I Was Supposed to Be the Villainous Consort

"You made these yourself?" Feng Yi sat down beside Yun Zhao, picking up a pair of white socks to examine them.

The socks he usually wore were certainly more beautiful. The embroidery on them was stitched by the embroideresses of the Fashion Bureau, making them look elegant, grand, and dignified.

But the white socks in his hands now were soft. They weren’t as stiff or aesthetically pleasing as those from the Fashion Bureau, yet they felt incredibly comfortable to the touch. He saw a small, simple ring of bamboo embroidered around the cuff—a rather perfunctory design, to be sure.

He then recalled Song Yunzhao’s needlework back when she was in Zhichun Palace. To be honest, he was quite surprised that she would go to so much trouble to make these for him. He knew better than anyone how much she detested sewing.

"What made you suddenly decide to make these for me?" Feng Yi asked, looking at Yun Zhao.

Yun Zhao avoided the Emperor’s gaze, her hands quickening their pace as she folded the socks. "What woman doesn’t do a bit of needlework for her husband after marriage? Although I am just one of Your Majesty’s many concubines, I still wanted to make something for you with my own hands."

Feng Yi watched as Yun Zhao’s eyes darted about, a clear sign of a guilty conscience. ’Saying she’s just one of my concubines... isn’t she just prodding me with her words again?’

The thought gave Feng Yi pause. Come to think of it, it had been a long time since he had considered his original reason for keeping Yun Zhao in the palace.

Lately, when he went about his business, he even found himself frequently wondering if his actions might aggrieve her, or if they would affect her negatively in some way...

He was stunned by the realization. ’This is getting my priorities backward.’

He had originally kept her to help him clean up the harem. But at some point, his way of thinking seemed to have changed without him even realizing it.

And he hadn’t even noticed it himself. It seemed that protecting her from being wronged was what he truly wanted to do.

Song Yunzhao felt the Emperor’s gaze sweeping over her. ’Did I overdo the whole devoted act?’ she wondered.

’That can’t be right,’ she thought. ’Heaven knows I really did make these myself, without any help from the Palace Attendants. Even if there was a bit of scheming involved, in two lifetimes, besides my father, the Emperor is the first man to receive my handiwork.’

Just as she was lost in thought, Song Yunzhao felt a grip on her arm, and in the next moment, she was pulled into a warm embrace.

Song Yunzhao let out a sigh of relief. ’Now this is more like it. This is how a domineering emperor is supposed to act.’

"What do you want for the New Year?"

Song Yunzhao: ...

She was utterly stunned. ’Such a perfect opportunity! He has me in his arms, and this is what he comes up with?’

’Shouldn’t he be responding to my display of deep affection?’

’This damn Emperor... He’s so clueless! He’s a lost cause. Just forget it!’

’What do I want? What do I want? He always asks this. If I said I wanted to be the Empress, would he give it to me?’

’Of course not.’

Feeling utterly unenthusiastic, Song Yunzhao answered without even lifting her head, "Your Majesty favors me so much, I want for nothing. There is nothing I desire."

’I can’t get what I truly want, and I’m not the type to just settle for less!’

But to Feng Yi’s ears, it sounded as if Yun Zhao was genuinely devoted to him, asking for nothing in return.

This was the first person to treat him with true sincerity, expecting nothing in return.

At this thought, the Emperor’s gaze drifted to Song Yunzhao’s stomach. He had been exclusively favoring her, putting all his... effort into her. So why was her belly still showing no signs of life?

What concubine didn’t long for a child? If she could give birth to the Imperial First Son, he could justifiably raise her rank and allow her to secure her position in the harem.

Song Yunzhao noticed the Emperor’s eyes fall to her stomach. She instinctively covered it with her hands and looked up at him.

Feng Yi met her gaze.

Song Yunzhao blurted out, "It’s not my fault my belly is quiet."

The corner of Feng Yi’s mouth twitched. He got it. ’So it’s my fault for not working hard enough!’

As the Emperor swept her off her feet and pressed her into the curtained bed, Song Yunzhao wanted nothing more than to cover her face and find a hole to crawl into.

’That’s not what I meant! I’m not that obsessed with... this sort of thing! Why is the Emperor looking at me like that?!’

’There goes my reputation,’ she lamented inwardly. ’It’s ruined.’

Since it was a rare day he didn’t have to hold court, Feng Yi spent his time thoroughly... occupied with Yun Zhao in bed, lest she doubt his efforts again.

Song Yunzhao figured her image in the Emperor’s mind was beyond saving. ’In that case, I might as well be brazen about it,’ she decided. And naturally, that meant doing things exactly as she pleased.

The two of them fooled around for most of the night and both woke up late the next day.

Song Yunzhao felt the person beside her stir, but she didn’t want to open her eyes. She was absolutely exhausted.