I Was Supposed to Be the Villainous Consort

When Consort Shu and Princess Consort Wan heard there was trouble at Baozhuang Building, they hurried over. After listening to Yun Zhao, both of their expressions changed drastically.

Consort Shu was seething with rage, while Princess Consort Wan’s face went white.

Yun Zhao carefully observed both of their faces, then looked at Princess Consort Wan and spoke slowly. "Princess Consort Wan, is there something you know?"

Princess Consort Wan was taken aback by Yun Zhao’s words. She slowly raised her head to meet Song Yunzhao’s eyes, a hint of hesitation in her own.

Seeing this, Consort Shu immediately snapped, "Princess Consort Wan, say something! You look so guilty. Don’t tell me this actually has something to do with you?"

Princess Consort Wan averted her gaze, unable to look at either of them. After a long moment, she said, "I don’t know if my suspicion is correct or not. Back when Ming Fei said we could each recommend someone for the shop, the person I put forward was sent by my family."

Consort Shu looked at her. "Yes, mine was too. What does that have to do with anything?"

’It has everything to do with it,’ Song Yunzhao thought.

The Right Minister’s attitude at court had been leaning closer to the Emperor’s. Although it wasn’t obvious, his resistance to the Emperor’s new policies had been minimal.

But Yao Zongjing was a different story. He used to be a follower of the Right Minister, but over the past year or so, she had picked up hints from her aunt’s letters that Yao Zongjing’s political views were gradually diverging from the Right Minister’s. The two hadn’t completely parted ways, but their old dynamic of mutual support was gone.

Besides, at every palace banquet, Mrs. Yao’s attitude toward her held a veiled hostility. She wasn’t a fool; of course she could sense it.

Song Yunzhao looked at Consort Shu. "We should investigate this first before jumping to conclusions. Two lives are no small matter. The mastermind behind this must be found."

Consort Shu voiced her support, but Princess Consort Wan looked worried.

"Besides that, there is something else I must inform you both of." Song Yunzhao’s gaze swept past Consort Shu’s face, finally settling on Princess Consort Wan. "There’s a problem with Zhang Maoquan’s procurement."

"A problem? What kind of problem could there be?" Consort Shu was baffled. "This is the shop the Emperor permitted Song Yunzhao to open. Would the Six Departments dare make things difficult for her? The absolute audacity!"

Princess Consort Wan was also confused. "That’s right. Zhang Maoquan has always gotten along well with the Six Departments. It’s just procuring some supplies. How could there be a problem?"

Zhang Maoquan has the Emperor’s backing. Do the Six Departments have a death wish?

Hearing them, Song Yunzhao knew they didn’t fully understand the situation, so she explained, "Our workshop was split off from the Inner Workshop. The Inner Workshop was originally under the jurisdiction of the Six Departments, but it operated independently during the late Emperor’s reign. It was only placed back under the Six Departments after some problems arose. You’ve both heard of this, haven’t you?"

"I have heard of that, but what does it have to do with what’s happening now?" Consort Shu asked, confused.

Song Yunzhao replied, "Consort Shu, when you handle palace affairs, you must have seen the palace registers. Although the Inner Workshop is part of the Six Departments, all matters concerning it are recorded in separate volumes."

Consort Shu nodded. ’What’s wrong with that?’

Princess Consort Wan’s expression, however, changed slightly. She looked at Yun Zhao and said, "Are you saying that the Inner Workshop and the Six Departments have actually been at odds all these years?"

Song Yunzhao nodded. "Not ’at odds,’ exactly. The Inner Workshop once managed its own affairs. Even though it was later placed under the Six Departments, it never truly submitted. The two have always been subtly competing behind the scenes. This time, by having the Emperor split a workshop from the Inner Workshop and assign it to Baozhuang Building, we’ve essentially given the Inner Workshop hope of breaking away from the Six Departments again."

’Perhaps Feng Yi’s intention from the start was to stir up conflict between the Inner Workshop and the Six Departments. The Six Departments has been the dominant power for too long, and its members often act with arrogance. When I first entered the palace, they caused me no end of trouble.’

’Ultimately, the Six Departments is supposed to be a group of government offices that serves the concubines of the harem, yet it tries to use its authority to control them. This is the kind of situation that arises when one group becomes too powerful.’

’This time,’ she thought, ’both the Six Departments and the Inner Workshop must have something to do with it.’

But their power struggle had dragged her Baozhuang Building into the mess, and she was definitely not pleased.

After Yun Zhao’s explanation, Consort Shu and Princess Consort Wan exchanged a look, both of their expressions filled with disbelief.

"Surely not?" Consort Shu said. It all sounded so incredible.

Princess Consort Wan paid even less attention to these matters, so she seemed somewhat dazed by the news. She had never noticed anything different about the Six Departments on a daily basis.

Song Yunzhao chuckled softly. "You are both high-ranking and backed by powerful families, so how would anyone from the Six Departments dare disrespect you? When I first entered the palace, the Clothing Bureau tried to put me in my place. They just treat people differently based on their status."

"Then what do you plan to do?" Consort Shu looked at Song Yunzhao. "Now that you’ve laid all this out, you must have a plan. But Baozhuang Building needs supplies from the Inner Workshop and the Six Departments. You can’t afford to offend both of them."

Princess Consort Wan deeply agreed. Being in the palace, one inevitably had to bow one’s head on certain matters.

Song Yunzhao knew that once people developed a fixed mindset, it was hard for them to think outside the box.

The Six Departments had always been the Imperial Court in charge of all harem affairs, so neither Consort Shu nor Princess Consort Wan had ever even considered bypassing them.

But Song Yunzhao didn’t think that way. ’I’m from a future generation,’ she thought. ’In business, who only works with a single supplier? Naturally, you choose whoever has the best quality goods for the lowest price.’

"Consort Shu, there are countless merchants in the world. Just because one butcher closes shop, does that mean we have to eat pork with the hair still on? The Six Departments and the Inner Workshop are having their own conflict, yet they want to drag Baozhuang Building down with them. Why should we let them get their way? Baozhuang Building is the fruit of our hard work, not a pawn in their power games."

At Song Yunzhao’s words, Consort Shu found herself in complete agreement. "You’re absolutely right! Those bastards, they really think they’re all that. But from the sound of it, you want to find other suppliers? Isn’t that against the rules?"

"The Emperor permitted us to open Baozhuang Building. Since it’s a shop, it should naturally be run according to the rules of business. The only difference is that we’re the ones running it. Since it operates outside the palace, what does it have to do with the Six Departments or the Inner Workshop? We only used them for the sake of convenience. Since they’re being so difficult, what’s stopping us from replacing them?" Song Yunzhao said steadily.

Consort Shu’s eyes lit up. "That makes sense! Baozhuang Building isn’t located inside the palace. They have no jurisdiction over it!"

Princess Consort Wan wasn’t adept at such matters, but what Yun Zhao said seemed to make sense. She hesitated for a moment before asking softly, "Do you think the two disloyal people at the shop could be connected to this?"

Although she didn’t quite understand these things, these two incidents had happened one right after the other. Each one was a major blow. This was clearly an attempt to force Baozhuang Building to close its doors.

She had a feeling it couldn’t be a coincidence.