I Was Supposed to Be the Villainous Consort

While Song Yunzhao was at Taixi Hall to lodge a complaint and curry favor, Consort Shu and Princess Consort Wan found themselves on a rare walk alone, and Princess Consort Wan even invited Consort Shu to Roufu Palace for tea.

Consort Shu didn’t particularly want to go, but seeing as it was Princess Consort Wan’s first-ever invitation, she nodded in agreement.

Le Chun served the tea and led the palace attendants away. Yunshang glanced at her mistress, and after Consort Shu gave a slight nod, she also withdrew.

Consort Shu took a sip. Princess Consort Wan enjoyed dabbling in making her own concoctions, and one taste was enough to tell she had blended this tea herself. It was infused with a floral fragrance that Consort Shu found a little too cloying for her palate.

"You didn’t invite me here just for tea, did you?" Consort Shu was no naive child. Her personality was the complete opposite of Princess Consort Wan’s; the two had never held each other in high regard.

"Back when the palace was restructured, many palace attendants were sent away. It’s not so easy to communicate with our families anymore," Princess Consort Wan sighed softly.

Consort Shu deeply agreed. She hadn’t been used to the change at first, either. Communicating with her family had always been so convenient; she could just dispatch someone out of the palace. But now, every trip had to be logged, and there were limits on the number of times one could go in and out each month.

But for Princess Consort Wan to bring this up... Consort Shu immediately grew wary. ’Is the Yao family planning something?’

In the past, her family and the Yao family had been on good terms; Yao Zongjing had to rely on his father. But over the past year, Yao Zongjing had been scrambling all over the place, and the relationship with her family was no longer as close as it once was.

Her own relationship with Princess Consort Wan had also grown more distant. She recalled that when they first entered the palace, Princess Consort Wan, likely heeding her family’s words, had been reasonably respectful. But before long, she couldn’t suppress her true nature and grew impatient with deferring to her. Consort Shu herself wasn’t the easiest person to get along with, so the two of them could hardly be described as living in harmony within the palace.

But because their families were in the same boat, they never completely dropped the facade.

However, ever since Yao Zongjing had grown distant from his father, her relationship with the already incompatible Princess Consort Wan had become even more lukewarm. Given the chance, they would even take a jab at one another.

"What are you trying to say?" Consort Shu simply disliked Princess Consort Wan’s mannerisms, always speaking in riddles and leaving things half-said. It was far less refreshing than dealing with Song Yunzhao.

Seeing Consort Shu’s frown, Princess Consort Wan’s expression remained unchanged as she said softly, "My family tells me that the court has seen many changes recently. The Emperor is attempting to push new policies. If he succeeds, I’m afraid the power of the courtiers will be greatly diminished."

Consort Shu understood. Her mother had mentioned it briefly in her last reply, telling her she must be careful in the palace and not to offend Song Yunzhao.

’Given my relationship with Song Yunzhao, is there any need for me to *try* to offend her?’

"So what?" Consort Shu had been worried before, but ever since she’d ’borrowed’ Song Yunzhao’s luck a couple of times, not only she but her family as well had come to accept things.

’Whatever the Emperor wants to do, he’ll do. The world is his, after all. As his subjects, we just need to do our duty and be loyal.’

If it were an emperor like the late Emperor, the courtiers might still harbor their own ambitions. But with a wise ruler like the current Emperor, isn’t having such ambitions just asking for death?

Look at Wang Xuanfan’s fate—a textbook example of someone who failed to grasp the situation.

’What, is Yao Zongjing thinking of testing the edge of the Emperor’s blade himself?’

Seeing that Consort Shu’s expression hadn’t changed at all, Princess Consort Wan was a bit bewildered. "Aren’t you afraid?"

"What is there to be afraid of?" Consort Shu asked in return.

"Think about Wang Xuanfan."

"Didn’t Wang Xuanfan bring that upon himself?"

Princess Consort Wan was left speechless.

Consort Shu looked at Princess Consort Wan. On account of their pleasant cooperation lately, she decided to offer a reminder. "Princess Consort Wan, what the Emperor does is his own affair. The entire world belongs to him; he can do as he pleases. You and I may be concubines, but you should know our status is nothing more than superficial splendor. Wouldn’t you agree?"

A tremor went through Princess Consort Wan’s heart. She stared at Consort Shu in disbelief.

"Why do we not have children? Deep down, you must have some inkling, right? It’s not just now; I’m afraid we’ll never have them. Perhaps you and I will spend our entire lives at this rank of concubine, and that’s only if we make no mistakes."

"You..." ’When did Consort Shu become so perceptive?’

"Me what? Are you surprised I could say something like this? I may be blunt, but I’m not a fool. I’m just not duplicitous like you."

"Who are you calling duplicitous?"

"If the shoe fits."

Princess Consort Wan was aghast.

Consort Shu scoffed. "Let me guess. Your family must be urging you to use the arrival of the new women as an opportunity to win back the Emperor’s favor, aren’t they?"

Princess Consort Wan’s hand, clutching her handkerchief, tightened. For the first time, she realized just how clever Consort Shu was.

The mockery on Consort Shu’s face intensified. "Do you really think we lost favor because of Ming Fei? Was the Emperor ever truly good to us even before she entered the palace?"

Princess Consort Wan fell silent. ’I’m still a virgin,’ she thought. ’How could that possibly be considered ’good’?’

"Do you know why we don’t have children?"

Princess Consort Wan remained silent.

"You know the reason, don’t you? Let me give you some advice: don’t listen to your family. Look at how the Wang Family fell. How does Wang Yunyi’s temperament compare to ours? And look at her now. When Wang Yunyi fell, she was flexible enough to get back up. I’m afraid you and I are too proud to stoop so low and lose face like that. If that day ever comes for us, a personality like yours will only lead to a dead end. For the sake of all the years we’ve known each other, I’m telling you, it’s best not to get involved in the affairs of the court. Neither of us will be a second Wang Zhaorong."

’Wang Yunyi was able to keep her position as a Zhaorong because the Emperor didn’t want a reputation for being cruel and ruthless. But once he has complete control of the court, will he still care about things like that?’

’If Princess Consort Wan and I are implicated because of our families, our fates will certainly not be as lucky as Wang Yunyi’s.’

"Isn’t life fine as it is?" Consort Shu looked at Princess Consort Wan. "Besides monopolizing the Emperor’s favor and being possessive, has Song Yunzhao ever made things difficult for us? She is the mother of a Prince. The only reason her rank is the same as ours is her lack of seniority. In a few more years, don’t you think she’ll be promoted? When that happens, we will both have to bow and pay our respects to her. Do you think it’s better to have someone with Song Yunzhao’s personality as the Imperial Concubine, or would you prefer someone else?"

Princess Consort Wan was silent.

’Actually, Song Yunzhao is probably better,’ she thought. ’Dealing with her lately has been surprisingly comfortable and saved me a lot of trouble.’

Consort Shu stood up. "I suggest you think about it carefully. A person can’t be too greedy. Didn’t Wang Yunyi end up where she is today precisely because she was too greedy? Our lives are comfortable and carefree right now. We should cherish that."

As Consort Shu left Roufu Palace, she thought, ’If it weren’t for Princess Consort Wan’s irreplaceable skill with creating formulas, I wouldn’t have wasted so much breath on her today.’

’She seems so clever, yet she still gets muddle-headed when it comes to her family’s affairs.’

’Wang Yunyi is a cautionary tale, yet Princess Consort Wan wants to follow right in her footsteps. They all say I’m the dumbest of the three concubines, but from where I’m standing, the other two are the ones who are too clever for their own good.’

The more Consort Shu thought about it, the more worried she became. ’This won’t do. I have to write home and tell Father to be on guard against Yao Zongjing. We’ve just managed to crawl out of the gutter; I can’t let us be dragged back down again.’

Consort Shu heaved a long sigh. ’Why can’t life just let me live in peace?’