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

Chapter 213 Palace Maid
"Your Majesty." Zhen'er wanted to speak to stop her, but she couldn't suppress her nausea, and before she could say the words, the servant who had been sent by the Empress to get medicine from the Imperial Hospital had already walked out of the gate of Kunning Palace.

Zhen'er didn't say anything more. Having just witnessed the entire torture process inflicted by Hu Zhouce, she was afraid she wouldn't be able to sleep peacefully for a while. The way he died, his face was contorted, his eyes wide open in death, and his skin had all peeled off...

Zhen'er dared not think about it, much less recall it; the churning in her stomach was truly unbearable.

Just then, a eunuch's voice came from the direction of the palace gate.

"His Majesty has arrived..."

Why did the Emperor arrive at this hour?

The palace maids and eunuchs all looked sickly. It was lunchtime again, so why had Emperor Yuanwu come at this time?

Shen Qingwan was somewhat annoyed, but she couldn't show it. She gave Zhen'er a wink and, before Emperor Yuanwu entered the hall, whispered, "You go first, and let others serve you later."

This time, Zhen'er did not continue to show off. After getting up and bowing, she retreated through the side door. Just then, Emperor Yuanwu lifted the curtain and walked in.

"Your Majesty." Shen Qingwan curtsied.

"Rise." Emperor Yuanwu glanced around the hall, his gaze pausing slightly as it swept over the food platters. "Why hasn't the Empress served the meal at this hour?"

Shen Qingwan: ...

Why wasn't the meal served? Doesn't he have any self-awareness at all?

He summoned all the palace servants to the entrance of the Hall of Preserving Harmony to watch Hu Zhouce carry out his execution. Who else could prepare lunch?

When I heard that Emperor Yuanwu was going to personally interrogate Hu Zhouce, I thought he could find out something by following the clues and properly deal with the wickedness in the harem.

It's unbelievable that not only did they find nothing, but they also resorted to such cruel torture in the end.

Thinking of this, Shen Qingwan's eyes trembled slightly.

Could it be that Emperor Yuanwu discovered the mastermind behind the execution, but he couldn't punish the mastermind directly at this time, so he had all the palace servants watch Hu Zhouce carry out the execution?
In the harem today, crimes cannot be directly punished. If one does not want Consort Rou to give birth to her child smoothly, then the only option is to have a prince of one's own, for fear that a favored concubine like Consort Rou giving birth to a prince will threaten the status of one's own child.

So this person must be... Consort Xian!?

This seems to make sense.

"What would Your Majesty like to eat? I'll have someone arrange it right away. Every time Your Majesty comes over, it's just in time for me to have already served the meal. Over time, I've almost forgotten what Your Majesty likes and am just being indulged by him."

Emperor Yuanwu's lips curled up slightly as he listened to her words. "How come I didn't know the Empress knew how to coax people?"

"I know His Majesty has been in a bad mood lately, so I'm just trying to cheer him up," Shen Qingwan said, taking the basin from a palace maid to wash Emperor Yuanwu's hands. A few osmanthus petals floated in the water, petals she had kept from last year. Watching Emperor Yuanwu crush the petals in the water, she felt a pang of heartache.

"So the Empress was just trying to coax me. I didn't hear a word of coaxing in her words at all," Emperor Yuanwu said sullenly.

“But didn’t His Majesty just laugh?” Shen Qingwan retorted.

Emperor Yuanwu:...

Although... he really couldn't refute it.

After learning that Emperor Yuanwu was dining in Kunning Palace, the imperial kitchen quickly sent over dishes of food one after another.

As usual, these were some of the dishes that Emperor Yuanwu usually liked to eat.

This meal probably didn't have much of a heart.

Shen Qingwan wasn't concerned about that at the moment. Instead, it reminded her of something else. "Your Majesty, there's something I've been thinking about for a long time, and I still want to tell you. If Your Majesty thinks I'm wrong, just pretend you didn't hear it."

"Hmm?" Emperor Yuanwu raised his eyes and glanced at Shen Qingwan with a drawn-out tone. "Then I am indeed a little curious, what exactly does the Empress want to say to me?"

"What I'm trying to say is that, according to the traditional rules of the harem, palace maids can only have the opportunity to leave the palace after they turn 24. However, they have worked hard in the palace for so many years, and finally they have reached the age to leave the palace. It should be a happy thing, but unfortunately, at this age, if they leave the palace to marry and become the principal wife, the boys of similar age are probably already married. Even if some marry late, their conditions are mostly unsatisfactory. If they marry, they can only become concubines. If they encounter a principal wife who is easy to get along with, they may be able to live a peaceful life. But if they encounter a principal wife who is domineering and unreasonable, their later life is unimaginable. Therefore, many palace maids start to frantically amass wealth in the harem when they are about to reach the age to leave the palace. In order to get more money for themselves after leaving the palace, they do some immoral things."

Emperor Yuanwu's eyes trembled slightly.

A palace maid left the palace at the age of 24...

It seems that this has always been a rule in the Yuan Dynasty's harem, and no one has ever raised any objections or cared about it.

"Of course, those palace maids who commit harmful acts in order to amass wealth after leaving the palace are a minority. Most palace maids who enter the palace are from poor families and are forced to do so to make a living. Even though the palace salary is considerable, they give it all to their families, leaving very little for themselves. In fact, each palace doesn't need so many people to serve. Moreover, letting palace maids leave the palace earlier allows people from outside to fill the vacancies sooner. This gives more girls from poor families a way out. After serving in the palace for a few years, leaving the palace won't prevent them from getting married. Since the service period in the palace is not long, I think many women from poor families would be willing to enter the palace to serve and would be more dedicated. With hope for the future, people will be more energetic. What do you think, Your Majesty?"

Emperor Yuanwu was indifferent to such trivial matters in the palace, but now that the empress had spoken up, he had to think about it carefully. It was indeed somewhat unsatisfactory that the palace maids could only leave the palace after the age of 24.

It seems that when these rules were made, only the newcomers to the palace were considered, and the nannies were required to teach them the rules. The palace maids who had served in the palace for a long time were familiar with all the places in the palace and the rules, making them more convenient and easy to use. However, no one ever considered them.

"Then, in the Empress's opinion, what should be the age at which palace maids leave the palace?" Emperor Yuanwu asked in return.

"I think that a palace maid can choose to leave the palace when she turns 18, or she can choose to stay and continue serving. If she is willing to serve in the palace for the rest of her life, that is also fine. It all depends on her own wishes..."

(End of this chapter)