Transmigration: Reverse Exploitation, the System Works for Me

These words were like sharp knives, stabbing deeply into Yun Xinluo's body, each cut piercing her flesh and drawing blood, causing her great pain and making it difficult for her to breathe; she wished she could just die.

At that moment, the mother and daughter seemed to have become mortal enemies.

Zhen Huan wept silently, mourning her beloved father, ignoring Yun Xinluo's deathly pale and almost transparent face.

She knew in her heart that her father's death should not be blamed on her mother, and that the emperor's decision was not something that her mother, a powerless woman in the inner quarters, could change.

But she couldn't control herself.

The thought that her birth mother, her most beloved mother, was sharing a husband with her, and that this man was also her father's killer, made Zhen Huan unable to help but feel angry.

She resented her birth mother for disregarding her father and chastity by having an affair with the emperor, for disregarding ethics by sharing the same man with her, and for indirectly causing her father's death. But Zhen Huan hated herself even more.

If she hadn't allowed her mother and younger sister to visit her at the Old Summer Palace, none of this would have happened.

The mother and daughter looked at each other and wept.

After a long while, Yun Xinluo seemed to finally recover. She mustered her last bit of strength to stand up, leaned on the lamp stand in the warm pavilion, and looked down at her eldest daughter, whom she seemed to have never known before.

There are some hurtful facts I didn't want to tell you.

Yun Xinluo's tone was weak and unsteady.

"You think your father loves you and protects you from the wind and rain, but do you really think he truly loves you?"

Yun Xinluo gave a sad laugh, raising her head to refuse to let the tears in her eyes fall again.

"Before I knew that I looked like Empress Chun Yuan, I also thought that although my husband was not devoted to me, he was still very affectionate, which was the envy of many women in the world."

"But the truth is just that cruel, so maddening."

Yun Xinluo looked up, but tears still streamed down her face and onto her clothes.

"Zhen Yuandao has two women. One of them is me, who looks very much like Empress Chun Yuan, and gave birth to you and Yu Rao, two daughters who look almost exactly like me. The other is Bi Zhu'er, who is both a relative and a close friend of the late Emperor's most beloved Consort Shu."

"Among all the ministers in the court, why is it that no one else's backyard is so coincidental? Their wives and concubines have close relationships with the two princes who were most likely to seize the throne back then."

Ever since she learned that the woman Zhen Yuandao was keeping was related to Consort Shu, she had some doubts in her heart.

Zhen Yuandao entered officialdom at a young age and should have understood the principle that "a deliberate offense is punished more severely." Was he not afraid of being exposed?

No matter how terrified she was, she couldn't stop Zhen Yuandao from having an affair with Bizhu'er, and they even had a daughter named Huanbi.

The doubts in her heart became even stronger and greater with the passing of Bizhu and the entry of Huanbi into the mansion as a maid.

Zhen Yuandao disregarded the laws of the court to have a good relationship with Bizhu, which shows how deeply he loved her. If that's the case, Zhen Yuandao should have cherished Huanbi even more. So why did he raise Huanbi as a servant to be by his eldest daughter's side?

Until last night, when she learned that she looked remarkably like Empress Chun Yuan, the doubts that had lingered in her mind for over a decade suddenly dissipated.

Zhen Yuandao wasn't choosing a wife and concubines; he was gambling on his career and paving the way for his own advancement!

Regardless of who seizes the throne, Zhen Yuandao can rise rapidly through one of these paths.

Yun Xinluo's tears flowed even more freely; all those years of affection had been wasted!

“Huan’er, do you know what the first thing your father told me after I married him was? He told me to stay in the backyard and manage the affairs of the mansion. Because of that, I have never gone out to attend banquets or social events all these years.”

"The poems, songs, and dances you learned were all things that Empress Chun Yuan liked, the plum blossoms you loved were also things that Empress Chun Yuan liked, and even the 'Dance of the Startled Swan' that you practiced since childhood was something that Empress Chun Yuan liked."

“You have always been intelligent, and your father often praises you as surpassing many men in the world. Why don’t you use your intelligence to think carefully about why there are so many coincidences in the Zhen family, in your father’s circle, and between you and Empress Chun Yuan?”

"And then there's Huanbi. Why do you think your father insisted on keeping her by your side as a servant? Have you ever thought about what would have happened between you and Huanbi if the late emperor had passed the throne to Prince Guo, the son of Consort Shu, before his death?"

Yun Xinluo looked deeply at Zhen Huan. She had no doubt that if the throne had fallen into the hands of Prince Guo, Zhen Huan would have died of illness long ago, and Huanbi, the illegitimate daughter, would have replaced her daughter as the nominal eldest daughter of the Zhen family!

Zhen Huan was suddenly startled. Her mother and Empress Chun Yuan, Huan Bi's birth mother and Consort Shu, she and Huan Bi.

This……

Yun Xinlu gave a self-deprecating smile filled with desolation, "Huan'er, I've said all I need to say. Think whatever you want, whether you hate or love, it doesn't matter anymore. I only hope that as long as I'm in the palace, your sister Yu Rao can have a peaceful day outside the palace."

Zhen Huan stared blankly at Yun Xinluo's departing figure, a dull ache in her heart. Tears streamed down her face uncontrollably.

From this day forward, she not only lost her father, but also her mother.

After the concubines left Jingren Palace, the Empress sat alone in the main seat, looking blankly at the world outside.

Jianqiu stayed by her side with heartache, deliberately trying to find topics to distract the Empress.

"Your Highness, Princess Moyaqi will be arriving soon. I have sent someone to the Imperial Household Department to retrieve her allowance. You should go and see her in person."

The Empress did not say whether she should go or not, but suddenly said sadly, "I heard that Moyaqi was born with a weak constitution and was not destined for longevity. Jianqiu, listen to this, how similar she is to my Honghui."

Jianqiu knelt beside the Empress's seat, grasping her wrists with both hands. "Your Majesty, you must pull yourself together. If Prince Honghui were still alive, he would not bear to see you like this."

The Empress smiled bitterly, "Cheer up? The Empress Dowager is now confined to Shou Kang Palace by the Emperor under the pretext of recuperating, the power of the palace has fallen into the hands of the Nian family, and the Ulanara family has fallen into ruin. What else can I do?"

"Your Majesty, I believe that His Majesty's actions today are merely to give an explanation to the previous dynasty. I have just inquired and His Majesty has ordered the Ministry of Justice, the Court of Judicial Review, and the Procuratorate to conduct a thorough investigation of the Wuya family."

“If His Majesty is truly angry with you, why would he send Princess Moyaqi to our Jingren Palace to be raised? The Uya family and the Ulanara family are related by blood. If the Uya family is thoroughly investigated, the Ulanara family will have to avoid suspicion.”

"Now that the Empress Dowager is recuperating in the palace, shouldn't our Jingren Palace also take a break? Once this matter is over, the Emperor will surely return the power of the palace to you."

The word "return" made the Empress feel somewhat better and also helped her to cheer up a little.

"As for the Empress Dowager..."