The Villainous Consort (GL) - Chapter 1

Before the sun had even risen, the crowing of roosters outside had already begun in a rhythmic succession.

Qi Yu opened her eyes, her head feeling a bit sluggish. Roosters? Since when did the school start keeping roosters? Which dormitory is bold enough to do that? Aren’t they afraid the dorm manager will turn them into a stew?

It wasn’t until she saw the furnishings of the room clearly that she finally remembered. It had been half a month, yet she still hadn’t adjusted to this ancient daily routine. As a modern-day university student who would sleep in whenever she didn’t have morning classes, Qi Yu found herself in a place where she was woken up by roosters in the middle of the night. She let out a long sigh, turned over, and pulled the covers over her head to keep sleeping.

Ten minutes later, Mother Li’s knocking sounded on the door as usual. “Miss, Miss, it’s time to get up and practice your martial arts! If you don’t work hard, you won’t be selected as the Prince Consort. If that happens, forget about leaving this house—the Master will surely stop giving you your monthly allowance.”

“Ugh…”

Qi Yu sat up helplessly. The person knocking outside was the original owner’s wet nurse, surnamed Li. After half a month of interaction, they were quite familiar. Qi Yu had roughly gathered that she was the only daughter of the current Imperial Preceptor, though her “Imperial Preceptor Father” was merely a figurehead holding a title in the Imperial Bureau of Astronomy.

Nowadays, the Imperial Preceptor’s estate had fallen on hard times. The original owner had been a person of no learning or skill, simply idling her life away. Now that the Eldest Princess was selecting a Prince Consort, joining the Imperial Family would surely elevate the status of the estate. Ordinarily, the original owner would have been considered reaching far above her station, but upon hearing the news, she had refused to participate at all costs. This resulted in her being sent to this courtyard in the outskirts of the capital for “closed-door reflection.”

The problem lay with this Eldest Princess…

“Miss, don’t be so stubborn. Marriage is marriage, no matter who it is. Though the Eldest Princess is said to be ugly, once you marry her, you will be a member of the Imperial Family.”

“Miss, try to be more open-minded. Although the Eldest Princess broke her leg and can no longer stand, marrying her would bring glory to our ancestors.”

Glory to the ancestors?

Qi Yu couldn’t help but roll her eyes inwardly. I don’t know about anyone else, but the original lady of this house definitely didn’t think so. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have tried to climb that high wall in the middle of the night and accidentally fell right out of this world.

Seeing her open the door and come out, Mother Li couldn’t help but grumble again: “Miss, it’s not that this old servant wants to nag you, but ever since you took that fall half a month ago, you’ve forgotten all the poetry you memorized. You can’t even write characters properly anymore. Now, you can only put effort into your physical skills. The Emperor has announced that he wants to choose a Consort who is well-versed in both the literary and martial arts for the Eldest Princess. We must work hard.”

Qi Yu looked at Mother Li, then at the martial arts instructor who had been waiting in the courtyard early on. She had to admit, the people in this Imperial Preceptor’s estate were strange.

Verbally, they seemed very invested in her becoming the Prince Consort, but their actual actions were somewhat perfunctory.

They had simply sent a household guard to teach her martial arts. Since she was the master and the instructor was a servant, he didn’t even dare to speak to her; he simply stood to the side and demonstrated movements. Consequently, after half a month, she only knew how to strike a few empty, flashy poses.

Sometimes Qi Yu even felt that her father, the Imperial Preceptor, likely knew exactly how much his daughter was worth and held no hope at all. Sending her to the outskirts was probably just for show. The only person in the entire household who was truly enthusiastic and believed she could be selected was Mother Li.

The marriage wasn’t even close to being finalized, yet Mother Li gave her a “motivational talk” every single day. Was this a matter of whether Qi Yu wanted to marry the Princess? The Princess wouldn’t even look at her in the first place, alright? Had she heard the requirements? “Well-versed in literary and martial arts”—did the original owner or the current Qi Yu meet even a single point of those criteria?

After breakfast, Mother Li returned to the Imperial Preceptor’s estate. Apparently, she had to report to the Master once every half month.

The instructor stood outside the door, not daring to suggest they begin training. Qi Yu rubbed her forehead and waved him off: “You may go.”

Next to the living room was the study, but the bookshelves were filled with records of strange phenomena and tall tales. She couldn’t find anything to help her understand the historical background of the era she was currently in.

As Qi Yu was worrying, a stone was thrown in from outside with a note tied to it.

Though she was poor at writing with a brush, she could luckily still recognize traditional Chinese characters: Come out immediately!

The person who threw the stone probably hadn’t left yet. Qi Yu stood up and walked to the window. Standing on the corridor outside was a woman around twenty years old, dressed in a dark green robe. She had a delicate face, but her sneaky movements made her look like a student skipping class to go play.

“Qi Yu! I finally found you. I found this place the day before yesterday, but Mother Li wouldn’t let me in to disturb your ‘training.’ I waited outside for two days just for her to leave…”

Qi Yu didn’t speak, her mind already guessing the woman’s identity. Over these past few days, Mother Li had mentioned her often—the original owner’s only “fair-weather friend,” Zhu Chanyi.

Supposedly, her father was a great scholar of the age and a titan in the world of painting and calligraphy, while her uncle was the current Right Chancellor, Zhu Yuan. Despite this, Zhu Chanyi was not accepted by the noble youths of the capital. Her status was just as awkward as Qi Yu’s because her famous father had once been the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue before being stripped of his rank for corruption. Only after that did he immerse himself in art and make a name for himself.

“Other than Mother Li, who in this courtyard would dare stop you? Just come in directly, why throw a note?” Qi Yu walked out, thinking that this was the perfect opportunity to learn about this world.

Zhu Chanyi froze for a second and gave a dry laugh. “True. Come on, your sister here is taking you out to relax. If you stay in this courtyard all day, you’ll go crazy from boredom.”

Too late for that, Qi Yu thought. The previous owner already lost her life to boredom.

“Why aren’t you moving?” Zhu Chanyi turned back, looking at the stationary Qi Yu with a probing gaze.

Qi Yu pursed her lips. “I don’t have any money. Mother Li took it all.”

The original owner’s mother had reportedly died of illness early on. Mother Li was the mother’s personal maid who had come with her as part of her dowry; after the lady passed, she chose to stay and raise the young miss.

Knowing this history, Qi Yu had obediently handed over her money and stopped rebelling against Mother Li like the original owner. Rebellious teenagers were too immature; she was an adult now, and her priority was understanding this world.

As for marrying the Eldest Princess… that was truly difficult. She was afraid she would have to disappoint Mother Li.

Zhu Chanyi stared blankly. “Ha! I thought you were worried about Mother Li coming back! Come on, between the two of us, what’s mine is yours. I’ve brought money.”

Once they left the outskirts and entered the city gates, Qi Yu finally understood the so-called prosperity of an ancient Imperial Capital. She followed Zhu Chanyi to what appeared to be a frequently visited tavern. They found an elegant seat on the second floor.

Looking at the passersby and the men and women in the tavern wearing what seemed to be uniform student robes, Qi Yu couldn’t help but be shocked again.

Her first shock had been that she, a woman, could be a candidate for the Prince Consort. This time, it was because this dynasty seemed to be a place where men and women enjoyed equal status. Women could not only go out for drinks together but also seemingly attend school.

This tavern, called “The Upper Floor,” was elegantly decorated. Most of the customers coming and going were young students. It seemed like a decent place. She had assumed the original owner was a delinquent who frequented seedy establishments, but it seemed she had been mistaken.

“Speaking of which, you don’t need to worry too much. It’s just an audition; participating doesn’t mean you’ll be chosen. Besides, there are so many talented people in the capital—it would never be our turn.” Zhu Chanyi ordered a few dishes and a jar of wine.

Qi Yu nodded. “Correct. My thoughts exactly.”

“But then again, you never know. Those talented types have a lot of pride. If none of them are willing to be an idle Prince Consort, that would be interesting.” Previously, the Eldest Princess was only plain-looking; now that she had a broken leg, she likely had no chance of competing for the throne.

Those calculating court officials wouldn’t want to bet on a losing game. Of course, one should only know these things in one’s heart and never speak them aloud. Zhu Chanyi blinked, signaling you know what I mean.

Qi Yu blinked back, only half-understanding. If everyone truly didn’t want to be the Consort and intentionally performed poorly, would someone like her—who was neither literary nor martial—actually have a chance?

Wait… what am I thinking? How could she marry a stranger she’d never met? Moreover, the Imperial Family had always been fickle. If the Princess turned out to be a cruel person, she’d be left with nothing but bones.

“That shouldn’t happen. Although the Princess’s personal conditions are… what they are, there are still plenty of people who want to climb into the Imperial Family. We’re just there to make up the numbers,” Qi Yu said, looking toward two men walking toward them. One was dressed in black and the other in white. The one in black was dashing and handsome; the one in white was delicate and elegant.

Seeing her staring behind them, Zhu Chanyi turned to take a look. “Stop looking. I know you only like good-looking people, but those two are the most famous scholars of our Baiyue Dynasty. They won’t pay attention to small fry like us.”

Qi Yu nodded and was about to say she didn’t only like good-looking people when the two men stopped right in front of them.

“Miss Qi, Miss Zhu. You both must work hard in the upcoming Prince Consort selection. As our Baiyue Dynasty’s only princess, she is deeply favored by the Emperor. The future Consort will surely receive supreme glory.” The man in the black silk robe spoke in an affected tone, his expression full of hidden meaning. The man in white beside him simply glanced at them without speaking.

Qi Yu rolled her eyes inwardly. The man was a beauty as long as he kept his mouth shut, but once he spoke, he ruined everything. That voice, that tone—there was only one word for it: dreadful.

“Our talents are shallow; we cannot compare to Master Fang and Master Li, who are experts in both civil and military affairs. Only you two are worthy of the Princess. we won’t embarrass ourselves by competing,” Zhu Chanyi retorted. She couldn’t stand Fang Hai’s tone. Just because his father was the Minister of Rites, did he think he could come here and act all sarcastic?

“You…!” Fang Hai grew angry and was about to snap back when the man in white interrupted him.

“Brother Fang, why bother with them? Let us go upstairs first.” Li Chuanlian patted Fang Hai’s shoulder, indicating they had important matters to discuss.

“Humph. Don’t let me run into you two another day.” Fang Hai glared at Zhu Chanyi and followed Li Chuanlian upstairs.

“What an attitude,” Zhu Chanyi glared back without fear. Her father was no longer in court, and her uncle was the Right Chancellor; she wasn’t afraid of someone like Fang Hai.

At that moment, the waiter brought another soup. Qi Yu picked up the ladle to serve herself while casually probing for information: “You mentioned our Baiyue Dynasty… Baiyue? No way.