Transmigration: Reverse Exploitation, the System Works for Me

The Fourth Prince felt both moved and angry.

The wet nurse felt a pang of pain in her heart as she looked at the complex emotions on his young face.

After all, he is her best friend's only child and the one she raised herself. How could she not feel sorry for him?

She handed the snacks to the Fourth Prince, saying, "Your Highness must be hungry after running around so early in the morning. Have some snacks first."

If you feel bitter inside, but taste a little sweetness in your mouth, then you don't feel so bitter anymore.

The Fourth Prince's gaze fell on the pastries, and he was somewhat surprised to see a bright red "囍" character imprinted on the plump, soft pastry.

Then he remembered that his allowance was not much, and at this time of year, there were no snacks available for him. Moreover, the preparation of the mung bean rolls was complicated, and he had no money to tip the imperial kitchen or anyone to help him. Although he liked them, he might not be able to eat them for ten days or half a month.

"Granny, what is this?"

The wet nurse smiled and replied, "Your Highness, please eat with peace of mind. I already tasted it a quarter of an hour ago. These are wedding cakes made by the Imperial Kitchen at the request of Consort Zhuang. They are available in all the palaces and among all the princes and princesses."

“There were originally six dishes, but the Third Prince next door let his servants share in the joy. Our courtyard usually receives fewer rewards, so we didn’t want to be inferior to others in this regard. Therefore, I took the liberty of giving away the other five dishes, leaving only the prince’s favorite green bean rolls.”

The princes' allowances were small, so the rewards they could give out were naturally small as well.

But the Third Prince next door was different. He had the Empress Dowager and Consort Qi to support him in the harem, and the Ulanara clan and the Li family to look after him in the court. Naturally, he was not short of money.

Hongli, with a sullen face, stuffed the pastry into his mouth.

The green bean rolls were as sweet as ever, but the more he ate, the more bitter they tasted.

The wet nurse sighed and handed him a cup of hot tea. "Prince, Consort Yun is only a Consort after all. It's normal that she can't help with some things. Why are you angry? If you get sick from anger, I'll be heartbroken."

Although the Fourth Prince did not reveal his purpose for going to Chengqian Palace, it is not hard to guess from the effort he has recently put into attending classes with the Third Prince.

It would have been better if this hadn't been brought up, because once it was, the Fourth Prince's pent-up frustration and anger became uncontrollable.

"Granny, that vile woman is hateful!"

The wet nurse's heart skipped a beat. "Prince, watch your words!"

The Fourth Prince, realizing he had spoken out of turn, told the wet nurse what he had overheard in a low voice with a gloomy expression.

"That Lady Yun would rather send rare treasures to please Consort Zhen than use them to pave the way for me. Ru ware is rare and precious, especially in pairs. If I could use this pair of double-eared vases to pave the way, how could I not make you look at me with new eyes?"

"I kindly humbled myself to cultivate a mother-son relationship with her, but she insisted that I was two-faced and had impure intentions. She treated me like an actor and my filial piety as a source of amusement. How could I not feel hatred and anger at such behavior?"

The wet nurse's eyes reddened with heartache, and she choked out, "Brother..."

The Fourth Prince was so angry that his chest heaved violently with pain.

"I thought that once we returned to the palace from the Old Summer Palace, the prince would finally be able to rise in status, but who knew..."

The wet nurse wiped away her tears, her face grim, and said in a low voice, "Prince, we have to think of something. Consort Yun and Consort Zhen have an unusual relationship. Now that the sex of Consort Zhen's child is still unknown, Consort Yun is already showing such favoritism."

"If Consort Zhen gives birth to a prince in the future, where will Consort Yun still be scheming for the prince? I'm afraid that Consort Yun will not only not help the prince, but will also try to extract benefits from the prince to subsidize Consort Zhen and her child."

—The fact that Zhen Huan was carrying a princess was naturally unknown to the wet nurse, a servant in the prince's household.

The Fourth Prince also had this concern. He frowned and asked, "Judging from what you're saying, Consort Yun and Consort Zhen's relationship is not as simple as I thought, like relatives?"

He heard Yun Changzai say with her own ears that Consort Zhen was her closest and most trustworthy person, someone who would never betray her. He had originally thought they were close aunt and niece, or sisters, like Empress Xiaoduanwen and Empress Xiaozhuangwen during the reign of Emperor Taizong.

When this was mentioned, the wet nurse looked relieved: "Your Highness, you may not know this, but the relationship between Consort Yun and Consort Zhen is not exactly a secret in the palace. It's just that the servants are afraid of getting into trouble because they are concerned about the attitude of the nobles above them."

She pointed to the wedding cakes placed beside her: "After receiving these wedding cakes, I felt a little uneasy, so I went out to ask around. It turns out that early this morning, the Emperor issued an edict posthumously conferring the title of Beile on my younger brother who died young, and betrothed Consort Zhuang's eldest sister to the Sixth Beile."

"Perhaps because of the money I gave him, the little eunuch secretly told me that this Princess Yu was none other than Chunrong, the head maid of Zhongcui Palace. When I was surprised by this news, the little eunuch told me another piece of news that shocked me even more in order to show off."

"Your nominal mother, Consort Yun, is actually the birth mother of Consort Zhen! Moreover, the appearance of this mother and daughter is extremely similar to that of the late Empress Chun Yuan."

Hongli's pupils suddenly contracted. Mother and daughter, resembling Empress Chun Yuan—this—

As everyone knows, the Emperor had a deep affection for Empress Chun Yuan, but unfortunately, she died young. The Emperor missed her dearly and mourned her greatly. At this time, a person who looked very much like Empress Chun Yuan appeared. How could the Emperor not be moved by her?

Moreover, he had inquired about the concubines in the palace when he was at the Yuanmingyuan, and he was aware of Zhen's favor with the emperor, so he was not surprised.

However, Yun Changzai appeared suddenly. He originally thought she was the Emperor's concubine, which is why she was not well-known in the harem.

However, upon meeting Yun Changzai, he became suspicious of her age and her unusual favor with the emperor.

He had some guesses, but he never expected the truth to be so surprising and horrifying.

"This... Granny, is this news reliable?"

The wet nurse nodded: "Your Highness, rest assured, if it were all fabricated, how could I dare to tell you? This matter begins with the Mid-Autumn Festival family banquet this year. The imperial relatives and ministers who attended the banquet that day, as well as the palace servants who served in the Taiji Hall, all heard Consort Zhen call Consort Yun 'mother' with their own ears."

“I specifically asked many palace servants, and they also knew about what happened at the Mid-Autumn Festival family banquet. Moreover, everyone in the palace who has seen Consort Zhen and Consort Yun said that they look extremely similar.”

The Fourth Prince looked stunned. No wonder that vile woman Yun Chang said that she and Consort Zhen were the closest and most reliable people to each other.

Seeing that he remained silent, the wet nurse assumed that he still had doubts and added, "If the prince is worried that these messages are not true, there are ways to verify them."

"Does Your Highness still remember that back in the Yuanmingyuan, Consort Zhen's half-sister was once the most favored concubine? She came from the Zhen family, so she must have known Consort Zhen's birth mother. I have already found out that she has been placed in the Cold Palace."

The Fourth Prince shook his head. “There’s no need to waste time confirming. Regardless of whether they are mother and daughter, just look at how close and biased Consort Yun is towards Consort Zhen. Once Consort Zhen has a prince, just as the old nanny said, that slut will probably want to suck my blood to support the Zhen family.”

A ruthless glint flashed in Hongli's eyes: "Granny, Zhen cannot have a child!"

The wet nurse gritted her teeth and said, "Your Highness, rest assured, my heart will always be with you. I only regret that I am powerless and have not been able to help you enough."

"No, Granny. It is Hongli's good fortune to have you here."