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

Chapter 12 Falling out of favor
I just arrived at the entrance of Xianfu Palace.

Separated by the palace gates.

Shen Qingwan faintly heard voices inside the palace.

"Why is it that today's lunch is again pickled vegetables and chili peppers? Eunuch Gao, don't push your luck."

“Aunt Gui’er, do you still think your mistress is the favored Consort Jin in the palace? Xianfu Palace is colder than the Cold Palace these days. It’s good enough if there’s anything to eat. If you’re so picky, then let’s skip dinner tonight.”

"you……"

Gui'er turned pale with anger and trembled all over. Consort Jin hurriedly came out of her palace.

“Father-in-law, it was Gui’er who was ignorant and offended you.”

Consort Jin struggled for a while before pulling out the only hairpin from her head and stuffing it into Gao Da's hand: "I hope that Eunuch Gao will be magnanimous and not take offense."

Gao Da chuckled and weighed the hairpin in his hand: "Learn from this. Your master is so sensible. Alright, go and take Xi Changzai's food over. I'm off."

Just as Gao Da turned around, Shen Qingwan pushed open the door and walked in.

"How dare you! You don't even bow to the Empress!"

Queen?

Why is she here?
Gao Da was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly knelt down on the ground.

"May Your Majesty the Empress be blessed."

Shen Qingwan didn't say anything, but walked straight to the food that had just been delivered from the imperial kitchen and glanced at it.

"Is this the lunch you sent to Consort Jin?"

Gao Da felt a sudden panic, never expecting the Empress to arrive at this hour.

"Your Majesty, this is Consort Jin's own food, prepared separately for Consort Xi."

"Oh?" Shen Qingwan scoffed and sat down in the main hall. "Then let me see what Consort Xi has for lunch."

The eunuch delivering the food from the imperial kitchen opened another food box: "Your Majesty, this is three dishes and one soup. This is the standard for the lunches of the ladies-in-waiting in our palace."

"Standards?" Shen Qingwan's eyes darkened. "The standard for a Consort is three dishes and a soup, so the standard for a Consort is just pickled vegetables and chili peppers? How come I didn't know there were such standards?"

Gao Da was completely dumbfounded. What's wrong with the Empress today?
She usually doesn't care about these things and even likes to mess with the ladies in the palace. Why is she suddenly so concerned about a concubine who has been out of favor for many years?

When Emperor Yuanwu ascended the throne, Consort Jin was the most favored, and the Empress did not always dislike her.

They would come to Xianfu Palace to cause her trouble, whether there was a reason or not.

Now that Consort Jin has fallen out of favor, why would she think of helping her if she didn't kick her while she was down?

What the hell is this?
"Your Majesty, last month, Consort Xian said that the expenses for food, clothing and daily necessities in the palace were too high, and advocated that everyone in the palace should be frugal. That's why the food of the ladies in the palace was adjusted."

"Adjustment? How come I don't know when there was any adjustment?"

Seeing that Shen Qingwan was relentless, Gao Da frowned deeply.

An empress who is not favored by the emperor is meddling far too much.

"Your Majesty, this servant deserves to die. This servant made a mistake. This servant will have the Xianfu Palace dishes replaced immediately."

Gao Da, the head steward of the imperial kitchen, knelt on the ground, offering insincere apologies.

The Empress is such a busybody. She should mind her own business, but she's meddling in the affairs of a disgraced concubine.

Consort Xian, who manages the harem, knew all this but said nothing; she, on the other hand, was just being nosy.

If it weren't for the Empress Dowager's special instructions, she probably wouldn't have been able to eat these things that Consort Jin had.

"Alright, then tell me, what do you plan to change it to? What dishes, how many? Zhen'er, bring me the brush and ink." Shen Qingwan drawled, "Let Master Gao write it." Gao Da stared at the brush and ink in front of him, pursed his lips, and his smile changed, clearly becoming somewhat impatient.

Even Consort Xian doesn't care about these things, so why should an unfavored empress meddle?

"Your Majesty, the expenses in the palace are too great. This servant only wanted to help Consort Xian share the burden."

Gundam whimpered, its voice trembling with tears.

Consort Xian?

Shen Qingwan scoffed inwardly: "Lord Gao, are you implying that Consort Xian ordered you to mistreat the concubines in the harem?"

Gao Da was taken aback, seemingly not expecting the Empress to say such a thing: "That's not what I meant."

"Then what do you mean?" Shen Qingwan's eyes darkened, showing no intention of backing down.

"This servant..." Gao Da stammered, "This servant just feels that the expenses for food, clothing and daily necessities in the palace are too high, and wants Your Majesty to be frugal... frugal."

"I remember now, Consort Xian is a distant cousin of Lord Gao?" Shen Qingwan smiled awkwardly.

Gao Da's anxious heart instantly lessened a bit, and he smiled ingratiatingly: "Your Majesty has a good memory. Consort Xian's mother is my cousin."

Shen Qingwan nodded in agreement, then suddenly slammed her hand on the table, startling Gao Da so much that his body trembled.

"No matter how large the expenses in the palace are, it is not necessary to cut back on the food of a concubine. A concubine's lunch consists of a bowl of rice, a plate of pickled vegetables, and a plate of chili peppers. If word gets out, it will not be a loss of face for the royal family. Lord Gao, may I see what you ate for lunch today?"

Gao Da felt a chill run down his spine, and cold sweat poured down his back.

Is the Empress about to cause trouble again?

But why is she acting so strangely today? She used to deliberately pick fights with the concubines.

Today, they've gotten into a fight with the imperial kitchen because of the concubines' affairs.

He never skimped on the food at Kunning Palace. With the Empress Dowager's imperial decree, he wouldn't dare to be negligent even if she gave him his head.

I really couldn't tell.

The empress, who has always been domineering and dim-witted, is speaking with reason and evidence today.

Isn't this empress a bit ungrateful?

Knowing full well that he is related to Consort Xian by marriage, why make things difficult for him like this? Isn't that deliberately provoking Consort Xian?

She never considered her own position in the palace.

The one who holds power in the harem now is Consort Xian.

Gundam's stamina is almost gone.

"Your Majesty, this servant really doesn't know how to write this. How about I ask Consort Xian for advice, and once it's written, I'll have someone send it to Kunning Palace for you? What do you think?"

The word "样" was only pronounced as half a syllable.

Shen Qingwan's eyes turned cold. Although she did nothing, she was very authoritative, which frightened everyone in the room into kneeling on the floor.

"Queen, please calm down."

"Lord Gao is doing an increasingly good job. Even though Consort Xian is now in charge of the six palaces, I am still the Empress. Today, even if the Emperor himself came, let alone Consort Xian, I, as the Empress, would still have the final say in matters of the harem."

Gao Da looked startled: "Your Majesty the Empress..."

"As the head of the imperial kitchen, in charge of the three meals a day for the harem, he made a mistake but showed no remorse. Guards, drag him out and give him ten strokes of the cane."

As soon as Shen Qingwan finished speaking, the entire Xianfu Palace was shocked. Even Zhen'er's eyes widened in disbelief as she looked at her.

(End of this chapter)