I Was Supposed to Be the Villainous Consort

Chapter 107: Chapter 56: I Don’t Know if I Should Say This

Song Yunzhao: ...

’Am I some sort of dreaded beast? To be honest, in a harem with the female lead, all I want to do is keep my head down and survive until the very end.’

Qin Xiyue saw Yun Zhao and said with a smile, "Miss Song, I had a feeling we would meet again. And here we are."

Song Yunzhao had no desire to get too involved with Qin Xiyue. ’The people who flock around the female lead are either cannon fodder or on their way to becoming cannon fodder. Why would I be foolish enough to get mixed up in that?’

So, Song Yunzhao just gave a cool nod. "Miss Qin."

Lu Zhixue didn’t like Song Yunzhao’s attitude one bit. In a snide tone, she said, "Xiyue, I think you should save your enthusiasm. Some people might not appreciate the gesture."

’Lu Zhixue must have a screw loose,’ Song Yunzhao thought. ’She clearly dislikes Qin Xiyue, yet she puts on this act of being best friends, only to turn around and take a jab at me. I may want to keep my head down, but that doesn’t mean I’m a pushover who will take abuse from anyone.’

"You know, some people’s sense of shame is just like their hair. They know perfectly well that others can’t stand them, but they insist on getting in your face. I have no idea where they get the nerve. It’s ridiculous."

What did she mean by ’sense of shame is just like their hair’?

The entire room was baffled.

Lu Zhixue knew Song Yunzhao’s jab was aimed at her, and she found her all the more an eyesore. "What are you trying to say?"

Song Yunzhao scoffed inwardly. ’What am I trying to say? It means both have run away from home.’

"Well, well, I wasn’t even talking to you. Some people are just asking to be insulted. What? You looking for a fight?" Song Yunzhao despised people like this, who acted all high and mighty, pretending to help others, only to open their mouths and spew venom.

’This woman was all sly insults and pure, unadulterated wickedness.’

"You... you’re so vulgar."

"Oh, I am. I’m vulgar with my words. Unlike some people, who are just black-hearted."

Just as things were about to escalate, Han Jinyi quickly stood up and pulled Song Yunzhao to her side. On the other side, Qin Xiyue also stepped in to hold Lu Zhixue back.

Feng Yunjin and Fan Qingru looked from one to the other, but ultimately did nothing.

The other concubine candidates had far less prominent family backgrounds than these few, so they didn’t dare make a sound. They just wondered how Song Yunzhao, whose own family was nothing special, had the nerve to challenge these people. They couldn’t decide if she was bold or just plain stupid.

Song Yunzhao sat down next to Han Jinyi, who whispered, "Don’t be foolish. Who knows how many people are watching from the outside. You can’t get punished right after being selected to stay, can you?"

Song Yunzhao knew Han Jinyi meant well and replied to her, "I know, but what can I do when someone is deliberately looking for trouble? If I show that I’m afraid of her, won’t she just bully me relentlessly from now on?"

Han Jinyi knew she had a point. But every concubine candidate sitting here operated based on family status. Song Yunzhao, however, completely ignored this, shattering the unspoken rule. And yet, no one could call her out on it directly, which made the situation incredibly awkward.

Being stuck in such an awkward position, unable to advance or retreat, must have been infuriating for Lu Zhixue.

Han Jinyi had stepped in because she remembered Song Yunzhao helping her when she’d fallen into the water. She also knew that Lu Zhixue was the one in the wrong, but sometimes you just had to suffer in silence.

If your family background was inferior, you were inferior in every way.

"Still, we’ve only just been selected. It’s best to be cautious." Han Jinyi and Song Yunzhao had only grown familiar with each other over the past two days, so she couldn’t very well say more. She could only offer a simple reminder.

Song Yunzhao nodded. Seeing the look of relief on Han Jinyi’s face, she didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

’See? This is why you can’t get too close to the female lead. If Qin Xiyue hadn’t greeted me first, none of this trouble would have started.’

’But you can’t exactly fault Qin Xiyue for being polite.’

’The whole thing was just so frustrating.’

According to the book, the selected concubine candidates would have to return to their family homes to await their summons to the palace. Their initial ranks hadn’t been announced yet. Once the ranks were decided, the order in which they entered the palace would be set.

’In the book, the female lead’s initial rank wasn’t very high. After all, if she started out at the top, how could she overcome challenges and level up? And how would the romance between her and the male lead blossom?’ freewebnσvel.cøm

Qin Xiyue’s initial rank was Noble Consort, Standard Fourth Rank. This position revealed the Emperor’s subtle scheming. In the harem, the fourth-rank was a major threshold. Once you passed it, you had a chance to aim for the rank of Imperial Consort. But if you languished in the palace for years without breaking past the fourth-rank, you could forget about ever becoming an Imperial Consort. You would likely live out the rest of your days at a rank below it.

’So, from the very beginning, the Emperor in the book had put the female lead in the hot seat. What a bastard.’

Song Yunzhao was now just waiting for them to be sent out of the palace and back home. She was especially eager to see the look on Mrs. Cai’s face.

’While being chosen to stay in the palace was an unexpected turn of events that made her heart ache so much she could barely breathe, the thought that Mrs. Cai would be even more furious about it made her happy.’