I Was Supposed to Be the Villainous Consort

Han Jinyi had no strong feelings about An Fangyi. After a few remarks, she dropped the subject and, looking at Song Yunzhao, asked, "Lu Pin’s attitude toward you is completely different from before."

Remembering Lu Zhixue, Song Yunzhao didn’t know what to say. "I have no idea what goes through her head. Lu Pin just doesn’t think like a normal person."

Han Jinyi chuckled at Song Yunzhao’s complaint and said in a low voice, "The Minister of the Ministry of Personnel has been having a hard time at court lately."

Song Yunzhao immediately perked up. Information from the court was exactly what she lacked. "The Minister of the Ministry of Personnel is on good terms with the Right Assistant Prime Minister, isn’t he?" she asked. "By all rights, he shouldn’t be isolated at court. How is he having a hard time?"

"Consort Lu was stripped of her title, which made the Right Minister lose face. He’s been looking for a way to convince the Emperor to restore it, so his actions at court have grown a bit radical. Both the Right Assistant Prime Minister and the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel are in the same boat as him. The Emperor is targeting the underling to send a message to the master, so the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel is taking the fall for the Right Minister."

Song Yunzhao clicked her tongue internally. ’The Emperor is as devious as ever.’

"Didn’t the Right Minister try to speak up for the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel?" Song Yunzhao asked. "You’d think he’d at least lend a hand."

Han Jinyi shook her head. "Because of the disaster relief, the entire court has been working nonstop. My father was appointed as an imperial envoy and sent south. My mother says she still hasn’t received a single letter from him. I’m not clear on the situation in the south, but I do know the court is in constant turmoil over the disaster, with endless arguments. I just received a letter from my mother today, saying the Emperor proposed a plan at court for merchants to travel to the disaster zones. That’s sure to stir things up even more. In a situation like this, I’m afraid the Right Minister can’t spare any attention for the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel."

Song Yunzhao was speechless.

The gossip had come full circle, landing right back on her. The idea had been hers, but she couldn’t breathe a word of it in front of Han Jinyi.

She trusted Han Jinyi, but if Jinyi were to mention it to her family and the news spread, she’d be branded with the crime of a concubine meddling in politics. That would mean serious trouble for her.

’A ruler who isn’t discreet loses his subjects; a subject who isn’t discreet loses his life.’

’I’d better leave myself a way out. Some things are best left unsaid.’

"What do you think about the merchants going to the disaster zones?" Song Yunzhao asked, looking at Han Jinyi.

Han Jinyi shook her head. "How would I know about such things? But my mother mentioned in her letter that if merchants from outside the disaster zones go there to sell grain, the local merchants will suffer for it. I don’t really understand why, but my mother says the Right Minister and his faction certainly won’t agree to it easily."

"And the Left Minister?" Song Yunzhao asked curiously.

"The Left Minister has always been at odds with the Right Minister. If the Right Minister opposes something, the Left Minister will probably support it. But you can never be sure. Who knows?" Han Jinyi sighed. "These court affairs are like a battle between gods. A mortal like me wouldn’t dare interfere."

Song Yunzhao considered this and spoke slowly. "It’s best for us to just listen to these court matters from a distance. My father hasn’t sent a letter back either. It seems we’ll just have to wait until things in the disaster zones settle down."

Han Jinyi was also filled with worry. "I wonder how things are going. My father is overseeing disaster relief by imperial decree, but he’s offended many people in the process. If he doesn’t handle this assignment well, I fear things will not go well for him when he returns to the capital."

"Don’t you worry," Song Yunzhao reassured her. "Lord Han went south on the Emperor’s orders. His Majesty will surely protect him."

Han Jinyi, however, wasn’t as confident as Song Yunzhao. But she didn’t dare speak ill of the Emperor, so she could only say, "Let’s hope so."

After leaving Han Jinyi, Song Yunzhao returned to Wangyou Palace. While the Emperor was busy at court with the merchants and disaster relief, she was waiting for the Autumn Examination.

Realizing this, she felt a sense of urgency. She really had no mind to pay attention to the little fuss Qin Xiyue was making over at Huayang Palace.

The Emperor didn’t enter the harem for two consecutive days, and right after, the Autumn Examination began.

The day the Autumn Examination started, Song Yunzhao began waiting for a message. She believed that Song Buran and Zhong Yingzhang wouldn’t just stand by. Once they saw the leaked questions and then received the exact same paper in the examination hall, they would surely send word to her after they finished.

’That’s the message I’m waiting for!’

The Autumn Examination was held in three sessions, each spanning three days. With two changeover periods between sessions, the entire ordeal lasted for nine days and seven nights.

Nine days. Not a long time, but not a short one, either. The wait was truly agonizing.

During these nine days, Princess Consort Zhuang was tasked with thoroughly investigating Qin Xiyue’s poisoning. Since Qin Xiyue had provided some evidence, the investigation wasn’t difficult. Princess Consort Zhuang spent four or five days questioning every concubine who had participated in the flower arranging event, determined to make the facts of the case and the truth itself perfectly clear.

When Song Yunzhao heard, she had to hand it to Princess Consort Zhuang. To perform well and earn merit in the Emperor’s eyes, Princess Consort Zhuang was truly going all out.

What Qin Xiyue had said in front of the Emperor and her turned out to be true. Beauty Zhen testified that Chen Guoji had indeed complained about Qin Xiyue in her presence.

The poison used on Qin Xiyue was also traced back to Chen Guoji and found in her belongings. As for the origin of the poison, Chen Guoji’s explanation was even more interesting: she had mixed it herself. Apparently, she knew something about pharmacology.

Song Yunzhao had found another bug in the original novel’s plot, as this detail had never been mentioned.

Thinking back, in the novel, Qin Xiyue had used the flower arrangement incident to deal with the three concubines. Chen Guoji’s role was negligible, so the book never described her in detail.

But reality was different. Song Yunzhao’s resistance to the flower arrangement, coupled with her replacing the three concubines as Qin Xiyue’s number one enemy, had caused a major deviation in the plot. She had actually unearthed a hidden storyline and character trait.

’I have to say,’ she thought, ’I deserve a pat on the back for that.’

The fact that Chen Guoji knew how to prepare medicines was a fatal weakness in her case, so her punishment was severe. After collecting enough evidence, Princess Consort Zhuang reported back to the Emperor. He issued a decree stripping Chen Guoji of her rank as a Noble Consort and banishing her to the Cold Palace.

The punishment seemed severe, but then she remembered Zhu Cairen, who had been ordered to commit suicide. In Song Yunzhao’s opinion, Zhu Cairen’s crime was far less serious than Chen Guoji’s, yet she had paid with her life.

By that standard, Chen Guoji’s punishment was practically a mercy.

After Chen Guoji was punished, compensation for Qin Xiyue immediately followed: she was promoted one rank from Noble Consort to Wanyi.

’Thank goodness my rank of Concubine is still one level higher than Wanyi,’ Song Yunzhao thought. ’Otherwise, the Emperor’s decision would have been enough to make me die of anger.’

A day later, Song Yunzhao received news: Grand Tutor Qin had staunchly supported the Emperor’s resolution at court, backing the plan to allow merchants into the disaster zones.

Well now. Song Yunzhao felt the fight go out of her.

So it was Qin Xiyue’s influential father who had pulled through for her. What more was there to say?

’I can’t win a battle of fathers, so I’ll just have to rely on myself!’

She was just waiting for the examination-cheating scandal to break. She was ready to roll up her sleeves and get to work.