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

Chapter 225 Voluntary
As Consort Shu spoke, she pulled Consort Jin back a step. She glanced at the concubines coming and going around them to make sure no one was paying attention to them before lowering her voice and saying, "There's something, I don't know if it's true or not, but actually Consort Xian's fall back then wasn't an accident."

"What?" Consort Jin's eyes widened instantly. She covered her surprised lips with the hand holding the silk. She seemed even more cautious than Consort Shu, pulling Consort Shu a step further towards a secluded corner. "Really?"

"Whether it's true or not, I'm not sure; I've only heard about it. But think about it: even if Consort Xian really slipped while playing with the Third Prince in the courtyard, the Third Prince was so young. I didn't know before I had children, but now that I'm with a child every day, I understand. With a child in your arms, you have to be careful in everything you do, afraid of hurting the child. Even if Consort Xian was careless, she couldn't have made any particularly big movements while holding the child. Consort Xian was holding the child in the courtyard; did she hold the child by herself? Didn't she have any maids or eunuchs with her? Even if the maids and eunuchs were reassigned to other tasks, there must have been a wet nurse. If someone had been there to help her, she probably would have almost lost her life."

Consort Jin suddenly realized, "At the time, I only heard that she had accidentally fallen and thought she had bumped into something hard. But after hearing what you said, and thinking about it carefully, it seems that this matter is not so simple. If others can see that there is something fishy about this matter, why didn't the Emperor investigate it thoroughly afterwards? Why didn't he even pursue the matter?"

"Think carefully, sister. When did Consort Xian's accident happen?" Consort Shu asked mysteriously.

"When did this happen?" Jinfei thought seriously for a while. "Look at my brain, now that you mention it, I really can't remember for a moment. Sister, don't keep me in suspense, tell me quickly."

"It was after Consort Lan entered the palace!"

Consort Jin: ...

"Wasn't Consort Lan sent to the palace by the General's Mansion? Even if the General is confused, he wouldn't send someone in to harm his own daughter, would he?" Consort Jin's head was spinning. Even though she racked her brains, she still couldn't understand what Consort Shu was saying.

"The person the General sent in wouldn't harm his own daughter, but if Lan Cui was switched with someone else when she entered the palace..."

Consort Jin: ? ? ?
She was completely unable to accept what Consort Shu had said. Although she could understand each word individually, she just couldn't understand it when they were all put together.

Who in the whole world would dare to switch the person that the General carefully selected and sent to the palace to serve his precious daughter and grandson? Could this person be... the Emperor?
Consort Jin dared not think further, yet she was eager to know the truth.

She moved her lips, but before she could speak, Consort Shu spoke first, "This matter is between you and me; you must not let a third person know."

Consort Jin nodded. If it was really as she guessed, the person who entered the palace was not sent by General Pang's mansion, but was switched halfway through, and the mastermind behind it was the Emperor.

If she were to reveal this, wouldn't it be like putting someone's knife to her own throat, waiting to be slaughtered?

Seeing that the once lively courtyard was now empty except for some palace maids and eunuchs from Kunning Palace, only the two of them remained. Consort Shu hurriedly pulled Consort Jin into the main hall of Kunning Palace.

Just as she sat down in her seat, Consort Xian spoke up, "Your Majesty, regarding the matter of the palace maids leaving the palace, I wanted to inform Your Majesty that there's no need for Consort Zhen to trouble herself with the people in my palace. They are all willing to stay and serve me. They have been by my side since the time they were in the Prince's residence, and I'm used to serving them over the years. If they were suddenly replaced, it would inevitably cause a lot of trouble, and I certainly wouldn't be used to the new ones."

"Yes, after yesterday's statistics, many of my palace maids are willing to leave the palace. If they all leave, there will be basically no one left in my palace except for my two personal maids."

"Things in my palace are fine. Except for one older person, the rest are willing to stay and serve." "Things in my palace are not so good. This morning, three people said they wanted to leave the palace to get married and didn't want to serve in the palace anymore."

"I was quite worried at first, but last night I asked all the maids in my palace, and they are all willing to serve me; none of them want to leave..."

After Consort Xian finished speaking, several other concubines started discussing it. The ones who complained the most were the palace women who were leaving.

Consort Xian listened to everyone's discussion, unable to suppress the smugness on her lips, and glanced at Shen Qingwan.

Don't think that just because you're sitting in the Empress's seat, you can really act like an Empress in the harem. You could live peacefully in the harem, enjoying good food and drink, instead of causing so much trouble and incurring the wrath of both heaven and man.

She felt that Shen Qingwan's reign as empress was over.

Shen Qingwan sat on the high seat, looking at her from afar with a smile on her face, revealing no emotion whatsoever. "I can understand that Consort Xian doesn't want to replace the palace maids for her own convenience. However, the release of some palace maids this time is not mandatory. As long as they voluntarily stay to serve, no matter how long they serve, even if they serve in the palace for their entire lives, I have no objection. I just don't know whether it's Consort Xian who doesn't want the palace maids to leave, or whether they themselves are unwilling to leave?"

Shen Qingwan raised her eyebrows and her voice remained gentle, but the moment she finished speaking, the smile on Consort Xian's face froze and her face turned ashen.

"This……"

She was speechless for a moment.

Shen Qingwan withdrew her gaze and addressed the crowd sitting below, "Although the age for palace maids to leave the palace has been changed to 18 this time, it is all based on their own willingness."

Volunteer?

When Shen Qingwan uttered those two words, the concubines sitting below instantly erupted into chaos.

"What does it matter if a lowly palace maid is willing or not? Isn't Your Majesty being a little too considerate of them?" Consort Xian shook her head with a smile.

“Yes, Your Majesty, if we really talk about voluntariness, I’m afraid they weren’t willing when they entered the palace. How can we talk about voluntariness when they leave the palace?” Consort Shen followed up.

Shen Qingwan's eyes flashed with a cold sharpness, but she smiled and said, "Palace maids are also human beings. Palace maids were also raised with the love of their parents. There are many reasons why palace maids enter the palace, but most of them are forced by life. Many palace maids enter the palace to serve out of necessity. If life were good, how many parents would be willing to send their children to the palace to serve others?"

(End of this chapter)