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

Chapter 366 Completely Unrelated
There are only a handful of concubines in high positions in the imperial harem now.

It seems that finding a suitable adoptive mother for Jiang Wenlan is not so easy.

Consort Shu is a good candidate, but she already has the Third Prince by her side. Emperor Yuanwu would never allow a concubine who cannot bear children to raise two princes.

Besides Consort Shu, there were also Consort Jin, Consort Rou, Consort Liang, Consort Ying...

None of these options seem quite suitable. Even if a new person were to come to the palace, how could she easily entrust Jiang Wenlan to anyone to raise if she didn't understand the situation clearly?

This is really a headache.

"Your Majesty, Lady Pang is causing a huge scene at Jingyang Palace. She refuses to use the white silk no matter what, and is insisting on seeing you," Zhen'er said with difficulty.

See her?

Shen Qingwan frowned deeply. "At this time, why doesn't she go to see her son one last time? What does she want to see me for?"

"Perhaps he was resentful, and probably wanted to find out how the Empress came to have the letters she had personally written to the court officials..."

at the same time.

In the woodshed of Jingyang Palace, two eunuchs were pulling at Madam Pang with white silk ribbons.

Since Emperor Yuanwu issued the imperial edict last night, this is the third wave of eunuchs sent to send Lady Pang off on her final journey.

"Let me go! Get out! All of you, get out! I want to see the Emperor! I want to see the Empress!"

"If you can't see the Empress, none of you are allowed to harm me!"

"Get out... Ahhh..."

The two eunuchs were terrified by her shout. The emperor said to give her a white silk ribbon and let her commit suicide.

If she refused, none of them would dare to strangle her.

Since she's already been sentenced to death, the eunuchs will just keep replacing her. As long as she's alive, they'll just keep at it.

He takes her salary, listens to her cry and shout, and when she's had enough and tired of shouting, there will always be a time when he can take her arm and send her on her way.

What's the rush...

Xia Mei and Xia Fuchuan were originally to be taken to the Shenxing Division for interrogation about the heinous things that Pang had done.

But by then she had already been sentenced to death, and Emperor Yuanwu never mentioned what punishment would be given to those who served her in her dreams.

As fellow servants in the palace, a little money can make many things seem trivial or even nonexistent.

Even if they were to try every single punishment under the Shenxing Division and uncover some secrets, Pang could not be executed twice.

Having served Emperor Yuanwu for so many years, he should at least have a complete corpse.

Xia Mei gave a wink to the two eunuchs who were arguing with Pang Shi.

The two eunuchs tactfully put down what they were carrying and left, closing the door to the woodshed behind them. "Xia Mei, you've come to rescue me, haven't you? Could you please call the Emperor and Empress over? I have something to say to them."

Pang climbed over from the corner of the wall and grabbed Xia Mei's skirt as if it were her last lifeline.

"Go away."

Xia Mei kicked her back to her original spot, and she took a big step back as if she had been touched by something dirty.

Do you know what you've lost to Her Majesty the Empress?

"What?" Pang looked up at Xia Mei in astonishment. "No... Xia Mei... what are you saying? I don't understand a word you're saying?"

Xia Mei sneered, walked up to her, squatted down, and patted her disheveled face a few times.

"It's okay if you don't understand. Let me explain it to you one by one."

"Do you remember the last time you fought with Consort Ruan, I was the one who went to invite the Emperor over? Even though it was you who fought with Consort Ruan, do you know why the Emperor was so angry and only punished you?"

Pang was stunned, her eyes filled with undisguised shock. "It's you?"

"Of course." Xia Mei curled her lips, her contempt barely concealing her smugness.

"You must also be wondering how Her Majesty the Empress has those letters written by your own hand, and why Consort Yan has identical letters, even though the handwriting is imitated, right?"

"It was you too...?" Pang felt as if something was blocking her chest, making it difficult to breathe.

"To tell you the truth, every letter you exchanged with outside the palace was obtained from Xia Fuchuan by me under the pretense of helping him send it out. From the letter you wrote to General Qiu, which led to Consort Yan entering the palace, I not only sent it to the General's Mansion, but also to Zhongcui Palace, Kunning Palace, and Yangxin Hall. However, the letter you wrote yourself has always been in my hands."

"Are you crazy? Why would you do this?" Pang's mind went blank, her vision went black, and she almost fainted.

"You don't actually think the Emperor only found out about all this last night, do you?" Xia Mei burst into laughter. "Anyway, you won't live much longer, so I'll tell you the truth: from the moment you were made a Consort, this was all part of the Emperor's scheme. You're really stupid. Don't you even think about it? You've been confined to Jingyang Palace since you were a child, yet you've still been able to come and go from there. You don't actually think the Emperor is still showing you favoritism and indulging you at this point, do you?"

Pang's lips trembled, unable to speak, "Why? Why are you doing this to me? I've treated you well, you..."

"You've treated me well?" Xia Mei bent down, grabbed Pang's hair, and pulled her head up, making her look directly at her. "Thirty strokes of the cane were given without warning. When have you ever seen a servant in Kunning Palace receive a cane? Zhen'er was forced to kneel for an hour, and the Empress even had to summon Physician Zhang overnight. And you still have the nerve to say you've treated me well?"

Pang was stunned for a moment, her eyes filled with undisguised shock. "So... you're the Empress's person? You betrayed me, and everything was done by the Empress?"

“Kunning Palace has never lacked loyal servants, I don’t have that kind of fortune. Your Highness, oh…” Xia Mei’s voice trailed off, “You were the former Imperial Concubine, do you still remember Consort Qi?”

Pang's face turned ashen, her heart filled with despair, "Consort Qi..."

After Lan Cui died, the Imperial Household Department arranged for Xia Mei to come to her place. Xia Mei had previously served Consort Qi.

“You were the one who looked down on the late emperor’s concubines the most. When you were managing the six palaces, it was one thing that you didn’t care about the life or death of Ning Shou Palace, but why did you have to kick her while she was down? If it weren’t for you, Consort Qi wouldn’t have left so early. If it weren’t for the Empress taking charge, I’m afraid Consort Qi would have ended up with a straw mat wrapped around her body and abandoned in the wilderness.”

"You're just one of her servants, how could you harm me like this for someone you have no connection with?" Pang was bewildered, her chest heaving heavily.

“Completely unrelated people? I lost my mother at a young age, and my father remarried. It was the Qi family that took me in and let me serve by the side of Consort Qi. Consort Qi treated me like a sister and taught me to read and write. Later, when the imperial concubines were selected, I went to the palace with her. We have been together for decades. A selfish person like you would naturally not understand such feelings.”

Pang collapsed to the ground.