Transmigration: Reverse Exploitation, the System Works for Me

After Huanbi climbed into the dragon's bed, she served him for seven consecutive days, which was quite in line with the system's description of the love potion.

After the effects of the love potion wore off, the emperor returned to Consort Wan's gentle embrace.

Zhen Huan served the emperor for four consecutive days. On the fifth day, it wasn't that the emperor didn't want to summon her, but rather because it was the fifteenth, the empress's day.

The combined time the two men spent in bed together took up exactly half of the first half of the month.

In the eyes of the concubines, this meant that Zhen Huan and her maid Huan Bi were two seductive women who had managed to control the emperor's favor.

The concubines already harbored animosity towards Zhen Huan and Huan Bi, and this only escalated the situation further.

On the fifteenth day of the month, when the two arrived at the Empress's Peach Blossom Pavilion, all the concubines had already arrived.

The two exchanged a glance, their hearts skipping a beat.

Zhen Huan understood that she and Huan Bi had incurred the resentment of all the concubines in the palace.

However, the Emperor summoned Huanbi to his bedchamber for seven consecutive days, just like he had done before, which gave Zhen Huan a great sense of crisis. Therefore, she did not refuse when the Emperor stayed in her palace for the past few days.

Sure enough, just as she was about to sit down, Consort Qi suddenly attacked, "Hmph, how dare you sit down, you vixen!"

His voice was filled with gritted teeth, and his eyes glared at Zhen Huan and Huan Bi as if he wanted to devour them.

Zhen Huan had barely touched the chair when she stood up again, looking at Consort Qi with neither servility nor arrogance. "Your Highness Consort Qi, I wonder what my sister Bi and I have done to provoke Your Highness to insult us so disregarding propriety?"

Consort Qi stood up agitatedly, pointing her finger at Zhen Huan's nose and shouting, "Wasn't what I said clear enough? Or are you, Zhen, pretending to be ignorant? You bewitching the Emperor, causing him to disregard the Empress's reputation, what is your punishment?"

Zhen Huan was completely puzzled. Why didn't the Emperor come to Peach Blossom Village last night?

That can't be right. Last night when the Emperor was serving the dishes, she specifically asked if they were sent from Peach Blossom Village!

At this moment, the Empress came out.

As soon as she came out, she waved for Consort Qi to sit down, and said wearily, "Noble Lady Wan, please sit down too. Consort Qi is impatient, so don't take it to heart. It's nothing serious."

The Empress appeared indifferent, but inwardly she was filled with intense hatred.

Yesterday was the fifteenth. The Emperor had already arrived at Peach Blossom Village, but during his dinner, he saw a dish that Zhen Huan liked and immediately ordered someone to send it to her.

The Empress's face froze, but she still had to force a smile.

After finishing his meal, the Emperor read for a while in Peach Blossom Grove. The Empress had originally thought the Emperor would stay overnight, but unexpectedly, he took the book and left.

On his way back to Jiuzhou Qingyan, he said to Su Peisheng, "I still prefer to study with Consort Wan." Unfortunately, this was overheard by the palace servants in the garden and spread around.

The Empress immediately smashed a jade ruyi that she liked very much.

The other concubines who received this news couldn't help but sigh, "This Consort Zhen is truly remarkable. Even when the Emperor went to the Empress's place, he still remembered her."

Zhen Huan, who went to bed early last night knowing that the Emperor would be with the Empress, was completely unaware of this.

The greetings ended quickly, and the concubines unanimously isolated Zhen Huan and her maid Huan Bi, leaving in twos and threes, chatting and laughing.

As Xi Qiao helped Yu Ying'er past Zhen Huan, he gave her a meaningful look.

With Zhen Huan's intelligence, she couldn't have been unaware that she and Huan Bi had incurred public wrath, but she didn't choose to protect herself, which shows that she was in a hurry!

It's good that they're in a hurry. If they're in a hurry, they'll make foolish moves and muddy the waters of the harem, making Yu Ying'er and the Sixth Prince even safer.

Around noon, Aunt Zhuxi arrived from the palace. After paying her respects to the Empress at Peach Blossom Village, she went straight to Wutong Academy.

"Aunt Zhuxi." Zhen Huan greeted her with some surprise.

Sun Zhuxi stepped forward and bowed to Zhen Huan, saying, "This servant greets Consort Wan."

"Aunt, please don't stand on ceremony," Zhen Huan personally helped her up. "Aunt, please come inside and sit down. Liu Zhu, serve tea."

Unexpectedly, Sun Zhuxi refused, saying, "Thank you for your kindness, Consort Wan, but I still need to visit Consort Zhuang and the Sixth Prince, so I cannot stay any longer."

Zhen Huan had no choice but to give up and, understanding her situation, asked her why she had come.

"This servant has come on behalf of the Empress Dowager, who has a request for you. The Empress Dowager says that you are blessed with good fortune and are both talented and beautiful, and therefore wishes to ask you to copy a copy of the Lotus Sutra to offer before the Buddha. If Consort Bi is available, you may come along as well."

Zhen Huan's smile froze, almost unable to hold on. To copy Buddhist scriptures offered before the Buddha, one must fast and bathe.

In other words, she could not serve the emperor in bed.

The news that Zhen Huan and Huan Bi had been punished by the Empress Dowager spread quickly, and almost all the concubines couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

But they soon realized they had breathed a sigh of relief too soon.

Although Zhen Huan and Huan Bi could not serve the emperor in bed, the emperor also stopped favoring the women in the harem!

At Consort Hua's residence, Cao Qinmo and An Lingrong sat facing each other. When the three of them chatted about this matter, they were all somewhat puzzled as to what was wrong with the emperor.

Could it be that he has truly fallen in love with Zhen Huan and Huan Bi? And is willing to neglect the rest of the harem for their sake?

Consort Hua rolled her eyes and sneered, "What are you thinking? The emperor has the whole country under his control. What kind of beauty hasn't he seen? How could he possibly remain chaste for these two? He's not hiding his meddling from the Empress Dowager, but he doesn't dare to be dissatisfied with her, so he can only vent his anger on the other women in the harem!"

Cao Qinmo and An Lingrong: ...They were just making assumptions.

An Lingrong was a little anxious, "Ah... does that mean we can't serve the emperor until Zhen Huan finishes copying the scriptures?"

Consort Hua hummed dismissively, "Probably."

An Lingrong was filled with regret. If she had known it would turn out this way, she shouldn't have revealed Huanbi's relationship with Zhen Huan to that fool Xia Dongchun.

Without imperial favor, how could she rise in rank or become pregnant?

Cao Qinmo was also a little anxious. An Lingrong was the only one among them who was favored. If she really lost favor, there would be one less person to mention Wenyi in front of the emperor.

Her mind raced, and suddenly an idea came to her. "Sister An, you used to be on good terms with Madam Zhen and Madam Shen. Now that they've been framed and have fallen out, you could go and try to smooth things over for them."

It was no longer news that Shen Meizhuang and Zhen Huan's relationship had broken down when Huanbi caught the emperor's eye at Xianyue Pavilion.

An Lingrong paused in her handkerchief-rubbing, looking thoughtfully at Cao Qinmo, "Does Consort Jin mean... that I should use this opportunity to gain favor?"

Cao Qinmo smiled and nodded at her, "Sister is indeed clever! This is a great opportunity. Zhen and Huanbi are already favored, and although Shen is slightly less favored, she is still favored. As the saying goes, love me, love my dog. If you befriend them, your standing with the Emperor will naturally be different."

An Lingrong lowered her eyes in thought. Her favor with the emperor had been intermittent. If she could advance further, it wouldn't be out of the question to do favors for Zhen Huan and Shen Meizhuang, but...

She raised her eyes to look at Consort Hua, who was seated in the main seat, and asked humbly, "What does Your Majesty think of Consort Jin's plan?"

Consort Hua glanced at her and said, "The only thing I care about right now is the imperial heir in my womb. The rest is up to you."

When she learned that the musk in the Huan Yi Xiang was added by the emperor, she had already completely forgotten about the emperor's love for her. In this life, Nian Shilan lived only for the Nian family and only for herself!