Da said with a sob in his voice, full of grievance.

Consort Xian paused, her fingertips pausing: "Really?"

"Of course it's true!" Gao Da's eyes darted around in a panic.

Consort Xian narrowed her eyes slightly, and placed the teacup heavily on the table. With a clinking sound, tea spilled everywhere.

Late at night, thunder rumbled outside the window, and a heavy rain began to fall.

Shen Qingwan was awakened by a sudden abdominal pain.

Upon hearing the sound, Zhen'er entered the bedchamber and lit the candles.

"Your Highness, what's wrong? Are you alright?"

Shen Qingwan's face was deathly pale, and her forehead was covered with a layer of fine sweat. She pressed her hands against her abdomen and said, "I don't know why, but I suddenly have unbearable abdominal pain."

All the servants in the Kunning Palace rushed over upon hearing the commotion.

"Your Majesty, please have some hot water first. This servant will go and fetch the imperial physician right away."

As Zhen'er spoke, she hurriedly left Kunning Palace.

Shen Qingwan tried to stop her, but it seemed too late.

The palace maid poured her a cup of hot water and fed her two sips.

The abdominal pain remained unchanged.

Shen Qingwan lay in bed, carefully considering what she had eaten. Dinner?

Stir-fried black carp with garlic, braised eggplant, pan-fried taro cakes, and clear chicken soup.

After the meal, I ate some fruit, bananas and oranges.

It seems there's no problem?
These are all foods she usually eats.

At noon, Gao Da, the head of the imperial kitchen, was flogged.

Did they tamper with her food that night?
Surely the people in the imperial kitchen wouldn't be that stupid.

This is far too easy to arouse suspicion.

Even if they were incredibly audacious, they wouldn't dare to poison the Empress in the inner palace unless they truly didn't want to live.

If it's not dinner.

What would it be?
Shen Qingwan felt so much pain that she saw stars, and her mind went completely blank.

She had been lying in bed for an unknown amount of time when she turned to the palace servant beside her and asked, "Has the imperial physician arrived yet?"

"Your Majesty, not yet."

Shen Qingwan gritted her teeth and drank a mouthful of hot water. A palace maid prepared a hot water bottle for her to hold in her arms, which relieved her abdominal pain considerably.

Shen Qingwan closed her eyes and lay on the bed for a while.

She didn't know exactly how much time had passed, whether it was long or short.

"Has the imperial physician not arrived yet? Where is Zhen'er? Hasn't Zhen'er returned either?"

For some reason, Shen Qingwan had a vague sense of foreboding.

"Your Majesty, the imperial physician has not yet arrived."

"What about Zhen'er? Has Zhen'er returned?" Shen Qingwan asked immediately.

"Your Majesty, Aunt Zhen'er has not returned either."

Shen Qingwan's unease intensified: "How long has Zhen'er been gone?"

"It's been about half an hour."

Half an hour?

Although it's a bit of a journey from Kunning Palace to the Imperial Hospital, it shouldn't take half an hour to get back.

Oops!

Shen Qingwan endured the abdominal pain and sat up in bed.

"Your Majesty, what are you doing? You're not feeling well, you should lie down."

The maidservant hurriedly supported her arm, at a loss for what to do.

"Su Tianhe, go to the Imperial Hospital and ask if they have seen Zhen'er. Take some people and search along the way."

Su Tianhe's eyes flashed with panic: "Yes, Your Majesty the Empress."

The maid helped Shen Qingwan off the bed: "Your Highness, there's no need to worry. Aunt Zhen'er may have encountered some trouble and should be back soon."

Shen Qingwan didn't speak, but her eyes darkened further.

If they could come back soon, they would have already.

Zhen'er was the original owner's personal maid, and they grew up together since childhood. How could she not know the importance of her actions?

Why would she detour to do something else on her way to fetch the imperial physician?

At this time, not only did Zhen'er not return, but the imperial physician also did not come.

The only possibility is that something happened to her right after she left Kunning Palace.

Su Tianhe was soaked to the bone and hurriedly ran back from outside.

"Your Majesty, we've searched everywhere, but we can't find Aunt Zhen'er. The Imperial Hospital also says they haven't seen her..."

(End of this chapter)