Transmigration: Reverse Exploitation, the System Works for Me

The emperor was unaware of the empress dowager's thoughts, only noticing that her expression was becoming increasingly anxious.

Thinking of the medical advice left by the imperial physician: one must calm down and recuperate properly.

He quickly reassured her, "Empress Mother, don't worry, your son is right here. Tell me slowly, I'm listening."

The Empress Dowager showed no sign of being appeased; instead, she changed her tone and urged him: "Ten..."

...ten...ten..."

The Emperor leaned closer to the Empress Dowager. "What is it? Tell me slowly, Mother."

The Empress Dowager could neither speak nor utter a word; she could only shed two lines of tears of extreme anguish.

"Empress Huang..."

The Emperor sighed and softened his voice to continue comforting the Empress Dowager: "Empress Dowager, don't worry. The imperial physicians said that with proper care you can recover. Rest assured, I have ordered the imperial physicians to do their utmost to ensure that you recover completely."

The Empress Dowager grew even more anxious, her still-functioning right hand clutching the Emperor's sleeve, her eyes pleading: "Save...save..."

He stammered as he spoke, while trying to gesture with his fingers.

Sun Zhuxi's eyelids twitched, and he quickly stepped forward with the prepared medicine to interrupt: "Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager's medicine is ready."

The emperor's attention was diverted, and he no longer dwelled on what the empress dowager was trying to express.

"Don't worry, Your Majesty, the imperial physicians will definitely cure you."

As he spoke, the Emperor straightened up and stepped aside, saying to Sun Zhuxi, "First, serve the Empress Dowager her medicine. During this time, I will trouble Aunt Sun to take care of the Empress Dowager. Once the Empress Dowager has recovered, I will reward her handsomely."

Sun Zhuxi hurriedly replied, "Serving the Empress Dowager is my duty as a servant."

The emperor gave a few more detailed instructions, and then asked Yu Ying'er and Consort Fucha, who were supposed to come to attend to the emperor the next day, to stay behind before leaving with the rest of the imperial concubines.

After seeing the emperor off, Yu Ying'er tugged at her sister's sleeve with suspicion. The Empress Dowager's appearance and eyes just now didn't seem to be asking the emperor to save her, did they?

Xi Qiao glared at her, annoyed. What kind of place is this to dare to pull such tricks!

Without any hesitation, Xi Qiao brushed Yu Ying'er's hand away and walked to Sun Zhuxi's side, whispering meaningfully, "Aunt, is there anything I can do to help?"

She was curious about what the Imperial Concubine had done to anger this old hag so much that she vomited blood and suffered a stroke.

Sun Zhuxi glanced at Consort Zhuang, Noble Lady Fucha, and Noble Lady An in the room. "The others are fine, Chunmao and the others can handle it, but the three ladies cannot be slighted. You can help entertain the three ladies."

Before Xi Qiao could respond, Yu Ying'er interjected, "Aunt, what are you saying? The three of us are here to attend to the Empress Dowager. If you need anything, just let us know. If not, you can simply have someone bring us a stool. There's no question of being disrespectful."

Hmph, she wouldn't even let her older sister serve her tea and water, how could Consort Fucha and Consort An be worthy of it?

Consort Fucha and Consort An nodded in agreement, "That makes perfect sense."

Sun Zhuxi smiled and said, "Then this old servant will take the liberty of inviting the three young masters to rest in the warm pavilion for a while."

Yu Ying'er glanced at Xi Qiao, who stood with his eyes downcast beside Sun Zhuxi without moving an inch, and then led Consort Fucha and Consort An into the warm pavilion.

Only the Empress Dowager, Sun Zhuxi, and Xi Qiao remained in the inner room. Sun Zhuxi served the Empress Dowager her medicine, while Xi Qiao wiped the remaining medicine from the corners of her mouth with a handkerchief.

After drinking a few mouthfuls of the bitter and hard-to-swallow medicine, the Empress Dowager finally regained her composure. Although she still had that crooked eyebrow and slanted eye expression, she now exuded her unique wisdom and calmness.

The emperor is ruthless and ungrateful. Even if she, his birth mother, threatens with her life, she may not be able to change his mind and spare the fourteenth prince and his child. The only thing to do now is to have someone treat the fourteenth prince.

However, the Imperial Medical Academy obeyed the emperor's orders without question. In the past, they dared not reveal that there was musk in Huan Yi Xiang because of the emperor's attitude. Now, they could not go against the emperor's wishes and do their best to treat the fourteenth prince and his child.

Given the emperor's ruthlessness—he could even poison his own brothers and nephews—it's not impossible that he might have hinted to the imperial physicians to tamper with the medicine.

No, the imperial physicians in the palace are not suitable!

A folk doctor?

If those folk doctors were truly skilled, Wanyan wouldn't have written to say that the four Hongchun brothers were in critical condition and begged her to send imperial physicians out of the palace to treat them.

In terms of medical skills, only the imperial physicians could match, but...

If there were one absolutely trustworthy person...

The Empress Dowager's eyes were unfathomable, sometimes wandering off into the distance, sometimes lost in thought, and sometimes fixed on Xi Qiao. Her eyes gleamed with a sharp light, and it was clear at a glance that she was up to no good.

After drinking the medicine, the Empress Dowager looked at Xi Qiao with a fixed gaze and stammered, "Step...step...step back."

Xi Qiao respectfully handed the freshly wrung-out hot towel to Sun Zhuxi, then left the bedroom and went to stand guard by the main hall. Although she left, her spiritual energy remained by the Empress Dowager's bedside.

Sun Zhuxi glanced at Xi Qiao, knelt on the footstool, and asked in a low voice, "Does the Empress Dowager have something to instruct this servant?"

The Empress Dowager raised her index finger and shook it, "Hand..."

Sun Zhuxi glanced at the Empress Dowager's waving fingers and quickly offered her own palm.

The Empress Dowager gestured with her index finger in Sun Zhuxi's palm.

After finishing writing, the Empress Dowager said with difficulty, "Immediately...go..."

Sun Zhuxi's five fingers curled slightly. The Empress Dowager instructed her to convey the imperial decree to bestow Chunrong upon the Fourteenth Prince as a princess.

She asked hesitantly, "Your Majesty, do you intend to use the matter of bestowing Chunrong upon the Fourteenth Prince as a princess to allow the imperial physicians to leave the palace and examine the Fourteenth Prince and Prince Hongchun?"

The Empress Dowager gave a soft "hmm," "Imperial... decree..."

The emperor would not object, citing the Empress Dowager's imperial decree as the reason.

“The imperial physician’s family is threatening us.”

Everyone is afraid of death. With imperial physicians and family members at their disposal, they are not afraid that the imperial physicians will not do their best to treat the fourteenth prince and the Hongchun brothers.

As for Chunrong's wishes? That's not important!

With Consort Zhuang and the Sixth Prince in the palace, there's no fear that Chunrong would dare to disobey.

Sun Zhuxi, as expected of the Empress Dowager's most trusted confidant, fully understood the Empress Dowager's meaning in just a few words.

This is the only way forward now. Otherwise, the Emperor might have other drastic measures, and then the Fourteenth Prince and the four princes of the Beizi Mansion would truly have no way to survive.

"Yes, Your Majesty, I know what to do. Please rest assured and recover. I will make all the arrangements. The imperial physician's background has already been thoroughly investigated. Just in case, I will send word to the Qi family to take action."

The Qi family was the maternal family of the criminal Qi Yuebin.

Now that the Uya and Ulanara families have suffered heavy losses, countless powerful families are eyeing them covetously, trying to tear a piece of the pie from them.

To prevent any mishaps that might alert the Emperor to their intentions, it would be best not to use the manpower of these two families this time.

“Chunrong over there…” Sun Zhuxi hesitated slightly.

"I think it would be best to inform her first. Firstly, so that she would be willing to serve the Empress Dowager, and secondly, so that things would be better in the future."