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

Chapter 60 Treated as one's own son
"What did she do wrong this time that you had to hit her like this?"

The voice of Emperor Yuanwu could be heard from afar.

Before Consort Bai could retract her raised hand, it abruptly stopped in mid-air. After a while, she slowly turned around.

Emperor Yuanwu was unaware that he was already standing behind her.

Lady Bai was so frightened that her legs went weak and she knelt on the ground: "Your Majesty... Your Majesty."

"Why aren't you copying Buddhist scriptures in the ancestral hall? What are you doing at Jingyang Palace?" Emperor Yuanwu looked down at her.

"Your Majesty, I was copying Buddhist scriptures in the Buddhist hall, but I heard that Consort Xian's health has improved, so I wanted to come and see her," Consort Bai said, her eyes filled with panic.

"How is Consort Xian?"

"This concubine..." Consort Bai twisted the silk in her hands, "This concubine hasn't had a chance to visit Consort Xian yet."

"I see you're quite skilled at beating people here." Emperor Yuanwu's eyes were cold, and his clear voice suppressed his anger: "Consort Bai doesn't take the Empress's words to heart and doesn't like staying in the ancestral hall, so let her stay in the Wuliang Hall. Issue my decree to demote Consort Bai to a concubine and move her to the Wuliang Hall."

Isn't the Hall of No Beams just a cold palace?
Consort Bai knelt on the ground for a while, then quickly crawled towards Emperor Yuanwu's back and grabbed his robe: "Your Majesty, I know I was wrong. Please forgive me. I will never dare to do it again. I will go back to the ancestral hall to copy Buddhist scriptures. Please forgive me..."

Consort Bai cried hoarsely, lying on the ground in a disheveled state.

Emperor Yuanwu simply kicked her in annoyance and strode towards Consort Xian's palace.

"Your Majesty...Your Majesty..."

Bai Guiren's cries grew fainter and fainter until they finally blended into the sound of the wind.

"Your Majesty." Consort Xian lifted the covers, intending to get out of bed and pay her respects, but was stopped by Emperor Yuanwu.

"Consort Xian is still not fully recovered, there's no need for such formalities." Emperor Yuanwu sat down by Consort Xian's bedside and took her hand. "You've lost a lot of weight since you fell ill. Now that you're feeling better, just tell me what you want to eat or use. Get well soon."

Consort Xian was moved to tears: "Your Majesty, I thought that Your Majesty would never like me again, and would never come to see me again."

"What are you saying, Consort Xian? We've known each other for so many years. When I was still a prince, Consort Xian was by my side. Your father served the country and shared my burdens. How could I not like you?" Emperor Yuanwu said.

"I lack nothing now, but I miss the Third Prince every day, Your Majesty..." Consort Xian hesitated, then cried even more bitterly.

“When you were seriously ill, the Third Prince was still young. The Empress Dowager and I thought that someone might have any improper thoughts about the Third Prince, so we entrusted him to Consort Shu to raise. Consort Shu is in poor health and will never have children in this life. The Empress Dowager and I believe that Consort Shu will treat the Third Prince as her own son and take good care of him.”

"But..." Consort Xian moved her lips, but before she could speak.

"I know you like children. Once you've recovered, I'll have another one with you."

Emperor Yuanwu stared intently at Consort Xian. Consort Xian understood his meaning and naturally dared not continue speaking. Having served Emperor Yuanwu for so many years, she understood his temper better than anyone else. If she persisted, she feared that not only would she fail to get the Third Prince back, but she would also anger him, and she might even lose his favor.

Consort Xian threw herself into Emperor Yuanwu's arms and cried bitterly: "It's all my fault. If I hadn't hurt myself, the Third Prince wouldn't have had to be separated from his birth mother at such a young age."

"Although the Third Prince is now being raised in Consort Shu's palace, you will always be his birth mother. If you miss him, you can go see him anytime. It's not like you can't see him. Consort Xian, there's no need to be so sad."

Consort Xian stopped speaking and just cried silently.

Even if we could see each other, so what? Being supported by someone else is not the same as being supported by yourself.

Although Consort Xian's health had improved, she was still unable to serve the emperor in bed. Emperor Yuanwu stayed in Consort Xian's palace that night to keep her company.

Shen Qingwan only learned about Emperor Yuanwu's punishment of Consort Bai the next morning. Apart from the three pregnant concubines, Consort Bai was missing. Several concubines who came to pay their respects waited outside the main hall of Kunning Palace and chatted amongst themselves.

"Consort Ruan, what exactly happened in your palace yesterday? I heard that when the Emperor went to see Consort Xian, he caught Consort Bai beating someone and got very angry, so he sent her directly to the Wuliang Palace," Consort Dong asked curiously.

"I don't know either. I wasn't feeling well last night, so I went to bed early. I only found out this morning that His Majesty had come to Jingyang Palace," said Consort Ruan.

"But then again, Consort Bai didn't just slap her personal maid; why did the Emperor get so angry that he sent her straight to the Cold Palace?" Consort Chun asked, puzzled.

"It's really unlucky of Consort Bai to say that she had to be seen by either the Empress or the Emperor when she punished the palace maids," Consort Tong sighed.

"Why are you still calling her Consort Bai? Didn't the Emperor already strip her of her Consort title yesterday? Now he wants to change her title to Lady Bai. To be honest, Lady Bai brought this on herself. Of all the people she could have messed with, she had to go after Consort Lan. Who is Consort Lan? She's the Emperor's new favorite. Even if she hadn't been officially titled Consort Lan, he couldn't just let a mere Consort like her punish her at will." Consort Ruan said sullenly.

“Don’t underestimate Consort Lan just because she’s only a Consort now. If she gives birth to a prince and the Emperor promotes her to a higher rank, she’ll be above us,” Consort Dong said.

“That’s not necessarily true. Even if Consort Lan gives birth to a prince, if she is promoted, she can only be promoted to Noble Lady. She can’t skip ranks and be promoted directly to Consort Jin. Although we have just entered the palace, we are already Consorts. After serving the emperor, we will be promoted according to the palace rules.” Consort Ruan lowered her eyes somewhat embarrassed as she said this.

"The rules of the palace are the rules of the palace, but aren't all the rules of the palace set by the emperor? The emperor can promote whoever he wants or not promote. What's the use of serving the emperor in bed if he says so?"

As Dong Changzai spoke, she rolled her eyes. She didn't even notice that as soon as she finished speaking, Rou Guiren and Ji Changzai exchanged a glance.

The two of them entered the palace together during the imperial concubine selection. They were the last two among that batch of candidates to be chosen to serve the emperor. Similarly, after serving the emperor, they maintained their original ranks. In fact, Consort Rong's rank of Consort Noble was earned through her brother's meritorious service during the smallpox outbreak, and she was the one who tested the medicine for him.

Although Ruan Guiren's words were unintentional, they still stabbed the two of them in the heart.

"Alright, let's all keep quiet. Her Majesty the Empress should be feeling better soon. It wouldn't be good if she heard us," Consort Tong whispered a reminder.

After Shen Qingwan finished washing and dressing, the concubines entered the main hall of Kunning Palace one after another.

(End of this chapter)