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

Chapter 280 Shattered
Placing her in a high position would make it easier for General Pang's remaining followers to seize the opportunity to act.

After all, if Emperor Yuanwu demoted her because of this incident, then Consort Xian would inevitably become a pawn of the Pang clan.

If she were not implicated because of her father's affairs, but instead gained the Emperor's favor, then within three months, the remaining members of the Pang clan would surely be unable to restrain themselves and would try every means to get close to Consort Xian to help General Pang seek justice and revenge.

Emperor Yuanwu played a clever trick of waiting for the rabbit to run into the tree stump.

Regardless of how this matter ultimately ends, it seems to have nothing to do with her.

The original owner already had a deep grudge against Consort Xian. After she took over the original owner's body, Consort Xian never stopped making trouble for her. However, she became less and less powerful later on. No matter how glorious she was in the past, Consort Xian, who had lost favor, was no different from any other concubine in the palace who had lost favor.

Her mistake was that she thought all of Emperor Yuanwu's favor towards her was because of her, but she never knew that she was just the most useful pawn for Emperor Yuanwu to consolidate his imperial power.

Before Emperor Yuanwu completely discarded this pawn, he wanted to utterly destroy her.

It seems that a lively drama will soon unfold in the imperial harem.

All Shen Qingwan had to do was sit back and watch the fight, and be careful not to get herself splattered with blood.

Shen Qingwan's expression relaxed for a moment. She picked up the teacup in front of her, took a small sip, and felt much better after eating so much mutton. The tea with honeysuckle was very refreshing.

Emperor Yuanwu couldn't tell whether the Empress genuinely didn't understand him or was pretending not to.

However, based on his past discussions with the Empress about matters of the inner palace and the court, he didn't think the Empress would really be unable to understand; it was more likely that she was pretending not to understand.

Since that's the case, the moment Emperor Yuanwu stood up, Shen Qingwan also stood up from her chair.

Shen Qingwan curtsied and said, "Respectfully seeing off Your Majesty."

Emperor Yuanwu:...

Emperor Yuanwu pursed his lips deeply. Although he got up intending to leave, the Empress's preemptive action made him feel like he was being kicked out.

"The Empress is quite adept at reading people's expressions," Emperor Yuanwu said through gritted teeth, emphasizing each word.

Hearing his sarcastic words, Shen Qingwan showed no displeasure. Instead, she smiled gently and said, "Thank you for your praise, Your Majesty."

Emperor Yuanwu:...

Emperor Yuanwu pursed his lips speechlessly and decided to say nothing more.

After he left Kunning Palace, he said to Wu Jixiang, "Go and investigate what happened to that palace maid that the Empress mentioned who died shortly after leaving the palace."

"Is Your Majesty referring to Xiao Cui?" Wu Jixiang responded. Emperor Yuanwu's eyes darkened: "How come you also know this Xiao Cui?"

Wu Jixiang smiled with relief, "It's not that I knew, it's just that I didn't discipline my servants well. A few days ago, I overheard a servant beside me saying a few words. I thought it was just a matter between servants and not worth mentioning, for fear of offending His Majesty's ears. But since His Majesty brought it up, then this servant has no choice but to say something to His Majesty."

Emperor Yuanwu's eyes held a complex expression: "What, it sounds like this Xiao Cui is quite a remarkable figure in the harem?"

"Oh dear." Wu Jixiang looked flustered. "She's just a servant, nothing special. But this Xiao Cui is from Xia Fuchuan's hometown. It seems that Xia Fuchuan sought out Xiao Cui before and gave her a lot of benefits, wanting her to help keep an eye on the Empress's every move."

"So he was a traitor who sold out his master for personal gain; his death is his own fault." Emperor Yuanwu's expression changed slightly. "Is the Empress aware of this matter?"

“This servant doesn’t know. Xiao Cui has always done sweeping and cleaning work in the backyard of Kunning Palace and has never had the opportunity to serve the Empress,” Wu Jixiang said truthfully. “Last time, when the palace maids reached the age to leave the palace, Xiao Cui took the initiative to say that she did not want to serve in the harem anymore. The Empress has always been lenient with the servants around her, so she naturally agreed. She not only let them leave the palace but also gave them some reward money. However, Xiao Cui was also unlucky. She was killed as soon as she left the palace.”

Emperor Yuanwu remained silent. If Xiao Cui's death was related to the Empress, she would not have bothered to bring it up in front of him so deliberately. If it wasn't the Empress's intentional revenge, then it could only mean that someone wanted to silence her.

Based on his understanding of Shen Qingwan, he felt that Shen Qingwan would not bring up the matter of a servant in front of him for no reason. Therefore, it was almost certain that Xiao Cui's death was caused by Consort Xian.

Although executing a servant is not a big deal in the harem, the fact that she only had someone kill a palace maid who had already left the palace shows how guilty Consort Xian was.

Emperor Yuanwu remained silent, simply walking silently towards the Hall of Mental Cultivation...

When Consort Xian returned to Jingyang Palace, she still felt like she was in a dream, even after lunch.

"Xia Fuchuan, do you think His Majesty made a mistake with the imperial edict just now? In fact, the person His Majesty wanted to promote was not me, but someone else?" Consort Xian asked with a solemn expression and a lack of confidence.

"Your Majesty," Xia Fuchuan said with a fawning smile, "Your Highness, please put your mind at ease. The Emperor is the Son of Heaven; his imperial edicts are not child's play. How could he possibly make a mistake?"

Xia Fuchuan secretly glanced at Consort Xian, thinking to himself, "Even if the Emperor is really wrong, he will just let it go. Does he really want to admit that he is wrong in front of all the concubines?"

He really couldn't understand why, now that the Emperor had dealt with General Pang, she was not only not implicated, but was also promoted in rank. Whether the Emperor was doing it for the benefit of the entire harem or genuinely pitied her, it didn't matter at all. Now that she had the rank of Imperial Concubine, everyone in Jingyang Palace would benefit from it.

Who would have known how many cold looks he endured in the palace during the year or so that Consort Xian had fallen out of favor? He thought Consort Xian would never have a chance to rise again, but he never expected such a good thing to happen.

Nothing else matters now. As long as Consort Xian can remain in her position as Consort, he can stand tall. However, he should indeed think about his future. After all, life is unpredictable. If Consort Xian were to fall from power one day like General Pang due to a small accident, what would become of him?
He was the head eunuch in Consort Xian's palace, so it was virtually impossible for him to escape unscathed, but there was a high possibility that he would be killed without a complete body!

While Xia Fuchuan and Consort Xian were talking, Consort Wen walked in from outside.

"This concubine greets Your Highness, may Your Highness be blessed." As soon as Consort Wen entered, she performed a full kneeling bow.

Consort Xian was startled. It wasn't that she felt there was anything wrong with Consort Wen, who had been staying at home since entering the palace, suddenly visiting, but rather that she didn't understand why Consort Wen was performing such a grand ceremony.