Transmigration: Reverse Exploitation, the System Works for Me

Driven by Xi Qiao's intense curiosity, Zhen Huan committed suicide by cutting herself.

She rose and knelt before the emperor, her expression filled with sorrow and despair: "Your Majesty, Huanbi is my own sister. Even if I were to use a palace maid to secure your favor, I would never choose her!"

"What?" A wave of surprise swept through the hall.

Xi Qiao's pupils contracted, and for the first time, he felt admiration for Zhen Huan, the female lead.

She originally thought that Zhen Huan was ruthless enough by using Huan Bi to shield her from disaster, but she never expected that she would take this opportunity to detonate the bomb in the Zhen family as well.

What a brilliant move – turning the tide and finding a way out!

Zhen Huan started crying again. Her eyes were downcast, and tears fell one by one onto her skirt. Where no one could see, the corners of her lips curled up secretly.

With the imperial heir and the emperor's favor, as long as she can overcome this hurdle, the Zhen family will have plenty of opportunities to be reinstated.

and--

A dark glint flashed in her eyes, and when she looked up, her face was filled with sorrow. "Your Majesty, please allow me to explain. Huanbi was originally my younger sister. However, because her mother, Bizhu'er, was a descendant of the Baiyi people, my father could not take her into the household. She could only serve as a concubine. Later, after Bizhu'er passed away, my father placed Huanbi as a maidservant by my side."

As long as that letter is pinned on Huanbi, she can rest easy! As for Prince Guo, whether he's in love with Zhen Huan or Huanbi, he'll face the same predicament. Since that's the case, why not protect her!

She believed that even if the Emperor questioned Prince Guo, he would not implicate her.

Moreover, the emperor might not necessarily confront him directly.

A smile flickered in Zhen Huan's lowered eyes as she continued to sob, "Although Huanbi is nominally my maid, in reality, Huanbi and I grew up together, studied, learned to read, play the zither, and discuss painting together. The education we received was no different from mine. We both know each other's identities and grew up together, so our feelings for each other are exceptionally deep."

"Your Majesty, you and Huanbi are my beloved husband and my blood sister. How could I possibly scheme to bring you two together?"

Everyone in the hall was stunned; they never expected there to be such a secret!

Xia Dongchun was even more alarmed upon hearing this. "You think you can make us believe you with just empty words?"

Upon hearing this, Xi Qiao gritted his teeth.

Damn, what a ruthless female lead! For her own wealth and status, she's willing to completely destroy Huanbi.

Zhen Huan was waiting for this sentence: "Huanbi's birth mother and Consort Shu, the mother of Prince Guo, were close friends, and Consort Shu also knew Huanbi."

Zhen Huan was unsure about the latter part of the statement, but the emperor sent someone to verify it. Once the first half of the statement was confirmed, she would have nothing to worry about!

Taking a woman from the Baiyi tribe as a concubine is a serious crime, but it is not worth mentioning compared to the emperor suspecting that she has an affair with Prince Guo.

As for what will happen to Huanbi, that's not within Zhen Huan's consideration. She's already at her limit if she can protect herself and the Zhen family.

Upon hearing this, the emperor was immediately overwhelmed with turmoil.

Huanbi!

If what Zhen said is true, then Huanbi should be quite familiar with the seventeenth prince.

The letter that was sent from the palace did not indicate who wrote it, and the seventeenth prince's reply only referred to her as "Your Highness".

Compared to Zhen Shi, Huan Bi is indeed more suspicious.

His eyes flickered with light as he looked up and glanced at Su Peisheng.

Su Peisheng immediately understood and left the main hall to arrange for someone to investigate.

After a brief moment of shock, Xia Dongchun continued to attack Zhen Huan, "Zhen, stop dodging the main issue. Putting aside the matter of Xian Yue Pavilion for now, what about Wen Shichu's plot to murder Consort Zhuang on your orders?"

Zhen Huan met her gaze without flinching, "Since Consort Xia insists on saying this, please provide evidence."

She absolutely did not leave any evidence in this matter, and she believed that Wen Shichu would never implicate her!

"Evidence? The evidence is that Wen Shichu had an affair with you!"

Zhen Huan looked at her coldly, "If you want to find fault, you can always find a reason. I don't know how I offended Consort Xia, that you would slander me so recklessly. Everyone has seen what kind of relationship Kang Luhai and Xiao Yinzi have."

After saying this, she ignored Xia Dongchun and Consort Li's reactions and looked straight at the emperor: "Your Majesty, I have absolutely no affair with Wen Shichu. The matter of Xianyue Pavilion was not my doing. I beg Your Majesty to see the truth."

The emperor coughed lightly and personally helped her up. Although he didn't say anything, this action spoke louder than a thousand words.

"Your Majesty!" Xia Dongchun's eyes were bloodshot as he looked at the emperor in disbelief. "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, this vile woman is lying! She clearly, clearly has an improper relationship with Wen Shichu."

Looking at the emperor and empress standing together, she vaguely sensed that the situation was hopeless, and hurriedly looked for help.

"Consort Li, Consort Li, Consort Li, you know about this too! Tell the Emperor quickly! You're the one who told me that Xiao Yinzi saw Wen Shichu and Zhen Huan in the same room!"

Consort Li wanted to say something, but seeing Xia Dongchun's frantic state and the Emperor's impatient expression, she immediately shut her mouth.

She may be stupid, but she's not brainless. Right now, the Emperor has clearly chosen to believe that little bitch Zhen Huan. No matter what she says, it's useless. Consort Xia won't get away with this today.

She didn't want to be implicated.

Seeing that Consort Li turned her head away and ignored her, Xia Dongchun quickly turned her head to look at Yu Ying'er.

"Consort Zhuang, and you too, Consort Zhuang, it's absolutely true that Wen Shichu tampered with your medicine. Don't you want revenge?"

Yu Ying'er looked away. She wanted to jump up and kick Zhen Huan a few times, but her sister was holding onto her clothes tightly!

Xia Dongchun finally fixed her gaze on Consort Hua, "Consort Hua—"

But before she could finish speaking, the emperor gave her a look, and Su Peisheng immediately stepped forward and covered her mouth with a handkerchief.

The hall finally fell silent. The Emperor looked at Zhen Huan and patted her hand: "You are pregnant and should be richly rewarded. However, there are rules in the palace that concubines are not allowed to meet with officials outside the palace in private. Let this reward and punishment balance out the merits and demerits."

"Pregnant women should avoid being tired. You have been quite frightened today. Go back and take good care of yourself. The rest will be handled by the Empress and me."

Zhen Huan finally smiled and said, "Yes, I know that my behavior was inappropriate and I deserve to be punished. I will carefully read the palace rules when I get back and make sure there is no next time."

The palace was not as lax as she had imagined; she would have to be extremely cautious in her actions from now on.

The emperor released her hand. "Go ahead. I'll visit you and the child when I have time."

Just as Zhen Huan was about to bow and take her leave, she caught a glimpse of a tray being carried by a palace maid. On the tray were a gold and pearl bracelet and a stack of silver notes.

“Your Majesty, this bracelet was originally part of my dowry, but after Bi Guan gained favor with the Emperor, I gave her this bracelet along with half of her dowry. All of this has been recorded in the accounts, so Bi Guan could not have used it to bribe Fu Ling.”

After saying this, Zhen Huan curtsied and said, "This concubine takes her leave."

As Zhen Huan passed by Xia Dongchun, who was covered up, she paused slightly before quickly moving on.

After nodding to Shen Meizhuang and An Lingrong, she left Peach Blossom Village.