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

Chapter 248 Killing someone with a borrowed knife

Since this was said to Xia Mei, it's probably true.

Consort Wen finally felt relieved, but not entirely. She was worried that the person who poisoned her wasn't poisonous enough to kill the person who had caused such chaos in the northern desert!

"Your Majesty, please save my father! Only you can save him now!" Consort Xian knelt outside the Hall of Mental Cultivation, crying and kowtowing.

Seeing that her head was bleeding from kowtowing, Wu Jixiang felt a pang of pity. "Consort Xian, please take care of yourself. General Pang Da is a man of unwavering integrity who has rendered countless meritorious services to our Yuan Kingdom. How could His Majesty stand by and watch him die..."

Before Wu Jixiang could finish speaking, Emperor Yuanwu pushed open the door of the Hall of Mental Cultivation and walked out.

While he was handling state affairs in the palace, Wu Jixiang had already told him that Consort Xian had arrived. Upon seeing the blood seeping from Consort Xian's forehead, he couldn't help but furrow his brow deeply.

Emperor Yuanwu strode up to Consort Xian and extended a hand to her, saying, "Get up first."

Consort Xian's sobs faltered. She stared at his outstretched hand, hesitated for a moment, and then kowtowed deeply to Emperor Yuanwu. "Your Majesty, I beg you to save my father. I beg you."

Emperor Yuanwu paused, a hint of displeasure in his eyes. He withdrew his hand, still patiently saying, "General Pang is my right-hand man. Who would have thought he would encounter such a thing? When I learned of this, I was extremely anxious. I immediately ordered Imperial Physician Zhang and several highly skilled physicians from the Imperial Hospital to go to Lingnan to treat General Pang. However, Lingnan is quite a distance from the capital. Even at the fastest speed, it will not arrive until 7 PM."

It's the hour of Xu (7-9 PM)!?
Upon hearing this, Consort Xian's already pale face turned even paler.

He was poisoned; how could someone who's been poisoned possibly wait that long?

Even if Physician Zhang did have the antidote, the outcome would not be the same whether he administered the antidote earlier or later.

"Your Majesty," Consort Xian cried uncontrollably, "I beg you, please let me leave the palace. I want to see my father."

Just then, several ministers who had been discussing court affairs with the Emperor in the Hall of Mental Cultivation came out one by one after waiting for a while, wanting to see what was going on. However, they did not expect to see this scene when they stepped out of the threshold of the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

The group exchanged bewildered glances. The one walking at the front was Consort Rou's father. He glanced at Consort Xian kneeling on the ground, and his face immediately darkened.

Although he had no personal relationship with General Pang, he also had no grudges against him. Ever since Consort Rou entered the palace, she had been targeted by Consort Xian at every turn. Especially when she first entered the palace, Consort Xian actually managed to bring down the Empress, but when she failed, she used the two maids that Consort Xian had bribed to kidnap the Empress's personal maid to frame Consort Rou. She really played the game well, using someone else to do her dirty work.

“Your Majesty, if you have other matters to attend to, then I will come back later to continue our discussion.” Lord Wen bowed slightly.

Emperor Yuanwu frowned slightly and nodded.

After the ministers left, Emperor Yuanwu's expression seemed to have lost its previous gentleness. "Consort Xian, I know that after hearing about General Pang's matter, I understand that you were anxious because of your deep affection for your father. However, as a concubine in the harem, you must not overstep your bounds."

"Your Majesty," Consort Xian cried, her eyes swollen shut, "Your Majesty, I beg you, please let me go. This is against the rules. My father serves the country and is often away from the capital, stationed in the field. I haven't seen him in a long time!"

"Even if I grant you permission to leave, what good will it do? Can you guarantee that you will arrive in Lingnan before the imperial physicians do, or do you think that General Pang will recover without needing an antidote after seeing you?" Emperor Yuanwu's face was cold.

Consort Xian was speechless for a moment when asked the question.

Deep down, she feared that if she didn't go now, she might not see her father one last time. But she didn't want to accept that.

She didn't want to admit, nor was she willing to admit, that her father would leave her so soon.

Her intuition told her that her father's condition must be very serious. If it weren't, the matter wouldn't have alarmed the Emperor, and someone wouldn't have come to Jingyang Palace specifically to inform her.

In the past, no matter how badly her father was wounded on the battlefield, she was always the last to know, because her father was most afraid of making her worry.

This time is different, this time it really is different!
Consort Xian had a vague feeling that her father was about to leave her.

"Your Majesty, I certainly cannot cure my father. I am only afraid that if I do not go, I will never see my father again." Consort Xian cried and kowtowed several more times. Bright red blood flowed down her cheeks, and a drop of blood happened to flow into her eye. She looked disheveled and ferocious.

"General Pang is now poisoned and his life hangs in the balance. I am very worried and have sent the best imperial physicians to treat him. At such a time, how can you still utter words of cursing your own father and insist on violating palace rules?" Emperor Yuanwu glanced at him and quickly looked away. "Consort Xian is unwell. Send her back to the palace."

"The emperor..."

Consort Xian was only stunned for a moment before Emperor Yuanwu's figure disappeared from her sight.

"Your Majesty, this servant will have someone escort you back to the palace," Wu Jixiang said.

Consort Xian knelt on the ground, and kowtowed again, unwilling to give up, "Your Majesty, I beg you! Your Majesty..."

Wu Jixiang looked helplessly at her crying her heart out and comforted her, "Consort Xian, why are you doing this to yourself? His Majesty is really busy right now. General Pang is fighting for the country, and His Majesty will definitely have someone heal him. Why are you doing this to yourself?"

Consort Xian stopped crying, but tears continued to fall uncontrollably.

Seeing this, Wu Jixiang gave a wink to the two eunuchs behind him. The young eunuch quickly stepped forward, helped Consort Xian up from the ground, and dragged her into the sedan chair.

The Emperor ordered them to send Consort Xian back to the palace. Having served Emperor Yuanwu for so many years, they naturally understood the meaning behind this order: to prevent her from continuing to kneel at the entrance of the Hall of Mental Cultivation, which would be seen by the passing ministers and cause her embarrassment.

Once the carriage was delivered, their mission was complete. Whether she wanted to go back or changed her mind halfway through the journey was none of their concern.

The most important thing I learned from Wu Jixiang was the survival rule in the harem: control your mouth, control your ears, and control your eyes.

Don't look at what you shouldn't see, don't listen to what you shouldn't hear, and don't say what you shouldn't say.

I'll put my full effort into my job and do it well!

If it's not your job, stay at least twelve feet away!
Doing more, no matter how well you do it, may not bring any reward, but doing more and making a mistake will definitely bring punishment.

The same applies to the imperial harem!