Transmigration: Reverse Exploitation, the System Works for Me

Chapter 307 Something fishy

"But I really can't help you with persuading the Princess Consort. I've already traded this leg for my current position as head steward, and I just want to stay in this position and live out my days in peace."

His words, though seemingly casual, subtly revealed a hint of resentment.

After seeing him off with some surprise and doubt, Yan Jin returned to the Prince Lian's residence, lost in thought.

Three days later, 15 of the 45 guards in Prince Mu's mansion were replaced, including 5 of them who were still his personal guards.

When the newly appointed fifteen guards requested an audience, they proactively explained their backgrounds and their relationship with Prince Lian's mansion, and unanimously swore allegiance.

Xi Qiao remained unmoved by this; loyalty is not something that can be expressed with mere words.

She calmly accepted the reward from Xiao Linzi and then dismissed them.

Regardless of their current mindset, once the Prince Lian's mansion falls, they will naturally know what to do.

A good bird chooses its tree to perch on; it is both instinct and nature.

The mobilization of guards from Prince Mu's residence was originally a trivial matter, but the people from Prince Guo's residence kept a close eye on it.

Although the fifteen guards who left were officially transferred to better positions through connections, the other fifteen new recruits were specially sent to Prince Mu's residence through bribery.

Although the person who made the arrangements was not from the Prince Lian's residence, he was from the Plain Blue Banner.

The Plain Blue Banner, that's the territory that Prince Lian and Prince An's mansions have been cultivating for many years. Even among the people sent to Prince Mu's mansion, six were bannermen from the Plain Blue Banner.

A secret meeting in a teahouse, and then changing guards every three days—no one would believe there wasn't something fishy going on between these two mansions!

The attendant glanced at Prince Guo's gloomy, almost dripping face, swallowed hard, and whispered, "Your Highness, I have also discovered something else: Prince Lian's residence intends to adopt Prince Hongwang into Prince Mu's residence."

If this is true, then their previous suspicion that the attack on the prince at Ganlu Temple was carried out by the Lian Prince's Mansion has some credibility.

Last summer, the prince poisoned Consort Zhuang in the palace. He and the steward knew about it, and the Lian Prince's residence should also know about it.

Whether Prince Lian is trying to curry favor with the Mu family or is simply acting on the orders of the Mu family, the Guo family is doomed.

No, it should be said that the unlucky one was their prince.

Prince Guo was utterly enraged!

With a distorted face and bloodshot eyes, he looked like a demon in the world.

This matter is definitely related to Prince Lian's mansion!

Although Yu Jia was also a suspect, and she was in the village not far from Ganlu Temple that day.

However, he had his men investigate repeatedly, and found that only Yu Jia's chief eunuch and an old woman went from the manor to Ganlu Temple that day. The eunuch was always accompanied by someone, so it was impossible for him to have had the time to commit the crime.

Although the old woman had left for a while, how could an old woman from the inner courtyard possibly knock out him and his two attendants without them noticing?

Moreover, the old woman returned empty-handed. Her and her attendants' outer garments were made of thick, heavy leather, which would have left marks if carried on their person.

Most importantly, they later found everything at the pawn shop; the clothes, shoes, and jewelry were all recovered.

The person who pawned the item was the same—small in stature with a scar on his right eye.

There was no such person among the people Yu Jiashi brought to the estate that day, nor was there anyone like that on the estate.

On the contrary, one of the staff members of Prince Lian's mansion had such a neighbor.

In addition, there was that purse from Prince Lian's mansion.

Prince Guo was unaware of the adoption, and had always suspected it was a coincidence. But now it seems that it was not a coincidence at all, but clearly intentional!

"So, you're using me as a pledge of allegiance, are you? Do you really think I'm some easy target?"

Prince Guo did have some connections, and the next day in court, two ministers impeached Prince Lian and strongly advocated for his severe punishment as a warning to others.

Ministers who were close to Prince Lian, mainly from the Guo Luoluo clan, had no choice but to step forward to defend and protect him.

The imperial court was instantly bustling with activity.

The emperor on the dragon throne watched his ministers arguing incessantly with an ambiguous expression. Seeing that the court was about to turn into a marketplace, he finally spoke up to stop them and passed on a secret memorial sent from Jiangnan.

"My dear ministers, please take a look."

I don’t know, I’m scared.

Although everyone knows that there are no honest officials these days, and it only matters how much they embezzle, the amount of silver that Prince Lian amassed in Jiangnan was truly astronomical!

The income earned this year is equivalent to ten years of tax revenue for the national treasury!

This is why even in-laws like the Guo Luoluo family and friends like Nian Gengyao, who secretly had close ties with Prince Lian, dared not utter a word.

Thus, Prince Lian happily received a one-stop service of stripping his title and confiscating his property.

Xi Qiao was quite satisfied with this. With the tree falling and the monkeys scattering, she finally had the opportunity to gather another group of people!

However, Prince Guo was not satisfied.

He was rendered impotent and unable to have any more children by Yinzhi. How could a princely title possibly offset such a grudge?

He would not be satisfied until he made Yinzhi taste this flavor too!

Xi Qiao had no time to care about Prince Guo's physical and mental health. Besides recruiting people, she also had to select an heir from the imperial clan—a favor that Yu Ying'er had obtained for her from the emperor.

As Xi Qiao had predicted, the Emperor knew about Xiao Linzi's meeting with Yan Jin. Yu Ying'er took the opportunity to make a scene in front of the Emperor, basically saying that she wanted to drag her sister down with her, no matter how dirty or rotten it was.

For reasons unknown, the emperor sent a message through the imperial clan, and Xi Qiao subsequently received numerous visiting cards.

They were all sent by the primary wives of families with two children, or by secondary wives who knew that their sons had no hope of inheriting the title. They all wanted to bring their children to visit the Prince Mu's mansion.

Since the invitation had already been sent, Xi Qiao, though observing mourning, was not unable to entertain guests, especially since the emperor also had his intentions, so she wrote a reply.

He briefly explained the situation, then arranged the wives and concubines of the imperial family in order of rank, and asked those who were interested to bring their children at a certain time.

Then, the Prince Mu's residence became busy.

The first group of imperial concubines she met were the four who accompanied her in the bridal chamber on her wedding day.

When Xi Qiao entertained these imperial concubines in his residence, he always brought Yu Ya and Yu Zhui with him. The implied meaning behind this was clear to everyone.

After careful selection, Xi Qiao chose the second son of Prince Xin.

One reason is that the child already has memories.

A half-grown child can save a lot of trouble. As for the issue of not being able to tame the child, she never intended for the child to support her in her old age.

Secondly, because Prince Xin was the banner lord of the Plain Blue Banner.

The Qing dynasty's regime was based on the Manchu and Mongol Eight Banners. If it wanted to achieve anything, it naturally had to start from the foundation.