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

Chapter 200 Stupidity
"What?" the listener exclaimed, hurriedly covering her mouth with her hand. Even though she tried to lower her voice, she couldn't hide the surprise in her tone.

Serving in Jingyang Palace, although Consort Xian would sometimes give them some rewards, Consort Xian had a bad temper, so while there were rewards, there were also many times when they suffered mistreatment.

Especially when the Emperor went to visit other concubines, Consort Xian would take her anger out on the palace servants. After her anger subsided, she would reward them with some things as compensation. Sometimes it was food, sometimes it was rouge and powder that she didn't like, or hairpins or the like. Although they were wronged, they thought that how could servants in the harem not be wronged? For the sake of the reward, they endured it. After all, in their eyes, following those unfavored concubines would not only mean suffering, but also possibly not receiving any reward at all.

But today I heard someone talking about the treatment of the servants in Kunning Palace, and I felt indignant. Wasn't the Empress always disliked by the Emperor? Why is the Empress so good to the people in the palace? I'm afraid you couldn't find a palace maid in the harem who could sleep with a hot water bottle while she was on night duty. Who wouldn't envy that?

As for the food, most of it was food that Consort Xian didn't like, so she just gave it to her casually. How can this be compared to what the Empress personally prepared and distributed to everyone in the palace in Kunning Palace?

It's true that there's no harm without comparison. Only after comparing themselves to others did they realize how miserable their lives had been. Yet, they were so oblivious, thinking they were living the best life in the harem. They were as stupid as pigs.

"Stop whispering, you lot, come in with me." Zhen'er pointed to the few who were chatting the most enthusiastically.

Just then, Su Tianhe dragged two people covered in blood out of another interrogation room. "Make way, make way! See? This is what happens when you don't tell the truth. Let me tell you the truth, some people have already confessed. I know the whole story. But since you are both from Jingyang Palace, the interrogation will have to be completed before you can go back. However, if you lie like these two, you've already seen what will happen to you."

As the two blood-covered men carried the speaker past him, the few who had been chatting the most amiably instinctively huddled together, their tense expressions revealing their inner fear.

Zhen'er didn't give them a chance to continue speaking and directly sent them to different interrogation rooms.

The sun has already set.

Consort Xian could no longer sit still in Jingyang Palace. She got up and walked to the palace gate, glancing at Kunning Palace in the distance, and paced back and forth.

Wasn't it supposed to be just to take them away for questioning? How come they've been gone for so long and not a single one has come back?

Could it be that something really happened at Kunning Palace?
Her heart was growing increasingly panicked. She wanted to talk to someone, but when she turned around, the palace was empty, and she was all alone. This made her already chaotic state of mind even more panicked.

Even at that moment, she glanced in the direction of Nguyen Chang-jae's palace.

Consort Ruan had only been in the palace for a short time and had only served the emperor a handful of times. If there was anything wrong with her, it would be the incident where she got into a fight in the palace and was punished by the empress.

She was different. From the moment she entered the Prince's mansion, and then followed the Emperor into the palace, all the things she had done before, Xiang'er was dead and there was no way to verify them, but Xia Fuchuan...

Consort Xian didn't distrust Xia Fuchuan, but she feared that the Empress might uncover something during the interrogation. It would be like tearing open a gap, and that gap would widen along the crack. In the end, Xia Fuchuan might not be able to withstand the torture and would confess some of the things she had done before...

Consort Xian clenched the silk handkerchiefs tightly in front of her chest, steeled her resolve, and walked alone toward the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

Standing at the entrance of the Hall of Mental Cultivation, Wu Jixiang greeted Consort Xian with a smile as she approached, saying, "Greetings, Consort Xian. This servant pays respects to Consort Xian."

Consort Xian forced a smile. "Eunuch Jixiang, please inform the Emperor that I have something to ask to see him."

"Your Highness Consort Xian, I'm afraid you've come at an inopportune time. At this hour, His Majesty is speaking with General Rong inside," Wu Jixiang said apologetically.

"General Rong?" Consort Xian seemed to have grasped something important and repeated Wu Jixiang's words. "Your Majesty stays in the palace all day and may not know, but Consort Ying's brother, Rong Yuze, just signed a non-interference treaty with Mobei. In addition, Consort Ying is pregnant, and the Emperor, mindful of his father's merits in guarding the frontier, has now promoted General Rong to the rank of First-Rank General."

From the first rank?
Consort Xian sneered inwardly.

This Rong Yuze has only won a few battles and signed a treaty, yet he has received such an honor.

If Consort Ying gives birth to a prince someday, wouldn't he be able to sit on equal footing with her father?

The Emperor truly cares for the children of deceased court officials.

Only now did she realize that when Consort Ying was selected for the imperial concubine selection, neither her appearance nor her figure was outstanding. So many other candidates failed to catch the emperor's eye, but Consort Ying was the one who was chosen.

It turns out that long before the selection of candidates, when Emperor Yuanwu saw the list of candidates and learned who her father was, he had already decided to let her enter the palace to serve him.

Her brother, because his sister became the emperor's concubine, naturally became a military general and inherited everything her father had done in the frontier campaigns for many years.

Consort Xian felt a chill creep into her heart as she thought about it. She had always thought that Emperor Yuanwu's neglect of her was due to her own willfulness, her failure to properly care for her body after giving birth to the third prince, and her accidental fall that gave others an opportunity to take advantage of her.

Only now did she realize that everything Emperor Yuanwu had done was intentional; he had laid out such a grand scheme from the very first day of the talent selection.

Neglect her, weaken her maternal family's power, and promote the Rong family...

Consort Ying was already a concubine before she even gave birth to a son. Now it seems that she doesn't need to give birth to a son at all. As long as Emperor Yuanwu is happy and wants to promote the Rong family, even if she only gives birth to a princess, it's just a matter of Emperor Yuanwu saying a word to promote her to the rank of imperial concubine.

She had been with Emperor Yuanwu for so many years. If it weren't for her father's strong support, how could he have possibly snatched the throne from Prince Rui, which was within his grasp?

And she... her maternal family did so much for Emperor Yuanwu, yet in the end, she ended up with a concubine's rank, which was inferior to others.

Consort Xian felt a chill run down her spine, finding it all rather amusing.

Just then, Rong Yuze walked out of the Hall of Mental Cultivation. When he saw Consort Xian, he was taken aback for a moment, then bowed and greeted her, "Consort Xian."

Consort Xian scoffed coldly, as if she hadn't seen anything, and turned to walk into the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

Rong Yuze was left completely bewildered.

This……

(End of this chapter)