Transmigration: Reverse Exploitation, the System Works for Me

On the streets of Beijing, Xi Qiao, disguised and dressed in a cotton dress, strolled slowly through the crowd, experiencing the prosperity of the Qing Dynasty.

Walking on the bustling street, she vaguely smelled the scent of freedom.

Although it was only temporary, this moment was especially precious.

After wandering aimlessly for a while, she used three copper coins to ask a beggar for directions to the carriage shop and then went there to rent a covered mule cart.

Mules are docile; it doesn't matter if they can't drive a cart, they can still be led around.

With the mule cart as cover, she quickly bought five large, lidded jars, each about half a person tall, and twenty other lidded ceramic pots of varying sizes from the ceramic shop. She then picked up the goods in batches and smuggled them into her space.

Then I went to the grain store and bought 500 catties of millet and various dried beans, but because the new rice and beans were not yet ripe, they were all last year's stock.

Millet is more durable and cheaper than white rice, and can be stored for eight or nine years with proper moisture protection. She specially packed it in a ceramic jar, sealed it, and placed it in her space, where it could be preserved for at least twenty years. The same goes for dried beans, and they also have an extremely long shelf life.

After buying the grain, Xi Qiao also went to the pharmacy to get some commonly used medicines for colds, flu, and bleeding, as well as snake repellent, insect repellent, and rat poison. Especially the rat poison, because at this time rat poison was arsenic, which could be deadly!

Passing by the weapons shop, he stepped inside without a second thought. After browsing around, he spent a lot of money to buy a small dagger with a blood groove, a sharp three-foot-long sword, a four-strength bow, and twenty arrows.

In addition, she bought everything she could think of that she might use in the future and that had a long shelf life, including sugar, salt, seasonings, tea, cloth, flint, firewood, pots and pans, candles and lanterns, umbrellas and quilts.

By the time she finished and headed to the Yu family's house, the space was almost completely filled.

Looking at the space filled with all the items, Xi Qiao felt an overwhelming sense of security.

However, I was in a bit of a rush today, and I just stuffed things in haphazardly. I'll tidy things up another day, make a few more shelves, and then I should be able to fit quite a lot more things in.

As soon as she arrived at the Yu family's house, Xiao Lianzi greeted her with a grim expression.

"Aunt, the Yu family... they've gone too far!"

He gritted his teeth, his anger and resentment genuine. "The Yu family actually squandered the old lady's dowry!"

Not to mention a decent item, they couldn't even find a single broken piece.

After his aunt left, Madam Ma hesitated and refused to open the storeroom to inventory the old lady's dowry. He thought that Madam Ma might have misappropriated the old lady's dowry, but he never expected that she would be so audacious as to squander the old lady's dowry!

Xi Qiao's face darkened. Wu's dowry might not be worth much, but it was still a memento Wu left for the original owner and Yu Ying'er. Over more than ten years, some loss was to be expected, but to have nothing left was too much.

"Report to the official!"

Yu Chonglin had just reached the gate when he heard such a cold remark, and his vision went black.

If this scandal were to be publicized, how could Yu Chonglin ever face anyone in officialdom again? What reputation would he have left? How could the Yu family maintain its standing in the capital?

"No, absolutely not!"

Ignoring Xi Qiao's earlier warning, Yu Chonglin hurriedly stepped forward to pull her away, while shouting towards the door, "Someone! Someone! Quickly, stop them! No, wait, invite these two into the mansion!"

One of the bites was extremely forceful, but it didn't mean to ask anyone to come; it was more like saying to be tied up and taken to the mansion.

The servants rushed out at the sound, but stopped in their tracks when they saw Xi Qiao and Xiao Lianzi standing at the door. What a joke, these were nobles from the palace.

Xiao Lianzi laughed in anger, stepped forward, grabbed Yu Chonglin's hand that was reaching for Xi Qiao, and twisted it hard. Yu Chonglin immediately cried out in pain.

"Ouch—it hurts! Let go! Let go!"

Xiao Lianzi completely ignored his pleas for mercy, and simply looked at Xi Qiao, waiting for her to give the order.

Xi Qiao brought Xiao Lianzi with him out of all the eunuchs, naturally because he knew some basic martial arts.

"Let go. They are, after all, relatives of our Empress. They may be heartless, but our Empress cannot be unjust. However, this dowry matter cannot be settled privately. Quickly send someone to report to the authorities and retrieve the old lady's dowry list."

This will just separate this family from Yu Ying'er!

Yu Chonglin's pupils contracted sharply, and as soon as he was freed from his restraints, he immediately shouted, "No, no, we can't report this to the authorities! This matter cannot be spread. How much silver was your mother's dowry worth? I will compensate you double, no, three times."

As he spoke, Yu Chonglin stepped forward, his emotions running high, and tried to pull Xi Qiao away.

Xiao Lianzi impatiently shoved him away: "You bastard, don't you know who's in front of you? If you dare to stick your claws out again, don't blame me for being ruthless and crippling you!"

This short farce had already alarmed the families on both sides of the Yu family's house, and a considerable number of onlookers had gathered in the narrow alley.

Xiao Lianzi took out a coin from his pocket and stuffed it into the hand of one of the men who clearly looked like the master. He then politely cupped his hands and said, “We have come on the orders of Consort Zhuang to retrieve the dowry of the Consort’s mother. However, we did not expect that this family had already disposed of the old lady’s dowry. We would like to ask this brother to help us report this to the authorities.”

These days, a woman's dowry is something that no one can touch except her children.

Taking any action is a crime!

Upon hearing that it concerned the recently popular Consort Zhuang, the man's eyes lit up, and he immediately ran towards the government office.

Yu Chonglin's eyes were bloodshot as he looked at Xi Qiao as if he were looking at his father's killer, just like Zhen Huan's eyes when she learned that the emperor had killed her father.

"You ungrateful wretch! The Yu family raised you, and this is how you repay me and the Yu family? I should have strangled you back then!"

Xi Qiao looked at him calmly, "Lord Yu, please be careful with your words. When you allowed your second wife to embezzle the first wife's dowry and abuse the first wife's daughter, you should have known this day would come. You also served as an official in the court, so you should know the law and understand that this consequence is the Yu family's own fault. You can't blame anyone else, and you certainly can't blame Consort Zhuang, who was the victim."

"Although Consort Zhuang is a daughter of the Yu family, she is also a member of the royal family. How can the majesty of the imperial family be disregarded? The Yu family's behavior of reversing the order of rank and showing contempt for the royal family should, according to the law, be punished with fifty strokes of the cane and exiled three hundred li."

Yu Chonglin's teeth chattered. He could tell that Yu Lu, this rebellious daughter, wasn't just bluffing him; she really had such thoughts!

Xi Qiao looked at Yu Chonglin with a half-smile, "Lord Yu, please take care!"

The families living in this alley are mostly long-established and know a little about the Yu family's affairs.

Everyone could see what kind of life Madam Ma and her two daughters were living, and what kind of life Yu Ying'er, the legitimate daughter of the first wife, was living.

As soon as Xi Qiao spoke, everyone cast gloating glances at Yu Chonglin.

You, who were just about to rise to prominence with your daughter's help, allowed your second wife to embezzle the first wife's dowry. Now look what happened, all the wealth and glory that were within your grasp have vanished!