Transmigration: Reverse Exploitation, the System Works for Me

Zhen Huan stared blankly at the lush green trees in the courtyard. After a long while, she said to Liu Zhu beside her, "After we return to the palace, you can go and see Huan Bi."

There was no Cold Palace in the Yuanmingyuan. Huanbi would be sent back to the palace with Xia Dongchun, and then locked up in the Cold Palace.

Liu Zhu was overjoyed and said happily, "Thank you for your kindness, Your Highness."

Just then, Xiaoyunzi returned.

Xiao Yunzi glanced at Liu Zhu, who was supporting Zhen Huan, and swallowed the words that were about to come out. The mistress had instructed her to keep it a secret.

Zhen Huan said to Liu Zhu, "His Majesty has shown mercy and returned the things I gave to Huan Bi. Go and sort them out properly."

The statement about giving half of Huanbi's dowry... well, how to put it, whether Zhen Huan truly intended this or was just deceiving Huanbi is hard to say.

They are currently in the Yuanmingyuan Garden. Zhen Huan did not bring many of the dowry items that the Zhen family gave her. She only gave half of what she brought to Huanbi, and the rest only exists on the dowry list.

As soon as Liu Zhu left, Xiao Yunzi immediately stepped forward and stood in her place, bowing and helping Zhen Huan back into the room. As they walked, he whispered what he had found out to Zhen Huan.

"This servant discovered that an unfamiliar palace maid entered Xia's residence early this morning. After a short while, the maid came out, and then a few moments later, Xia hurriedly led her people to Consort Li's residence. Not long after the two met, Kang Luhai sent someone to call Xiao Yinzi out."

"Around 10:40 AM, the two of them took Xiao Yinzi to the Empress's Peach Blossom Village. Afterward, the Empress ordered someone to invite the Emperor and the other concubines. What happened afterward was exactly as Chief Steward Su had described."

"This servant is incompetent and has not been able to find out who the palace maid who went to Xia's place was. The only person we have found involved in this matter is Consort Li."

Zhen Huan slowly sat down, and instead of blaming Xiao Yunzi, she comforted him: "Time is of the essence, it's already good that you've found this much."

She pondered Xiao Yunzi's words, "Judging from this, Xia was the mastermind behind this, and Consort Li was merely dragged into it by her?"

But why did she feel that something was wrong?

This matter is not that simple; there must be other people involved behind the scenes.

"wrong."

Zhen Huan murmured to herself, then looked up at Xiao Yunzi, "When you went to investigate, did you find anything amiss?"

Xiao Yunzi thought for a moment and hesitated before saying, "There is one thing, but the timing doesn't match up, so I didn't report it to you, Your Highness."

"This morning around 9 o'clock, Consort Jin personally delivered return gifts to the palace, citing her gratitude to the concubines for attending Princess Wenyi's first birthday banquet. From the Empress to Lady Xia, even our Bitong Academy was not left out. However, due to the Empress Dowager's decree, Consort Jin only sent someone to deliver the gifts."

Zhen Huan knew about this, and the return gift was delivered by Consort Jin's head maid, Yin Xiu.

"However, when Consort Jin went to Consort Li's place, she found no one there. Consort Li had already gone to the Empress's place with Lady Xia, so they did not meet."

What's strange is that no one would return the gift the next day. Logically, one should return the gift when the other person has a happy occasion.

Zhen Huan frowned. "I remember Consort Jin gave me a small box of pearls?"

At the time, Yinxiu also said that pearls are delicate and cannot be stored for long. Consort Jin should take care of the princess and should not wear too much jewelry. Therefore, she distributed the pearls to the people in the harem to add a touch of splendor to the palace, which can be regarded as her way of repaying the emperor's favor.

That's a very eloquent way of putting it.

"Yes, the Emperor rewarded Consort Jin with a bushel of pearls yesterday, and Consort Jin returned the favor with this, but the amount given was different depending on her rank. She sent it to us before the Empress Dowager's decree arrived, and it was given according to the rank of a Noble Lady."

Xiao Yunzi spoke those last words with great trepidation. She glanced up and, seeing that Zhen Huan wasn't angry, breathed a sigh of relief.

"Your Highness, do you suspect that Consort Jin was also involved?"

After a moment of silence, Zhen Huan said, "I have carefully considered everyone in the palace, and I think that Consort Hua is the most hostile towards me. Moreover, the Empress has been very protective of me today, so Xia Dongchun should not be acting on her orders."

"Moreover, Consort Li is Consort Hua's person. Judging from Consort Li's words and actions in Peach Blossom Village today, she was also involved in Xia Dongchun's accusation against me. The relationship between my family and the Wen family could not have been found out in such a short time without some power. It must have been Consort Hua behind Consort Li who made the move."

Of course, Consort Zhuang, who overheard her talking with Prince Guo yesterday, and Chunrong are also highly suspicious.

However, Wen Shichu successfully tampered with Consort Zhuang's medicine yesterday evening. Consort Zhuang had no peace last night, and Chunrong was watching over her the whole time, so she probably didn't have the energy to scheme against her again.

Most importantly, the Yu family was just a small bondservant family, and Consort Zhuang and Chunrong's father had been sent to Shanxi to take up their posts. It was impossible for the remaining forces to figure out her relationship with the Wen family in such a short time.

Thinking of this, Zhen Huan couldn't help but secretly blame Wen Shichu in her heart.

If Wen Shichu hadn't been so incompetent and careless, how could he have been discovered?

This leads to the events that followed.

Zhen Huan was furious, but there was nothing she could do now.

"Investigate thoroughly the strange palace maid who delivered the message to Xia Dongchun. I suspect she is either Consort Hua's or from the Xia family. I won't feel at ease until I find her."

If this person is one of Consort Hua's people, then we can capture him and devise a plan. If he is from the Xia family, then we can eradicate the remaining forces of the Xia family to prevent them from harming her in the future.

“Investigate Consort Zhuang’s side as well. Although today’s incident was mostly Consort Hua’s doing, we can’t rule out the possibility that Consort Zhuang’s people were involved.” Su Peisheng had said that after Wen Shichu was arrested, Chunrong immediately went to the palace to complain to the Empress Dowager!

She was demoted despite being pregnant, while Consort Zhuang was granted the rank of Imperial Concubine. Such a huge difference in treatment was truly hard for Zhen Huan to accept.

Her desire to get rid of Consort Zhuang grew stronger. She had a strange feeling that Consort Zhuang shouldn't exist.

But dealing with Consort Zhuang won't be easy. She can't rely on Prince Guo much anymore. Although An Lingrong and Shen Meizhuang are close to her now, there's still some lingering tension between them, so she can't fully trust them.