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

Chapter 286 Life-saving straw
Shen Qingwan glanced at Consort Xian out of the corner of her eye, signaling Green Pine to continue.

"Your Majesty, Consort Xian accepted the meat, but not long after, she had it sent back. Our lady felt sorry for the cured meat that her family had sent from afar. Since the Consort did not like it, she cooked and ate it herself."

Consort Xian: ? ? ?

Consort Xian stared wide-eyed in disbelief. How could this servant lie so blatantly and so confidently? For a moment, she even thought he was telling the truth.

"No." Consort Xian felt her mouth was a little loose: "How could you talk such nonsense? When did I have someone send that cured meat back to you? I just..."

At this point, she suddenly realized something and fell silent.

Almost instantly, everyone in the hall turned their gaze toward her. Not only the Empress, but even Emperor Yuanwu, who had been keeping his eyes closed, seemingly unwilling to concern himself with the matter, slowly opened his eyes and looked over.

"Just what?" Shen Qingwan asked slowly.

Damn it!

Consort Xian was filled with remorse. How could she have spoken out of turn? She hadn't returned the cured meat that Consort Wen had sent; she had simply had Xia Fuchuan take it to the backyard and throw it away.

But... this matter, even if it's kept to myself, can't be said out loud, otherwise I'll just be asking for trouble.

"But..." Consort Xian's gaze was unfocused as she looked around, trying to find a reasonable excuse to gloss over the matter, but she didn't know what to say. Finally, her gaze fell on Xia Fuchuan.

Consort Xian seemed to grasp at the last straw, "I just asked Xia Fuchuan to take that piece of cured meat away, and to have the kitchen prepare it for dinner. Is there a mistake in this?"

Xia Fuchuan?
I was wondering how this piece of cured meat ended up in Consort Wen's hands, when suddenly my name was mentioned.

Xia Fuchuan froze, then quickly walked behind Consort Xian and knelt down.

He finally understood that Consort Xian was out of options and wanted to push him out to take the blame.

But they never sent the piece of cured meat back, nor did they put any poison on it.

Since there's no need to admit to something you didn't do, he really couldn't understand why other people's masters would try their best to protect those around them when something happened, but Consort Xian clearly knew they hadn't done anything, yet instead of standing up to clarify, she pushed him out as if she was afraid of being implicated.

He really had bad luck in choosing the right person!

He must be blind to have chosen such a master.

Since she doesn't value her own life, why should he take on a fabricated crime just to protect her?

"Your Majesty, as the Empress said, the Consort did indeed instruct me to take that piece of meat away, but this servant did not deliver it to Consort Wen. As for how it ended up in Consort Wen's palace, this servant truly has no idea," Xia Fuchuan replied truthfully.

Don't know?

Shen Qingwan seemed unsurprised by his answer. He looked at her as if he had said everything, yet also as if he had said nothing at all. Xia Fuchuan, as expected of an old man who had served in the palace for so many years, managed to distance himself completely with just a few words, as if this matter had nothing to do with him whatsoever.

“Since that’s the case…” Shen Qingwan turned to look at Green Pine, “Since you said that the Consort sent this piece of meat back to you, then who did she send it back to you?” “Your Majesty, it was the small hill in the backyard that the Consort was cleaning in her room.”

hill!?
Upon hearing this name, Consort Xian's expression changed, and she quickly looked towards Xia Fuchuan.

Xiao Qiu was indeed a member of their palace. Could it be that Consort Wen gave Xiao Qiu a favor, causing her to deliberately betray her?

If that's the case, a fierce glint appeared in Consort Xian's eyes. Then don't blame her for being impolite. Her indenture is still in the room. It's not difficult to find out where her home is and who else is in her family. She wants to use this person to send a warning to everyone in her palace. The consequence of betraying her is the extermination of nine generations of her family.

Consort Xian made up her mind and turned to look at Xia Fuchuan. She seemed to want to get some useful information from Xia Fuchuan, but Xia Fuchuan not only didn't give her a glance, but didn't even raise his head.

Because he wasn't sure what was going on. He had only asked Xiao Qiu to throw away that piece of meat. Xiao Qiu had indeed said that it was a pity to throw away such a good piece of cured meat, but that didn't mean he had to personally return the meat to Consort Wen. Could it be that after he left, Xiao Qiu encountered Consort Wen's people?
Upon hearing this, Wu Jixiang had already ordered someone to bring Xiao Qiu over from the backyard.

"This servant...this servant greets Your Majesty, Your Majesty, Your Majesty, Your Majesty, Your Majesty."

Xiao Qiu was the lowest-ranking servant in Jingyang Palace. She had never seen such a grand scene before. Normally, let alone reporting to the Emperor and Empress, she could only catch a glimpse of them secretly in the crowd if she wanted to see them.

When Wu Jixiang led her men over, she was terrified when she saw that the guards were from the imperial court. She was so frightened that she could hardly speak.

"Xiao Qiu, I have a few questions for you. If you answer truthfully, I guarantee that no one will cause you any trouble afterward." Shen Qingwan composed herself, exuding an air of authority. "But if you utter a single false word, then you will not be allowed to leave the main hall of Jingyang Palace today."

Xiao Qiu turned pale with fright and trembled all over. "Yes."

"Then I ask you, have you seen this piece of cured meat?"

"Yes, this servant has seen you."

"How did you meet them? When did you meet them? After you met them, did you see anyone else or what happened?"

Xiao Qiu glanced fearfully at Xia Fuchuan's retreating figure.

Shen Qingwan suddenly laughed and said, "You don't need to look at Xia Fuchuan. Xia Fuchuan has already said everything he needed to say. As long as you tell the truth about what you know, I will let you go back."

Xia Fuchuan already said it?

Did she tell everyone that Consort Xian disliked that piece of cured meat?

Now that General Pang is gone, could it be that Xia Fuchuan felt there was no future with Consort Xian, so he went to the Emperor and Empress to expose her?
Since that's the case, as long as she tells the truth about what she knows, the Empress shouldn't make things difficult for her. She might even be able to send her to another place and find her a better job.

Otherwise, Xia Fuchuan would have given up his good job as the chief eunuch of Jingyang Palace to come and expose Consort Xian.

Xiaoqiu thought about it more and more and it made sense, so she blurted out what had happened in the back garden that afternoon.

"This afternoon, I was cleaning in the backyard when Eunuch Xia came over with a piece of meat and told me to take it outside Jingyang Palace and throw it away somewhere secluded so no one would see it..."