I Was Supposed to Be the Villainous Consort

Song Yunzhao’s stance was clear. This matter had a right and a wrong, and she intended to get to the bottom of it.

So, she summoned the palace attendant who had been wronged in the Imperial Garden and the one from Shouci Palace who had been throwing their weight around. She also called in every palace attendant on duty nearby that day, regardless of whether they had seen anything.

A face-to-face confrontation, a direct interrogation. Song Yunzhao put on the airs of a favored concubine, a display of pure, unadulterated arrogance!

’I’ll show you all what real arrogance and tyranny look like!’

The palace attendant from Shouci Palace refused to admit anything at first. With the Emperor away from the palace, the Empress Dowager was the highest authority. ’Who did the people of Shouci Palace have to fear?’

But Song Yunzhao was no pushover. For their insolence and abuse of power, she first had Nanny Yu lead a few people in delivering a sound slapping.

Never mind Consort Shu; even Princess Consort Wan was stunned.

Song Yunzhao smiled, the very picture of gentleness and virtue. "Sisters, in all our time managing palace affairs, I’ve never seen a palace attendant so arrogant that they show no respect for their masters. They need to be taught the rules, wouldn’t you say?"

Consort Shu’s eyes lit up as she immediately chimed in, "Exactly. Some people just never learn their lesson."

Princess Consort Wan realized she didn’t need to say a thing. The two of them were more than enough.

Many palace attendants had been on duty in the Imperial Garden that day, and a good number had witnessed what truly happened. Yun Zhao questioned them one by one, in private. To prevent the Empress Dowager from accusing her of bias and corruption, she also requested that the Six Departments send personnel to take official statements.

Her people were asking the questions, the Six Departments were taking the depositions, and the ones testifying were the palace attendants from the Imperial Garden. The three parties had no direct ties to one another.

Besides, the Empress Dowager hadn’t considered the incident a big deal. It was just an opportunity to suppress Consort Shu’s prestige and reprimand someone—hardly a major event. Consequently, she hadn’t given any thought to the aftermath.

Who would have thought Song Yunzhao would act so fast and even launch a formal inquiry? This time, the Empress Dowager could not sit still.

Song Yunzhao was not one to be trifled with. When Feng Yi was in the palace, she was the innocent and kind "white lotus," the manipulative "green tea" who acted like she couldn’t live without him.

But with Feng Yi away from the palace, she was a wild rose covered in thorns. If anyone dared to bare their teeth at her, she would make damn sure they learned why flowers are so red.

’The harem has no Empress. With the three of us concubines united, could we really lose a power struggle against an Empress Dowager who is all form and no substance?’

’If that happened, she might as well give up on palace life entirely.’

Song Yunzhao’s strategy was to be swift and decisive, catching the Empress Dowager completely off guard and giving her no time to react.

By the time the Empress Dowager rushed over, Yun Zhao had already finished recording the depositions, complete with signatures and thumbprints. They were, so to speak, fresh out of the oven and still warm.

The Empress Dowager was so infuriated by Song Yunzhao’s move that she nearly fainted on the spot. She had never seen someone who played so dirty.

"Empress Dowager, we have both witnesses and evidence. To ensure impartiality, I specifically asked the Six Departments to send someone to record the depositions. You may not trust me, but surely you trust the Six Departments?"

After the Six Departments had been reformed, a General Manager was placed in charge, making the departments directly accountable to the Emperor.

Now, anyone who tried to meddle with the Six Departments risked having their hands chopped off.

Song Yunzhao had openly requested people from the Six Departments. Fan Deshi, knowing full well that Ming Fei was the apple of the Emperor’s eye, wouldn’t dare to treat the matter lightly. The people he sent were all sharp; not only did he send scribes to take depositions, but he also sent supervisors to ensure the process was seen as fair and just.

’Why was Ming Fei making such a grand show of requesting people from the Six Departments?’

Fan Deshi, of course, knew exactly why. It was a favor that cost him nothing to grant, and he’d be a fool not to.

The Empress Dowager had only wanted to use the issue to assert her dominance in the harem. Who knew Song Yunzhao would be so stubborn and push back so forcefully?

With both witnesses and evidence accounted for, what more could the Empress Dowager say?

Especially since Song Yunzhao had also invited Fan Deshi. The Empress Dowager trembled with fury, her gaze on Song Yunzhao like she was looking at a corpse.

Song Yunzhao wore a faint smile, her posture neither servile nor overbearing, as she met the Empress Dowager’s gaze calmly.

Fan Deshi’s palms and the soles of his feet were slick with cold sweat, and he felt a chill run down his spine.

’What an eye-opener. This Ming Fei is truly something else, daring to confront the Empress Dowager so directly while the Emperor is away.’

"The Empress Dowager has always been just. However, even the most just person can be deceived by the scoundrels beneath them. Consort Shu, Princess Consort Wan, and I have been entrusted by the Emperor to manage palace affairs, so we naturally dare not be remiss. When an incident occurs, we must of course investigate it thoroughly. That way, when the Emperor returns from his northern tour, the three of us will be able to give him a proper account."

Song Yunzhao was offering the Empress Dowager a way to save face: it wasn’t that the Empress Dowager was making trouble, but that her subordinates had deceived her.

’Let’s just dust her off a bit, so her face isn’t completely trampled into the ground.’

Fan Deshi’s smile froze. ’It would have been better if Ming Fei hadn’t said anything at all.’ He could see the Empress Dowager’s face was now as black as the bottom of a wok.

The Empress Dowager stormed off with a flick of her sleeve.

Song Yunzhao’s expression remained unchanged. Consort Shu was overjoyed, while Princess Consort Wan breathed a small sigh of relief.

The unluckiest of all was the one the Empress Dowager had used as a pawn. The palace attendant from Shouci Palace collapsed to the floor, knowing their end would be anything but pleasant.

Seeing the matter resolved, Fan Deshi didn’t dare to linger. He immediately rose, bid his farewells, and left, taking a copy of the depositions with him to be filed.

The palace attendant who had been bullied in the Imperial Garden kowtowed deeply three times, then retreated with reddened eyes.

The palace attendant from Shouci Palace was then dragged away by Zhang Maoquan and his men.

Once the hall was quiet again, Consort Shu finally spoke. "That scared me to death. The look in the Empress Dowager’s eyes just now... it was like she wanted to eat someone alive."

Her heart was still pounding.

Princess Consort Wan looked at Yun Zhao with concern. "You’ve gravely offended the Empress Dowager today. You must be careful from now on. Don’t let her find any weakness to exploit."

Song Yunzhao nodded. "Thank you, Sister Wan. I’ll keep that in mind." She then turned to Consort Shu. "Sister Shu, you need to be more careful in the future, too. If something like this happens again, I won’t be able to step in and get justice for you like I did this time."

Some tactics only work once. The next time, they’ll be prepared.

Consort Shu laughed heartily. "I’m not a fool. You got revenge for me this time, and I’ll remember this favor."

"Sister Shu, don’t say that. The three of us are in this together now. This wasn’t just about standing up for you. Princess Consort Wan and I couldn’t just stand by and watch the Empress Dowager break the rules. With any rule, once someone starts to break it, things will only get worse. We can’t let this spark turn into a fire."

"You’re right!" Consort Shu nodded emphatically. "We absolutely cannot let the Empress Dowager steal the spotlight while the Emperor is away from the capital."

’Huh?’

Song Yunzhao paused. ’That wasn’t what I meant, was it?’

Just as she was thinking of correcting her, Princess Consort Wan also spoke up. "Consort Shu is right. The Empress Dowager has never been on good terms with us. I’m afraid this is only the beginning. Ming Fei was right to do what she did; we can’t let this spark turn into a fire."

’She still hoped for a peaceful life in the future; she couldn’t let the Empress Dowager ruin everything.’

’She couldn’t count on the Emperor. The only one she could rely on was Ming Fei, so she couldn’t let the Empress Dowager suppress her.’