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

Chapter 315 Uncomfortable
stop!
Upon hearing this, Meng Anfu looked troubled. "Oh dear, Aunt Jun'er, we can't stop. It's getting dark, we can't stop now."

"Can't stop?" Consort Rou sneered and took two steps toward Meng Anfu. "I think Eunuch Meng's abilities are getting bigger and bigger. You treat my Zhongcui Palace like a marketplace, coming and going as you please. I didn't know before, and I thought that the things Eunuch Meng sent were tributes to me."

Meng Anfu shuddered. "Your Highness, Consort Rou, you are too kind. It was my oversight. I apologize to Your Highness. I was just anxious because His Majesty has acquired a new concubine, Consort Yan, who will be entering the palace tonight. I just instructed you to prepare the side hall of Zhongcui Palace so that Consort Yan can move in."

"Consort Yan?" Consort Rou frowned, puzzled.

Meng Anfu hurriedly explained, "She is Qiu Zongxi's concubine's daughter, Qiu Yanjiao. It is said that she knew Consort Xian when she was young. Actually, there is nothing strange about that. General Qiu was originally the deputy general of General Pang Da. Consort Yan entered the palace through the introduction of Consort Xian. It is not surprising. It is said that Consort Yan is extremely similar to her mother. Her eyebrows are like crescent moons, her face is as bright as peach blossoms, and her skin is like solidified cream. She has been a beauty since she was a child."

"Has Eunuch Meng already met this Noble Lady Yan?" Consort Rou walked up to Meng Anfu, her eyes filled with a hint of anger. "Is she truly a beauty?"

Meng Anfu was instantly terrified and broke out in a cold sweat. He raised his hand and slapped himself twice on the mouth. "Look at this mouth of mine! It's stupid. Not only can I not speak properly, but I'm also easily swayed. I heard something from someone and ran to the Empress to say something. No matter how beautiful she is, with eyebrows like crescent moons, skin like peach blossoms, and skin like jade, she can't compare to the Empress's beauty that could topple kingdoms."

Consort Rou couldn't help but laugh out loud, "Eunuch Meng, some words can't be used carelessly. Aren't 'national beauty' and 'beauty that could topple kingdoms' used to praise the Empress?"

Meng Anfu's face turned pale, and he swallowed hard as he lowered his head.

However, seeing her laugh out loud, seemingly in a good mood, and since there was no one else around, he naturally didn't care whether the two words he had just heard from elsewhere were actually used to describe the Empress.

He was simply praying that he could get past Consort Rou quickly. Once the side hall of Zhongcui Palace was arranged, his task for the day would be considered complete.

But who could have imagined that Roupin, who was laughing happily just a second ago, would suddenly freeze in the next second, her smile freezing as her lips flattened and her eyes becoming sharp and penetrating, as if she could see right through his thoughts. The previous Sanghe was gone, leaving only an unbearable scrutiny as she approached him step by step.

"Eunuch Meng, do I need to remind you? This Zhongcui Palace was bestowed upon me by Her Majesty the Empress, and you've just sent someone in like this. Does Her Majesty the Empress know?"

Meng Anfu's face was contorted with distress. "Your Highness, even if you gave me ten lives, I wouldn't dare to send anyone into your palace so casually. What am I? I'm just a servant."

"Oh?" Consort Rou said in a drawn-out tone, "But it seems to me that in this harem, all the ladies in the palace have to give you a little face if they want something."

"Oh, Your Majesty, you flatter me! I have no courage to do such a thing. The ladies of the harem are all masters. I would never dare to do that."

Meng Anfu, with a sob in his voice and a pitiful look, made Consort Rou feel disgusted. "Alright, stop saying such useless things. The Fourth Prince is still young, and it's not easy to have so many people in the palace. If you disturb the prince, you can't afford to be offended. Move these things away later, and I'll pretend you were never here. This matter will be over. Go and find another place for Consort Yan to stay."

Looking elsewhere?

Where else could he find it?

In the imperial harem, besides the Empress Dowager, the Emperor, and the Empress, the person in charge of arranging accommodations for the concubines was the concubine who assisted in managing the six palaces. To put it nicely, he was the head of the Imperial Household Department; to put it bluntly, he was nothing compared to these people!

Let alone him, even if Consort Rou were in her current position, she probably wouldn't have such great power. Why make things difficult for him, a mere chief eunuch of the Imperial Household Department?

Rumors circulated in the palace that Consort Rou was as gentle and mild-mannered as her name suggested.

It seems that this matter...

She's all gentle, it's all fake!

"Your Majesty, the arrangement for Consort Yan to reside in Zhongcui Palace was Consort Shu's decision. Consort Shu is assisting the Empress in managing the six palaces by imperial decree. Perhaps Consort Shu's intention is the same as the Empress's. Since it is the Empress's intention, this servant truly..."

Meng Anfu frowned, looking troubled.

Roupin stared at him, her chest heaving for a while. She moved her lips as if to say something, but Jun'er tugged at her sleeve.

"Your Majesty, the Fourth Prince has woken up and is crying and looking for you. Please come in quickly."

It took Roupin a while to calm herself down before letting Jun'er pull her into the main hall.

Ever since giving birth to the Fourth Prince, she doesn't know what's wrong with her. She's very prone to losing control of her emotions, and she'll feel like crying over the smallest things. Just like now, she doesn't know why, but when she hears the Fourth Prince crying, she inexplicably wants to cry along with him.

Jun'er thought she was upset by what had just happened, so she hurriedly comforted her, "Your Majesty, please don't worry. In the harem, apart from the Empress Dowager and the Empress, there is basically no concubine who can live alone in such a large palace. Since Your Majesty entered the palace, you have been able to live in Zhongcui Palace by yourself, which is already a great favor from the Emperor."

Consort Rou wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes with a silk handkerchief. She really didn't know how to describe her feelings at that moment; she just felt inexplicably sad.

“I know what you’re saying, but I just feel that Zhongcui Palace is clearly mine. Now they want to arrange for someone to come in, so why don’t they even give me a heads-up? Do they think I’m dead? Even if the Emperor rarely comes to Zhongcui Palace these days, I am still the birth mother of the Fourth Prince. Am I supposed to be treated so disrespectfully?”

Jun'er listened to her complaints and stood silently to the side without saying a word.

Aren't all the palaces in the harem the emperor's?
What does the Empress need to arrange? Does she really need to consult with a concubine?
There's no such logic in history!
Besides, if she hadn't stopped them just now, the chief eunuch of the Imperial Household Department would have been embarrassed. If anything happened in their palace in the future, how could they hold their heads high and let others handle it?

Those lackeys in the Imperial Household Department are truly opportunistic.

As night fell, a carriage stopped outside the gates of Zhongcui Palace, accompanied by the crisp sound of hooves…