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

Chapter 376 What’s going on?
Consort De slapped Pei'er across the face. "Are you saying that I'm petty and arguing with a noblewoman?"

Pei'er covered her red cheek, shaking her head repeatedly, "Your Highness, that's not what I meant."

"Then what do you mean?" Consort De pressed closer to Pei'er, step by step. "Are you saying that I'm living worse than a noblewoman?"

Pei'er's eyes were red, and she was so frightened that she trembled all over and knelt on the ground, kowtowing repeatedly.

Seeing how terrified she was, it seemed that Consort De often beat and scolded her in the palace, and each time it was more severe than the last.

"Your Majesty, please forgive me! I will never dare to do it again. I really didn't mean it that way..."

Pei'er cried and begged for mercy, her forehead bleeding from the kowtow, but Consort De showed no intention of letting it go, and continued to question her relentlessly, "Now even you are laughing at me, aren't you? You were looking at Kunning Palace just now, and you felt good seeing me kneeling and bowing to the Empress, weren't you?"

"No, no, this servant didn't." Pei'er shrank back in fear, biting her lip, her face pale. "Your Highness, Consort De, this servant..."

Consort De raised her hand, about to strike, when suddenly the voice of a eunuch came from behind her.

"Who is making such a racket here? Are they not afraid of disturbing His Majesty's presence?"

A royal procession?

Consort De slowly turned her head. Before her raised hand could fall, she saw that the person who had just spoken was Wu Jixiang, and Emperor Yuanwu, who was standing in front of him, was looking at her with disdain.

The color drained from Consort De's face, leaving her visibly pale. "Your Majesty... Your Majesty."

Emperor Yuanwu, his face grim, glanced down at Pei'er kneeling on the ground and said, "If Consort De wants to discipline palace maids, she should do so in her own palace. What kind of behavior is this, crying and wailing like this?"

"Your Majesty is right." Consort De glanced at Pei'er out of the corner of her eye, nudged her with her elbow, and deliberately lowered her voice, "Why don't you get up quickly?"

Who wants to.

The instant her elbow touched Pei'er, Pei'er seemed to have some kind of stress reaction, her body trembling violently, and the look of panic on her face was not at all feigned.

Emperor Yuanwu glanced at Consort De, then walked up to Pei'er and looked down at her.

"emperor……"

Consort De looked flustered and tried to say something, but Emperor Yuanwu didn't give her a chance to speak, and didn't even look at her.

"Does Consort De beat you like this in the palace?"

Pei'er hesitated and dared not speak, only glancing nervously at Consort De.

Wu Jixiang glanced cautiously at Emperor Yuanwu. "When the Emperor asks you a question, just answer truthfully. Why are you looking at Consort De?"

Pei'er's panicked expression remained unchanged. "Your Majesty, it was this servant who did something wrong. As the mistress of this servant, Consort De is the one who should discipline this servant."

Emperor Yuanwu pursed his lips. "He's a sensible person."

He paused for a moment, then continued, "Alright, the lesson has been taught. Get up. Consort De, you don't need to kneel anymore."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

When Consort De came out today, she only had one servant, Pei'er, with her. She originally planned to go to Kunning Palace to pay her respects and then go back. She never expected that so much trouble would happen.

She had been kneeling on the ground for a while, but the path was paved with pebbles, and her knees hurt terribly. Consort De tried to get up, but instead of standing up, she fell to the ground with a thud.

Pei'er crawled on her knees to her side to help her up.

Consort De seized her arm; to be disrespectful in front of the Emperor was more than just a matter of embarrassment and loss of composure. Especially since Emperor Yuanwu was also partially focused on Pei'er at that moment, if he were to discover…

"what……"

It's unclear whether Consort De was in a hurry and wanted to stand up quickly, so she used too much force in her hands, or what.

Pei'er cried out in pain.

It was clear that she was trying her best to hold back, but Consort De not only didn't let go, but also tightened her grip on her wrist as a warning, "What are you yelling for?"

Pei'er was already in excruciating pain, and now she was even more so, her face turning deathly pale. Her eyes were tightly shut, and large beads of sweat streamed down her pale, bloodless cheeks.

Emperor Yuanwu, having exhausted his patience, walked over to Pei'er, grabbed her wrist, slapped away Consort De's hand, and rolled up his sleeves.

Pei'er's arms were covered in bruises and shocking bloodstains.

Especially the spot where Consort De had just gripped him, was already bleeding. The new wound pressing on the old one made Emperor Yuanwu frown.

"what happened?"

The moment he finished speaking, his gaze fell on Consort De.

Consort De trembled with fear, "Your Majesty, I...I don't know."

"Don't know?" Emperor Yuanwu sneered. "If I remember correctly, this maid should be your dowry maid. She has been by your side since the day you entered the manor. She serves you personally and spends all day with you. Now she has so many injuries on her body, and you tell me you don't know?"

Consort De lowered her head in a panic, unsure of what to do.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty," Pei'er said tremblingly, her voice trembling with tears, "Your Majesty, these injuries on my body were all caused by my accidental falls. Consort De truly did not know about them."

"Falled?"

Emperor Yuanwu scoffed, "Then why don't you fall down and show me how you managed to get yourself into this state?"

This……

Pei'er knelt on the ground without saying a word, tears streaming down her face, whether from fear or something else, it was hard to tell.

"Oh dear, Aunt Pei'er." Seeing that Emperor Yuanwu seemed to be really angry, Wu Jixiang hurriedly came over. "Since the Emperor is going to stand up for you, why do you have to keep it a secret? Today, as long as you tell him what you have been wronged about, if it is not your fault, the Emperor will naturally give you justice."

Upon hearing this, Zhen'er cried even harder, but she just kept crying and refused to utter a word about her grievances.

"Please, Your Majesty, do not pursue this matter any further. The injuries on my body were truly caused by my accidental fall. I am but a lowly maid, and I dare not trouble Your Majesty."

Don't dare?

The more Pei'er said this, the more interested Emperor Yuanwu became.

Not only did he show no intention of leaving, but he also had someone bring over a stool, as if he wouldn't leave until Pei'er explained the details of her injuries.

Emperor Yuanwu sat in his chair, leaning back lazily.

"explain."

Consort De and Pei'er were so frightened that they trembled.

Wu Jixiang looked at Pei'er with some helplessness. He had already said what he needed to say. If Pei'er was a sensible person, she should have spoken up about her grievances. If she still insisted on protecting Consort De at this point, he was afraid that she would...