I Was Supposed to Be the Villainous Consort

Grand Tutor Qin and his family left the traveling palace quickly. No one went to see them off, and no one asked them to stay.

Like a gust of wind, they vanished without a trace.

Qin Wan Yi fell ill—for real this time. She ran a fever for several days, and it was only after Princess Consort Zhuang heard about it that she had an Imperial Physician sent to treat her.

However, no one paid her any mind. With so many dignitaries and nobles from the Capital City present, those who had accompanied the Emperor to the traveling palace were simply glad that there was one less Grand Tutor Qin in court. A position had opened up, and countless people were secretly jockeying for it.

And so, the hunt at the traveling palace came to be.

Ostensibly, the hunt was merely for amusement. In truth, it was an opportunity for the great families to showcase their younger generations to the Emperor. This was the true power and influence of the great aristocratic clans: their children could easily gain an audience with the Emperor, while a commoner’s son had to endure years of arduous study and pass examination after examination, fighting for a one-in-ten-thousand chance to even see his face.

Song Yunzhao wasn’t normally interested in such things, but with Qin Wan Yi’s illness, the atmosphere in the traveling palace had become strangely tense. The Empress Dowager’s reticence was especially unnerving—the quieter her quarters, the more inscrutable the situation felt.

When Feng Yi suggested taking her out to relax her mind, Song Yunzhao naturally agreed in a heartbeat, seizing the opportunity to bring Feng Yunjin and a few others along.

The Emperor didn’t think it a major affair and simply allowed anyone at the traveling palace who wished to go to attend. However, within the imperial carriage itself, he was accompanied by Song Yunzhao and no one else.

Princess Consort Zhuang was fuming, but she gritted her teeth and attended nonetheless.

Princess Consort Wan wanted to feign illness out of habit, but then she recalled having claimed her health had greatly improved at the traveling palace. Not wanting to contradict her own words, she had no choice but to go as well.

Consort Shu was the most delighted of all. An outing was always a good thing, of course. She even had a custom riding habit made and went to the Imperial Stables to personally select a horse, her preparations brimming with boundless enthusiasm.

Being pregnant, Song Yunzhao couldn’t ride, but that didn’t stop her from mentally applauding Consort Shu. ’Look at her,’ she thought, ’so good at playing along with the Emperor’s events. I should take a page from her book.’

The hunting grounds were situated quite a distance from the traveling palace, so a smaller palace had been built just outside of them. The road leading to it was bustling with activity. Seated in the imperial carriage, Song Yunzhao peeked through the curtains at the lively scene outside. She saw groups of men and women galloping on horseback, making for a rather pleasing sight.

Seeing the look in Yun Zhao’s eyes, Feng Yi assumed she wanted to ride as well. "Next year," he told her, "I’ll go riding with you."

He was telling her not to envy others.

Song Yunzhao turned to look at Feng Yi. She had no idea what wild notions were running through the Emperor’s mind, but that didn’t stop her from seizing the opportunity to be coquettish. "Your Majesty must keep your promise. I’ll be sure to mark it down in my little notebook."

Feng Yi laughed, amused. ’A little notebook... only she could come up with something like that.’

"Oh? Is that Ji Yunting over there?" Song Yunzhao spotted a vaguely familiar figure in the distance. She couldn’t see him clearly, so she couldn’t help but ask.

Feng Yi glanced at Yun Zhao before raising his eyes to look. "It seems to be," he said slowly. "You have a good memory."

’He’s the original female lead’s ’white moonlight,’’ Song Yunzhao thought. ’How could I possibly forget him?’

"How could I forget? Surely Your Majesty hasn’t forgotten about him breaking his engagement with Princess Ming’an?" Song Yunzhao seized the chance to put in a bad word for Qin Xiyue. "The whole affair left Princess Ming’an completely heartbroken. I still get angry just seeing Ji Yunting."

Yun Zhao’s words jogged Feng Yi’s memory. "That was so long ago. Why are you still angry about it?"

’The parties involved themselves have probably moved on by now.’

Broken engagements, while uncommon, were not unheard of.

Song Yunzhao scoffed. "Of course I’m angry. Because of what happened, Princess Ming’an is still unbetrothed and hasn’t found a suitable match. For a woman, something like that has a profound impact on her life."

"If you have a good match in mind for her, I can issue an imperial decree of marriage to make it up to her. How about it?" Feng Yi had rarely seen Yun Zhao so invested and righteously indignant about someone else’s affairs. He didn’t have much of an impression of Prince Zhenbei’s daughter; his main memory was of Yun Zhao leading her into all sorts of mischief during the consort selection process.

Song Yunzhao’s face lit up with delight. "Really, Your Majesty? You are truly a wise and enlightened ruler."

’That’s all it takes to be a wise ruler?’

’The bar for being a wise ruler is set a little too low in her book.’

"For a grown man like Ji Yunting to let some other woman dictate the course of his own marriage... how laughable. He only ended up hurting others and himself."

Feng Yi held his tongue. Yun Zhao had been absolutely furious about this back then. Now that the old affair was being dredged up, his thoughts turned to Qin Xiyue, and his displeasure with her only grew.

Just as Song Yunzhao was about to look away, she noticed someone on horseback catch up to Ji Yunting. The person began to ride shoulder-to-shoulder with him, and they appeared to be on rather good terms.

"Your Majesty," Song Yunzhao asked doubtfully, "doesn’t that young lady beside Young Master Ji look a bit familiar?"

Feng Yi: "..."

’Why can’t she seem to tear her eyes away from Ji Yunting?’

He shot a casual glance in their direction and commented nonchalantly, "It seems his marriage prospects aren’t affected."

Song Yunzhao couldn’t agree more. "It’s always the woman who faces the worst of the humiliation from a broken engagement. Even if Ji Yunting was the one at fault, time passes and who remembers the details? A man can weather a broken engagement just fine, but it’s a different story for a woman." She paused, just in time to see the girl turn her head, her face becoming fully visible. An idea flashed in her mind. "Wait... that young lady bears some resemblance to Consort Zhuang. Could she be her younger sister? A Miss from the Wang Family?"

Feng Yi glanced over again but couldn’t see the resemblance. He looked at Yun Zhao, a flicker of suspicion in his eyes. "What is it?"

’Is she up to something again?’

"Oh, there is one thing Your Majesty probably doesn’t know yet," Song Yunzhao began, her face alight with excitement.

"What is it?" Seeing how delighted Yun Zhao looked, Feng Yi had a feeling it wasn’t good news—at least, not for someone.

"I’ve heard that the Wang Family and the Ji Family are interested in a marriage alliance. Seeing Miss Wang with Young Master Ji like that, it looks like a wedding isn’t far off," Song Yunzhao said, ruthlessly putting in a bad word for both families at once.

’The Emperor would hardly be pleased to see those two families joined by marriage.’

Sure enough, Yun Zhao saw the Emperor’s brow furrow slightly. "Who told you this?" he asked.

Song Yunzhao certainly wasn’t about to betray her sources. "I’ve attended a few palace banquets here and there," she said evasively. "Isn’t that rumor flying all over the place?"

Feng Yi retracted his gaze and looked at Yun Zhao. "You approve of this match?"

"What does it matter if I approve? As long as the Wang and Ji Families approve, that’s enough. It has nothing to do with me." Song Yunzhao let out a soft laugh and turned to face the Emperor. "I just think Prime Minister Wang has such excellent taste in picking a son-in-law."

Feng Yi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at Yun Zhao’s snide tone. ’So she clearly dislikes this potential marriage,’ he concluded.

Song Yunzhao stopped looking toward Ji Yunting’s group and leaned against the Emperor with a smile. "Once we arrive, Your Majesty should take a walk with me. With such a vast meadow before us, it would be a shame not to take a stroll."

Feng Yi: "..."

’That sounds odd, but it also seems strangely reasonable.’

’Alright, then.’

After the two arrived at their destination, Song Yunzhao changed into more comfortable clothing and promptly dragged Feng Yi outside.

She had decided to go and stir things up. Just looking at Ji Yunting was really grating on her nerves.