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

Chapter 306 Help
“In this peaceful and prosperous era, hasn’t the Emperor’s suspicion of Prince Rui always been because of the Empress? Now that the Emperor and the Empress have consummated their marriage, how could our Emperor break ties with his own brother for the sake of romantic love?” Xia Mei smiled awkwardly. “Besides, there’s something else…”

At this point, she looked around again, "And I also heard that the person who assassinated General Pang was a confidant of Prince Rui."

"What?" Xia Fuchuan's pupils dilated in shock. He swore he'd never opened his mouth so wide in his entire life. "You mean... this... this..."

Xia Mei nodded firmly, "It should be true."

Xia Fuchuan:......

After a long while, Xia Fuchuan swallowed hard.

He felt that the harem had become something he no longer recognized.

Xia Mei looked around. "Have you decided who to send the letter that Her Majesty asked you to deliver? You must not easily believe anything unless you have someone you can absolutely trust."

Mentioning this, Xia Fuchuan also looked troubled. He couldn't help but sigh, "Our Jingyang Palace is not what it used to be. If it were in the past, let alone sending a letter out, even sending a person out would be done without anyone knowing. These bastards, one by one..."

“If you don’t have a suitable person here, I used to work with a guard in Ning Shou Palace when I was serving Consort Qi. Over time, I noticed that his shoes were worn out. Since Consort Qi didn’t have much to do in her palace and spent her days doing needlework out of boredom, I made him a pair. That’s how we got to know each other. You might want to ask him for help with this, but I’m not sure if he’ll be willing to help.”

"Help? Of course I'll help!" Xia Fuchuan smiled maliciously. "Then I'll trouble Aunt to help me find it."

Xia Mei looked at the letter handed to her, her face showing struggle and hesitation as she hesitated to reach for it. "I always feel that it's not good to ask someone for help with something like this, especially given the situation in our palace. It would be awkward if I implicated them. If they refuse to help, wouldn't it be embarrassing if we met again? Besides, I don't want too many people in the palace to know that I know him. After all, it's against palace rules for a palace maid to have too much contact with a guard, and that would be punishable by being beaten to death."

"Aunt Xia Mei, of course you don't need to tell me who he is. I'll leave this matter to you. If you can't handle it, that's alright. I'll just try someone else."

Hearing Xia Mei's words, Xia Fuchuan finally breathed a sigh of relief and reluctantly took the letter. "Well... I'll give it a try."

Xia Fuchuan nodded with a sigh of relief and walked side by side toward the backyard. As they walked, Xia Fuchuan suddenly became a little curious.

"Since you know people like that, why didn't you try to leave the palace after Consort Qi died, instead of continuing to serve in the palace?"

Xia Mei's steps suddenly halted. She sighed, "My family all died from an epidemic three years after I entered the palace. Consort Qi treated me well. When she passed away, the Empress and Consort Xian were vying for power. Consort Qi's funeral arrangements were not yet completed. How could I disregard the overall situation for my own sake? Besides..."

As Xia Mei spoke, her eyes dimmed as she glanced towards the direction of Consort Xian's palace. "Back then, it wasn't easy for palace maids to leave the palace."

Xia Fuchuan lowered his eyes and stopped speaking. After a while, he slowly said, "Wait a little longer. Maybe there will be an opportunity if we wait a little longer."

Xia Mei remained silent, only nodding with a wry smile.

Emperor Yuanwu slept very soundly, and when he woke up, the entire Kunning Palace was filled with a faint aroma of food.

He glanced at his side in surprise, as if someone had slept there, yet it seemed no one had. Emperor Yuanwu rubbed his temples, completely unable to recall what had happened the previous night.

His remaining memory was of dining with the Empress that evening. Emperor Yuanwu glanced at the palace maids beside him, pointed to one of them, opened his mouth for a long time, but couldn't remember her name.

If this were in another concubine's palace, there might be one or two maids who served her so closely that you could name them, but in Kunning Palace...

Apart from the name of the palace maid next to the Empress, he really couldn't remember any other names.

"What about...the Empress?"

The palace maid was so frightened by Emperor Yuanwu's pointing that she knelt on the ground, her whole body trembling.

Normally, although she also served in the palace, the Empress was approachable and easy to get along with. But the Emperor was different. As a palace maid, she had been serving in the palace for so long, and this was the first time she had been so close to the Emperor, not to mention that the Emperor had spoken to her.

If she accidentally replied to the wrong answer, wouldn't she lose her head? The palace maid was terrified.

"Reporting...reporting...reporting to Your Majesty, Your Majesty..."

"Are you a stutterer? The Empress is truly kind-hearted; how could she allow a stutterer to serve in the palace?" Emperor Yuanwu angrily snatched the robe from the servant's hand and put it on.

The palace maid was so frightened that she burst into tears.

Having encountered bad luck early in the morning, Emperor Yuanwu glanced at the ground in annoyance. He moved his lips, just about to punish someone, when Wu Jixiang walked in upon hearing the sound, a perfectly timed fake smile on his face.

"Your Majesty, you're awake. You slept for a very long time. It's been a long time since Your Majesty has had such a peaceful sleep. It's clear that the Empress's phoenix destiny protects Kunning Palace, which brings peace of mind and tranquility."

When Wu Jixiang walked up to the palace maid, he kicked her, signaling her to leave quickly.

"Your Majesty, please let this servant help you change and wash. This is the first time Your Majesty has stayed overnight in Kunning Palace. These young palace maids have only been in the palace for a few days, how could they possibly understand Your Majesty's temperament?"

Emperor Yuanwu didn't speak, but his expression softened slightly. "Where is the Empress?"

"Oh my." Wu Jixiang's expression was just right, "Her Majesty the Empress got up early this morning to go to the small kitchen to prepare breakfast for Your Majesty. The buns were so translucent that you could see the filling through the skin. They made my mouth water. Her Majesty the Empress said that the rest could only be given to the servants after Your Majesty had eaten them."

Emperor Yuanwu was completely exasperated. "Look at your pathetic self. You've been with me since you were a child. What good food and drink have I never given you? You're drooling over a few steamed buns. Aren't you afraid of making a fool of yourself in front of the people in Kunning Palace?"

"Yes, yes, yes." Wu Jixiang nodded repeatedly. "But wait, it's not too late for the Emperor to laugh at this servant after he sees what the Empress has prepared."

Emperor Yuanwu glanced at him sideways.

Just then, several servants in the palace went out to fetch water for Emperor Yuanwu. Only Emperor Yuanwu and Wu Jixiang were in the bedroom of Kunning Palace. Wu Jixiang took out an envelope from his sleeve.