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

Chapter 339 Coolness
Emperor Yuanwu glanced at her with a solemn expression, then walked to the center of the main hall and sat down.

"I heard that this morning, Consort Yan came to pay her respects to you with her maid. Not only did you wait for an hour, but you also beat her maid?" Emperor Yuanwu's eyes were deep, and his suppressed lips were full of anger.

Shen Qingwan looked up at Emperor Yuanwu with great confusion. She had punished servants before, but this was the first time Emperor Yuanwu had come to Kunning Palace to interrogate a servant.

Now that Emperor Yuanwu knows everything and has come in person, and since he has already prejudicially believed what she said, no matter what she tries to explain now, Emperor Yuanwu will probably not believe her.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Shen Qingwan's frank admission surprised Emperor Yuanwu, who paused for a moment, then asked, "Does the Empress have nothing to say?"

"Does Your Majesty want to hear my rebuttal? Or does he want me to kneel down and admit my mistake?" Shen Qingwan's tone remained gentle, without any particular emotion, but the words she spoke were icy. "Your Majesty has come here now, and you are angry. Naturally, you have already made up your mind about this matter. If Your Majesty trusted me, you wouldn't have come to question me as soon as you entered the door."

Emperor Yuanwu cleared his throat somewhat awkwardly and shifted his posture. "Since it's a conflict between you and Consort Yan, I naturally can't just listen to one person's side of the story; I also need to hear the Empress's side as well."

"Your Majesty, I am the Empress. I do not believe that I have the right to punish a palace maid in the harem and defend my innocence. If the Empress does not even have the right to punish a palace maid, then I really do not know how this Empress is supposed to manage the harem." Shen Qingwan knelt on the ground.

Emperor Yuanwu abruptly stood up, flames of anger burning in his eyes. He stared intently at Shen Qingwan, his voice becoming deep and authoritative, exuding an oppressive aura. "Although the Empress manages the affairs of the harem, does that mean that neither I nor the Empress Dowager have the right to inquire about matters concerning the harem?"

"Your Majesty is too kind. The entire harem belongs to Your Majesty, so Your Majesty naturally has the right to inquire. My mother's status is so noble that I will certainly obey her." Shen Qingwan lowered her eyes, not daring to look up.

"Since you knew, why did you punish Consort Yan's personal maid?" Emperor Yuanwu pressed aggressively.

“Your Majesty, I punished Consort Yan’s personal maid, Xia’er, because she spoke rudely and made disrespectful remarks behind her back. According to palace rules, disrespect is one of the ten heinous crimes. Insulting and slandering the Empress should be punished by being beaten to death. I only slapped her fifty times as a warning to others. I do not know what I did wrong.”

Emperor Yuanwu's eyes trembled slightly, and his expression instantly became somewhat unnatural. "I never knew that the Empress was so eloquent and cunning. Since the Empress thinks she is right, then she should reflect on her actions in Kunning Palace. As for the affairs of the inner palace, let Consort Shu handle them for now. It's not too late to discuss them again after the Empress has thought things through."

After Emperor Yuanwu finished speaking, he turned and left.

Zhen'er hurriedly helped Shen Qingwan, who was kneeling on the ground, up. "Your Majesty, are you alright?"

Shen Qingwan slowly shook her head. "It's nothing. However, I suppose I'm the only empress in history to be confined to her quarters."

Zhen'er's expression was somewhat complicated. "Your Majesty, it's really not like that."

Shen Qingwan: ...

When Consort Shu received the imperial edict, she was discussing the Empress's birthday banquet with Consort Jin.

“Eunuch Jixiang? This imperial edict…” Consort Shu hesitated, wondering if she was hallucinating.

Wu Jixiang shook his head helplessly and couldn't help but sigh, "Your Highness, the Emperor trusts you, so I'll have to trouble you with the affairs of the inner palace these days."

Concubine Shu:......

She didn't want to be bothered at all.

"Eunuch Jixiang, the Third Prince is still young, and I'm already overwhelmed with his needs. How can I be left to handle all the affairs of the harem alone?" Consort Shu's expression was somewhat complicated.

"Your Highness, the Consort Shu is in charge of the six palaces. Countless concubines in the harem yearn for this position. How can you shirk your responsibilities? If you can't manage alone, there are Consort Jin, Consort Liang, and Consort Zhen to assist you." Wu Jixiang smiled obsequiously and handed the imperial edict to Consort Shu, noticing her still hesitant expression. "Does Your Highness intend to disobey the imperial decree?"

Consort Shu hurriedly accepted the imperial edict, saying, "Of course not, thank you for your trouble, Eunuch Jixiang."

Watching Wu Jixiang's departing figure, Consort Shu and Consort Jin collapsed to the ground and exchanged a glance.

Consort Shu looked grave. "Tell me, what exactly does His Majesty mean by this? Is he taking away the Empress's power to manage the palace because of a maid? If the Empress, a dignified woman, is punished for even disciplining a palace maid, how are we, the concubines who assist in managing the six palaces, supposed to handle the affairs of the inner palace?"

Consort Jin's expression was also unpleasant. "However, I had long heard that Consort Yan is exceptionally beautiful. Could it be that the Emperor was unable to extricate himself after just one night of favoring her?"

"Since Consort Li left, I have never seen the Emperor treat any of the concubines in the harem like this. She only gained favor overnight, yet the Emperor turned against the Empress for her sake. It is clear that this person is very capable." Consort Shu was deep in thought.

"If you ask me, the feng shui of Zhongcui Palace is really good. First, Consort Rou was favored by the Emperor during the selection of concubines and was promoted three ranks in a row. She gave birth to the Fourth Prince and became pregnant again just a few months after giving birth. Consort Yan has only just served the Emperor and is already a principal concubine. If the two of them join forces, the world of the harem will change again."

Consort Jin sighed deeply. After enduring so many years, she thought she had finally reached the rank of Consort and had the power to assist in managing the six palaces. She thought she had finally made it to the end, but unexpectedly, Consort Yan appeared out of nowhere.

"I don't think so. There are only four imperial concubine positions. Now, with you, me, and Consort De, there is only one left. They are both in the rank of concubine. Now that Consort Rou is pregnant, her promotion to imperial concubine is just around the corner. If only one imperial concubine position is left vacant, who do you think the emperor will give it to?" Consort Shu raised her eyebrows slightly.

"That's true, but if the Emperor favors Consort Yan, the mother of two sons of Consort Rou, and has to promote her, I fear that at that time, the Emperor might have designs on me, a consort without a son." Consort Jin's eyes dimmed. "Consort De has her maternal family's support, and Consort Shu, you also have the Third Prince by your side, while I..."

Her father was a disgraced official, and she herself was no longer able to have children. If the Emperor really wanted to make room for Consort Rou and Consort Yan, then she would definitely not be able to avoid it.

"Don't worry so much. This afternoon, the Imperial Hospital reported that Consort Rou had experienced a miscarriage scare for some reason this morning, and it's hard to say whether the baby can be saved," Consort Shu comforted her.

Consort Jin sighed, "I knew the Emperor was cold-hearted, but I never expected even the Empress would be punished because of Consort Yan. We should be more careful in the harem from now on."