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

Chapter 310 True and False
Shen Qingwan carefully examined the words on the letter in her hand again, feeling that something was amiss.

She thought about it carefully. Consort Xian had managed the six palaces for many years, so she must have reviewed a lot of things in the harem and left her handwriting behind. "Zhen'er, go and look for the things that Consort Xian reviewed back then. See if you can find them?"

"Does Your Highness believe that this letter was forged by someone else and was not written by Consort Xian?" Zhen'er suddenly realized, her eyes widening in an instant: "Yes, Your Highness."

For some reason, as she looked at the handwriting in her hand, although it was also beautiful small regular script, she felt that something was missing.

Consort Xian came from a military family. Although General Pang was stationed on the frontier for many years, she was not considered well-read or learned in classical literature. However, she had been taught by a tutor since childhood and practiced calligraphy.

Correct!
This is it.

Shen Qingwan finally found the problem.

Although the handwriting in the letter is neat and tidy, showing that the writer has practiced for many years, it lacks the elegance that a woman should have.

Zhen'er quickly found traces of Consort Xian's past reviews in the account books that recorded various expenses in the harem.

Shen Qingwan carefully compared the characters on both sides.

Although they may look exactly the same at first glance, upon closer inspection, you will find some subtle differences. Even if someone has practiced writing by copying calligraphy models since childhood, they will naturally develop their own unique writing habits over time.

Just like the "spoon" on the left side of the character "的", Consort Xian usually wrote the top stroke and the bottom vertical hook in one stroke, but in the letter, the left side of the character "的" has two strokes for the stroke and the vertical hook.

It was obvious that the words on the letter in her hand were deliberately imitated from Consort Xian's handwriting. Perhaps because of the rush, or because she did not carefully consider each word, she made a mistake.

It looks similar, but it's not.

"Your Majesty, is this letter really not written by Consort Xian? Then isn't this person trying to harm Your Majesty on purpose? He deliberately sent this in while the Emperor was in our palace, hoping that Your Majesty would take this opportunity to complain about Consort Xian to the Emperor, and then turn around and accuse Your Majesty. How vicious!"

Zhen'er broke out in a cold sweat. Luckily, their Empress was clever enough to think of checking the handwriting. Otherwise, she would have really ruined the Empress and everyone in Kunning Palace!
Shen Qingwan took the letter and walked to the candlestick, lit it on the candle, and watched as the letter burned out in her hand. Her gaze darkened.

Emperor Yuanwu was busy with the Pang family matter for nearly half a month. Although the handwriting on the letter was fake, it did not mean that the contents of the letter were not true.

If Consort Xian really colluded with the old subordinates of the Pang family, then she might not have survived leaving Jingyang Palace.

The messenger was treacherous and cleverly killed two birds with one stone. If she hadn't been careful, she wouldn't have been fooled. If she had taken this fake letter to Emperor Yuanwu to complain, she would have been in trouble.

Emperor Yuanwu recognized that the letter was fake. As the empress, she was in charge of all matters in the palace. If she was so easily deceived, she would inevitably be accused of being incompetent.

However, since the letter has been found to be fake, no one will care whether the contents of the letter are true or false.

In this case……

She might as well pretend she knows nothing and wait and see. She'll see if the letter is fake, or if both the letter and its contents are fake.

When Consort Rou arrived at the gate of Yanxi Palace, Consort De had just returned to Yanxi Palace and was irritably muttering complaints to herself.

"It was just a matter of serving the Emperor in bed. Does the Empress think that everyone in the palace knows the Emperor slept in her palace yesterday? Which woman in this palace hasn't served the Emperor? And which one, after serving the Emperor, doesn't still go to pay her respects the next day? She's just too precious to ask for respects and doesn't even send someone to tell me beforehand, making me get up early for nothing..."

"Your Highness, Consort De." Consort Rou approached with a smile, waving a silk handkerchief in her hand. "Who has made my sister so angry so early in the morning?"

Consort De was probably surprised that Consort Rou would come at this time. She was taken aback for a moment before putting on a fake smile. "Why do you have time to come over at this time, sister? It's been quite a while since we last talked. I was just thinking about it the other day."

Consort Rou sighed, "It was early in the morning, and I was going to pay my respects to Her Majesty the Empress. Who would have thought that halfway there, someone from Kunning Palace would come and say that there was no need to go, as Her Majesty the Empress was tired and needed to rest."

"Kunning Palace?" Consort De asked in surprise. "Was it someone from Kunning Palace who informed my sister that she didn't need to pay her respects? Why is it someone from Yangxin Hall who came to Yanxi Palace to deliver the message?"

Hall of Mental Cultivation?
If it was someone from the Hall of Mental Cultivation who came to deliver the message, then it means that the person who prevented the concubines from paying their respects this morning was the Emperor!

If the message came from someone in Kunning Palace, it could only mean that the Empress deliberately sent a message after Emperor Yuanwu left. This would be a clear provocation to the concubines in the harem and could easily incite their dissatisfaction!

But if it's the Emperor's will...

Such an honor was something even Consort Xian had never received. Even if she deliberately arrived a little late when she went to pay her respects to the Empress, it was considered that she was being arrogant because of the Empress's favor.

The Emperor has always considered this matter to be of utmost importance, believing that nothing can be accomplished without rules. Yet now, he has broken precedent for the sake of the Empress.

This is only the first day of serving the Empress. If the Empress has children in the future, what role will there be for the concubines in the harem?

Consort Rou was almost embarrassed, but she had a great attitude and managed to force a smile, "His Majesty really cares about the Empress."

Upon hearing this, Consort De's expression seemed to have changed from its previous amiable look. "Never mind, let's not talk about this anymore. Come inside and sit down."

Shen Qingwan slept very soundly. She dreamt of the original owner's childhood appearance, wearing a light purple dress, dancing gracefully under an osmanthus tree. Her silvery laughter was interrupted by a childish voice, and a string of delicate osmanthus blossoms appeared in her ear.

When she woke up, day had turned into night. She had no idea that she had become the focus of the harem that day. The concubines who usually stayed in their own palaces were now gathering in twos and threes, and they would often mention that Emperor Yuanwu had stayed overnight in Kunning Palace last night and had exempted them from all the formalities this morning. Their faces were all grim.

Even more grim-looking than them was Emperor Yuanwu.

After the morning court session, Qiu Zongxi went to the Hall of Mental Cultivation in the palace, saying that he wanted to send his youngest daughter, Qiu Yanjiao, to the palace to serve him.

Emperor Yuanwu stared at him for a long time. He knew that the person who really wanted Qiu Yanjiao to enter the palace was Consort Xian, but he was also utterly disappointed in Qiu Zongxi.