Hustle Queen in the Harem: My Consort Won't Stop Grinding

Chapter 31: Chapter 311: Slacking Off Is a Thing of the Past

News of the Noble Consort’s confinement spread throughout the Six Palaces in less than half a day.

The newly arrived concubines and the long-time residents of the harem had starkly different reactions.

The former were indignant. Shu Changzai was enjoying unrivaled, immense favor, completely stealing the limelight—and now even the Lady had lost out to her! The latter, who had been bullied and oppressed by the Noble Consort for years, were secretly laughing behind closed doors to see her taken down by a mere Changzai.

Consort Xian also grew interested in this Shu Changzai, remarking with a smile to her palace maid, "Last time at Jianzhang Palace, I saw the Noble Consort’s outburst against Shu Changzai didn’t end well for her. I never thought that even with the Empress canceling a day of morning greetings, she would still find a way to torment Shu Changzai... It’s about time she learned some discretion."

"Your Highness is right,"

The palace maid beamed as she served Consort Xian a pot of milk. The consort was fond of cats, especially kittens. Watching their adorable, clumsy way of drinking milk, she had, without realizing it, also developed a fondness for drinking a pot of warm milk on winter days.

The milk was sealed and had not been opened since it left the Imperial Household. Adding white sugar to the heated milk made it wonderfully fragrant and sweet. "The Empress loves tea, so Jianzhang Palace is always filled with a rich, mellow tea aroma. This servant still prefers the sweet fragrance of Your Highness’s chambers."

The palace maid’s fawning words drew a faint smile from Consort Xian. "The Empress loves tea? Who told you that? She loves sweet things, too. Tea is bitter and plain. Back in the imperial mansion, if the Empress ever got her hands on good tea, the Noble Consort would have most likely wheedled it out of her."

"Then..."

But the tea aroma that filled Jianzhang Palace all day was something every concubine who went to pay their respects could smell.

"The Empress gets drowsy easily. With all her overwhelming palace duties, she has no choice but to rely on strong tea every day to stay awake."

A smile lingered on Consort Xian’s lips.

’The difference in what newcomers and old-timers know,’ she thought, ’often leads to completely different perspectives on the same matter.’ "Over the years, it’s not as if the Emperor hasn’t favored new faces. The Noble Consort is used to applying a bit of pressure, and the new concubines would meekly submit. They’d listen to her, and their terror would cause the Emperor to lose interest. This time, someone who isn’t afraid of her has arrived. She’s finally met her match."

If Jiang Xian could have heard this, she would have certainly nodded and said—

’Yep, that’s the information gap of the harem for you.’

※

As the Queen of the Six Palaces, the Empress’s intelligence network was no joke.

When Liang Yuyin arrived to relay the news of the Noble Consort’s confinement and punishment, the Empress just smiled faintly. "I am aware."

A palace maid had already told her everything.

’It’s just more overtime, isn’t it? I can handle it.’

Liang Yuyin smiled, bowed, and continued, "The Emperor has decreed that this time, the Lady must reflect deeply on her actions. Not only must she copy the Palace Rules, but she must also write daily self-reflections and submit them to Your Highness for review and comment. This way, decorum is upheld, and it also prevents Zhaoyang Palace from using this opportunity to..." He dared not finish the sentence.

The Emperor’s original words were: prevent the Noble Consort from using this to curry favor.

Liang Yuyin glossed over it. "After Your Highness has reviewed the transcriptions from Zhaoyang Palace, you may simply send them back. There is no need to forward them to Qiankun Palace." She was, after all, a beloved concubine who had been by the Emperor’s side since his days in the imperial mansion. His Majesty feared he might soften and indulge her whims again.

Hearing this, the Empress’s delicate expression froze.

There is a difference between ’review and comment’ and a simple ’review’.

A simple review just requires one to write ’Read.’ But to ’review and comment’ meant she had to write evaluations, conveying guidance to a subordinate from her position as Queen of the Six Palaces... At the sudden increase in pointless work, the Empress couldn’t help but press her temples, her slender frame swaying as if it might collapse.

Fu Jin steadied the Empress, her worry quickly turning to misplaced anger.

"Is Mr. Liang finished with his announcements? The Empress’s headaches have only just begun to subside, and now Zhaoyang Palace is stirring up trouble..."

At this, Liang Yuyin also began to apologize profusely. After the Empress gave a dismissive wave, he said, "Actually... there is one piece of good news."

The Empress forced herself to rally. "What good news?"

"Since the Lady is under confinement, it is no longer appropriate for her to assist in managing palace affairs. The Emperor has decreed that all matters of the Imperial Household will henceforth be decided and handled by the Empress."

Reclaiming a portion of her authority—this was the kind of thing that, in countless palace-intrigue novels, an empress would scheme, toil, and tread over the bloody corpses of others to achieve. For this Empress, however, it wasn’t such a great ambition. The power the Noble Consort had taken was over the Imperial Household. It was a lucrative post, great for establishing one’s authority, but it was also full of tedious, trivial matters—perfect for a wealthy, idle person like the Noble Consort to use to throw her weight around.

Over the years, while the Empress’s favor from the Emperor was only average, she had earned his profound respect. Unlike the Noble Consort, she rarely voiced opinions about the other concubines. But if she ever did speak up, the Emperor would never ignore her. With the Central Palace Scroll in hand, and as the primary wife personally betrothed by the late Emperor, her position was as solid as a mountain. There was truly no need for her to squabble over trivial matters until she was red in the face.

Liang Yuyin discreetly glanced up to observe the Empress’s complexion.

’Uh...’

’Should I summon the Imperial Physician?’

The Empress smiled. "I understand. Jianzhang Palace is busy, so I won’t keep you, Mr. Liang. Fu Jin."

"This servant takes his leave."

When Fu Jin returned after seeing Liang Yuyin out, her face was etched with worry. Seeing that the Empress’s face had gone pale, her concern grew. The Empress closed her eyes, silent for a long moment, before finally speaking. "Summon Xue Rang. And have him bring the account books from the Imperial Household."

Xue Rang was the Chief of the Imperial Household.

He was the Noble Consort’s man. To formally reclaim this authority, she had to meticulously review the ledgers first, lest the bored-out-of-her-mind Noble Consort had planted traps within them to stir up trouble.

Though she was reluctant to take on this power, the Empress would do her duty properly.

When the Empress Dowager was choosing a Crown Princess Consort back then, she started with family background. Chu Siyun’s family was scholarly, Rong Xueshi’s was military, and she alone was known for being unflappable. "Unflappable" was a generous term. Her older brother called her "the kind of turtle-like temperament you see once a century." The Empress Dowager once set a trap to test her: she had a palace maid repeatedly drop and shatter plates beside her, a cat dart under her table, and a heap of extra sugar dumped into her chicken soup. For this, she received an evaluation of "composed."

It wasn’t until the banquet was over that she slowly mentioned to her brother, "During the feast, I think I heard some strange noises next to me, and something furry kept brushing against my leg?"

Her brother replied, "I couldn’t tell. You seemed to be enjoying your food just fine."

"That soup was sweet and fragrant. It was quite delicious, actually."

Only when the marriage edict was issued from the palace—and the Empress Dowager began to tell the story as proof of her own sharp eye for talent—did the Empress and her brother realize what kind of test she had passed. That chicken soup with a lethal dose of sugar wasn’t some unique palace seasoning; it was an attempt to startle her into a breach of etiquette.

What the old woman didn’t know was that she wasn’t composed.

She just hadn’t processed any of it yet.

Born a daughter of an aristocratic family, no matter whom the Empress married, she was destined to be the matriarch managing the household. Her skills in that area were solid; it was just that the harem was a much larger and more difficult place than a Prince Mansion. For the sake of her family’s honor and her own future dignity, she could not act on her true nature. Instead, she became the Queen of the Six Palaces, on duty 365 days a year.

Once you enter the palace gates, you’re lost in a boundless sea; slacking off becomes a distant memory.

"Shu Changzai still had the energy to copy the Women’s Precepts ten times after spending the night with the Emperor. If only I could borrow some of that vigor," the Empress mused aloud in Jianzhang Palace. The idea of promoting the young woman to assist her flickered through her mind, but then she reconsidered. ’Her background and rank are a bit too low...’

She let out a long sigh.

’If you don’t have to manage palace affairs, as long as you have family connections or the Emperor’s favor, life in this harem can be so wonderfully carefree!’

Aunt Geng tried to console her. "Your Highness, the status you now hold is what countless women spend their entire lives striving for!"

"Actually, my lifelong ambition was never that grand..."

To each their own, I suppose.

Meanwhile, over at Yizhu Pavilion, someone with truly lofty ambitions was hard at work practicing her dancing.

Nanny Yusu only needed to help her with the fundamentals; Jiang Xian bought the more complex dance moves from her system. Chen Daying, finding the dance Nanny Yusu taught too difficult, went to Jiang Xian and asked, "I don’t want to learn what Nanny is teaching anymore. I’ll just learn whatever you’re learning."

Jiang Xian replied, "I’m choreographing my own dance. You might not like it."

"Just show me!"

Jiang Xian gave a noncommittal nod.

She then beckoned her over to the main hall she had just moved into. In the small garden, Chen Daying saw three bare, two-meter-tall poles fixed into the ground. "What are these?" she asked, mystified.

Then, she watched as Jiang Xian used the space between two of the poles for momentum. With a push from her toes, her body became as light as a feather yet spring-loaded, and in the blink of an eye, she was standing atop one of the poles.

Since it wasn’t a formal performance, Jiang Xian was wearing a simple palace dress instead of a dancer’s costume. She looked down at the dumbfounded Chen Daying. "You want to learn this? I can teach you."

Still staring up, Chen Daying slowly began to back away...

Jiang Xian called out, "Hey, don’t run away!"

"I think I’ll go back to learning from Nanny Yusu. A concubine’s stipend isn’t enough for me to risk my life over."