I Was Supposed to Be the Villainous Consort

Qingfeng was cautious by nature. Her mistress also didn’t usually fuss over such matters. That’s why, even though she noticed something was off with the meal from the kitchen, she didn’t take it to heart, likely assuming Song Yunzhao wouldn’t mind.

Song Yunzhao truly didn’t care much about these things. ’But is my not caring the same as the Imperial Kitchen deliberately slapping me in the face?’

’Qingfeng failed to see the underlying scheme. It’s time she learned to be more discerning.’

Seeing that her mistress’s expression was grim, Yulu didn’t dare plead for Qingfeng. Fearing that having Qingfeng kneel here would only anger her mistress further, she dragged the girl outside to continue her punishment.

After dragging her out, Yulu crouched down in front of Qingfeng. "How could you be so foolish? The moment you saw that plain congee, you should have slammed the bowl down on a table in the Imperial Kitchen. Those bastards! Who knows whose favor they’re trying to curry? This was a deliberate slap in our mistress’s face. How could you just bring that congee back?"

With a miserable expression, Qingfeng admitted she knew she’d done wrong. "I was just thinking," she said softly, "that since today is the Mid-Autumn Festival, the kitchen must be busier than usual. I thought maybe that’s why they made breakfast a bit simpler."

"Did you see anyone else’s breakfast then?"

Qingfeng froze, then shook her head. "No."

Yulu gritted her teeth in frustration. "I think you’ve had it too easy."

Qingfeng lowered her head. She had been careless.

Yulu’s voice softened slightly. "Just because our mistress is good-natured doesn’t give us servants a reason to be careless. Qingfeng, if what you did today had happened in any other palace, what do you think the consequences would have been?"

Qingfeng’s expression grew solemn. "I understand. I was wrong."

Seeing her repentant look, Yulu said no more, adding only one last thing. "If someone slaps our mistress in the face, we servants have to be the ones to slap back. If word gets out about what you did today, how is our mistress supposed to maintain her dignity? You think about that."

Yulu left Qingfeng to her thoughts, rose, and entered the main hall. She saw her mistress flipping through a storybook again. After a moment’s hesitation, she approached and said softly, "Mistress, Qingfeng knows she was wrong. You know what she’s like—she was just afraid of causing trouble for you. She promises it won’t happen again."

Hearing this, Song Yunzhao replied calmly, "I’m relieved to hear you say that. Otherwise, everyone outside will think Wangyou Palace is a pushover that anyone can take a jab at."

A cold sweat broke out on Yulu’s back. She knew her mistress was truly displeased now. "Mistress, rest assured," she said quickly. "Qingfeng won’t dare to be so foolish again."

"Go on and attend to your duties."

Yulu nodded quickly. "Yes."

After leaving the hall, Yulu decided the matter couldn’t be dropped so easily. She went to find Anshun and spoke with him in hushed tones. Anshun’s expression turned grim. "I understand. I’ll investigate at once," he said. "There are only a few people in the entire harem with enough influence to reach into the Imperial Kitchen. It can’t be that hard to find out who’s behind this."

Yulu breathed a sigh of relief. "You go investigate first," she told Anshun. "I’ll go speak to Nanny Yu."

Anshun nodded and left. Yulu went to look for Nanny Yu, but it turned out she had gone to the Six Departments.

Before Nanny Yu returned, Shizhu came back. Seeing the food container in Shizhu’s hands, Yulu knew at a glance that the meal had been replaced. She hurried over to help carry it, noticing it was quite heavy.

"What did the Imperial Kitchen say?"

"Who cares what they said?" Shizhu sneered. "I went to the Imperial Kitchen and laid out our mistress’s ’breakfast’ dish by dish, right in front of the General Manager. Did I even need to say a word?"

"So what did the Imperial Kitchen’s General Manager say?" Yulu asked again.

"What else could he say? Those bastards just find an excuse to push the blame. The only one who got punished was the poor eunuch who prepared breakfast this morning."

"Did you question that eunuch?"

"I did. The eunuch just repeated the excuse that they were too busy with the Mid-Autumn Festival, so it was unavoidable that breakfast was a bit simple."

"Such a lame excuse."

"Tell me about it. I was so mad I went and lifted the lids on the meals prepared for other masters that hadn’t been collected yet."

Yulu was speechless.

Shizhu strode quickly into the hall with Yulu hurrying behind. Yulu placed the food container on the table and began to set out the new breakfast dishes one by one. The rich aroma of eight-treasure lotus seed congee immediately filled the air. The side dishes and various pastries, now spread across the table, stood in stark contrast to the bland, watery fare from before.

After listening to Shizhu’s report, Song Yunzhao looked at her. "You uncovered other people’s meals, and the Imperial Kitchen staff didn’t say anything?"

"They were in the wrong, so what could they possibly say? Besides," Shizhu said, "this servant only lifted the lids to let them see. I didn’t actually do anything to the food. The Imperial Kitchen’s steward pushed all the blame onto the eunuch who prepared breakfast, but I suspect it’s not that simple. How would a mere eunuch have such audacity? Given my status, however, that was the most I could do."

"You did well." Song Yunzhao sat at the table and took a bite of a golden-fried pastry. It was crisp, sweet, and fragrant. She followed it with a spoonful of lotus seed congee. ’Although I’m not a picky eater,’ she thought, ’who doesn’t enjoy delicious food?’

Seeing her mistress’s mood improve, Yulu spoke softly from the side. "I’ve already told Anshun, and he’s gone to investigate. Nanny Yu went to the Six Departments, but I’ll inform her as soon as she returns."

Song Yunzhao nodded. "There’s definitely someone behind that eunuch. Just have Anshun follow the trail wherever it leads. Who he manages to uncover will depend on his own skill."

’A little eunuch wouldn’t have the authority. Since he dared to send such a breakfast to Wangyou Palace, he must have been well compensated.’

’This incident wasn’t a huge deal, but it wasn’t insignificant either. I have no intention of just swallowing this insult, but I don’t want to blow it out of proportion.’

’However, my real goal is to use this opportunity to plant my own people in the Imperial Kitchen.’

Anshun didn’t return until around noon. "Mistress," he reported, "that eunuch met someone from Cuiwei Palace last night. It was just a low-ranking palace maid, but since it involves Cuiwei Palace, this servant didn’t dare to apprehend anyone rashly. I’ve come to ask for your instructions."

’Cuiwei Palace?’

Song Yunzhao was genuinely surprised. ’I didn’t expect it to be Consort Lu.’