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

Chapter 218: Win the hearts of the people

"This servant greets Consort Xian. May Consort Xian be blessed."

Xiang'er?

Why is she here?
"I wonder what brings Aunt Xiang'er here?"

Xia Mei stood next to Consort Xian. Although her injuries had not fully healed, she was already able to get out of bed and had come to serve her early in the morning. As a servant, how could she be so pretentious as to say that all her injuries had fully healed?

"Consort Xian, it was Consort Zhen who sent me here to compile a list of servants in Jingyang Palace who are 18 years of age or older," Xiang'er said truthfully.

"Statistics on palace maids who are 18 years of age or older? Why are you doing this?" Consort Xian frowned slightly, her tone revealing her impatience.

"Consort Xian didn't go to Kunning Palace to pay her respects to Her Majesty the Empress today, so she may not know that this morning Her Majesty the Empress issued an order that palace maids who are 18 years of age or older can choose to leave the palace or continue serving there. This servant has been ordered to come and count the ages of the palace maids in Jingyang Palace," Xiang'er said.

what?
All palace maids who were 18 years of age or older were to be released from the palace.

If that's the case, there won't be many people left in the entire Jingyang Palace to serve her!
"If you don't want to release them all, what am I supposed to do?" Consort Xian's face was full of anger: "Go back and tell your mistress that all the servants in Jingyang Palace are willing to stay and serve, so there's no need to count them."

The moment Consort Xian finished speaking, the palace maids standing behind her exchanged glances.

Xiang'er also looked troubled: "Your Highness Consort Xian, I was only ordered to count the ages of the palace maids in Jingyang Palace. Although Her Majesty the Empress said so this morning, the specific time for these palace maids to leave the palace has not yet been decided. Your Highness, why don't you let me count them first? I will go back and report."

Consort Xian sneered: "What do you mean? Didn't I just say that all the maids in my Jingyang Palace are willing to stay and serve me? You still want to count them one by one? Do you think I lied to you, or are you deliberately trying to make things difficult for me?"

"Your Highness, I dare not." Xiang'er knelt down. "I was only following orders. If I return empty-handed, I will surely be punished. Please have mercy, Your Highness."

As Xiang'er spoke, she knelt on the ground and kowtowed several times.

Consort Xian stared at her, her eyes filled with displeasure.

Xia Mei glanced at Xiang'er, then at Consort Xian, her face showing a struggle before she finally spoke, "Your Majesty, Xiang'er was only following orders. Although she was acting on Consort Zhen's orders, ultimately it was the Empress who ordered Consort Zhen to do this..."

At this point, Xia Mei paused, leaned close to Consort Xian's ear, and deliberately lowered her voice to say, "Your Majesty, I'm afraid we should register at this age. It wouldn't be good if we upset the Empress over such a small matter, making her think that you're deliberately going against her."

"Ha." Consort Xian scoffed coldly, "So what if she's unhappy? Do you think I'm afraid of her?"

Xia Mei: ...

“Your Majesty is naturally not afraid of anyone, but I’ve heard that this matter seems to involve more than just the Empress; it appears the Emperor is also aware of it. Although we servants are all willing to stay in the palace to serve Your Majesty, Your Majesty’s refusal to allow the statistics is simply to avoid causing trouble for the Empress. But if the Empress misinterprets Your Majesty’s intentions and speaks to the Emperor, wouldn’t that be a loss?” “Alright, alright, then go and collect the statistics. It’s so early in the morning, I haven’t even had breakfast yet, it’s so annoying.” Consort Xian said angrily, throwing the wooden comb in her hand onto the dressing table.

Xiang'er looked up at Xia Mei, her eyes filled with gratitude.

Before she came, she knew that the task at Jingyang Palace would be difficult, but she never expected that if Xia Mei hadn't spoken up for her, it would have almost failed.

As Xiang'er walked out of Jingyang Palace, she let out a long sigh of relief.

Consort Xian also said that all the palace maids in Jingyang Palace were willing to stay and serve her and did not want to leave the palace.

When she was doing the tallying, she looked at all the palace maids and, regardless of their age, it seemed like she didn't want to keep any of them.

Now I finally understand why Consort Xian couldn't win against the Empress: because she simply didn't know how to win people's hearts.

The statistics were compiled quickly in each palace. Before dinner time, Consort Zhen had already compiled a list of all the palace maids' entry times, ages, and names and placed it in front of Shen Qingwan.

"Your Majesty, when I was compiling this roster, I took a look. The palace maids who entered the palace after the selection are generally younger, but... most of the maids in my palace, such as those in the palaces of Consort Shu, Consort Jin, Consort Xian, and Noble Lady Song, were brought from the Prince's residence. They are all older women who have long passed the age to leave the palace. No one has mentioned this before. Even if the maids have reached the age to leave the palace, even if they want to leave, they cannot directly mention it to Your Majesty, and there is nowhere else to say it... so it has been delayed." Consort Zhen hesitated, "I just asked a few older maids in the palace, and they still want to leave the palace."

“If those who are more willing to leave the palace, let some go first. As for the rest, let’s listen to their own wishes. Only those who are willing to stay and serve will work more diligently,” Shen Qingwan said slowly.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Consort Zhen hesitated for a moment, then said, "Your Majesty, there is one more thing. When Xiang'er went to Jingyang Palace to register the names today, Consort Xian seemed very resistant to it. Moreover, most of the maids in her palace are already over 18 years old. According to Xiang'er, Consort Xian doesn't seem to intend to release anyone from her palace. Your Majesty, although Consort Xian is in the same rank as me, Consort Xian..."

Before Consort Zhen could finish speaking, Shen Qingwan understood the meaning behind her next words.

Although Consort Xian held the rank of Consort, she had the support of her maternal family and had once served as a Noble Consort. Therefore, in the hearts of the people in the harem, her position was naturally higher than that of Consort Zhen.

"Regarding the maids of Jingyang Palace, I'll have Zhen'er handle that later. You can release some of the maids from the remaining palaces one by one. If a palace is truly short-handed, then select some new maids to come in." Shen Qingwan paused and continued, "Actually, besides adjusting the age at which the maids leave the palace, I also want to release a group of people in the harem who love to gossip and draw salaries without doing any work. Firstly, this will reduce the expenses of the harem, and secondly, it will also help to rectify the atmosphere in the harem."

Consort Zhen suddenly realized, her eyes widening in surprise. "This humble servant is foolish, but I understand Your Majesty's meaning. I know what to do next."

"Now that you have a plan, then do it properly." Shen Qingwan smiled awkwardly. "Zhen'er, go and bring over the set of gold-inlaid gemstone peach and bat hairpins that were presented as tribute last year."

Gold and gem-set peach bat hairpin?
Consort Zhen's lips trembled with excitement, "Your Majesty..."

(End of this chapter)