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

Chapter 360 Backhand
Two guards with swords each raised one arm, crossed their hands to form a cross, and blocked her way.

"Your Majesty, I have something I wish to show the Emperor and Your Majesty. It is in my palace. Please allow me to retrieve it."

Shen Qingwan nodded lightly, and the two guards then released their grip, making way for her.

Consort Yan hurried to the dressing table in the bedchamber and handed her an exquisite wooden box.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty the Empress, here is a handwritten letter from Consort Xian, who colluded with officials of the previous dynasty and wanted to use the remnants of the Pang clan to rebel. Please take a look."

When Shen Qingwan saw the envelope, she already had some guesses in her mind.

After she took the thick stack of letters from Consort Yan, she opened one of them.

She was almost certain that the letters in Consort Yan's hands, and the letters sent to Kunning Palace, were from the same person.

What Shen Qingwan was most curious about at this moment was what this person's true purpose was.
Even at this moment, a terrible thought flashed through her mind.

These letters were deliberately sent to various palaces by Consort Xian, who planned to use forged handwriting to accuse them when they presented the letters.

What a vicious heart...

"Your Majesty, the palace rules are strict, and the empress is not allowed to interfere in politics. The Imperial Concubine is frequently exchanging letters with officials of the previous dynasty. What are her intentions?" Consort Yan's face turned pale as she looked at Imperial Concubine Xian with resentment.

The color drained from Consort Xian's face, and she glanced at Emperor Yuanwu in a flustered manner, then at Consort Yan.

She did write many letters to officials of the previous dynasty, but she had Xia Fuchuan deliver them all by hand. How did they end up in the palace and in the hands of Consort Yan?
Could it be that Consort Yan had already colluded with Xia Fuchuan, or perhaps... those officials from the previous dynasty betrayed her?
The letters she had written were presented to General Qiu. They were from Consort Yan's father, and he wanted to use them to protect Consort Yan in case she fell into trouble in the palace.

Shen Qingwan turned to the side and presented the letters that Consort Yan had handed over to Emperor Yuanwu. “Your Majesty, Consort Yan is right about something: the harem should not interfere in politics. These letters should be reviewed by Your Majesty personally before a decision is made.”

Emperor Yuanwu slowly opened his eyes, glanced down at the things Shen Qingwan handed him, changed his sitting posture, casually picked out a card, looked at it, and handed it back to Shen Qingwan.

"What does the Empress think?"

Shen Qingwan: ...

Emperor Yuanwu was clearly determined to wash his hands of the matter and hand it over to her.

Looking at his composed demeanor, Shen Qingwan couldn't help but feel that he knew the truth.

At this moment, she was even a little grateful to the person who had delivered the letter to her earlier. If it weren't for that person, she would have had a hard time discerning the authenticity of the handwriting in such a short time.

"Your Majesty," Shen Qingwan paused, glancing at the kneeling Consort Xian, "may I ask Consort Xian a few questions?"

Emperor Yuanwu remained silent, giving a slight nod in acquiescence. Shen Qingwan straightened her posture. "Today, Consort Yan accused you of colluding with officials of the previous dynasty. Do you have anything to say?"

Upon hearing this, Consort Xian's already pale face turned even paler. "Your Majesty, I..."

Seeing her guilty look, the people in the hall had more or less made up their minds. This could be considered catching her red-handed, with conclusive evidence. Just as everyone was waiting to see a good show, Shen Qingwan suddenly handed the stack of letters in her hand to Consort Xian, "Did you write these yourself?"

Consort Xian could no longer hide her panic. Her fingertips trembled as she took the stack of letters, and with a jerk, they scattered on the ground.

She no longer cared how these letters ended up in Consort Yan's hands; she only hoped that Emperor Yuanwu would consider their past relationship and show leniency.

The Cold Palace was a place where you either died or went mad if you went in...

"Your Majesty, I know..."

Consort Xian was trembling with sobs. Just when she thought she was doomed, her tear-blurred vision caught sight of letters scattered on the ground. The words on one of the letters made her pause in surprise.

Thinking she was seeing things, she quickly wiped away her tears, picked up the letter from the ground, and examined it closely, her face filled with undisguised shock.

Emperor Yuanwu leaned forward slightly, "What do you know..."

"Your Majesty, these letters were not written by me. Consort Xian has wronged me. These letters are not in my handwriting. Your Majesty, please investigate thoroughly..."

Consort Xian knelt and took two steps forward. Her pupils contracted slightly, perhaps due to nervousness. The letter in her hand was already crumpled in her fist. "Your Majesty, please look. This really wasn't written by someone else. Although I usually write in the small regular script, when I practiced calligraphy as a child, I always wrote the strokes as long dots and didn't extend the final stroke. But the characters in this letter are written neatly and precisely. I would never write like this normally. If Your Majesty doesn't believe me, I can have someone go to the palace to compare it with the Buddhist scriptures I usually copy."

Emperor Yuanwu examined the situation for a moment, then turned to look at Shen Qingwan. She received his gaze and said, "Go and bring over the account books that Consort Xian wrote when she was assisting in managing the six palaces, and compare them."

Upon hearing this, Consort Xian let out a long sigh of relief, and her expression softened somewhat.

"Your Majesty, you absolutely cannot believe what Consort Xian said."

When Consort Yan took out those letters, she had already prepared to break off relations with Consort Xian.

She never intended to be on the same boat as her after entering the palace. From the moment her father brought her the handwritten letter and asked her to enter the palace, she knew clearly that her whole life would be ruined by this selfish woman who was determined to consolidate her position in the palace.

Consort Yan hated her to the core. The thought that Consort Yan might not use her favor to help Consort Xian gain power and profit after entering the palace, despite being under house arrest, made her personally come to Zhongcui Palace to poison her and cause her to contract a sexually transmitted disease. This disease would prevent Consort Yan from being favored by Emperor Yuanwu, regardless of whether she recovered or not. Consort Yan wished that Consort Yan would die right now.

Emperor Yuanwu's voice was solemn and cold, devoid of any emotion: "Speak."

"Your Majesty, Consort Xian has served you for many years. She entered the palace from the Prince's residence, so how could she not know that it is a serious crime for palace concubines to form private cliques? If she deliberately conceals her usual handwriting habits when writing letters, she can easily deceive people and make them think the letters are forged. Your Majesty must not easily believe what Consort Xian says. Even if the handwriting on the letters differs from that in the account books, this only shows how cunning Consort Xian is and that she has already prepared a backup plan for this matter..."