I Was Supposed to Be the Villainous Consort

"The news certainly travels fast." Feng Yi chuckled, but he had no intention of pursuing the matter. The harem’s gates didn’t need to be shut just yet, so it was no surprise that news had gotten in.

"Your Majesty is magnanimous," Song Yunzhao replied with a smile.

"What are your thoughts on the Empress Dowager returning to the palace?" Feng Yi asked, looking at Song Yunzhao.

’Here it comes,’ Song Yunzhao thought. She immediately replied, "I have no particular thoughts on the matter. I just find the courtiers rather inconsiderate. The weather is so cold, and the Empress Dowager is advanced in years. Forcing her to rush back to the Capital City, braving the wind and snow... What if she falls ill? The courtiers talk of reuniting mother and son, yet they completely disregard the Empress Dowager’s health. It is truly improper of them."

Her tone shifted as she continued, looking at the Emperor, "I arrived in the Capital City late, so there are many things I don’t understand. As it happened, Feng Xiaoyuan and Han Guipin came to have tea and chat with me, so I asked them about it. Only then did I learn that the Empress Dowager made a solemn vow to mourn the late Emperor for a full six years by copying Buddhist Scripture to offer before the Buddha. The Empress Dowager is so sincere toward the late Emperor. How could these people ask her to break her oath? This would only damage the Empress Dowager’s reputation. It truly shouldn’t be allowed."

Feng Yi glanced at Song Yunzhao, then glanced at her again. He couldn’t hold back a laugh and reached out to pinch her fair, delicate cheek.

Song Yunzhao: ...

’What’s that supposed to mean?’

Seeing the suspicious look on Song Yunzhao’s face as she stared at him, Feng Yi laughed even more heartily.

’Have the courtiers driven the Emperor mad?’ Song Yunzhao thought. ’What’s so funny about this? I thought Nanny Yu’s suggestion was excellent, and the angle she found was remarkably clever.’

’It was a good idea to come see Yun Zhao,’ Feng Yi thought. ’The courtiers were using the great principle of filial piety to pressure me, trying to make me yield and bring the Empress Dowager back to the capital. I found the whole matter repulsive, but I never expected Yun Zhao to refute them from such an angle. It was a classic case of the weak overcoming the strong, and it made perfect sense. How could I not be pleased?’

’Indeed. When it comes to matters between the women of the harem, one should seek advice from the harem.’

The Emperor knew better than anyone that tactics like chanting and copying scriptures were just ways to suppress and bully people in the harem. Back then, when the Empress Dowager was not favored by the late Emperor, his favorite concubine and the Empress had often made her copy scriptures and kneel while reciting them.

Scriptures were truly the most useful, most righteous-sounding, most sincere, and yet most hypocritical of pretexts.

Feng Yi looked at Song Yunzhao. She was truly his little lucky star. Thorny problems seemed to be resolved with ease whenever they came to her.

Song Yunzhao watched the Emperor, who was smiling one moment and frowning the next. ’Has he been angered into a stupor?’ she wondered.

"The Empress Dowager will return to the palace for good next year."

Song Yunzhao was silently grumbling about the Emperor when she heard this. She looked up at him. His eyes were as calm as still water, showing no hint of joy or aversion, as if he were speaking of something that had nothing to do with him.

She knew the Emperor and the Empress Dowager had a bad relationship, but the cold words in the book were nothing compared to the impact of seeing the look in his eyes right now.

It was the same between her and Mrs. Cai. Enough disappointment and anger had made her view Mrs. Cai as a stranger now; she didn’t care one bit whether Mrs. Cai was doing well or not.

It wasn’t just Mrs. Cai; Song Qinghan and Song Bu Yue were also strangers to her.

In the future, even if Song Qinghan or Song Bu Yue were beaten down by life, had a moment of human clarity, or were humbled by reality and wanted to change their ways and reconcile with her, she would still treat them with disdain.

Some wounds have already been inflicted. They can’t be erased just because you say you’ve changed.

The only thing she could do now was this: as long as they didn’t provoke her, everyone could live in peace.

So now, she could truly understand the Emperor’s feelings at this moment.

He couldn’t cast her aside, because she was his birth mother.

But not being able to cast her aside didn’t mean he had to be controlled by her.

Thinking this, Song Yunzhao looked at the Emperor and said with a smile, "It’s a good thing that the Empress Dowager can return to the palace. Your Majesty can rest assured. With so many concubines in the harem, they will surely be able to keep the Empress Dowager happy."

Feng Yi looked down at Yun Zhao. How could he not understand her underlying meaning? Other concubines would surely try to curry favor with the Empress Dowager, but she wouldn’t. She was on his side.

Feng Yi pulled her into his arms, wanting just to hold her quietly like this.

Song Yunzhao leaned against the Emperor’s chest, listening to his strong, steady heartbeat and feeling the strength in his arms.

Even though he was the Emperor now, before that, he had spent more than a decade as a neglected prince, a prince who was bullied by his siblings and other concubines.

But where was the mother of that bullied boy?

She didn’t protect her own child. She even disdained him for being unable to win her glory, for failing to capture the Emperor’s favor for her. She turned a blind eye to this child, thinking only of how to win favor for herself.