During the Qin Dynasty, he was in charge of the net.

Zhao Ji gently raised her hand, smoothing the gold embroidery on her sleeve, and began to steer the conversation toward the matter of the palace maid Xiao Huan:

"Thanks to Your Majesty, Ganquan Palace has become much quieter lately."

In the past few months, with so many people and eyes in the palace, there have been constant petty rumors that have troubled my mind and spirit. I have been worried every day and have not even had the heart to enjoy music in peace.

Hua Yang's gaze darkened slightly, vaguely guessing that there was an underlying meaning in her words, but he remained expressionless and simply replied:

"In the palace, it's inevitable that servants will gossip. If there are any unruly palace servants, just discipline them according to the rules; there's no need to take it to heart."

Zhao Ji chuckled softly upon hearing this.

Her mother-in-law was really good at pretending to be dignified, constantly talking about rules and duties.

But secretly, they sent people to monitor her.

No wonder she had only met with a few ministers at Ganquan Palace before, asking them to help her aunts, uncles, and nephews find small jobs.

A few days later, Huayang summoned her to Changle Palace and openly and subtly admonished her that she was just a woman in the harem and should not interfere in important matters of the court.

When did she interfere in important court affairs? Is the transfer of a few insignificant officials considered a major court matter?

Hua Yang arranged for her own younger brother Mi Chen and cousin Mi Qi to become important officials in the Qin court, while she herself was relegated to being a woman in the harem and not to interfere in important court affairs.

Thinking of this, Zhao Ji said with a hint of deliberate regret in her voice:

"That's what I originally thought too. Most of the maids in the palace are well-behaved, except for one person. I've been quite kind to her and haven't treated her poorly in terms of food and clothing."

I thought he was a reliable person, but little did I know he harbored wicked intentions.

This palace maid was still wearing a silk handkerchief in the style of Chu, so she must have been a Chu person in the past.

Perhaps she was even trained by the Empress Dowager.

After saying that, Zhao Ji took out the handkerchief and gently placed it on the table.

Hua Yang glanced at the handkerchief, his fingers, which were twirling the jade beads, paused slightly, and he slowly spoke:

"In the past, Chang Le Palace had assigned some palace servants to serve in other palaces, but that was an old practice."

Everyone's actions are governed by their own masters. I wonder what wrong the maid you speak of, Zhao, has committed?"

Faced with Empress Dowager Huayang's question, Zhao Ji felt a surge of smugness; she knew that the old hag Huayang was in a hurry.

Hua Yang, the old witch, usually pays the most attention to rules. If word gets out that the most dignified and disciplined palace maid of Chang Le Palace has committed a serious mistake of moral depravity, will Hua Yang still have the face to tell her how to govern the palace?

Having grasped this point, Zhao Ji was in no hurry to say it.

She deliberately took her time, picked up the bronze cup in front of her, took a few small sips, and first, in a show of appreciation, praised the wine as fine, before continuing:

"That maid made a serious mistake, breaking the highest level of palace etiquette."

She secretly colluded with the palace guards, meeting them in secret every night, thus defiling the proper etiquette of the harem.

It's unbelievable that such a seemingly obedient and well-behaved palace servant could do such a filthy and despicable thing behind the scenes.

Upon hearing this, Empress Dowager Huayang's dignified face immediately turned somewhat unpleasant.

Zhao's words were clearly a way of mocking the palace maid.

Indeed, there were quite a few palace maids in Xianyang Palace who were her spies.

However, those palace maids were all carefully selected by her, and only the most clever and outstanding ones were sent to other palaces.

Over the years, very few of the palace maids who were sent out committed any wrongdoings, and none of them ever had an affair with a guard.

Is it really such a coincidence that the one sent to Zhao's side is so clueless?

Or perhaps Zhao discovered that the palace maid was one of her people, and that's why she framed her with this crime?

In a flash, Empress Dowager Huayang had two guesses in mind, but she couldn't figure out which one it was for the time being.

But she always felt that Zhao Shi didn't have the ability to discover the palace maid's identity.

It wasn't that she looked down on Zhao Shi, but Zhao Shi's humble background and manners were inferior to those of a palace maid in Chang Le Palace.

Empress Dowager Huayang remained seated, picked up the silk handkerchief from the table, examined it closely, and confirmed in her heart that it was indeed from Chang Le Palace.

After putting down the handkerchief, Empress Dowager Huayang said:

"If she really had an affair with a guard, then it means that this woman is of low character. Zhao, you should deal with her according to the palace rules."

But if there are other hidden circumstances, it would inevitably become another wrongful conviction. I wonder if you, Zhao, have all the witnesses and evidence in place?

Upon hearing Hua Yang's question, Zhao Ji immediately realized that she had come in such a hurry that she had not had time to prepare the necessary evidence.

Moreover, Xiao Huan's body is probably cold by now, so there's no evidence left to speak of.

Thinking of this, Zhao Ji replied calmly:

"After I received this news that day, I instructed my subordinates to deal with this immoral palace maid properly."

As a result, his men were too rough and accidentally killed the palace maid.

Looking back now, I should have made that palace maid explain herself first; who knows who might be involved.

Upon hearing this answer, Empress Dowager Huayang's expression remained unchanged, but her tone became slightly harsher:

"In short, all I've heard is that you, Zhao, killed someone without any evidence."

To govern the palace, one must first obtain clear evidence. You are taking the lives of palace servants based solely on a few unsubstantiated rumors, without any witnesses or physical evidence.

As the mother of the King of Qin, you act solely on your whims, treating palace rules and human life as worthless. How can the palace servants possibly submit to you?

Upon hearing this admonition, Zhao Ji felt a surge of anger rising within her.

This old hag is good at playing both sides. She claims to be a palace maid from Chang Le Palace, but she just says that the girl herself is of low character and then distances herself from the situation.

Once they find even the slightest mistake on her part, they won't let it go.

Zhao Ji feigned a hint of grievance and replied:

"I should remember the Empress Dowager's teachings."

But for a palace maid to do such a thing, she must be a lewd person who is good at hiding her true nature.

If we were to examine the matter carefully, gather evidence, and verify it thoroughly, it might actually fuel rumors and cause scandals to spread beyond Ganquan Palace.

Empress Dowager Huayang snorted coldly upon hearing this and said:

"You are indeed eloquent and persuasive."

You can cover up one rumor, but you can't cover up another.

"You are in charge of Ganquan Palace, yet you frequently beat and kill palace maids. Outsiders will only criticize the Qin King's birth mother for being cruel and tyrannical, damaging the royal family's reputation and tarnishing the Qin King's honor."

With this accusation leveled against her, Zhao Ji immediately became restless, but Empress Dowager Huayang gave her no chance to interrupt and continued her lecture:

"A woman who is the mistress of the harem should be tolerant, discerning, and capable of managing her subordinates, rather than being harsh and cruel."

If palace maids and guards are found to be having secret dealings, they can be detained and interrogated, or expelled from the palace and never used again, or demoted to the cold palace to do hard labor. Their crimes do not warrant immediate beatings to death.

Governing the palace without rules and procedures will only lead to disunity, ignorance, and rampant corruption.

If even Ganquan Palace is like this, how can you possibly control the entire harem?

Zhao Ji's face turned pale and then red after hearing Hua Yang's words, and she completely forgot all her previous grievances and submissiveness.

That old hag from Huayang is nothing more than using this opportunity to suppress me, making it sound so nice, like she's tolerant, observant, and good at controlling people.

In her own Chang Le Palace, Chu maids were ranked first, and all others had to be ranked lower. She was tolerant, but only towards those of her own Chu lineage.

At this point, Zhao Ji was too lazy to stay any longer.

She replied stiffly that the Empress Dowager's reprimand was correct, and then made up an excuse to leave.

Zhao Ji bowed slightly, offering a perfunctory and superficial greeting.

Without waiting for the ceremony to end, he straightened up, turned around, and hurriedly left the hall, flicking his sleeves.

Empress Dowager Huayang looked at Zhao Ji's figure, her expression also turned sour, and she lost the will to continue listening to the music. She raised her hand and ordered all the palace maids who were performing to leave.