Transmigration: The Fate of the Villainess

89 Benwang doesn’t count that as being a wife Part II

“Miss Bai must be worried.” A gentle voice sounded a while after she had been absentmindedly gazing at the flowers in the royal garden. Bai Yu instantly knew the identity of that voice, so she stood to curtsy.

“You’re worried about third brother?” Ouyang Wenrou said with a kind smile. Her heart felt like it was slightly fuller at the sight of that smile. No matter how much she tried to deny it, this face still could always put her at ease. Luckily, this time her heart did not pound like their past meetings. At least this face that rejuvenate her heart did not worsen her mood.

“Is Wangye not worried?” There was no need to put her own anxiousness on display and reveal the identity person on her mind. Because it was surely not Ouyang Mingxian like Ouyang Wenrou misunderstood.

“Of course benwang is worried.”

“Qin Wang is strong and capable. He will safely return, I’m sure of it.”

“Miss Bai seemed worried, yet also let go so easily.”

“It’s the same as that incident last time.” Bai Yu took this opportunity to talk to Ouyang Wenrou about his favor of saving her life. She felt like she would become irritated if the name Ouyang Mingxian came up any more than this. Whether she liked it or not, he had someone to take care of him. There was no cause for concern at all.

“Last time that Miss Bai refused benwang’s help, was it because you already knew the person behind it?”

“It’s merely a little fun among women. Wangye please don’t take it to heart.”

.....

Ouyang Wenrou smiled at her words. ‘Women’ that she mentioned possibly included his brother’s new concubine as well. He lightly laughed. “Miss Bai is such an interesting person.”

Bai Yu smiled. “I’m afraid that Miss Bai that Wangye is interested in is not this Bai Yu.”

The smile had yet to fade from his handsome face. His light brown eyes gazed at her softly, just like his own personality. “Benwang means you. Don’t misunderstand.”

“Then I’ll consider that a compliment.”

“Miss Bai is always charming and clever.”

“Wangye is exaggerating now.”

Bai Yu smiled and curtsied, while Ouyang Wenrou also smiled back warmly. There was nothing more than that.

Though a conversation with Ouyang Wenrou could lessen her worry for Ouyang Feilong, the longing that she had for this split image of a past lover had not fully faded. Still, her heart did not race nor ache like before, and that could be considered progress.

Empress Dowager Wei came shortly after Ouyang Wenrou had left. She talked and consoled Bai Yu until she let her go in the afternoon. It seemed that Empress Dowager greatly cared about her mental condition.

Bai Yu awfully wanted to tell her that she had not an ounce of worry for her favorite grandson, but in the end, she could only nod and play along to protect her little life. Right now she was not strong enough to declare out loud that she no longer feel anything for Qin Wang. If somehow Empress Dowager Wei knew, then that would mean her death...

Not choosing a side was a stall tactic that was the most like a time bomb.

“Miss.” Xiao Chang and Xiao Xi were waiting for her in front of the Yue family mansion. Their eyes were red like they had been crying for some time.

“What happened?”

“Follow me. You should see it for yourself,” Yue Huiling who just came out said to her. It was as if her biaojie came to greet her as well.

Bai Yu felt her heart drop. She put her hand over her chest, sensing her heartbeat that started racing out of nowhere. She followed Yue Huiling through a familiar path back to Meihua residence that she stayed in. When she saw that there were several soldiers in front of the building, her hands moved to hold each other tightly as her heartbeat rushed loud. Dread grew as she saw a water basin filled with bloodstained clothes being carried out.

Bai Yu took a deep breath and hurriedly headed inside, still maintaining a straight back and a calm manner. She prayed for what she was imagining to be false, but as if heaven could not hear her plea. What she saw almost made her heart stop.

A drop of tear fell before she realized it herself. The sight of the person in front of her was blurry because of tears. Bai Yu strode toward her bed, her hands wiping at her face for fear that she would not be able to see that person clearly. For fear that that person would disappear behind a veil of tears that filled her eyes.

“Big brother.”

She softly called. Her kind brother was now lying on the bed. His eyes were closed, his face pale. Bai He’s body only had a blanket covering him from his waist down, on his naked chest was an arrow pierced into the left side of his chest, near the heart. Blood continued to ooze out of the wound.

There was nothing like this in the story!

Was this reality? She had not braced herself for anything...

A maid who was pressing on the wound to stop the bleeding moved away to let Bai Yu take over. She knew that she had to apply pressure, but her hands were trembling too hard. This time, she was not afraid of blood. She had forgotten that she was afraid of blood...She was more afraid of losing her brother.

It was the hand of the woman who brought her here that pressed the wound instead of her. Yue Huiling used her free hand to squeeze Bai Yu’s and said. “Biaoge* was assigned a mission to escort Qin Wang back. They were ambushed, and he took an arrow in his chest. Qin Wang went missing.”

For a short while, Bai Yu sat still, trying to find her voice. She suppressed a sob and said to Yue Huiling while her eyes were still locked to her brother, even when her tears still flowed freely. “Then why aren’t they taking the arrow out?”

“There’s poison on the arrowhead. If we remove it, the bleeding won’t stop. This kind of poison needs various ingredients to create an antidote. Right now there’s only one ingredient left. It’s-”

“A magic hare’s heart,” Bai Yu spoke. She tore her eyes from Bai He and turned to Yue Huiling. “That thing can only be found in Da Chu. Magic hares are the symbol of their royal family.”

But these symptoms should have happened to Ouyang Mingxian.

Since the antidote required an important ingredient from Da Chu, Ouyang Mingxian was cured and could move around thanks to Bai Hua’s exceptional medical skill. However, he was not fully healed. He still needed an antidote made from a magic hare’s heart, and so the two snuck into Da Chu to steal a magic hare.

Because of such significant devotion from the heroine, Ouyang Mingxian loved Bai Hua with all his heart and trust, without a shadow of doubt left within him.

But that was the storyline that happened in the series, while the reality in front of Bai Yu was that the one who was poisoned was Bai He instead of Ouyang Mingxian!

“Commander general will be the one to bring it back. Don’t you worry.”

“Does he know where it is in Da Chu?”

“I’m not sure about that.”

“Where is Wangye right now?”

“At Rui Wang palace. He went back to make preparations around one ke ago.”

Bai Yu turned to look at her brother. She wiped tears from her face and bent down to place a light kiss on his sweat-soaked forehead. Then, she immediately left Meihua residence.

“Prepare my horse.” She had to hurry and find Ouyang Feilong. Before his trespass into Da Chu, this time would cause a war rather than a search for a magic hare.

In her last life, Li Wenrou had asked her to practice his lines for the injury scene. Bai Yu knew the importance of the hare, including its whereabouts in Da Chu. The memories she had from her before now benefit her for the first time!

Bai Yu’s sudden leave from Meihua residence was perceived by some as a young lady’s habit of finding somewhere quiet to cry by herself. True, she did want to do that. But wood had already turned into a boat*, she could not waste time. At least that assumption made it easier for her to ride her horse to Ouyang Feilong’s palace without any obstruction and reach the destination safely despite being unskilled in horse riding.

Bai Yu jumped down from her horse as soon as she reached the palace front gate. Though the action was unladylike, and her dress was limiting her movements, she could do it gracefully. Two soldiers guarding the gate tried to stop her, and Bai Yu said nothing. She only took out the black jade to show them, then one of them hastily brought her to Rui Wang palace’s parlor room.

How the palace was decorated was not of interest to her. Bai Yu tightly squeezed her hands as she calmly walked along the corridor. The purple dress she was wearing today matched perfectly with her white skin. The elegant and heavy headdress on her head did not hinder her hurried steps at all.

Bai Yu was invited to sit in the parlor room. She had told the soldier that she had an urgent business with Ouyang Feilong. She did not wait long before someone walked out to welcome her.

Bai Yu quickly stood up, thinking that it was the man she came to meet but instead was faced with a beautiful woman. From the clothes and decorations in her hair that were pinned in the style of a married woman, Bai Yu could easily guess her identity within this palace. However, she did not care to curtsy to her. Furthermore, she did not understand what this woman came here for.

Her brother’s life was on a thin thread. She could not waste even a single moment more.

“Insolent!” A maid beside the woman barked at her. “Rui Wang’s second consort is right in front of you. How could you not pay respect to Her Highness?!”

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*Biaoge: A word for addressing an older male cousin

*Wood has already turned into a boat: Something has already happened and nothing can be done to change it