I Was Supposed to Be the Villainous Consort

He had brought her to the traveling palace hoping she would be happy, but what happened yesterday, so soon after her arrival, had really upset her.

"I’ll have Meng Jiuchang prepare a banquet. What do you think?" Feng Yi asked with a smile.

"Oh? That’s not necessary." Song Yunzhao quickly shook her head. "If you do that, I’m afraid the Empress Dowager will be displeased again."

’Wasn’t this just a classic case of playing innocent to slander someone?’

’I can do that too!’

’If the Empress Dowager wants to come after me, of course I’ll fight back.’

’This mother and son’s relationship was so fragile, it would take almost no effort on my part to break it. The Empress Dowager truly didn’t appreciate what she had. If she had focused on mending her relationship with the Emperor after returning to the palace, it would have been much harder for me to pull any strings.’

"Then let’s have it prepared," Feng Yi decided on the spot. The Empress Dowager had humiliated Yun Zhao, and he wouldn’t just restore her dignity; he would do so twofold.

"Then I’ll do as the Emperor wishes." Song Yunzhao knew what to say to make him happy. ’He’s doing this for my sake. If I don’t agree, I’ll only end up hurting his feelings. I can’t be that foolish.’

’As long as the Emperor was doing something for her, no matter if it was good or bad, through a mountain of knives or a sea of fire, she would stand by his side.’

’That way, in the Emperor’s heart, she would be the most reliable, most trusted, and most beloved person.’

’Relying on beauty alone to win favor—how many years can that arrogance last?’

’My goal is to capture his heart!’

"It’s just..." Song Yunzhao feigned a worried look. "When my family comes tomorrow, I have to send someone to the Empress Dowager for permission. What if she tries to stop it?"

"The Empress Dowager would stop it?" Feng Yi frowned.

"Does the Emperor not know?" Song Yunzhao put on a perfectly timed expression of surprise. "Ever since the Empress Dowager returned, all palace affairs have been decided by Shouci Palace. Things like family visits must be reported to her."

Only then did Feng Yi remember that Yun Zhao had not seen her family since the Empress Dowager’s return.

"You’ve been wronged." Feng Yi hadn’t realized that, out of his sight, she had been forced to endure so many grievances. And Yun Zhao had never once complained to him.

Everyone else called Yun Zhao domineering, but only he knew how good she truly was.

"I’m not wronged. With the Emperor protecting me, how could I be?" Song Yunzhao smiled, gazing at Feng Yi. ’See? All I had to do was hint at it. I didn’t even have to say that the reason I haven’t seen my family wasn’t because the Empress Dowager blocked me, but because I never even submitted a request to Shouci Palace. But in the Emperor’s mind, he would certainly believe I hadn’t seen my family because the Empress Dowager was meddling.’

’Even if the Empress Dowager were to explain later, the Emperor wouldn’t think she was some petty person making slanderous accusations, because Yun Zhao never directly accused the Empress Dowager of rejecting her request. The Emperor would just assume she was so afraid of the Empress Dowager’s interference that she didn’t even dare to make the request in the first place, proving how much the Empress Dowager oppressed her.’

’Sure enough, I was born to be the villainess. This role is practically welded to me; I could never tear it off.’

"From now on, if you want to see your family, just see them. You don’t need to report to the Empress Dowager."

"Emperor?" Song Yunzhao was genuinely stunned by his words. ’What kind of domineering line is that, straight out of the "Foolish Tyrant" playbook? It’s the standard package!’

’I love it!’

"Don’t be afraid. I will personally speak to the Empress Dowager about this," Feng Yi said, gently patting her hand to soothe her, thinking Yun Zhao was frightened.

Song Yunzhao dove into the Emperor’s arms, afraid he would see the corners of her mouth lifting high. ’I can’t hold it back! What do I do? I’m just too happy!’

’I want to throw my head back and laugh, but I have to hold it in.’

’Just imagining the look on the Empress Dowager’s face when she finds out about this makes me so happy I could eat three extra bowls of rice. It’s so satisfying, so delightful.’

’Ever since the Empress Dowager returned to the palace, we’ve clashed several times. While I haven’t lost, I haven’t really gained an advantage either.’

’In fact, looking at the overall balance, I’ve actually been at a slight disadvantage.’

’But now, the Emperor has won it all back for me in one fell swoop.’

’No wonder everyone wants to be the villain. It feels so good.’

Feng Yi felt the woman in his arms trembling and grew even more guilty. It was such a small thing, but it was clear that Zhaozhao had truly been wronged.

’When had someone with her temperament ever had to suffer like this? But since the Empress Dowager’s return, she had been schemed against several times.’

That night, the Emperor once again stayed with Yun Zhao. She tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep.

Feng Yi pulled her into his arms. "Can’t sleep?"

Song Yunzhao didn’t say a word. She rested her cheek against the Emperor’s chest and wrapped her arms tightly around his waist.

Feng Yi sensed something was off. He turned on his side, gazing at her in the faint light. "What’s wrong?"

The Emperor lifted her head from his chest. Their eyes met, and her face instantly reddened.

Feng Yi paused. ’What’s wrong?’

Song Yunzhao’s gaze darted about. She bit her lip and spoke with an embarrassed expression, "I can’t attend to you in bed right now. If you keep staying the night here, I’m afraid it won’t be good for your health."

Feng Yi listened as Yun Zhao’s voice grew quieter and quieter, her face as red as a ripe fruit. He immediately understood what she meant, but he deliberately teased, "You don’t want me to stay with you? Then I’ll just go back."

’Damn Emperor,’ Song Yunzhao cursed inwardly. ’He’s deliberately trying to provoke me.’

She pretended to fall for his trick, quickly grabbing the Emperor’s sleeve. "I didn’t! You can’t accuse me of that."

Feng Yi chuckled. "Then what do you mean?"

Song Yunzhao said nothing, just tugged insistently on his sleeve, refusing to let go. ’I really am a great actress,’ she thought. ’If I could ever transmigrate back to my own time, I could definitely make a living as an actress and win a few Best Actress awards.’

Watching Yun Zhao’s little antics, Feng Yi was both exasperated and amused. He reached out to poke her cheek. "Go on, say something. What happened to that sharp tongue of yours?"

"Well, I’m afraid I’ll anger the Emperor if I say it," Song Yunzhao mumbled.

"Tell me," Feng Yi said, his interest piqued. He wanted to know just what Yun Zhao had in mind.

Song Yunzhao: ...

’Oh, the perfectly righteous and heroic Emperor from the novel... his character has completely collapsed. If the readers could see this, they’d probably curse me, the Evil Concubine, to death!’

"No way. What if you get angry and punish me, Emperor?"

"I won’t get angry, and I won’t punish you. Just say it."

"Really?"

"Really!"

Song Yunzhao put on a great show of mustering her courage. She broke free from the Emperor’s embrace, sat up straight, and stared at him with the tragic solemnity of a warrior marching to their doom. "What am I supposed to think? Of course I don’t want the Emperor to favor other women while I’m pregnant. And I don’t want you to avoid me, where we can only see each other during the day and are separated like the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl at night. Of course I want to be with you day and night, just like before.

But I know it’s wrong for me to think this way. I’m pregnant and can’t attend to you, so how can I let you... because of me... But I just can’t bear the thought of you going to find someone else.

Pregnancy is already so hard. I can’t eat well, I can’t sleep well... and the man beside my pillow is going to sleep with another woman behind my back? I could just die from the injustice of it all! If you hadn’t come to stay with me at all, that would be one thing. But you did come, so now there’s no way I’m letting you go."

Feng Yi: ...

’She’s talking about me like I’m some kind of object. Fine. This is exactly the sort of thing Song Yunzhao would do!’

’She actually made him laugh out of sheer exasperation!’