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

Chapter 340 A Ray of Light
Consort Shu nodded slowly.

Although they were being careful, what good would it do if the Emperor really wanted to punish them?

“Now that Zhongcui Palace has two principal consorts, I’m afraid it won’t be long before someone has to move to another palace. Do you think it will be?” Consort Jin asked curiously.

Consort Shu slowly shook her head. "It's hard to say, it's really hard to say."

Before Consort Yan entered the palace, only Consort Rou lived in Zhongcui Palace. If it weren't for...

"Never mind, let's go to Kunning Palace to see Her Majesty the Empress instead," Consort Shu said, standing up.

Consort Jin hesitated slightly. "Wouldn't it anger the Emperor if we went to Kunning Palace at this time?"

"His Majesty only said that the Empress should reflect on her mistakes behind closed doors, not that she should refuse visitors. Since it's just reflection, it's not confinement or house arrest. The Empress may have some difficulty coming and going, but it doesn't mean that outsiders can't come in to see her. Besides, the Empress Dowager loves the Empress the most. Does the Empress Dowager really think she can just stand by and watch the Empress be imprisoned for disciplining a guilty palace maid?" Consort Shu said resentfully.

It was the Empress who suggested that the Third Prince be given to her to raise. The Empress also promised her that as long as she raised the Third Prince, no matter what Consort Xian did, she would not take the Third Prince away from her.

Her right to assist in managing the six palaces was granted to her by the Empress, and this right was not just lip service; she was truly given a great deal of power in the harem.

This trust had long bound her and the Empress together; if the Empress fell, then she would be finished too.

Consort Yan had only been in the palace for a few days, and on the second day of serving the emperor, she dared to openly provoke the empress. Although the empress punished her maid who had accompanied her in her dowry, the incident was caused by that maid's rude remarks and disrespect towards the empress.

Let alone the Empress, even if this happened to any other person in the harem, there is no reason for a master to stand by and listen to a servant's insults without fighting back.

If Consort Yan ever manages to rise above her, she won't escape the consequences she's destined to suffer, so why bother worrying unnecessarily?

Consort Jin nodded, agreeing with Consort Shu. Moreover, if Consort Yan wanted the rank of Consort, she naturally couldn't compete with Consort Rou. After all, Consort Rou had a prince by her side and was now pregnant. If she wanted to keep her rank, she should stick together with Consort Shu, who had the power to manage the palace.

"However, I heard that this Consort Yan was disliked by the Empress Dowager from the very beginning. She has been in the palace for so long, but she has never paid her respects to the Empress Dowager."

"Not only did she not go to pay her respects to the Empress Dowager, but she didn't even go to the Empress's side. I don't know what got into her today. I heard that she went to Kunning Palace before dawn. When she arrived, the Empress hadn't even gotten up yet." Consort Shu was speechless.

"If it were before, people might have thought Consort Yan was brainless. But now it seems she's not brainless at all; she's incredibly cunning. She deliberately went to Kunning Palace at a time like this so that everyone in the harem would think she was being bullied and waiting for an hour." Consort Jin sneered.

"Everyone in the harem can see through her little schemes, but the emperor just happens to fall for them."

"Men..."

As the two were talking, they had already arrived at the Imperial Garden. As they walked, Consort Shu suddenly stopped.

"What's wrong?" Consort Jin was startled and followed Consort Shu's gaze. "Consort Xian?"

"That person I just saw looked like Consort Xian, and it turns out it really is her." Consort Shu said in surprise, "Wasn't she under house arrest? How come she's out now?"

"I heard that Consort Yan entered the palace through the recommendation of Consort Xian. Now that Consort Yan is favored, whether Consort Xian lifts her confinement or not is entirely up to Consort Yan. Our Emperor will have to accept all the whispers Consort Yan makes in his ear in the future." Consort Jin shook her head speechlessly.

"Her hurried steps suggest she's heading towards Zhongcui Palace, right?" Consort Shu asked, puzzled. "Probably... I suppose so."

"Forget about her, let's go see the Empress first. Anyone would be furious if this happened to them."

"No."

After Jinfei finished speaking, she couldn't help but sigh again.

Consort Xian walked quickly, taking two steps at a time, and entered Zhongcui Palace directly. She didn't even wait for the eunuch guarding the gate to go in and announce her arrival before stepping into Consort Yan's bedroom.

"Consort Yan is really putting on airs. She's been in the palace for so many days, but I haven't seen her visit Jingyang Palace. It seems we've become estranged, and she's forgotten all the affection we had as children," Consort Yan complained with dissatisfaction.

Consort Yan hurriedly got up, walked to Consort Xian, and performed a deep kneeling bow, saying, "Your Highness, may you be well. Please forgive me."

Consort Xian rolled her eyes at her. "Get up."

Consort Yan remained unmoved and continued to kneel on the ground. "Your Highness, before I entered the palace, my father told me that I am where I am today because of Your Highness's help. I must never forget Your Highness's kindness in helping me."

Upon hearing this, Consort Xian's expression finally softened somewhat.

Although this Consort Yan is unruly, General Qiu is her father's former subordinate and is still reasonable.

"How is General Qiu?" Consort Xian asked indifferently.

Although she was still under house arrest, this time the Emperor did not have guards watching over the entrance of Jingyang Palace, nor did he completely restrict her comings and goings.

However, being confined to her quarters meant she couldn't come and go as freely as usual, but she still knew a little about the affairs of the inner palace.

She knew that Consort Yan was promoted to the rank of concubine on her first night with the emperor, and she also knew that the empress had eaten her this morning because she had punished Consort Yan's personal maid.

Now this matter has almost become a laughing stock in the palace. The most common saying is that the Empress's current status is not even as high as that of a palace maid next to Consort Yan, which is somewhat insulting.

She did not agree with Emperor Yuanwu's actions, but she also felt that his actions were like a way for her to vent her anger.

People are not afraid of being inferior to others from the very beginning.

However, if someone was once superior to another, but was later trampled underfoot by that person, it is truly difficult for them to get over it.

Just like when she was in the Prince's mansion, she was the most favored, and later, after Emperor Yuanwu ascended the throne, she was still the most favored in the harem.

So what if Shen Qingwan is the Empress? She is still an unfavored Empress, an Empress with no voice in the harem. Whether it is the Prince's Mansion or the harem, power is in her hands.

Just when she thought this decoration was useless, after a brush with death, she seemed to be possessed by a ghost, and her whole person changed. She stopped arguing and making a fuss, and little by little, the power in her hands was taken away...

Just when she thought she had no chance to turn her life around and was at her wit's end, Consort Yan was like a ray of light in the darkness.