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

Chapter 204 Falsehoods
She limped toward the palace exit. The last thing she wanted was to lose face in Kunning Palace. The more she tried to straighten her back, the more her legs seemed to be deliberately working against her. With every step, her knees ached terribly.

Even so, the moment she stepped out of the Kunning Palace, she straightened up and, with almost all her strength, slapped Xia Fuchuan across the face. Her nail guards grazed his cheek, leaving a shocking bloodstain.

Xia Fuchuan was stunned by the beating and remained speechless for a while before hurriedly kneeling on the ground. "Your Majesty, this servant truly does not know what mistake I have made to provoke Your Majesty's wrath."

He lowered his head, his eyes darted around quickly, and while slapping himself, he shouted, "Your Majesty, please calm down!"

Xia Fuchuan's voice was so loud that all the servants passing by in the palace turned to look in their direction.

Consort Xian turned pale with anger. She snorted coldly and turned to walk towards Jingyang Palace.

She walked several meters away when the eunuch beside Xia Fuchuan patted him on the shoulder. "Eunuch Xia, the Empress has gone far away. Please get up."

With the help of the eunuch beside him, Xia Fuchuan got up. He glanced at Consort Xian's back from afar and spat a mouthful of blood onto the ground.

The next second, his face quickly changed to a fawning and obsequious smile. "Your Majesty, please don't walk so fast. Please wait for this servant."

Xia Mei's injuries hadn't fully healed. When she arrived, she had to be carried over, lying on a stool. Now, with all this commotion, she could only be helped along, struggling to keep up step by step. When Consort Xian reprimanded Xia Fuchuan, everyone stopped. Now that he had gotten up and followed, the large group of servants started moving again. They had been stopping and starting, and were already covered in sweat. It wasn't that she was being dramatic; after being beaten a few times, she couldn't even walk. It was just that Consort Xian's words, "Beat her to death," had made the servants who carried out the beatings extremely harsh.

"Aunt Xia Mei, why don't we find a frame to carry you back?" The little palace maid supporting her couldn't bear to watch any longer and couldn't help but speak up.

Xia Mei shook her head, forcing a bitter smile across her pale face. "I'm not that dramatic. Besides, if I do something wrong, my master will punish me with a few strokes of the cane and make me be carried away. If people didn't know better, they would think I was doing this on purpose to show our master."

"But Aunt Xia Mei, this...this is clearly not your fault..."

Xia Mei's smile deepened. "Thank you."

When Xia Mei limped back to Jingyang Palace, the entire courtyard was filled with kneeling servants. Consort Xian, hands on her hips, was pointing at everyone and cursing. Xia Mei dared not move forward and knelt on the ground.

"Your Majesty, this servant really didn't say anything. This servant swears that if this servant said anything detrimental to Your Majesty, may this servant die a horrible death and be struck by lightning." Xia Fuchuan swore to the heavens.

Consort Xian sneered inwardly. Swearing on something so false, what about being struck by lightning? How many people in the world have actually been struck by lightning?

What kind of retribution could a eunuch who is destined to be childless possibly have to swear an oath about?

"Even now, you're still lying to me? The Empress told you this in front of the Emperor, and you've already confessed. Even if the Empress had the greatest courage, she wouldn't dare lie to the Emperor. Do you think she would be guilty of deceiving the Emperor because of you?" Consort Xian's chest heaved heavily.

"This……"

Hearing this, Xia Fuchuan was stunned. He hadn't said anything, so how dare the Empress say such a thing in front of the Emperor? Could there really be some misunderstanding?
Hearing Consort Xian's words, Xia Mei subtly glanced at Xia Fuchuan, her heart filled with doubt. Although the Empress's side had made a grand display, when she was brought in, Sun Tianhe didn't actually ask her anything, only whether she had performed her duties that day.

Could it be because she was injured that they let her go easily after learning she hadn't worked that day, and instead focused all their energy on Xia Fuchuan?

This shouldn't be happening!

Regardless of Xia Fuchuan's loyalty, it's unlikely that a mere chief eunuch of Jingyang Palace would reveal everything without being tortured or beaten, or even just being threatened.

In the end, Consort Xian only moved her lips; it was Xia Fuchuan who was the one who actually did those dirty things.

The two of them were like grasshoppers tied to the same rope.

If he were to expose Consort Xian, even if Emperor Yuanwu considered Consort Xian's maternal family and their past relationship, no one would care about the life or death of a eunuch.

To protect herself, Consort Xian would push all the blame onto Xia Fuchuan. With the Empress holding such leverage, how could she possibly let him escape unscathed?

Xia Mei became increasingly suspicious of the matter, but Consort Xian hadn't even turned around yet. She pointed a finger at Xia Fuchuan's nose and said, "Fine, fine, fine! I trusted you so much all this time, and I always rewarded you with the best things. And you turned around and sold me out, didn't you? You've climbed the social ladder now. If you think Kunning Palace is good, I might put in a good word for you for all these years of service you've given me, and have the Imperial Household Department send you to serve the Empress. But then, I wonder if the Empress will still remember your kindness in betraying her for personal gain and treat you well!"

Consort Xian spoke with great emotion, her lips trembling, and her voice shook as she uttered the last sentence.

Xia Fuchuan said with a sob, "Your Majesty, please calm down. Your Majesty has wronged this servant. Even if you gave this servant a hundred heads, this servant would not dare to betray Your Majesty. This servant remembers all the good things Your Majesty has done for this servant. How could this servant let the people of Kunning Palace intimidate you and frame Your Majesty?"

Consort Xian sneered, "I believe you?"

"Your Majesty, whether you believe it or not today, this servant must explain himself clearly to Your Majesty. I beg Your Majesty to give this servant a chance to defend himself, considering how many years this servant has served you. If Your Majesty still thinks this servant is wrong after hearing my explanation, I will obey Your Majesty's will, whether you want to kill me or torture me." After Xia Fuchuan finished speaking, he kowtowed again.

Although Consort Xian was angry, she still agreed.

“Your Majesty, I wasn’t the first one to be taken in. When I was taken in, they only asked me when I was on duty. Did I tell them all? Not only did I tell them, but I also explained in detail the hours I was on duty these past few days. I was on night duty the day Consort Ruan served Your Majesty, and I accompanied Consort Xian to pay my respects to Your Majesty the next day. I didn’t say anything else.”

Hearing Xia Fuchuan's words, Consort Xian's suspicious gaze flashed with a hint of surprise, "Anything else? Didn't you ask anything else?"

Xia Fuchuan nodded firmly, "Your Majesty, please believe me. I really didn't ask anything. Even if they did ask, I wouldn't say a word if it was detrimental to Your Majesty."

(End of this chapter)