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

Chapter 201 Cruelty
Wu Jixiang hurriedly stepped forward to smooth things over, "General Rong, Consort Xian may not be in a good mood today, please don't take offense."

Rong Yuze slowly straightened up and smiled faintly, "It's alright."

Consort Xian hadn't seen the Emperor up close for quite some time. The words she had been thinking about at the door were quickly drowned out by her tears after just a few steps.

She walked to the table where Emperor Yuanwu was reviewing memorials and knelt directly on the ground.

"emperor."

This soft call made Emperor Yuanwu pause in his work of reviewing memorials, and he looked up at her.

"Consort Xian... Consort Xian... Why did you come at this hour?" Emperor Yuanwu frowned slightly as he looked at her crying so sadly.

He still finds it difficult to call her Consort Xian.

After all, she had been called Consort Xian since the day she entered the palace, and it had become so familiar over the years that it was really hard to change it in a short time.

"Your Majesty, I know I was wrong. I will never dare to do it again. Please forgive me. I know that as the head of a palace, I should not have clashed with Consort Ruan in the palace. I don't know why Her Majesty the Empress took away all the people in my palace. My personal maid Xiang'er, who has been by my side since childhood, is no longer here, and Consort Lan is also dead. I beg Your Majesty to help me speak to Her Majesty the Empress and ask her to leave Xia Fuchuan to me. Otherwise, I really won't even have anyone who can give me peace of mind."

After Consort Xian finished speaking, she kowtowed several times on the ground.

Deep within Emperor Yuanwu's heart, something seemed to tug at him, making him very uncomfortable.

Although her father held considerable military power and his achievements overshadowed the emperor, Consort Xian had been with him for many years and had even given birth to a prince for him.

I almost took her back then...

The Third Prince has been handed over to Consort Shu for upbringing, which is extremely cruel for a mother. Although they are still in the same palace, she cannot raise her own child and has to watch her child call someone else "mother."

Anyone would feel bad in that situation.

Now all she wants is a personal servant to follow her.

Emperor Yuanwu hesitated for a long time, unable to utter the heartless words.

He stood up and walked to Consort Xian, taking her arms with both hands. "Don't keep kneeling on the ground. Get up and we can talk about it."

Consort Xian thought this meant Emperor Yuanwu was refusing her, so she refused to get up. Instead of getting up, she kowtowed twice more on the ground. "I really know I was wrong. I will never have a conflict with Consort Ruan again. I promise to behave myself in the harem from now on. Please tell the Empress to leave Xia Fuchuan to me."

Emperor Yuanwu reluctantly pulled her up from the ground. "The Empress took the servants from Jingyang Palace away for questioning. It has nothing to do with the fight between you and Consort Ruan last time."

Consort Xian: "Ah? What's the reason for that..."

Meanwhile, after a period of effort, Kunning Palace finally achieved results. "Your Majesty," Zhen'er said, her eyes brightening as she quickly approached Shen Qingwan, "someone has confessed."

Shen Qingwan didn't seem surprised when she heard about this. She had originally thought that the trial would drag on all night, but she didn't expect it to be resolved so quickly. She said to the palace maids and eunuchs beside her, whose faces were covered in chicken blood, "Go through the back door and wash the blood off your bodies. Make sure no one knows about this."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Shen Qingwan winked at Zhen'er, who then distributed the money pouches she had prepared in advance to the group of people whose faces were flushed with excitement.

After they left, Shen Qingwan asked calmly, "What did they say?"

"It was those two palace maids I encountered before. They were the first to confess. I followed the trail of the people they mentioned and found out the truth. Actually, it was someone from Jingyang Palace who first spread the word. It was a second-class palace maid who, on the second day after Consort Ruan served the emperor, accompanied Consort Xian on her way to pay her respects to Your Majesty. She instructed Xia Fuchuan to find a few reliable people to spread the word. The purpose was to make Consort Ruan unable to hold her head high in the palace again. Xia Fuchuan had a palace maid who watered the flowers in Jingyang Palace tell the palace maids who cleaned the Imperial Garden about it. That's how it spread from one to ten, and from ten to a hundred, until everyone in the harem knew about it."

In fact, Shen Qingwan had already guessed this outcome. However, she had always overestimated Consort Xian, thinking that even if she were to do such a thing, she would do it cleanly and not leave any handles easily. She never expected that Consort Xian would act so recklessly.

It's no wonder, though. Having been favored by Emperor Yuanwu in the harem for so many years, coupled with her father's outstanding military achievements, she had been the legitimate daughter of a general's family since birth. Years of pampered life had long since cultivated her into a person who looked down on everyone.

In her eyes, killing a mere Consort Ruan was as easy as killing an ant. Let alone Consort Ruan, even if she sent a letter home to the General's Mansion, her father would probably join forces with important officials in the court to negotiate with Consort Ruan's father.

She never imagined that such a move would not only make Ruan Changzai look bad, but also Emperor Yuanwu.

"But Your Majesty, you are truly amazing! How did you figure out that as long as there are people pretending to be tortured, some of the palace maids and eunuchs will not be able to withstand it and will confess on their own? Your Majesty, you just told me to pay attention to which servants outside are chatting the most enthusiastically, and to start with them. How did Your Majesty guess that?" Zhen'er said in admiration.

I didn't really notice it.

With so many servants in Jingyang Palace, there must be some loyal and some disloyal.

Those who were sent to the palace by their families to serve others were all unfortunate people, earning meager salaries to supplement their family income. They counted on their fingers every day the day they could leave the palace. If there were no incentive for them, how much sincerity would they have?

In addition, given Consort Xian's temperament, it's inevitable that some servants who have served her for a long time will not hold grudges when they suffer grievances.

They just wanted to live.

"What did Xia Fuchuan say?" Shen Qingwan took a sip of tea.

"Your Majesty, Eunuch Xia only asked a couple of simple questions. He is the chief eunuch by Consort Xian's side. As long as he insists that nothing happened, I'm afraid those palace maids and eunuchs who have already confessed will have no way to deal with it. If torture is used... wouldn't it be difficult to explain to the Emperor? This servant dares not act rashly."

Zhen'er looked at Shen Qingwan with concern.

Those eunuchs and palace maids who pretended to have been tortured could probably only fool the people below them.

Even if torture is used, it's probably useless. If Xia Fuchuan uses torture and still doesn't confess, then Consort Xian might turn around and accuse her. This is a difficult situation!
Just as Shen Qingwan was hesitating, a voice announced from the doorway, "The Emperor has arrived..."

(End of this chapter)