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

Chapter 344: Infamy
Before the Empress Dowager could finish speaking, all the palace servants knelt down in fear, saying, "Your Majesty, please forgive us, we know we were wrong."

Shen Qingwan forced herself to sit up. "Mother, it's all my fault. I sent them all to the Imperial Garden. It's not their fault, it's all my fault."

Although the Empress Dowager was angry, she couldn't continue to blame the servants of Kunning Palace after hearing what Shen Qingwan said. Punishing them was a small matter; in front of so many people, the Empress Dowager still had to give them face.

"Today, the Empress pleaded for you, so I will let you off for now. But if you fail to serve the Empress properly again in the future, I will punish you accordingly."

"This servant thanks the Empress Dowager for her mercy in not punishing me, and thanks the Empress."

The servants went about their business, leaving only Zhen'er to attend to her in the bedchamber.

"I know the Emperor has gone too far this time. I will definitely give him a good talking-to when I have the chance." The Empress Dowager sighed as she spoke. "Although the Emperor is my own son, I am old and he no longer wants to listen to my nagging. I know the Empress doesn't like to listen to my nagging either."

"Mother, your daughter-in-law has none." Shen Qingwan interrupted her.

The Empress Dowager couldn't help but smile as she looked at the serious application code. "I still want to advise the Empress to have a child with the Emperor as soon as possible. Once you have a legitimate son, you will have someone to rely on in the future. When Physician Zhang paid his respects to me a few days ago, I asked him about it. He said that although your health was damaged by the last serious illness, you have been recuperating for more than a year now, so it will not prevent you from having a child. Once you recover, I will have Physician Zhang prescribe some of the best medicine to help you have a healthy pregnancy."

Shen Qingwan: ...

Shen Qingwan looked at the sky in despair. It seemed that she could never escape her mother-in-law's pressure to have a baby!
She knew that no matter what she said at this moment, it would be useless to the Empress Dowager, because the idea that women needed to rely on offspring to secure their position was already deeply ingrained in her. It would be better to go along with her wishes and at least hear less nagging.

Shen Qingwan felt dizzy and just wanted to sleep quietly.

"What Mother says is very true. Your daughter-in-law will listen to Mother."

The Empress Dowager nodded with satisfaction. "Empress, please rest well and recover from your illness soon. I'll be going back now."

"Farewell, Mother."

The Empress Dowager waved her hand, and as soon as she stepped out of the bedroom, Shen Qingwan turned over, covered her head with the quilt, and fell into a deep sleep.

"Your Majesty, have you heard? The Empress is ill." Upon learning of this, Xia Fuchuan hurriedly went to Consort Xian's side.

"Ill?" Consort Xian sneered. "The Emperor stripped the Empress of her power to manage the palace because of Consort Yan. How could she not be anxious and upset?"

"Although Consort Yan is unruly, I never expected her to receive such favor from the Emperor. It's clear that Your Highness, you made the right move." Xia Fuchuan said with a fawning expression.

"Heh." Consort Xian fiddled with the lid of the teacup in her hand, the porcelain making a jarring sound as it clattered. "What right or wrong? If she's not on my side, what right or wrong is there to speak of?"

"Your Majesty." Xia Mei cut some fresh fruit and placed it in front of Consort Xian. "Your Majesty must not think like that. Perhaps Consort Yan has only recently entered the palace and does not yet know the rules of the palace, which is why she did not come to pay her respects to Your Majesty immediately. But if Consort Yan is favored, then her father will definitely benefit as well. General Qiu has followed General Pang for so many years. If he is given an important position by the Emperor in the court, he will definitely help General Pang clear his name."

"Rehabilitate?" Upon hearing these two words, Consort Xian paused heavily.

“Yes, Your Highness, if General Qiu is willing to take the lead in this matter, Consort Yan will definitely speak on his behalf to the Emperor. With Consort Yan’s current favor, why would the Emperor not agree?” Xia Mei said.

“But the evidence against Father was already…” Consort Xian’s eyes reddened as she spoke, “Father was so foolish.”

"Your Majesty, if I may speak disrespectfully, I think the most confused one is Your Majesty."

Consort Xian listened and couldn't help but look up at Xia Mei, her eyes filled with unprecedented determination and seriousness. "What do you mean by that?"

“Even if all the evidence is true, and General Pang is at fault, he helped the emperor seize the throne. Even if his merits are not greater than his mistakes, they can at least offset each other, and he shouldn’t have been convicted of such a crime,” Xia Mei sighed.

Consort Xian's eyes welled up with tears. "But I always felt that Father wouldn't do something so foolish."

"General Pang is so highly regarded by the Emperor, receiving a salary every year, and his rewards are like flowing water. I always felt that General Pang wouldn't be so foolish as to do something that would ruin his future." Xia Mei paused and continued, "I heard that the person who led the impeachment of General Pang in the previous dynasty was Consort Rou's father. Now that the Emperor has arranged for Consort Yan to live in Zhongcui Palace, which was originally given to Consort Rou alone, is there some ulterior motive behind it?"

"Wasn't it the Empress who arranged for Consort Yan to live in Zhongcui Palace, which was originally given to Consort Rou alone?"

After Xia Fuchuan finished speaking, he repeatedly winked at Xia Mei. Seeing that Consort Xian was about to be persuaded by Xia Mei, he couldn't help but speak up.

"Your Majesty, General Pang is no longer here. Let bygones be bygones. Now that His Majesty has rekindled old feelings for us during the New Year, he has restored Your Majesty's title of Noble Consort. Given time, Your Majesty can find a suitable opportunity to bring the Third Prince back to the palace to raise him yourself. With Consort Yan by your side in the palace, why not?"

Xia Mei seemed completely unconcerned about what Xia Fuchuan had said. "Your Highness, can you really bear to watch General Pang bear such a bad reputation forever?"

"Of course not."

Consort Xian, who had been somewhat hesitant, completely lost her composure upon hearing these words.

“Your Majesty, when you suggested to General Qiu that Consort Yan be allowed to enter the palace, he agreed without hesitation and even personally went to plead with the Emperor to send Consort Yan to serve you. This shows that General Qiu is of one mind with you. The reason he hasn’t acted yet is perhaps because he is waiting for you to take action…”

Xia Mei tentatively suggested, "Why doesn't Your Highness send another letter to General Qiu and see what he thinks? Perhaps Consort Yan is just confused about things, which is why she's acting this way."

Consort Xian found Xia Mei's words increasingly reasonable and immediately asked her to bring over a pen and ink.

"Your Majesty, please reconsider." Xia Fuchuan glared at Xia Mei fiercely, and said with lingering fear, "If this letter falls into the hands of someone with ulterior motives, it would be a capital offense for the inner palace to collude with the court!"

"Why did this letter fall into the hands of someone with ulterior motives? Your Highness wouldn't do it, this servant wouldn't do it, could it be that you, Eunuch Xia, would?" Xia Mei said sullenly.

"you……"