Transmigration: Reverse Exploitation, the System Works for Me

Even if things don't work out in the future, the new emperor won't mistreat them for the sake of his reputation. At least Xiao Liu will have a Beizi title, and as a Dowager Consort, and with her sister being a member of the Imperial Clan, she will certainly enjoy wealth and honor.

But all of this is predicated on being alive!

The emperor is cruel and ungrateful; he can even kill his own brothers. What is she, a mere concubine, compared to him?

If she makes a mistake, not only will she lose her current good life, but her sister will also be implicated, and in some cases, she might even lose her life.

Leaving aside the incident where she was murdered by Prince Guo and fell into the water, just look at how the Emperor had always been so accommodating to that vile woman Zhen Huan, even going so far as to grant her the title of "Princess's Favor."

How long has it been? He has fallen to the point where he is despised, his own daughter has been given away, his food, clothing, and shelter have been tampered with, and he is on the verge of losing his life.

so horrible!

In this palace, one cannot survive without the emperor's favor.

But as long as she doesn't make mistakes, even if she grows old and loses her beauty and no longer serves the emperor, with Xiao Liu around, she won't really fall out of favor and can still live a good life, just like—Consort Qi.

—Being in a high position and not having to flatter older men, this kind of life is pretty good!

Yu Ying'er's eyes lit up immediately: "Sister, I understand. Don't worry, I will definitely take Consort Qi as my role model from now on!"

Xi Qiao chuckled: "It's fine to hope for Consort Qi's status, but don't learn from her foolishness and indulgence."

When this was mentioned, Yu Ying'er immediately said proudly, "I'm not like Consort Qi, I have an older sister."

Unlike Consort Qi, who clearly held a high position and had a son to rely on, she insisted on relying on the Empress, only to end up having her son adopted and being disliked by the Emperor.

She would never follow Consort Qi's example. With her older sister around, she doesn't need to rely on anyone. With her sister around, Xiao Liu will certainly not be as useless as the Third Prince, who is constantly criticized by the Emperor for his studies.

Although she is not smart, it is enough that her older sister is smart. Xiao Liu will learn from her older sister and will definitely be as smart as her sister in the future.

Xiao Lezi quickly brought back news from the Hall of Mental Cultivation that the Emperor had allowed Xi Qiao to stay in the palace to attend to his ailing father.

Everyone in Zhongcui Palace was overjoyed.

At the same time, Xiao Lezi brought back another piece of news: the Emperor had bestowed the title of Noble Lady Zhao upon a palace maid from the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

"When I arrived, I happened to run into Eunuch Su, who was on his way to deliver an imperial decree. The Emperor not only granted Consort Zhao the rank of a concubine, but also allowed her to reside in Yonghe Palace."

Yonghe Palace was the former residence of the Empress Dowager when she was a concubine.

There have been so many concubines who have been favored in the palace, and even when Consort Zhen was at the height of her favor, the Emperor never mentioned moving her to Yonghe Palace.

Xiao Lezi looked at Xi Qiao: "Out of curiosity, this servant secretly followed to see who this Noble Lady Zhao was. Unexpectedly, she turned out to be an acquaintance."

Linggu.

Xi Qiao knew perfectly well what was going on.

She looked at Xiao Lezi: "Have you checked who in our palace went to deliver the reward to Linggu?"

It wouldn't normally require a high-ranking eunuch like Xiao Lezi to personally reward the painters and embroiderers of the Imperial Household Department. However, the fact that the person who delivered the reward didn't even mention it upon returning, given that there was a beauty like Ling Gu in the Imperial Household Department, raises a question.

Of course, Xiao Lezi investigated. He immediately investigated after seeing Ling Gu return from the Yu residence that day. Now, when he mentioned this person, his face inevitably turned cold.

"Replying to Your Highness, it was Xiao Xizi. The Empress has given him rewards eight times, and he was the one who went each time."

He was blind to have thought this person was a good one, and because of the auspicious and similar-sounding name, he gave him many pointers and important positions.

Xi Qiao sighed. Although he had expected that there would be someone from the Jue Chan family in Zhongcui Palace, he did not expect it to be Xiao Xizi. Xiao Xizi had been following Yu Ying'er since she was still a girl.

"I was afraid of alerting the enemy and ruining the Princess's important plans, so I have been pretending that nothing has happened recently and have been paying as much attention to him as ever."

Xi Qiao immediately affirmed, "Well done."

"Keep him calm. I have great use for Consort Zhao and Juechan's family. Don't let him notice anything unusual."

"Yes, I have noted it down. Also, I have found out the whereabouts of the batch of gems you asked me to investigate."

Xi Qiao looked at him expectantly. The egg-sized gemstone that Juechan Chaha's wife, Ma Jia, had given her that day was of excellent quality and was most likely a tribute to the royal family.

When Yu Ying'er was pregnant with Xiao Liu, the emperor once gifted her a box of rubies, saying they were newly presented as tribute.

What ended up in Yu Ying'er's hands was naturally not the best, but even though it was a second-rate product, its purity, integrity, and polishing were all excellent.

In particular, five of them, about the size of sparrow eggs, were a vibrant red, and after being set into jewelry, they remained Yu Ying'er's favorites.

These five rubies are almost identical in color to the one that Ma Jia gave her, and they are very likely from the same batch or even the same rough stone.

Therefore, Xi Qiao specifically asked Xiao Lezi to check it out.

"Among those rubies, there were six as large as eggs, which were sent to Shou Kang Palace, Jing Ren Palace and Yi Kun Palace respectively, but the color of these six rubies was more pink and orange."

"The Empress Dowager thought the color was too light and gave it to the princess of the Wuya family. The Empress thought it was not dignified enough and kept it in the storeroom. Consort Hua did have some jewelry made, but she never wore it."

"In addition, there were some smaller ones. Consort Qi's palace received one box, our Zhongcui Palace received one box, and the rest were given to Consort Shen."

Around that time, new concubines entered the palace, among whom Consort Shen was the most favored.

At this point, Xiao Lezi paused, his expression becoming somewhat obscure: "But when I was investigating this matter, I unexpectedly encountered a eunuch who was the first to see this batch of rubies."

He told his servants that many of the gems in the batch were of excellent quality in terms of color, appearance, and size. But perhaps due to carelessness during transportation, many of them were damaged.

Ironically, the lower-quality ones were all fine, while only the top-quality ones were damaged and could not be presented to the emperor.

Those who know, know the legal issues involved.

Xi Qiao's eyes lit up; she had really been fooled!

"That's great! Quickly send someone to prepare a congratulatory gift, and while you're at it, also include that cloisonné enamel and ruby-inlaid magpie ornament from the Empress's storeroom."

Xi Qiao clapped his hands and laughed, looking at Xiao Lezi with his eyes crinkling: "Later, you will personally deliver the congratulatory gift to Consort Zhao. There is no need to mention the past. Just say that this Huasheng is a gift from me."

The magnificent and luxurious Huasheng, adorned with kingfisher feathers and rubies, was originally presented to Yu Ying'er by the people from the Imperial Household Department, who had guessed her preferences.

Unfortunately, during that time, when Yu Ying'er went to pay her respects, she was publicly mocked with the remark, "Even if you fly to a high branch, you can't become a phoenix."

Although she wasn't particularly angry, she inevitably felt somewhat inferior and timid due to her humble origins. In addition, since both she and her sisters had names containing birds, they were reluctant to have bird-themed decorations in their lives.

—It gives me a sense of being looked down upon or treated like a plaything, a feeling of disrespect.

Moreover, plum blossoms were something Empress Chun Yuan liked. Yu Ying'er felt a bit disgusted by Empress Chun Yuan's hypocrisy, and therefore disliked plum blossoms as well.

Thus, the priceless and exquisitely beautiful Huasheng has never seen the light of day since it entered Zhongcui Palace.