I Was Supposed to Be the Villainous Consort

"I’ll go take a look." Le Chun lifted her skirts and ran outside.

Qiuge stayed by her mistress’s side, her expression also a little uneasy. Seeing the look on her mistress’s face, she quickly comforted her, "My lady, don’t worry. Even if there was a real accident, with the Empress Dowager, Consort Shu, and Ming Fei here, it will be handled properly."

Princess Consort Wan’s brow remained furrowed. She hadn’t wanted to come today, but with both Consort Shu and Ming Fei attending, she couldn’t casually skip it as she had before.

After a good while, Le Chun returned. Her face was flushed and she was panting heavily from running up and down the mountain. As soon as she entered the pavilion, she caught her breath and immediately said, "My lady, An Xiaoyi was pushed by Noble Lady Xu and fell from halfway up the mountain. Fortunately, Du Ji and Beauty Qin desperately tried to break her fall and managed to stop her, but both of them were injured."

Princess Consort Wan asked in astonishment, "Noble Lady Xu pushed An Xiaoyi? Why?"

’An Shutong is the Empress Dowager’s own niece. Who would dare bully her right in front of the Empress Dowager? Do they have a death wish?’

’And this was halfway up the mountain. Pushing someone could easily have been fatal.’

She had met Xu Mingying once or twice; she didn’t seem that foolish.

"They said the two had an argument. I wasn’t able to find out the specific reason," Le Chun said hurriedly.

Princess Consort Wan hesitated, wondering if she should go up after them. The incident sounded complicated. In the end, she decided against it. ’It would be useless for me to go, and I’d better not add to the chaos.’

Princess Consort Wan opted to wait and see how things unfolded, but Consort Shu and Song Yunzhao weren’t so lucky.

Consort Shu, in particular, was immediately conscripted by the Empress Dowager and ordered to handle the matter at once.

Song Yunzhao cursed her bad luck internally. ’If I had known, I wouldn’t have climbed so fast.’

But since she was already here, she couldn’t just leave.

Because the Empress Dowager’s eyes had already landed on her, she immediately called her out by name, even slapping her and Consort Shu with the charge of failing to properly manage the other concubines.

’I really want to curse right now.’

Song Yunzhao’s expression turned cold. ’I just knew something would happen if I went out. The base probability of palace drama is just too high.’

Xu Mingying wasn’t much better off. Although she had allegedly pushed An Shutong, An Shutong had grabbed her as she fell, so Xu Mingying tumbled down with her.

Now, one of them was unconscious and the other was covered in blood and barely lucid. There was no choice but to have them carried down first and quickly summon the Imperial Physicians.

Not wanting to face the Empress Dowager, Song Yunzhao took on the task of getting the injured down the mountain to see the Imperial Physicians, leaving the Empress Dowager and her entourage for Consort Shu to deal with.

Consort Shu: ...

’Fine. Song Yunzhao owes me another meal!’

Consort Shu was furious as well. In front of the Empress Dowager, she immediately had all of An Shutong’s and Xu Mingying’s attendants detained and began interrogating them about what had happened.

’Their mistresses can’t speak, but does that mean their servants can’t either?’

Song Yunzhao had the two of them settled in Qiuyi Pavilion. The Imperial Physician had not yet arrived. An Shutong was still unconscious and was taken to an inner chamber to be settled. Meanwhile, Xu Mingying was still in a daze, her face as pale as a ghost.

Seeing her in this state, Song Yunzhao had someone bring a cup of hot tea. She walked over and said, "Noble Lady Xu, have some tea to calm your nerves."

Xu Mingying woodenly lifted her head to look at Song Yunzhao. When their eyes met, she seemed to snap to her senses. She shot to her feet and said frantically, "Lady Ming, I didn’t push An Xiaoyi! Really, I’m innocent! At the time, An Xiaoyi said she had something to tell me, so I leaned closer. Who knew she would suddenly fall backward? I reached out to grab her. I was trying to save her, not harm her!"

’Huh?’

Song Yunzhao observed the panic mixed with terror in Xu Mingying’s expression; it didn’t look like she was lying.

However, given that Yun Zhao had a poor impression of the Marquis Wuxin Mansion—especially since her opinion of the Marchioness Wu Xin had hit rock bottom—she remained skeptical of Xu Mingying’s words.

But her expression was just too genuine. Coupled with her own terrible impression of An Shutong, she decided to reserve judgment. She said in a gentle voice, "Noble Lady Xu, this matter can only be resolved when An Xiaoyi awakens and you can confront each other."

Yun Zhao had no intention of getting involved in this. Both of these women were on very bad terms with her. It wouldn’t benefit her to help either one, and she might even be dragged into the mess and used as a stepping stone.

She wasn’t a fool. Why would she do something so thankless?

Xu Mingying sensed something in Song Yunzhao’s distant attitude. Her expression shifted, and when she remembered the complicated relationship between her family and Ming Fei, her face grew even paler.

"Lady Ming, I truly did not push An Xiaoyi." Xu Mingying’s face was white, her body trembling slightly. She truly didn’t understand why An Shutong would suddenly try to harm her.

"Noble Lady Xu, you need proof," Song Yunzhao reminded her.

She hadn’t been at the scene and hadn’t seen what happened, so she wouldn’t jump to conclusions.

Xu Mingying was about to say more, but the Imperial Physician arrived.

Neither of them was lightly injured. Two Imperial Physicians attended to them separately, bandaging their wounds. Song Yunzhao sat outside, waiting for news.

Zhang Maoquan hurried over, approached his mistress, and said in a low voice, "Mistress, I’ve already sent someone to investigate. Lady Shufei is conducting the interrogation now, but there are no results yet."

Song Yunzhao wasn’t surprised at all. With the Empress Dowager putting pressure on her, Consort Shu would definitely have to conduct an on-the-spot interrogation to show she was taking it seriously.

The two Imperial Physicians came out one after another. Only then did Song Yunzhao learn that An Shutong had hit her head and had not yet woken up. The Imperial Physician couldn’t say for certain when she would regain consciousness; they could only wait and see. Moreover, An Shutong hadn’t just injured her head; she also had numerous bruises from tumbling down the steps.

Noble Lady Xu’s injuries were much lighter than An Xiaoyi’s. They were mostly scrapes, especially on the arm that An Xiaoyi had grabbed, which was a bloody mess from being dragged against the steps. She had also scraped her forehead, but it wasn’t a major issue, just a bit of bleeding.

When Xu Mingying heard the Imperial Physician’s report, she nearly fainted. ’Why wasn’t *she* the one who was unconscious?’

Song Yunzhao had someone go report back to the Empress Dowager. An Shutong’s condition had to be relayed to her.

As for what really happened, they would have to wait for An Shutong to wake up before they could question her. Xu Mingying’s testimony alone couldn’t be trusted.

There was just one thing she didn’t quite understand. If what Xu Mingying said was true, then why would An Shutong try to frame her?

’It makes no sense.’

’Xu Mingying doesn’t even have the Emperor’s favor. What is there to gain by framing her?’

’An Shutong never does anything without a purpose. Could it be that Xu Mingying has something that she absolutely must get her hands on?’

’But what could it be?’

Song Yunzhao couldn’t figure it out no matter how hard she thought, so she decided to stop thinking about it.

Xu Mingying was also completely bewildered. She hadn’t offended An Shutong in their daily interactions. Why would she frame her?

’She wouldn’t just throw herself down the stairs and get this injured for no reason, just to mess with me.’

’But what do I have that An Shutong could possibly want?’