Chapter 20 Team villainess had gained another member

    Bai Yu was ordered by her mother to kneel in her residence for one shichen as punishment. Yue Mei wanted her to reflect on her mistake. ‘You’re the daughter of the senior chancellor, but your behavior toward Rui Wang wasn’t of a noble lady at all’. Her mother must be talking about her argument with Ouyang Feilong.

    Ah…Bai Yu could only hang her head and accept the punishment.

    The slender form of Bai family’s first miss was kneeling in her bedroom without a word of protest. A maid from the main house, ‘Xiao Chang’, who was assigned by Yue Mei to monitor the first miss also could not help but pity her.

    The first miss Bai Yu had always been impeccable in public. It was only when she was with her mother and brother that she would lower her guard and act childish, calling rare smiles to the first Furen and first master’s faces.

    But when in front of the royals or other nobles, their miss would be graceful and reserved. She could maintain her manners even toward Qin Wang who she had been hopelessly in love with for so long.

    The scene where she argued with the Wangye, who was not only known for his military prowess but also had close ties with the Emperor, surprised everyone. Their first miss Bai Yu who had been brought up to become the perfect Qin Wang Fei acted like that toward a royal. It was natural that the first Furen would punish her.

    ‘You should hurry to bed after you finished kneeling. Tomorrow you’ll have to write me a copy of ‘Noble Lady Virtues’’

    After half a shichen had passed, Bai Yu was sitting quietly while crying internally. She knew that she had been rude toward Ouyang Feilong all this time, but she also did not know why she could never control her temper when he provoked her. She was just acting like the loving older sister while in front of the mansion, but then she lost her control right after she met Rui Wang who knew her true nature. When she was in front of him, she would act on her former life’s personality every time.

    Bai Yu in her former life was an only child, so she was quite self-centered and a little wicked. Furthermore, she was born rich, so with her mother’s passing and her father’s indifference, she ventured into the world alone.

    She was also in the entertainment circle. Even when she was sensible enough not to get to the point where she became a public enemy, she still had enough wickedness to deal with others within the industry. Otherwise, she would not end up being called the number one villainess!

    No matter in what circle, in which life, wearing masks and hiding thorns among flowery words were Bai Yu’s expertise. She was adept in both retaliating and enduring when in front of others.

    But the first time she met Ouyang Feilong, the first thing he said was calling her a fool. It was vastly different from the roundabout way of speaking others in this world had used, so Bai Yu immediately revealed her darker side and became the great general’s bickering partner since the beginning. And that habit endured up until now.

    Moreover, every time they met there would be only the two of them, so no one else had heard how they argued with each other. The result was that they forgot themselves when they were in front of others. Bai Yu had to accept that she did not know when it really began, but every time Ouyang Feilong started using his sharp words, her patience would lower to an unprecedented level.

    It was just the matter of fighting fire with fire!

    It was probably because she went to the temple and stay at that village for too long right after transmigrating into this body. While there, she acted according to all her thoughts and whims. Even though she still maintained her graceful image in front of others, she had much more freedom than when she was at the mansion. Bai Yu rarely listened to Xiao Xi’s nagging when she tried to stop her. She mainly relied on the original body’s memory to understand the culture, but truthfully, she did not try to understand it to the point of accepting and adopting it.

    She was herself, the transmigrated villainess who came from a different era from the original Bai Yu who grew up in this culture and tradition. Nevertheless, it was an undeniable truth that now they were the same person, and she had to adapt, sooner or later.

    When she starred as Bai Yu in the series, she could do it perfectly. She could be the elegant first miss, the refined beauty who hid wickedness behind the gentle image. She could do it all! But that was merely a role that she played by the script. When the director said ‘cut’, she would be able to leave and go home being herself. It was not the same this time.

    The new Bai Yu had to live here her whole life, and she had to accept that the manners of women in this era were different. No matter how high her adaptability was, it would not make her immediately change her whole mindset.

    This time she was not careful, so Ouyang Feilong could not be solely blamed for her mistake. She was also at fault. She forgot that she was no longer in the former world, so she could not bring her former personality here. Not all of them.

    She did not want to lose herself, her former life’s self, and at the same time, she also did not want Yue Mei to lose her daughter, the original Bai Yu. Because of that, she had to do her very best, better than the best of her every villainess role before this, so that she could both be ‘Original Bai Yu’ in the former life and ‘Bai Yu as she should become’. This was her new role. It was the role that she had to play for the rest of her life.

    Now that she could sit down and contemplate, Bai Yu realized that transmigrating into playing the villainess in real life was not easy at all.

    “Miss, stand up, please,” Xiao Xi said to Bai Yu after communicating with Xiao Chang, whom she was close with, through eye contact. They would not report to the first Furen if their miss stood up before the time was up, because they could not bear to see her being punished at all.

    Xiao Xi’s miss had always been an obedient and capable young lady. No matter what the first Furen taught her, she could flawlessly follow. It was her own fault that she could not take care of her miss well enough. Since she herself also got carried away by the freer life at the village where there was no competition with other maids, it then resulted in both her and her miss forgetting to maintain their manners.

    “Mother said I have to kneel for one shichen,” Bai Yu said calmly. Even though it was a statement, she looked at Xiao Chang like she was waiting for an answer.

    “I will return to the main house after one shichen and report to first Furen that miss has kneeled for the full duration, then immediately went to bed.” Xiao Chang understood the gaze from the first miss, so she answered according to what the other person wanted to hear.

    “Good.” Bai Yu immediately stood up. She was a Buddhist, so she was used to kneeling to pray for a long time. It was actually not a big deal for her at all, but she did think it was unnecessary to kneel for one shichen when she had already reflected on her mistake. Xiao Xi interrupted at the perfect timing, and that maid was also sharp. Bai Yu’s mood was better again.

    “What’s your name?” She poured tea for herself and asked for the maid’s name while Xiao Xi cleverly started massaging her legs.

    “My name is Xiao Chang, miss.”

    “What’s your duty in my mother’s residence?”

    “I help assist Xiao Jun jiejie.”

    Ah. So she was an assistant to her mother’s personal maid.

    “Do you want to be my personal maid?”

    Xiao Xi’s hands suddenly stopped. The puppy maid looked like she was about to cry, before realizing that she should ask for pity from her miss who she had served since before she could remember.

    “Miss, miss please don’t fire me. You can let Chang jiejie be your personal maid and tell me to go cut logs, but please don’t fire me. I promise I’ll be more careful. I won’t let you be punished again because of my mistake because I couldn’t take care of miss enough. I—“

    “Stop!”

    Xiao Xi closed her mouth. Her eyes were red like she could start crying at any moment.

    “I just want Xiao Chang to serve me. I didn’t say I’m going to fire you.” No maids had ever been able to endure Bai Yu’s temper like Xiao Xi could. Bai Yu would order them to be flogged and beat until Yue Mei stopped sending maids to serve her, for fear that the truth of her daughter’s character would be exposed.

    But now the new Bai Yu had crossed over. That kind of mindless evil would not happen again with this Bai Yu. Also, she was the first miss of the senior chancellor, how could she have only one personal maid?!

    “Miss…” Xiao Xi cried as she crawled to hug Bai Yu’s leg. “I thought you’re going to fire me because I was the reason you got punished.”

    Bai Yu sighed. “That has nothing to do with you at all.” It was all because of that commander general.

    “Then why would miss want jiejie to be your personal maid?” Xiao Xi wiped away her tears then moved closer to sit on the floor beside Xiao Chang who had been waiting quietly in front of Bai Yu.

    “I saw you communicated with your eyes. Seems like both of you are quite close, so I think I won’t have to worry if I let you two help with important jobs.”

    Bai Yu already expected that Xiao Xi would tell her to stand before the time was up, while at the same time finding a way to conceal it from her mother. However, she did not think Xiao Xi would cooperate with Xiao Chang.

    “What kind of job, miss.” Xiao Xi looked at her with wide eyes.

    “Rather than that job, you should care more about whether your jiejie will come to serve me or not.” Bai Yu was tired of her maid’s sense of priority.

    “If it is miss’s wish, tomorrow I will ask for permission from the first Furen.” Xiao Chang answered obediently. There was no gladness or unwillingness in her expression.

    This was what made Bai Yu choose her. In the future, she would need someone close who can help her. Xiao Xi was sometimes too naive. She would end up becoming a weakness that Bai Hua exploited to destroy Bai Yu like in the series.

    This time, she needed a maid who was clever and knew manners well, someone who did not talk too much or too little, someone who knew how and when to act. If one day, the event in the series came true and Xiao Xi was fooled by Bai Hua, there would still be Xiao Chang to watch over Xiao Xi. Furthermore, it looked like she was quite a few years older than Bai Yu and Xiao Xi.

    “If you’re willing, then I’ll ask mother myself.” Bai Yu’s eyes met with the maid’s calm ones.

    “I am willing, miss.”

    Team villainess had gained another member.

           -------------------------------

    “I’m very happy that miss gives Chang jiejie a chance,” her little Xiao Xi said while preparing Bai Yu’s bed after one shichen was over and Xiao Chang left to report to her mother.

    “How many years is she older than you?”

    “Five years.” Xiao Xi was one year younger than Bai Yu, so Xiao Chang must be four years older than her, meaning she was now twenty-one.

    “Does she have a lover?”

    “None. There are many male servants who like Xiao Chang jiejie, but jiejie never shows interest in any of them. It’s very strange.”

    Maybe Xiao Chang liked her big brother or her father, especially when her appearance was quite easy on the eyes. Bai Yu had to be vigilant because of this place’s society and culture. Maids in every mansion were all ambitious. If there was a chance, they would grab it and never let go, like how Bai Hua’s mother, Li Rong, quickly became Bai Han’s concubine. She made the decision without caring who she might hurt.

    It was possible because of Da Yang’s tradition that women who became mistress to married men did not feel remorse. In the series, it was explained that Bai Han liked how Li Rong was understanding, unlike Yue Mei who never showed interest toward him, so he decided to make her a concubine without asking Yue Mei’s opinion. He thought that no matter what, Yue Mei would not care about him.

    It could be said that Li Rong was like an anchor for Bai Han whose heart was broken by Yue Mei.

    O love, just how many people would you hurt before you were satisfied.

    “But, miss, I already have someone I like.” Xiao Xi interrupted Bai Yu’s thoughts.

    “Who is it?”

    “I like the general!”

    “Which general?”

    Bai Yu frowned. There were so many minor and major generals in this nation.

    “The grand general, of course.”

    Blargh!

    “I’m going to bed.”

    “Then I’ll put out the candles.”

    The light from candles was extinguished and replaced by the moonlight. Bai Yu gripped the two-layered blanket that Xiao Xi carefully laid down to help protect her from the cold. The beautiful face was smiling under the dim silver light.

    When Xiao Xi talked about Ouyang Feilong, Bai Yu could not help but recall the stern Wangye’s reaction. Even when half of his face was exposed, she could notice how his expression slightly changed when she intentionally said the famous phrase from a well-known sci-fi movie in her former life to him.

    First, his brows knitted together for a slight moment. Then, there was a huff sounded from his throat. And finally, Ouyang Feilong rode his horse away under the bright, round moon.

    The next day Bai Yu woke up to get dressed since early morning. In the first few days that she transmigrated here, she had surprised her maids by rarely wearing elegant clothes.

    But now she was both the new and original Bai Yu. And to be the eye candy villainess, beauty would be the first priority obviously!

    “Miss, do you really want to throw all this away?” Xiao Xi asked her young lady who was concentrating on copying the ‘Noble Lady Virtues’, her newly appointed personal maid was grounding an inkstick beside her.

    Today, miss let Xiao Xi dress her up so beautifully. Even when she added accessories to her hair, she did not take anything off like when they were at the village or before she went to the temple. Still, her miss insisted on wearing a dark blue dress woven with thick fabric that had light embroidery patterns, making it harder to stain. As for the dresses that had light and pastel color or those with embroidered flowers, her miss threw them all out. ‘Such a shame!’ Xiao Xi thought.

    “You two can keep any dress you like. For the rest, give half of them to other maids in the mansion, and the other half donate them to villagers who were in need of clothes. It’s getting cold.”

    If she were to give them to her half-sisters, they would surely think Bai Yu had laced the dresses with poison and never dared to wear it. It was an abundance of clothes, so she thought it was best to give it out to others who are less fortunate.

    “But miss’s dress…”

    “From now on, my clothes will have new patterns and styles. I don’t want these dresses that make me look like every other lady in the capital.”

    Bai Yu was a world-class villainess. Even though this kind of ancient Chinese clothing was beautiful, it was identical to those of typical noble ladies. It would be an insult to the pride of someone like her, who came from the era of fashion. She had to look good with her own style!

    Her father was more than wealthy. She did not need to worry about what she did with the money or how she used it. Bai Yu would design her own clothes and had them made new.

    But! That would have to be after she finished copying this stupid book…The villainess wanted to cry out loud!!