Transmigration: Reverse Exploitation, the System Works for Me

The Empress, her face grim, grabbed Jianqiu's hand. "Has anyone among our people seen Zhen Yunshi's appearance?"

Jianqiu paused for two seconds: "Your Majesty, when Zhen Yunshi entered the palace that day, Xiazi took her directly to Bitong Academy and did not come to Peach Blossom Village to pay his respects."

At the time, she and Huichun were indignant about this. How could a concubine's birth mother not pay her respects to the Empress upon entering the palace?

Jianqiu looked at the Empress thoughtfully, "Your Majesty, do you mean that Zhen Yunshi also resembles Empress Chun Yuan?"

The Empress's eyes were cold. "Besides this, I can't think of any reason why Your Majesty would be so insistent on favoring that Zhen Yunshi!"

"Help me change my clothes, and summon Consort Qi."

Upon seeing the Empress, Consort Qi knelt down in terror before her, clutching the Empress's skirt in a panic: "Your Majesty, something terrible has happened! The Emperor... the Emperor has favored Consort Zhen's mother, Lady Zhen Yun!"

Consort Qi was trembling slightly, showing how frightened she was.

This is a royal scandal; even if those in the know are innocent, they may not have a good ending.

However, if she knew about it but did not report it, she would not escape punishment once the Empress and the Empress Dowager found out, and the Third Prince might also be implicated.

"Empress, help me!"

Consort Qi's face turned deathly pale. She couldn't die. Her Third Prince was not yet married, nor had he become the Crown Prince. She still wanted to see him ascend the throne!

"It was Consort Fei! It was Consort Fei who discovered the clues and informed me. I had no intention of spying on the royal family's secrets, Your Majesty the Empress!"

Consort Qi begged for mercy desperately.

The Empress pressed her aching temple with one hand, her elbow resting on the table.

"Shut up!"

She rebuked in a deep voice, looking impatiently at the weeping Consort Qi: "Keep this matter to yourself. Go back to your Moon Cloud Residence and stay there. From this moment on, I will pretend you know nothing about this."

Consort Qi was stunned. "Your Majesty the Empress?"

The Empress looked down at Consort Qi with a blank expression. "Fool! In the dead of night, you rushed here to me in such a hurry. Are you afraid that others won't know that you've discovered a secret?"

"If someone with ulterior motives finds out about this, do you know what the consequences will be?"

"The Emperor has only recently ascended the throne, and the previous dynasty was in turmoil. Wars have broken out on the border, causing immense suffering and financial strain on the people. If news damaging the Emperor's reputation were to spread at this time, the consequences would be unimaginable."

"Leaving aside the fate of the previous dynasty and the fate of you and the Li family, the fact that you are here with me now means that I and the Third Prince are destined to be implicated by you and despised by the Emperor."

Consort Qi collapsed to the ground, her limbs weak, and sobbed uncontrollably, "Your Majesty, I... I didn't mean it. I was just too scared. I didn't know the consequences would be so severe."

The Empress looked away in disgust. "Don't associate with anyone during this time, lest you accidentally let something slip. Also, I will announce to the public that you came here late at night at my invitation to admire the moon."

Things have been unsettled in the Yuanmingyuan lately; there are spies everywhere. Consort Qi's foolish actions have surely been noticed. Just in case, the Empress naturally needs to find a plausible excuse.

Consort Qi immediately kowtowed in gratitude, "Thank you, Your Majesty the Empress, thank you, Your Majesty the Empress. I will feign illness as soon as I return to the palace, and I will stay indoors until then."

After she left, Jianqiu asked the Empress in a low voice, "Your Majesty, I noticed that you are quite dissatisfied with the Emperor's favoritism towards Zhen Yunshi. Should we secretly do something about it?"

The Empress turned to look at the bright moonlight outside the window. "What I am dissatisfied with is not the Emperor's favoritism towards Zhen Yunshi, but that the Emperor has never forgotten his sister's deep affection for him."

Jianqiu felt a pang of sadness, "Your Majesty..."

The following day, Prince Guo and his wife Meng Jingxian went to the Yuanmingyuan Garden to express their gratitude.

When the couple went to pay their respects to the emperor, the emperor kept Prince Guo to talk and instructed Su Peisheng to send someone to take Meng Jingxian to Peach Blossom Village.

Inside the main hall, the emperor sat behind his desk, looking at Prince Guo, who was dressed in the imperial robes of the county, with deep eyes and an unreadable expression.

After a moment, the emperor picked up his teacup, took a sip, and said in his usual tone, "Don't stand there, sit down and let's talk."

Guo Junwang bowed to the emperor and said, "Your subject thanks Your Majesty for the seat."

He appeared relaxed, but his heart was pounding with anxiety.

His elder brother rarely received him in the main hall where he handled state affairs, and not long ago the emperor had ordered him to take up a post in a harsh and cold place like Ningguta.

Although he was a high-ranking official of the second rank and seemed glamorous, did others not know what he was really like?

The emperor is clearly banishing him from the capital!

Although Prince Guo was indignant, he was helpless about it.

Moreover, he couldn't understand why the emperor was suddenly so wary of him.

In order to drive him away from the center of power, they were even willing to give him a second-rank official position.

As soon as Prince Guo sat down, the emperor spoke of Prince Guo's departure for his post in a calm manner, saying, "You have just gotten married, and I shouldn't have let you go to your post in such a hurry."

"But winter comes early in Ningguta, and all the preparations for winter need to be made early. As one of the people in charge, you have to make many decisions. Therefore, we have to ask you to hurry up and take up your post."

Prince Guo was surprised. Judging from the emperor's tone and explanation, it seemed that he still had high hopes for the emperor.

Although Ningguta was indeed extremely cold and harsh, the Deputy Military Governor of Ningguta did indeed wield real power.

Could it be that he misunderstood the emperor?

Prince Guo's mind raced, but on the surface he appeared grateful and said, "What are you saying, Your Majesty? Your Majesty has entrusted me with such an important task; how could I not appreciate it?"

The emperor nodded in satisfaction. “Very good, you have not disappointed me. But you have just gotten married, and your wife is going to take care of Consort Shu on your behalf, so it is not appropriate for her to accompany you to your post.”

With that, the emperor sighed.

"How about this, I will bestow upon you a princess to accompany you to your post. Ningguta is indeed a harsh place, and having someone to take care of you will put my mind at ease, as will the Empress Dowager, Consort Shu, and I."

Without a second thought, Prince Guo replied, “Your Majesty, I thank you for your kindness. However, as Your Majesty has said, Ningguta is a harsh place. Why should a fine young woman suffer with me?”

The emperor sent him here? He didn't want the emperor's eyes watching him.

Seeing his refusal, the emperor was not annoyed. Instead, he smiled and said, "You have such a tender and gentle nature! Don't worry, the princess I chose for you is both beautiful and hardworking. She will be more than capable of taking care of you when you go to your post."

Prince Guo's eyes darkened. He stood up and was about to speak again to refuse when he heard the emperor mention the Zhen family.

"You must know about the Zhen family's incident not long ago."

This one sentence immediately made Prince Guo swallow the words he was about to say, and he stood respectfully in place to listen to him continue.

The emperor's eyes flashed with a cold light when he saw his behavior.

"Consort Zhen was so worried about the Zhen family that she went into premature labor. To put her mind at ease and to ensure the safety of the imperial heir, I have decided to bestow Consort Zhen's dowry maid upon you as a princess. In this way, you can also take care of the Zhen family for me. What do you think?"

Prince Guo understood. The imperial decree to confiscate the Zhen family's property had only been issued recently, so the emperor naturally couldn't change his mind so easily. However, because of his beloved concubine and the imperial heir, the emperor couldn't ignore the Zhen family.

"It is my honor to be able to share the burdens of my imperial brother."

Prince Guo agreed willingly, not for the emperor, but for the girl who loved plum blossoms so much.

The emperor stared at the gentle smile on Prince Guo's face and smiled too.