Transmigration: The Fate of the Villainess

“Bengong thinks this is an internal affair.” As soon as they met, Chu Jiaoxin was surprised. She had thought that Ouyang Feilong had invited her back here to accept her marriage proposal to stop the war.

On top of not agreeing to her offer, Ouyang Feilong also told her that the marriage would be decided by the first miss of the Bai family, who was sitting beside him. Bai Yu smiled, then softly said that she wished marriage would be the last resort.

Chu Jiaoxin was offended again and again. When she had decided to go back to her palace, she was held back again when Ouyang Feilong mentioned the situation within the imperial palace. However, Chu Jiaoxin revealed nothing.

“You’re not thinking that benwang is a fool?” Ouyang Feilong gazed at the teacup in his hand, ignoring the first princess, who had a heavy face.

Ouyang Feilong was not a fool. It was not impossible that he would know the reason behind Chu Jiaoxin’s marriage proposal. She herself knew how shrewd he was. Every time they had met before, he never brought this up, only watching by, never offering help, and never taking advantage of it. Today was different. Wangye of Da Yang wanted her to talk about the thing that she wanted to keep secret the most.

“Father is sick. He can’t handle royal affairs after giving the royal decree to attack Da Yang’s army last time.”

“Benwang already knew this.” Ouyang Feilong put down the cup, then looked at her face.

“Bengong thinks it’s too strange. But a request for his audience was never granted.”

.....

“What about the Empress, Your Highness?” Bai Yu asked.

Chu Jiaoxin turned to the other woman in the room. Her gaze was calm, but it also carried irritation. Bai Yu met her eyes directly without an ounce of fear. Not respectful, not arrogant.

“Mother is at his bedside. She also forbids anybody from having an audience. Even now, bengong has not seen their faces.”

“Is it because his majesty’s sickness is highly infectious?” Bai He muttered.

“Possibly.” Chu Jiaoxin frowned. “But bengong still can’t rest easy.”

“Was his majesty unable to attend to royal matters for almost two weeks?”

“That is correct,” Chu Jiaoxin answered Ouyang Feilong, then continued to explain. “For the first three days that he fell ill, mother ordered the morning meeting to be temporarily stopped while doctors observed his condition. But the meeting can’t be held off for too long, especially in a time of war like this, so grandmother is now regent.”

Her grandmother would be none other than the Empress Dowager of Da Chu, the nation where women were respected and given freedom. That was the reason the first princess like her could naturally travel to Da Yang and quarrel with Bai Yu.

The Empress Dowager governing the court in the Emperor’s place was surprising, but not taboo for Da Chu, especially with the current Emperor who often fell sick and the Empress or Empress Dowager having to act as regent several times.

Still, the current situation was different. The Emperor was bedridden for far longer than usual. To make matters worse, the nation was facing war. Bai Yu believed the officials could not stay still for too long.

“What do the officials say?” Ouyang Feilong asked what was on Bai Yu’s mind.

“Still no movement.”

“How about other consorts?”

“Still calm.”

“It won’t be calm for much longer.” All eyes turned to the person who spoke up. Bai Yu carried a smile no different from her usual one. There was no sign of nervousness on her, despite being the object of interest in a heavy atmosphere. “A nation without an emperor still has officials and soldiers to prop it up. But the inner court without an empress could not stay peaceful for long. Especially now that both the emperor and empress are together, jealousy would form a tempest.”

She was hinting to Chu Jiaoxin that, other than the external threat of war, Da Chu now had an internal conflict at hand. As for who would be the instigator, Bai Yu had to wait and see. Whether the wind would form first among the officials or the consorts, the objective was the same...Changing the throne.

 

—————–

 

The four of them continued to talk until darkness started to fall before Chu Jiaoxin left to return to the palace in order to not raise suspicion. Even though she had been honing herself outside the capital for some time, when she returned to her rank as royalty, she could not act freely, especially in a time like this when an action out of the ordinary would be immediately inconspicuous. She knew she was not the only person who felt something strange in the current situation; even Ouyang Feilong knew and could investigate so thoroughly that she did not have much left to tell. The high-ranking officials were a whole other story.

“Either the officials or the consorts, huh?” Ouyang Feilong spoke after Chu Jiaoxin had left the room.

His golden eyes were solemn as they turned to Bai Yu. As she met his gaze, Bai Yu could not help but recall the time they had helped villagers during a pandemic. If it was work, he would always have seriousness under indifference. He never changed; the thing that had changed was her own feelings.

“Yes, Your Highness.” Bai Yu brushed away an embarrassing thought, then nodded and continued the conversation. “If I’m correct, the plot—I mean, next, something would occur and cause a commotion to allow someone in the shadow to act.”

Because of the series she had starred in and other media she had consumed, Bai Yu could make some guesses. And by making an assumption based on her old familiarity, she accidentally slipped and used a ‘strange’ word in front of Ouyang Feilong and Bai He.

“Is Wangye going to help her?”

Bai Yu asked the person with the most power to make the decision. Bai He was curious about the same thing as his sister was as well.

Marriage might truly be able to make the situation better. Between Da Yang and Da Chu, marriage had always been their main method of strengthening their alliance. If marriage was to happen, then both sides had to be born of an empress, as per tradition and propriety. The bride would be Chu Jiaoxin, and the groom would be a son of the empress, of which Ouyang Feilong was one of them.

“Help or not, benwang has to come to an agreement with that second prince first.”

An agreement with Chu Zhaoran?

“Wangye doesn’t mean...” Bai He said, seeming like he already knew his commander’s thoughts.

“That’s right.” Without waiting for the other person to end his question, Ouyang Feilong nodded.

Bai Yu watched the two men saying only half a sentence but having a full understanding, then sighed. It was not that she did not know Ouyang Feilong’s plan.

It was more that she pitied herself...

How could she have forgotten that Wangye and his lieutenant-general had such yin-yang energy between them? She who came after could never compare to the bond forged through the blood of the battle between two men.

Should she be worried...?