Transmigration: Reverse Exploitation, the System Works for Me

Consort Jin quickly gestured for Yu Ying'er to be quiet, "Sister, be careful what you say! Her Majesty the Empress is the head of the harem and the legal mother of all the princes and princesses. How can you say she's stealing from us?"

"This is just my guess, and it may not be true. But that person has been in charge of the palace for a long time, so it's impossible that she doesn't know the situation of the Imperial Kitchen. The fact that she handed over the Imperial Kitchen to Consort Shen at this time seems to be a calculated move."

"My sister also knows that she has always been at odds with Consort Hua. Now that Consort Hua is about to give birth, once the Empress is out of confinement, the power in the palace will most likely return to Consort Hua's hands. Shouldn't she take advantage of this last bit of time to do something that benefits herself?"

What would be beneficial? Well, naturally, it would be to raise a son to be under one's wing!

Yu Ying'er murmured absentmindedly, "Yes, she was the Empress! She had no children and could not have any more."

Seeing this, Consort Jin said nothing more. Just then, they reached a fork in the road, and the two of them went in different directions.

As soon as she stepped onto the fork in the road, Yu Ying'er's fear and unease vanished. She leaned back in her chair, her cheeks puffed out in displeasure.

Qingzhu, walking beside her palanquin, chuckled, "Since Your Highness has already seen through the trap in Consort Jin's words, why bother arguing with Consort Jin and getting upset for nothing?"

Yu Ying'er snorted coldly, "I used to consider her a friend, and I often brought Wen Yi some little toys that my aunt made, and she actually schemed against me like this! Ugh, I'm so angry!"

Qingzhu suppressed a laugh and mercilessly exposed her: "Your Majesty, didn't you say before that Consort Jin is cunning and not like you, and not suitable to be friends?"

Yu Ying'er felt a pang of embarrassment, then glared angrily at Qingzhu, "You, Qingzhu, how dare you make fun of me! I'll punish you properly when we get back! Humph, you're not allowed to eat any snacks for three days, no, seven!"

Qingzhu immediately begged for forgiveness, "Your Majesty, please forgive me. I know I was wrong. I didn't mean it. I will never mention this again."

Yu Ying'er proudly raised her head, gave a heavy snort, and ignored her.

Back at Anlan Garden, Yu Ying'er immediately complained bitterly to her elder sister about Consort Jin, "Sister, you have to avenge me!"

Xi Qiao felt somewhat helpless, but there was nothing else he could do.

She was kind to Yu Ying'er for two reasons: first, because she had used the original owner's body, she naturally had to take on the original owner's karma; second, because Yu Ying'er was useful to her, allowing her to avoid having to kneel before everyone.

But that's all.

The things Consort Jin said to Yu Ying'er weren't entirely threats.

It's true that the Empress was keeping a close eye on Zhen Huan's pregnancy, but it's not impossible that she had a backup plan.

Especially after the incident involving the Yun family, the Empress felt a strong aversion towards Zhen Huan and the child in her womb.

Most importantly, no one could guarantee that the child in Zhen Huan's womb would definitely be a prince.

The Empress is a woman who cannot possibly remain unprepared.

In addition, Consort Jin should also be interested in palace power.

Consort Hua is only eight months pregnant. To regain her power in the palace, she must be out of confinement. As for Shen Meizhuang, she may not be able to last three months.

In particular, Xi Qiao is planning to cause trouble at the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet.

Although Shen Meizhuang is only in charge of the imperial kitchen, she is currently the only one assisting the Empress in managing palace affairs. When something goes wrong, the Emperor will definitely take his anger out on Shen Meizhuang.

Therefore, Shen Meizhuang would not be able to hold onto power in the Imperial Kitchen for long.

As Consort Jin said, the head of the Imperial Kitchen was, after all, a member of the Wuya family, so the Emperor had to give him some face.

But feelings aside, dissatisfaction aside, the emperor might not be happy for the Uya family to make a fortune in the imperial kitchen.

Therefore, it is quite possible that the emperor will re-appoint someone to manage the imperial kitchen to check and balance the power of Chief Steward Wuya.

Yu Ying'er is clearly a good fit.

She was, after all, someone who came from the Empress Dowager's side, and she was raising the Sixth Prince. So Chief Steward Wuya would not dare to treat Yu Ying'er the same way he treated Consort Shen, and the power struggle and conflict between the two sides would not be too great.

Therefore, there is a good chance that this task will fall into Yu Ying'er's hands.

But clearly, Consort Jin was very envious of this position; she wanted it too.

Xi Qiao looked at Yu Ying'er and soothed her gently, as if coaxing a child.

"Alright, don't be angry anymore. We don't need to do anything. Consort Jin will come to apologize to you in person later. Then you can vent your anger however you want."

Consort Jin's actions were twofold: first, to secure the palace power that might fall into the wrong hands, and second, to force Yu Ying'er to side with Consort Hua.

The former is incidental, while the latter is the main one.

But what she didn't know was that Xi Qiao had already joined forces with Consort Hua in place of Yu Ying'er.

Yu Ying'er looked at her in surprise, "Huh? Wh-what do you mean?"

Xi Qiao told her, half-concealingly, "Consort Hua is pregnant with a princess. The princess will eventually get married, and besides the Nian family, she will need a close prince to rely on. Our Sixth Prince just happens to have caught the eye of Consort Hua and the Nian family."

"Besides, our sixth son is close in age to Consort Hua's princess, so they can play together. The Nian family is very prestigious, and Consort Hua is favored and powerful. If we befriend Consort Hua, we can gain a lot of advantages."

Yu Ying'er was stunned. "Huh? Is that so?"

Xi Qiao looked at her silly expression with affection, "I didn't tell you before because I was afraid you might accidentally reveal your secret in front of others. Although the concubines in this palace can't go far on their own, forming cliques, especially those concubines with children and power, is something that should never happen."

"With Consort Hua and the Nian family behind her, plus our Xiao Liu, it's hard for the Emperor and others not to misunderstand. If this arouses the Emperor's suspicion and vigilance, let alone Xiao Liu's future, even his current wealth and honor will be in jeopardy."

Yu Ying'er felt a wave of fear. Fortunately, her sister hadn't told her before, otherwise she would definitely have shown her weakness in front of Consort Jin today.

"I...I understand, sister. I will definitely be careful in the future and will not reveal my private relationship with Consort Hua in public!"

Even if it's just for the sake of this luxurious life we ​​have now!

I heard that Consort Fei is living a miserable life. Not only are the palace servants disobedient, but her food, clothing and daily necessities are also the worst in the entire harem.

The food was either cold or had gone bad, making it inedible.

Forget about snacks or soups.

Even if you take money to bribe them, you won't get any good food. At most, it'll be stir-fried or stewed dishes with some minced meat. They're not exactly delicious, but they're better than cold or spoiled food. At least they can eat and fill your stomach.

Just thinking about those days is terrifying.

Consort Fei was at least the legitimate daughter of a high-ranking official of the third rank, yet she was reduced to such a state after being abandoned by the emperor.

Yu Ying'er sometimes even thought that if she were rejected, wouldn't she be even worse off than Fei Changzai?

Then we'd be eating spoiled food every day!

No, there's no spoiled food. That's a privilege only Consort Fei gets. All she should get here are moldy coarse grain cakes.

The thought of possibly being reduced to eating moldy coarse grain cakes made Yu Ying'er's heart tremble, and she almost burst into tears.

She quickly assured her older sister, "Sister, I promise I will keep this secret!"

That's terrifying! She doesn't want to live a life worse than death!