Transmigration: Reverse Exploitation, the System Works for Me

"Go, go, go!"

She covered her eyes with one hand, forcibly separating her gaze from the banknotes, and waved her other hand forcefully at Xiao Lianzi, signaling him to leave quickly and not let these banknotes distract her.

Xiao Lianzi looked at Qingzhu in a daze, her face full of pleading.

Qingzhu covered her mouth and smiled, then grabbed his sleeve and pulled him out of the warm pavilion. "Alright, listen to Her Majesty and send these silver notes to Eunuch Su. Also, give this packet of gold coins to Commander Shumulu. This is Her Majesty's way of expressing her gratitude to Commander Shumulu."

She gave Xiao Lianzi a purse that she had prepared beforehand.

Xiao Lianzi was genuinely surprised when he saw the bulging purse: "Gold nuggets? So many!"

Although a single gold nugget might not weigh an ounce, a package like this would contain at least twenty nuggets, which would amount to around two hundred taels of silver.

This is equivalent to half a year's salary for their mistress.

"Commander Shumulu comes from a distinguished family with many talented people. He is also a high-ranking official in the court who is favored by the emperor. If it were not by imperial decree, even if our empress were to become a Noble Consort, he might not be willing to be on good terms with our Zhongcui Palace."

"Now that the opportunity is right in front of us, wouldn't it be a waste if our Empress didn't seize it and make a good impression? Although our Sixth Prince is still young, six years will pass quickly. If we establish a good relationship in advance, we might even be able to get the young master of the Shumulu family to be our Sixth Prince's study companion in the future."

"Furthermore, they helped our Lady recover the Old Madam's dowry and also plundered 50,000 taels of silver from the Yu family. Don't you know which is more important, these 50,000 taels of silver notes or a package of gold nuggets worth 200 taels?"

"Besides, which of the Imperial Guards is short of money? Especially Commander Shumulu. This money isn't a reward or a reward for hard work; it's a reflection of our Empress's attitude! Given our Empress's status, giving too much might make people suspicious, but giving too little would only breed shame and resentment!"

"When you go to deliver the tea money to Commander Shumulu later, mention that our Empress has handed over all these banknotes to the Emperor."

The difference between two hundred taels and fifty thousand taels is still quite large. Although Commander Shumulu may not care, what if!

Although my aunt said that the Emperor might not take all of the 50,000 taels of silver, and would give some to the Empress, she wasn't lying. The Empress is the Empress, and the Emperor is the Emperor.

What does the Emperor's decision have to do with their empress?

When their wives handed over the silver notes, it was considered a donation of their entire fortune, a contribution to the imperial court, and an expression of their concern for the hardships endured by the soldiers on the frontier.

When the Emperor gives silver notes, it's called a reward, because he likes and dotes on the Empress and the Sixth Prince.

These are two different things!

When the emperor received the thick stack of silver notes, he was filled with emotion. He had always been the one to reward his concubines, but he never expected to see money coming back to him today.

He said to Su Peisheng with amusement, "Consort Zhuang has always been poor. Fifty thousand taels may not be much to others, but it is quite a lot to her. I didn't expect that she would send it all to me without missing a single tael."

Su Peisheng immediately flattered, "It's because Your Majesty has always treated the Empress so well that she always thinks of Your Majesty and cares for you, and can't bear to see Your Majesty worrying about military pay."

"Very well, since it's out of her good intentions, I won't refuse. I'll take thirty thousand taels; have someone secretly send the remaining twenty thousand taels back to Consort Zhuang, telling her I understand her feelings. And the Yu family..."

"It's really outrageous. They left nothing for Consort Zhuang and her sister, which is nothing but worthless things. Scholars and officials should cultivate themselves, manage their families, and govern the world. Yu Chonglin is even lax in managing his own family. How can he help me govern the people of this region?"

However, if she were dismissed from her post, it would inevitably lead to Consort Zhuang and her son being looked down upon.

The emperor pondered for a moment, then said, “Fine, from now on, let Yu Chonglin serve as a minor official in the Six Ministries, holding a fourth-rank position, but don’t send him any official post. Also, send a decree to bestow the surname Yu Jia upon Consort Zhuang and elevate her to the Bordered Yellow Banner.”

Su Peisheng gasped.

Thirty thousand taels of silver for a Bordered Yellow Banner background—this deal couldn't be more worthwhile!

"Yes, Your Majesty, there's some progress on the matter of Consort Zhen's bleeding."

The emperor's eyes darkened. "Speak."

"Yes, Commander Xia just sent someone to tell you that Chef Chen has a close relationship with Jianqiu, who serves the Empress. Although Chef Chen does indeed intend to harm Consort Zhen's unborn child, the dosage of the medicine he adds to Consort Zhen's food is extremely small each time, and it would not cause Consort Zhen to bleed so quickly."

"The fact that many of the empresses and concubines in the palace had blood-activating substances in their bodies was not because they ate the wontons from the imperial kitchen today, but because the people at Suiyuxuan added safflower water to their tea."

Su Peisheng lowered his head, not daring to look at the emperor's face. "Today, the imperial physician Wei Lin, who examined Consort Zhen's pulse, has sided with Consort Zhen. Perhaps in order to arouse your pity for the imperial heir, Consort Zhen had Wei Lin give her safflower soup and also added water boiled with safflower to the tea of ​​all the ladies and concubines."

"Ha—what a fine Zhen Shi!"

The emperor's expression was unreadable, but his tone revealed deep annoyance. Fortunately, he felt a pang of pity and considered giving Zhen another chance.

"I underestimated the ruthlessness of the Zhen family."

Ms. Zhen risked the life of her unborn child just to plead her case and explain things to him in person.

How credible can the words of someone who would disregard the safety of their own child be when they speak just to save their own life?

It is a fact that Yunli harbored wolfish ambitions and disrespected Chun Yuan, and it is not impossible that Zhen Shi could not bear the loneliness of the deep palace and developed other thoughts.

Moreover, with Zhen Yuandao's death and Yun Xinluo's entry into the palace, how could the Zhen family not harbor resentment and hatred?

Her words today...

The emperor narrowed his eyes and said, "Order Xia Yi to closely monitor every move of Suiyuxuan."

"Queen..."

The emperor had just uttered the name when he remembered the farce involving the Ulanara and Uya families that had not yet been completely quelled, and he swallowed the words that were about to come out.

"Mo Yaqi is too young and weak. Tell the people of Jingren Palace not to move around unless necessary, so as not to disturb Mo Yaqi's rest."

Su Peisheng understood that this was simply a slightly better pretext for confining the Empress to her quarters.

"I will go and convey the order right away."

The news of Yu Ying'er being promoted to a higher social class spread quickly, and people reacted in different ways.

Although most people envied her for being elevated to a higher social class, news of her discord with her maternal family also spread.

A concubine without the support of her maternal family is no different from a rootless duckweed.

But Yu Ying'er didn't care about any of that. She was holding the 20,000 taels of silver that had been returned and was smiling like a fool.

Xi Qiao let her be, and even indulged her by having someone find a brocade box to put it on her bedside table.

Neither Zhen Huan nor the Imperial Kitchen made any move, except to send people to gather information.

She stayed quietly in Zhongcui Palace, taking care of Yu Ying'er and her son's daily needs, and learning martial arts from Xiao Lianzi in preparation for the future.

However, she started learning too late; her bones and tendons were already stiff, so she could only start with the simplest and most basic exercises, such as horse stance, splits, and backbends.

She had made a plan for herself: to first toughen up her body in the first year or two, making her muscles and bones more flexible, then to train her strength and endurance, then to try learning basic sword moves, and finally to practice with the secret manual.

From completing this entire process to beginning to cultivate the "Six Harmonies Void Sword Manual," it will take approximately four to five years of painstaking effort.

Since she's past the prime age for martial arts training and isn't exactly a promising talent, plus she's afraid of pain and doesn't dare to take any unconventional approaches, the only solution is to slowly endure it.

However, Xi Qiao didn't care. She had plenty of time anyway, so she could take it one step at a time.