Chapter 5
Chapter 5: There’s a story behind every misdeed Part I
“What did Qin Wang give to you, miss?”
‘Xiao Xi’ asked her master immediately after Bai Yu finished greeting her mother and went back to her own building. 𝒇𝑟e𝙚𝑤𝙚𝐛𝗻𝐨ν𝚎𝘭.c𝐨m
The villainess did not reply as she glanced at her personal maid, before finally concluding to herself that this girl probably had the same personality as in the series, which was curious about everything, smart when she should be stupid, and stupid when she should be smart...but at least she could carry out any tasks given to her without a hitch, as she had shown the skill in that little scene at the banquet.
Bai Yu looked around, feeling satisfied. Her building, named ‘Jiu Yu’, is made of wood. Its size was only second to the one her father and mother resided in. The interior was decorated in color pink from the bed, the curtains to even flowers in vases. All of them, being among antique furniture, created an elegant and ladylike atmosphere.
Various kinds of flowers were planted outside. The most eye-catching one was the plum blossom tree that was in full bloom. Looking out from her bedroom window, she could clearly see its red petals on the white snow. Overall, this Jiu Yu building was the symbol that showed how much Bai Yu was the ‘beloved’ of this household.
“Miss, please take a bath first. I will prepare to serve your dinner.” Bai Yu nodded.
Two maids came in to help her take off her long, complicated outfit and heavy hair accessories. She walked to the warm bath waiting for her without a trace of shyness of having her naked body in full view of others.
.....
The petals of plum blossoms in the bath had a sweet fragrance. The maids’ hands that massaged her body were so relaxing that it almost made her fall asleep...Oh well, let’s think of it as going to a spa, then.
After finishing her bath, the villainess moved to sit in front of a bronze mirror. Bai Yu studied the face that was reflected within. Although the mirror was not as clear as the mirror in her world, the devastating beauty of this body was still apparent.
The woman in front of her had dark eyes like the night sky on a new moon. The phoenix eyes were the most prominent component on the face, with the slightly raised outer corner of the eyes added to her arrogant look. Her dark eyebrows and turned-up nose were indicative of her spoiledness. At least her dimples could soften her features with some cuteness.
This kind of wicked beauty...as expected of the number one villainess.
Though it was strange that this face bore many resemblances to Yoknapha’s face, the white skin that was clear and smooth was so perfect that Yoknapha had to admit defeat to Bai Yu.
She’s this beautiful, then why was the male lead not interested in her?
These eyes were alluring even to her as a woman, and with the luscious body that was hard to resist, it’s no wonder why Bai Yu owned the title ‘Meihua Lady’.
In this land of Da Yang, there were four great beauties of the capital, all four were given a moniker of four flowers that represent each season: ‘Meihua Lady’ of the wintertime beauty, ‘Lanhua Lady’ of the autumntime beauty, ‘Lianhua Lady’ of the summertime beauty, and ‘Mudan Lady’ of the springtime beauty.
The positions of being a great beauty were given only through winning a competition of ‘magic’ demonstrations, which was judged by the nobles all over the capital. Four competitions were held each year in each of the four seasons. The organizer of this competition was ‘Magic Cultivation Institute’, the institute that provided magical education and books for the aristocrats in this land.
The hierarchy in Da Yang was not only divided by blood, but also by ‘magic’ as well. The magic used here required a medium, and everyone had a different medium of their own. For example, Bai Yu used her magic through the sound of Qin.
The level of magic could be ordered from weakest to strongest by colors: purple, cyan, blue, green, yellow, orange, red, black, silver, and gold. Furthermore, there were divisions within each color as well. Bai Yu’s magic was in the color light red, which was considered relatively high in the land where most people had a green or orange level, and only a few had red color magic.
But not everyone could wield magic. It was mostly limited to those who had noble blood, only in rare cases that magic would appear in a commoner, hence, it was not surprising for Bai Yu who was born from the senior chancellor and his first wife, who was from a family of royal protector, to have red color magic.
Because of this, ‘magic’ was the clearest way to determine a class distinction, and it was also the reason why the heroine, Bai Hua, was condemned as a useless woman among the nobles. Sons and daughters of the nobles, whether born from concubines or formally married wives would display their magic ability since birth. Everyone started from the color purple, while some had a higher level of color. Most of their magic display was in the form of sparkles of light, but Bai Hua did not show any of the signs when she was born.
The third daughter of the Bai family did not have magic, the sign of a noble, not even in the weakest shade of purple. Moreover, her mother was a lowly concubine. All of those factors combined made Bai Hua’s sixteen years of life within the Bai mansion a misery. She was not only ignored by the people in the mansion, but she was also often bullied by Yue Mei.
Her father, Bai Han, did not make any clear effort to stop his first wife. Even when he did protect Bai Hua, he still did not directly oppose Yue Mei. In the end, the senior chancellor gave Yue Mei full rights in managing the household, according to the tradition of Da Yang.
Bai Yu who was born with dark purple magic was opposite to Bai Hua. She was able to attend the institute and achieved the red level magic. Her life during these seventeen years was full of praise and adoration, all thanks to her beautiful appearance and her capability in the four arts: music, painting, chess, and calligraphy, which were all renowned.
When she was thirteen, she won the title of Meihua Lady with her magic level of dark green color, and since then, no one could take that title from her.
After the new Bai Hua transmigrated here, Bai Yu’s perfect life would slowly crumble. Because of her own stupidity and the intelligence of the new Bai Hua.
But who would lie down and accept that? Even though her memory had not fully returned, she still had the advantage of knowing the future. Bai Yu knew the events in this series from start to finish, though some details in the novel version were possibly lost in adaptation, it could still be counted as an advantage.
There is no cause for concern here. This Bai Yu would not start a war or try to destroy anyone’s life. She only wished to live peacefully in this body and stay happy until the day she died.
“Yu-er”
A gentle voice from behind shook her from her thought. When she turned back, she saw a middle-aged woman who could retain her beauty surprisingly well. She knew this woman. She is ‘Yue Mei’, her own mother.
“Mother” Bai Yu stood up and bowed to greet her.
“I bring you your dinner. With those hands, it must be difficult to eat by yourself. Come, let mother help you.” Yue Mei came straight to take her daughter’s arm. Behind her was Xiao Xi who carried a tray of food that smelled delicious.