I Was Supposed to Be the Villainous Consort

"Why are you crying? This is a wonderful thing; you should be smiling, my dear. Remember, once you’re at the Yang Family’s home, you must not mention that your mother is a concubine like me. You must always speak of the Madam, show her respect and filial piety, and mention your younger brother often as well. A mere concubine like me will only bring you shame. No matter her faults, the Madam is your official mother to the outside world. You must be respectful and filial so you don’t give anyone leverage against you."

"Mother, I know," Song Jinxuan sobbed, nodding.

"Just focus on your marriage. I will make sure your younger brother studies hard and improves himself. The Concubine paved the way for you, so we must keep our promise. When your brother becomes an Advanced Scholar and an official, he’ll finally have the chance to repay the Concubine for her kindness," Aunt Che said softly. "Live a good life with the Yang Family. Only when you are happy can your mother be happy."

After saying this, Aunt Che hesitated for a moment before lowering her voice. "You’ll be going south with them. If the academy there is as good as they say, see if you can arrange for your brother to study there, too. These past few months, the way the Madam looks at your brother... it’s been making my blood run cold. I’m afraid she’ll do something to him for the sake of her own son."

’Only by sending her son away could she truly be at ease.’

’She wasn’t young anymore; she couldn’t afford to take such risks. If something happened to her son, who would she and her daughter have to rely on?’

Song Jinxuan was taken aback. "Why didn’t you tell me about this?"

"It’s just my own guess. Perhaps I’m just imagining things. In any case, just keep it in mind. If an opportunity arises, take it. If not, let it be. Don’t put yourself in a difficult position."

She was also worried her daughter might get into an argument with the young master of the Yang Family over this matter concerning her brother.

Song Jinxuan nodded. "I understand, Mother. Don’t worry."

「Song Jinxuan was married on the sixth day of the twelfth lunar month, and in the blink of an eye, the year drew to a close.」

For the past few months, the harem had been exceptionally peaceful. Neither the three concubines nor Qin Xiyue made any untoward moves, and everyone coexisted in harmony.

Song Yunzhao knew this was mainly because the Emperor had been stirring things up at court for the past few months. After Han Zhengchun was appointed Left Imperial Censor, he truly lived up to the Emperor’s expectations. The man was like a machine gun, firing away relentlessly. He dared to impeach anyone and everyone, as long as he found something to use against them.

The frustrating part was that Han Zhengchun’s accusations were always well-reasoned and irrefutable.

Thanks to Han Zhengchun’s efforts, Han Jinyi was promoted from a Xiaoyi to a Noble Consort, jumping two ranks. It was the biggest shake-up the harem had seen in some time.

Han Jinyi’s promotion to Noble Consort made her the highest in rank among their cohort who had entered the palace, aside from Song Yunzhao and Qin Xiyue. Lu Zhixue’s face fell, but she still offered her congratulations to Han Jinyi.

Song Yunzhao and Feng Yunjin found the whole thing quite amusing. The four of them even pooled their silver to have the Imperial Kitchen deliver a feast to Wangyou Palace, where they celebrated with a cheerful meal.

When the first winter snow fell, more than a foot of it accumulated overnight. The entire harem was transformed into a veritable wonderland. Icicles hung from all the palace eaves, catching the sunlight and refracting it into a rainbow of colors.

While others admired the view, Song Yunzhao worried that such a heavy snowfall might lead to a disaster. Her fears became reality. The blizzard blanketed the Capital City and the surrounding area for dozens of miles. It was said that many houses had collapsed overnight from the sheer weight of the snow.

Song Nanzhen, having experience with disaster relief, was personally appointed by the Emperor to accompany the Minister of Revenue to the affected areas.

Song Yunzhao paused. ’Is my father becoming some kind of disaster relief specialist? That’s certainly a unique career path,’ she mused.

She remembered this because a similar snow disaster had occurred in the book, and the heroine had used it to earn merit and curry favor with the Emperor.

Just as Song Yunzhao was hesitating, wondering if she should steal the heroine’s thunder, she found that Grand Tutor Qin and Qin Xiyue had already moved faster than her.

The most effective way to win the people’s hearts while helping disaster victims was to set up congee sheds. For those whose homes had collapsed, there was nowhere to eat. The congee from these sheds could be a lifesaver.

Grand Tutor Qin immediately organized the great families of the Capital City to do just that. Qin Xiyue even sent her own personal silver back to the Qin Family so that Grand Tutor Qin could buy rice for the congee.

When Song Yunzhao heard the news, she was speechless. There was nothing to say.

’The heroine is truly the heroine,’ she thought. ’She must have seen Han Jinyi copy her own path to promotion and now she’s desperate to get back in the lead.’

Song Yunzhao felt her own position as a Concubine was becoming precarious. She had to do *something*.

But the heroine was already distributing congee, and she had no interest in following in her footsteps to pick up the scraps.

Unable to come up with a better idea on the spot, she summoned Anshun. "When it has snowed heavily in past years, how did the Capital City cope?" she asked.

Back in Nanyu, she had rarely encountered such heavy snow. Even when it did snow, it was only a light dusting.

Anshun quickly replied, "The first priority is snow removal. As soon as the snow stops, everyone in the palace rushes to sweep it clean, otherwise the masters’ travel would be delayed. The second method is to lay down dirt. When the snow is as heavy as it is now, the palace attendants can’t clear it fast enough to open the paths, so they’ll do a quick sweep and then spread a layer of earth. However, because that method is so demanding in terms of labor and resources, only the main thoroughfares are treated this way."

Song Yunzhao understood. After asking a few more questions, she grasped the division of labor: the snow in the Imperial Palace was cleared by palace attendants, the snow in the Inner City by guards, and the snow in the Outer City and on the capital’s major roads was handled by the garrison troops.

This snowstorm had been ferocious, dumping over a foot of snow overnight. Forget about the rest of the Capital City; even clearing the Inner City and the Imperial Palace would take a significant amount of time.

"There was no one to spare. ’Qin Xiyue has already taken the lead with food,’ Song Yunzhao reasoned, ’so I’ll have to focus on clothing. The people need full bellies and warm clothes to survive this disaster. But I can’t possibly arrange for clothing all by myself.’"

’This is such a great opportunity to earn merit. How can I let Qin Xiyue steal the show?’

Song Yunzhao didn’t have enough influence to rally people on her own; she would have to borrow someone else’s.

’But whose? Who in this harem could she use?’

’Princess Consort Zhuang is cunning and merely feigns virtue. If I let her take the lead, she’d definitely steal my credit. She might even try to kick me to the curb halfway through and take all the glory for herself.’

’Princess Consort Wan cultivates the image of a cool and aloof intellectual. This sort of practical, mundane affair doesn’t suit her temperament. Besides, our personalities clash. Cooperation is impossible.’

’That only leaves Consort Lu. She has a fiery temper and an arrogant disposition, but she has one advantage: she doesn’t seem particularly bright. She wouldn’t be excessively greedy. Take the incident with the Imperial Kitchen, for example. She knew she was in the wrong, and while she never apologized, she did compensate me in private.’

’Among the three concubines, a full assessment suggested Consort Lu was a barely viable partner.’

’Once I have a leader, I’ll also need to bring my own friends on board. When it comes to earning merit, the more people involved, the better. The point is, I absolutely cannot let Qin Xiyue reap the biggest rewards.’

Song Yunzhao had no intention of stealing Qin Xiyue’s credit, but she couldn’t let her rival use this opportunity to overshadow her either.

In the palace, it was either the east wind prevailing over the west wind, or the west wind prevailing over the east wind.

If she let the heroine outshine her, she wouldn’t just lose face. She might very well lose her life.