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

Chapter 305 Join a group to keep warm
He raised his hand and slapped himself twice quickly and hard, which greatly calmed down Consort Xian's anger.

But she still glared angrily at Xia Fuchuan, who was kneeling on the ground.

"Your Majesty, please don't be angry. Can you let me finish?" Xia Fuchuan asked, his voice trembling with tears.

Consort Xian looked at him with annoyance, "Speak."

"Your Majesty, I'm thinking that General Pang might have had the same intention when he sent Lan Cui into the palace."

Speaking of Lan Cui.

Consort Xian, who had just calmed down, suddenly flared up again. "Why did you bring up that bitch for no reason? Do you think I'm not miserable enough already?"

"The royal concubine."

Xia Fuchuan was also helpless. Consort Xian was always like this, self-righteous, and she still had no idea what was going on with him.

"What this servant wants to say is that the General sent Lan Cui in with the intention of helping Your Highness consolidate your position in the harem. It was Lan Cui who acted without discretion that caused Your Highness to suffer injustice. She truly deserved to die. If Your Highness is unhappy, please punish this servant without complaint." Xia Fuchuan earnestly advised.

Having served Consort Xian for so many years, he knew her character best. Whether she was loyal or not seemed less important. Judging from the current situation, it was inevitable that Consort Xian would fall out of favor. As for when, whether soon or slowly, it was only a matter of time.

He only hoped that he could find a new lover before Consort Xian fell out of favor, so that he wouldn't die too tragically.

To consolidate the position of the harem?

When Consort Xian heard this, her brows furrowed deeply. It wasn't that she couldn't understand this practice of sticking together for warmth.

Just like before, even though she didn't have the emperor's favor, she won over many concubines in the harem. Now, several high-ranking concubines in the harem are all of one mind with her. In fact, she easily won them all over by simply using her role in managing the six palaces.

Even though she was a Noble Consort, she was still just a concubine in the harem. She didn't have the same power as the Empress, and she was even stripped of the right to assist in managing the six palaces. Now, to consolidate her position, she was asked to personally send another woman to Emperor Yuanwu's bed. She really couldn't do that.

But it seems that she can't find a better way to get out of her predicament than this.

Consort Xian sat on the bed, hugging her knees and burying her head in her arms. After a while, she looked up at Xia Fuchuan and said, "Go and get paper and pen."

Staring at the blank paper in front of her for a long time, Consort Xian couldn't help but sigh. "Now that the Pang family has been dealt with by the Emperor, where in the family are there any young women suitable to be sent to the palace to serve the Emperor? Even if I write this letter and send it out, I'm afraid it will all be in vain."

“Your Majesty, if the Pang family cannot find a suitable woman, why not select one from the families of General Pang’s former subordinates? The Pang family has been wronged and fallen into misfortune. General Pang was a man of unwavering integrity, overcoming countless obstacles and killing countless enemies. His former subordinates remain loyal to him. I believe that those soldiers who witnessed General Pang’s battles will believe in his innocence and will be willing to help him clear his name. If this woman were to enter the palace and gain the Emperor’s favor, it would be an honor for her maternal family, wouldn’t it?”

Xia Fuchuan spoke with conviction, and Consort Xian's eyes lit up, her heart feeling as if winter's ice and snow had unexpectedly met with spring's warmth and blossoms. She thought carefully for a moment and came up with a name: Qiu Zongxi, a former subordinate of her father. He and her father had been stationed on the frontier for many years. During the frontier campaigns, he met a woman and took her as a concubine. They had a daughter named Qiu Yanjiao. When they were young, they often played together. Qiu Yanjiao looked remarkably like her mother, with eyebrows like crescent moons, a face as radiant as peach blossoms, and skin as smooth as jade. She was a beauty from a young age.

Qiu Yanjiao is seven or eight years younger than her, and is now of marriageable age.

If she could enter the palace, firstly, they would be old acquaintances, making it easier to talk; secondly…

Although Consort Xian didn't want to admit it at all, she had to admit that Qiu Yanjiao was indeed stunningly beautiful, one of the most beautiful women in the harem, and would definitely win Emperor Yuanwu's favor.

As Consort Xian put pen to paper, her beautiful small regular script trembled, as if something had torn open her heart, leaving it empty and filled with a dense, throbbing pain.

She wrote the entire letter in one go, signing her name, folding it into three parts and stuffing it into the envelope. As if she didn't want to accept the reality, she didn't want to look at it again and threw it directly into Xia Fuchuan's hands. "Find a reliable person to deliver it to the Qiu family. If the Qiu family doesn't agree, don't force them."

Let fate decide and do your best.

When Consort Xian watched Xia Fuchuan leave with that letter, she felt conflicted. She both hoped that the Qiu family would agree and feared that they would.

"Has Her Majesty agreed?"

Xia Fuchuan had just stepped out of his palace when he bumped into Xia Mei, who was waiting outside. He was so startled that he almost jumped up.

"It's not your shift today, why aren't you sleeping? Are you trying to scare people to death by standing here so early in the morning?"

A strange glint flashed in Xia Mei's eyes. "I'm just worried about our mistress. She was framed by Consort Wen and has been confined to her quarters for three months. After three months, I'm afraid the Emperor will forget who our mistress is. If the mistress is unhappy in the harem, we servants will have to be mindful of others' feelings wherever we go. How will we have a future then?"

Xia Fuchuan also sighed, "That's the logic, but we can't be so treacherous as to betray our master and seek refuge with others when he's in trouble. That's not something a human being would do."

"I don't know if it was done by a human being, but ultimately there won't be any good way out, and I won't be trusted anymore." Xia Mei's expression was complicated.

Xia Fuchuan couldn't help but sigh again, "Alright, I'll find a reliable person to send the letter out first."

"Be careful. Now that the Pang family has fallen, the Emperor is wary of them. If this letter falls into the wrong hands, it might not only fail to help our Lady, but could also harm her." Xia Mei looked around to make sure no one was nearby before carefully whispering in his ear, "I heard from a palace maid in the Yangxin Hall a few days ago that the Emperor and Prince Rui seem to be secretly plotting to use our Lady to expose all the remaining members of the Pang family."

Xia Fuchuan was so shocked that he broke out in a cold sweat. "Is this really true?"

"What benefit would it bring me if I lied to you? Why would I lie?" Xia Mei lowered her voice.

“But…” Xia Fuchuan was very flustered. “But the Emperor has always been wary of Prince Rui. Why would he discuss such a matter with Prince Rui?”