I Was Supposed to Be the Villainous Consort

The commotion in the palace didn’t die down until the Mid-Autumn Festival. Later, Song Yunzhao learned a bit of inside information from Feng Yi. The conflict between the late Emperor’s Crown Prince and Prince Ji had indeed been suspicious, but Feng Yi was in no mood to elaborate, and Yunzhao didn’t press for details.

The affairs of the previous court had little to do with her. After all, they had been dealt with in one fell swoop, leaving no lingering trouble.

But Feng Yi’s expression was grim, and she guessed it had something to do with the courtiers’ meddling.

She didn’t know how far Grand Tutor Qin’s reach had extended, but she knew that Qin Song and Qin Jiachun had both lost their lives. It was fortunate that Grand Tutor Qin had retired to his hometown; otherwise, it was hard to say what his fate might have been.

As for Qin Wan Yi, she had fallen completely silent after Qin Song’s death, no longer even visiting Shouci Palace.

Song Yunzhao clicked her tongue. ’This time, the female lead must be a little scared.’

She must have known the truth about Qin Song and Qin Jiachun better than anyone.

Yet they had died just like that. The Emperor’s stance was already crystal clear. If she continued to feign ignorance now, she would probably be next.

This year’s Mid-Autumn Banquet was even less lively than last year’s. The Empress Dowager claimed illness, Qin Xiyue claimed illness, and Princess Consort Wan also felt unwell. Song Yunzhao was beginning to wonder if the palace was truly cursed. Consort Shu, who was probably genuinely exasperated, used her characteristic forthrightness to request an imperial edict allowing Daoists into the palace to perform an exorcism.

Song Yunzhao was left speechless.

For the next several days, the harem was filled with the smell of burning incense and paper offerings. She rarely participated in such events, using the excuse of caring for her child to stay away.

Consort Shu didn’t mind; she could handle it herself. Unexpectedly, Princess Consort Wan even asked the Daoist master for an Amulet and helped Consort Shu with the arrangements.

Song Yunzhao was surprised. She hadn’t expected Princess Consort Wan to actually believe in such things.

After the Mid-Autumn Banquet, the harem gradually quieted down. Only then did Feng Yi issue an edict to celebrate the Empress Dowager’s birthday.

For the Empress Dowager’s birthday, the palace instantly burst into a flurry of activity.

Song Yunzhao observed the goings-on at Shouci Palace, smiling and shaking her head without a word. However, the Empress Dowager was clearly a woman who knew her own mind. Since the Emperor was hosting a birthday banquet for her, it had to be done properly. Consequently, Shouci Palace would send over new requests from time to time.

When Consort Shu grew impatient, she told them to go to Song Yunzhao. Song Yunzhao was just as annoyed, but since Consort Shu had helped her before, she had no choice but to hold her nose and accept the task to repay the favor.

However, she had her own idea. Since the Empress Dowager was so intent on finding work for her, she made a point to discuss it with Consort Shu and arranged for Feng Yunjin to liaise with Shouci Palace on the specific details.

Feng Yunjin had been in her position for a long time. She would need some accomplishments to her name for a future promotion. ’Might as well let her start building her credentials now.’

Yunzhao had also cleared it with Feng Yi, who wasn’t particularly concerned. He just told Yunzhao to use her own judgment in assigning personnel.

With the Empress Dowager’s grand birthday banquet this year, the city outside the palace also grew lively as everyone had to prepare gifts for her.

At the Marquis Wenxin’s Mansion, Mrs. Cai was in a foul mood. Xu Anxing was insisting on promoting Yan Liu to the status of a concubine, and Song Qinghan was naturally against it. Before, when the Song Family held no noble title, she could still restrain herself. But now her own father was a Marquis, equal in rank to her father-in-law. Why should she still have to endure such misery?

Xu Anxing had a huge fight with her. Despite all her time spent in Buddhist prayer, she was so enraged her vision went black. The moment Xu Anxing walked out the door, she had her servants drag Yan Liu over and give her a vicious beating of twenty strokes with a plank.

’If she hadn’t been instigating Xu Anxing behind my back, would he have dared to cause such a scene with me?’

’I couldn’t touch her before, but I can’t touch her now?’

After twenty strokes, Yan Liu was half-dead. When Xu Anxing heard the news, he rushed back to the mansion and demanded a divorce.

This time, Song Qinghan threw all caution to the wind. ’Divorce me?’ she thought. She would sue Xu Anxing for favoring a concubine to the detriment of his legal wife!

The Marchioness Wu Xin was so furious she nearly keeled over. She immediately threatened Song Qinghan: if she dared to make a scene, the Marchioness would sue her for unfilial conduct!

Song Qinghan immediately had a servant send a message to her mother. Mrs. Cai rushed to the Marquis Wuxin Mansion with her entourage and, without a second word, took her daughter home. She pointed a finger in the Marchioness Wu Xin’s face and cursed, "In this entire Capital City, I’ve never seen such a foul family! You don’t even have a legitimate heir, yet you have a line of children from a foot-washing maid! No rules, no decency—utterly shameless! Don’t you even think about divorcing her! It’s either a mutual separation, or we’ll sue Xu Anxing for favoring his concubine over his wife. We’ll see which well-bred young lady dares to jump into your family’s pit of fire after this! Treating a foot-washing maid like a treasure... Ptooey!"

By the time the First Madam received the news, it was too late. Mrs. Cai’s words had been merciless, completely shattering any pretense of civility.

When Song Qinghan returned to the Marquis Wenxin’s Mansion, she was so thin her clothes seemed to hang off her frame. Her cheeks were sunken, making her eyes appear all the more sullen and grim.

Mrs. Cai sent a letter to her husband, and Song Nanzhen rushed home.

Upon seeing her father, Song Qinghan pressed her lips together, lowered her head, and remained silent.

Mrs. Cai, through tears and snot, cursed the Marquis Wuxin Mansion, calling them despicable. The First Madam sat to the side with a throbbing headache, not wanting to speak for a long moment.

There were proper ways to handle a mutual separation, but Mrs. Cai had chosen the stupidest one.

Song Nanzhen had been overseeing the Ministry of Revenue for some time now, and his entire demeanor had changed. He sat down in the main hall and lifted his gaze to his wife.

Mrs. Cai awkwardly fell silent. She was a little afraid of her husband these days.

It couldn’t be helped. Her maternal family’s status was now no match for her husband’s. After Song Yunzhao’s promotion to Ming Fei, her own position in the family had become rather awkward. The First Madam helped manage the household, and all the servants answered to her; she was just a Marchioness in name only.

Song Nanzhen looked at his daughter. "What do you want to do?"

Song Qinghan clutched her handkerchief, her fingertips pressed tightly together. After a long moment, she finally said, "Father, I want a mutual separation."

"Have you thought this through?"

"I have."

Song Nanzhen pressed his lips together and turned to the First Madam. "Sister-in-law, I must trouble you to take the lead on this. I will meet with the Marquis Wuxin and make things clear. It would be best if our two families can settle this amicably. Otherwise, we will have no choice but to take it to court."

The First Madam had expected this day would come. She looked at her third brother-in-law and said unhurriedly, "If Qing Han has her heart set on a mutual separation, it isn’t impossible. The Marquis Wuxin Mansion was at fault first, so we have a good chance of succeeding. However, have you thought about what comes after, Third Brother-in-law?"

Song Nanzhen looked at the First Madam. "Sister-in-law, please speak plainly."

The First Madam’s gaze fell upon Mrs. Cai and Song Qinghan. "After the separation, what are Qing Han’s plans? She can’t live in her parents’ home forever. Will she remarry, or will she enter a convent to pursue spiritual cultivation?"

Mrs. Cai was instantly displeased. "Sister-in-law, what are you implying? How could she pursue spiritual cultivation? Qing Han is still so young and has never even had a child! You want her to spend the rest of her life in lonely prayer? That’s too cruel."

The First Madam didn’t even blink at Mrs. Cai’s accusation. "Third Sister-in-law, it’s not that I, her aunt, am being cruel. But after she separates from Xu Anxing, what kind of good family do you think she can find in the Capital City? Forget about the great and noble clans; even a promising scholar or Advanced Scholar would likely be unwilling to have her as his primary wife."

Mrs. Cai choked on her words. "Why wouldn’t they? She has a Marquis for a father now!"

"What man from a prominent household doesn’t have several concubines? She had a concubine who’d already borne two children beaten half to death simply because she was displeased. Based on that alone, who would dare let her into their family?" The First Madam’s words were harsh, but they were the truth.

Even if Xu Anxing doted on his concubine, plenty of people in the Capital City knew how this marriage came about in the first place. Was Song Qinghan’s own reputation truly spotless?