Transmigration: Reverse Exploitation, the System Works for Me

An Lingrong looked bewildered. So that's how it is!

After regaining her senses, she asked rather urgently, "Just now I heard my aunt say that 'there is no Consort Wan in the harem, only Lady Zhen.' May I ask, aunt, is it because the Empress Dowager issued an imperial decree to demote Lady Zhen?"

Xi Qiao pursed his lips, his expression slightly unpleasant, and said, "What Consort An said is correct. At this moment, Aunt Zhu Xi, who is by the Empress Dowager's side, should have already gone to announce the Empress Dowager's decree."

Seeing her clearly displeased expression, An Lingrong naturally understood that Xi Qiao was dissatisfied with this treatment.

She hesitated for a moment, then her face also showed anger, and she said indignantly, "She really got off too easy. Conspiring with others to murder the head of a palace, such a crime deserves to be punished with death."

Xi Qiao's expression darkened further: "Empress Dowager still has to consider the Emperor."

With that, she sneered again, her face full of ruthlessness, and said, "I want to see how long that Zhen woman can stay in favor! Imperial favor is unpredictable and elusive, so that Zhen woman had better not fall into my hands!"

She always greeted people with a smile, so this sudden display of ruthlessness and coldness startled An Lingrong.

But precisely because of this, An Lingrong believed almost everything she said.

After seeing An Lingrong off, Yu Ying'er jumped off the bed. The dog crept up to Xi Qiao, looking at her with curiosity in its eyes, "Auntie, why did you say those things to Consort An?"

The reason her older sister told An Lingrong about her murder was completely unrelated to the truth.

While there may have been an element of secretly punishing Zhen Huan in the past, that was definitely not the main reason.

Moreover, Wen Shichu's actions were all within her sister's expectations; Qingzhu didn't even touch the problematic medicine.

There was also the letter that Wen Shichu took out. Although her sister only told her, Zhen Huan knew that they were sisters and wrote it in the letter, asking Wen Shichu to deliver it to that bastard Prince Guo.

But it just doesn't seem right that Zhen Huan, a palace concubine, would tell such news to a man outside the palace!

Although she wasn't very bright, she wasn't really rusty or unusable. She always felt that Zhen Huan's loss of her Noble Lady rank wasn't simply because she colluded with that scoundrel Wen Shichu to harm her.

Xi Qiao smiled and said, "Very good, the child has become sensible and knows how to think for himself."

She said those things to An Lingrong in order to instigate An Lingrong to suppress Zhen Huan.

An Lingrong has begun to transform, and this transformation stems from the emperor's favor.

But An Lingrong didn't have much favor to offer on her own. She earned a small portion of her current favor herself, but the majority came from Zhen Huan.

It is easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but difficult to go from extravagance to frugality. Having personally experienced the joys of being favored, An Lingrong was naturally unwilling to lose favor.

An Lingrong is a smart woman and should be aware of her own situation and know where her favor comes from. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been trying to consolidate her favor while trying to win over Shen Meizhuang.

Now that Zhen Huan has been demoted and confined, it is the perfect opportunity for her to deal with Zhen Huan.

However, she had neither manpower nor a starting point.

Having some intelligence only allows one to engage in minor, harmless actions to annoy Zhen Huan. This may be acceptable in the short term, but over time these methods will be exposed, attracting Zhen Huan's attention and leading to her retaliation.

If An Lingrong, this pawn used to deal with Zhen Huan, is completely exposed, then she will lose her purpose.

Therefore, Xi Qiao decided to make good use of her before she was completely exposed.

After all, Zhen Huan had already taken action, so she had to retaliate properly.

The Empress Dowager's punishment seemed severe, but Zhen Huan was, after all, the female lead, and the Emperor was at the height of his infatuation with her face. Coupled with her own talent and intelligence, she would certainly not fade into obscurity.

Since they couldn't truly hurt Zhen Huan, how could they experience the pleasure of revenge?

Xi Qiao really wanted to take action herself, but the Empress Dowager was always suspicious and self-centered, and might send someone to keep an eye on her. If she made any move, it would ruin her image of being obedient and easy to manipulate in the Empress Dowager's eyes.

Moreover, the Empress Dowager has already punished Zhen Huan. If she were to take action in secret again, wouldn't that mean she was dissatisfied with the Empress Dowager's decree?

She and Yu Ying'er cannot afford to lose the Empress Dowager's protection at the moment, so they naturally cannot offend the Empress Dowager.

But Zhen Huan couldn't be let off the hook either.

Therefore, An Lingrong is the best choice.

Does An Lingrong lack connections to deal with Zhen Huan? Shen Meizhuang is currently learning how to manage palace affairs. It's instinctive for palace servants to pursue profit, so she can use this to send her own people over.

Doesn't An Lingrong have a way to deal with Zhen Huan? She just deliberately mentioned that the Wen family and the Zhen family live next door, and that Wen Shichu and Zhen Huan were childhood sweethearts!

A concubine in the palace has a childhood sweetheart, a royal physician, by her side, and this physician is willing to risk his life to harm other concubines for her. It's hard not to think the wrong way—for example, that Zhen Huan and Wen Shichu have an affair!

But this is not the final result that Xi Qiao wanted.

No matter how true the rumors seem, they won't really hurt Zhen Huan unless they touch a nerve with the emperor.

Wen Shichu is too low-class to break the emperor's defenses, but Prince Guo will!

The two letters exchanged between Zhen Huan and Prince Guo were presented to the Emperor by Zhu Xi. The tender feelings in those letters almost leaped off the page, subtly revealing that the two had not met for the first time. Unfortunately, the Emperor had initially met Zhen Huan under the guise of Prince Guo during the apricot blossom season. If the Emperor had assumed that Zhen Huan already knew Prince Guo, then…

An immoral affair.

The order is out of order.

Premeditated affection.

Then there were the sinister speculations that Sun Zhuxi relayed on behalf of the Empress Dowager.

Hmm, Zhen Huan's pure and innocent aura should be almost gone by now!

Thinking about all this, even Xi Qiao, who knew perfectly well that Zhen Huan was innocent, couldn't help but have doubts.

Moreover, the emperor himself was the one who had been cuckolded.

But the emperor would not punish Zhen Huan under such pretext. He cherished his reputation and was also furious that he had lost to his secretly jealous younger brother in Zhen Huan's eyes.

For the sake of his male pride and the dignity of being the emperor, he would not openly punish Zhen Huan, and the other charges were simply not enough to make Zhen Huan fall into the abyss completely.

As long as there is a glimmer of hope, Zhen Huan has the possibility of making a comeback, has a chance to clear her name, and may one day turn her knife against her and Yu Ying'er.

Therefore, it must be done in one step.

When the emperor was most in love with Zhen Huan, Xi Qiao didn't want to gamble on the strength of the female lead's halo.

Therefore, she wanted An Lingrong to step forward in time, when the emperor was at his most angry and least rational, to bring the fact that Zhen Huan had cheated on him into the open, forcing the emperor to publicly interrogate Zhen Huan and completely nail her to the pillar of shame.

It doesn't matter whether it's Wen Shichu or Prince Guo who is truly in love with Zhen Huan; she could have just found any man.

As long as rumors spread, as long as someone makes the matter known to everyone, as long as the emperor is forced to feel frustrated and angry, that's enough.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, amidst those subtle expressions of pity and mockery, even the most composed emperor would have his self-esteem shattered, leading to a breakdown and a fit of rage. In his rage, he would act impulsively, and in that impulsiveness, he might utter malicious words, ultimately killing Zhen Huan with a single sentence.

The emperor's words carry the weight of imperial authority and are not to be taken lightly; once a word is spoken, there is no chance of repentance.

If the emperor were to personally utter words such as "Zhen Huan is not a virtuous woman," Zhen Huan would have no chance of being reinstated, or even—a chance of survival.

Xi Qiao's face was cold. Since Zhen Huan had already developed hostility towards them, then she couldn't be blamed.