Transmigration: The Fate of the Villainess

His actions meant that Bai Yu had correctly guessed his thoughts. It was not that he had no intention of finding the culprit. He could not, for an unknown reason. In the current situation, no one was more suitable for the duty than Chu Jiaoxin, not even Ouyang Feilong himself.

With Chu Jiaoxin’s status, she should have been the one responsible for the investigation from the start, as she was after only the empress and the empress dowager in authority. However, she was Da Chu’s royalty. Her nation’s power could not reach her here and fully support her. The clever Chu Jiaoxin could see the direction of the wind and decided against interfering at first.

In the end, the former first princess joined the fray with the support of Chu Zhaoran. He guaranteed both power and safety for her, despite her having already left the Chu royal family. He wanted her to make clear the incident. This was a request from Bai Yu, asking for Chu Jiaoxin’s interference with Chu Zhaoran as the middleman.

Correct. That night, she ordered Ah-Zhen to send a magic letter to Chu Zhaoran.

Her last resort that had an equal footing against the Wei family was the Chu royal family, who had sent one woman for a diplomatic marriage not long ago. It was a risky choice, as Bai Yu did not expect that man to be so generous that he would help her over and over again. He even said that if Ouyang Feilong no longer wanted her, he would gladly welcome her as his empress.

Days passed by in a flash. The court quieted down after Chu Jiaoxin was involved in the matter. The court officials on both sides kept quiet for fear that they might slight Chu Zhaoran if they objected to Chu Jiaoxin’s involvement.

“How’s the preparation?”

There were a few days left before Empress Dowager Wei’s birthday banquet would be held. Zhao Ninghua and Mu Qilin had taken over the work that Bai Yu had started. Today, she summoned the two women to inquire about the progress. It seemed that there was a problem.

.....

“Your Majesty, all the preparations are halted by the Empress Dowager’s order.” Zhao Ninghua’s words made Bai Yu tighten her fist under the cover of her long sleeve.

Her effort… They kept trampling over it!

“Her Majesty said that with the loss of her grandson, only a small party would suffice.” Mu Qilin was both gleeful and satisfied to see Bai Yu being humiliated over and over again.

“Very well.” Her fist slowly loosened. The villainess lifted her chin; her dissatisfaction was expertly hidden away. “Then you send invitations only to the royal family and courtiers from major families.”

“But Your Majesty!” Mu Qilin objected. “The Empress Dowager’s honor and magnificence will not be fully reflected by such a small number of guests.”

Bai Yu smiled. “Mother said she wished to have a small party. How can you invite so many people?”

She turned to Zhao Ninghua, whose gaze showed a difficult look at the conflict between Bai Yu and Empress Dowager Wei. “You’d do as bengong said. If Mother isn’t satisfied with a ‘small party,’ then move the venue to the royal garden that bengong has prepared and continue with the original preparation.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.” Zhao Ninghua eventually replied in the affirmative.

“But…” Mu Qilin, who had risen in power once more, seemed to disagree.

“What will you do then?” She glanced at the woman, her voice stern. “Do you think you can prepare everything in time without doing as bengong said? Changing the venue means changing the decorations, food, and performances. How will you change everything and create a perfect banquet within three days if you do not choose bengong’s method?”

It was not incorrect to view this as her fighting against Empress Dowager. Still, everything was for the party that had to be ready within a short span of time for the sake of the royal family’s image.

In the end, Empress Dowager Wei’s birthday party was held with fewer guests than every year before. Only the royalty and close courtiers could attend.

“Make way for the Emperor.”

“Make way for the Empress.”

One phoenix and one dragon walked side by side in silence, despite the deafening sound of blessings from around them. Bai Yu’s heart could only hear the silence between her and Ouyang Feilong.

“Ah…”

“Be careful.” He scolded her immediately as she stumbled over the hem of her long dress.

Ouyang Feilong had intended to remain cold toward Bai Yu to achieve his plan. However, his wall crumbled as soon as he saw the larger and heavier belly of his wife’s pregnancy as time passed. His strong arms helped support her smaller body that lost balance because of her usual foolishness.

The affectionate display surprised every bystander. Was not the Emperor angry at the Empress to the point that he had her on house arrest? Why did their actions contradict the rumored situation so vastly?

“Thank you, Your Majesty.” Bai Yu put her hand over his that was waiting. His other arm was carefully embracing her shoulder. She lifted her face to thank him for his kindness. This was the first time after the incident that Bai Yu could see Ouyang Feilong’s face closely.

Ever since she was grounded, she could only view his procession from afar. And so, she never noticed that her lover’s beautiful face had become haggard. Laughably, the route from the royal study to the throne hall did not pass through her palace at all. Yet Ouyang Feilong still chose the path in front of her palace.

How fortunate it was that she did not do a foolish thing such as commit suicide, having missed the chance to see those little actions from the man who held her true red string of fate.

That night, more than one magic letter was sent by Ah-Zhen under her order. Bai Yu could only pray that he had received her letter and read it to confirm what she believed. To confirm that everything was intentional and that he had not truly lost trust in her.

“Make way for the Empress Dowager.”

Shortly after they sat down, the main focus of the party arrived. Bai Yu and Ouyang Feilong courteously stood up to welcome the senior. Today, Empress Dowager Wei carried a meticulously crafted kind smile on her face.

“Oh Long-er, sit down, sit down. Don’t act so formally with your mother.” Empress Dowager Wei patted the back of her son’s hand as he went forward to help her sit down next to him. The elderly woman’s gentle tone did not give a touch of warmth to Bai Yu’s heart at all.

She could only hope that Ouyang Feilong would be able to distinguish them.

Between what was love.

And what was pure deceit.

The party was as simple and boring as usual. The guests were all restraining their words, as they knew they could not afford to create more friends or enemies at the height of the conflict within the court. Thus, today’s party was filled with awkwardness. When the third performance ended, Empress Dowager Wei spoke up amidst the restrained atmosphere.

“Long-er.”

“Yes, mother.” Ouyang Feilong replied.

“Do you know what an old person like aijia wishes for the most on every birthday?”

“I am incompetent. Mother, please give me guidance.”

“Aijia only wishes to see aijia’s children and grandchildren grow up…” Empress Dowager Wei revealed a sorrowful smile as she raised her wrinkled hand to wipe away the tear that no one knew whether it truly existed or not. “…But not long ago, aijia lost aijia’s first great-grandson…”

“Mother, please restrain your emotions.” Ouyang Feilong now knew what his mother was implying.

“Mother, please restrain your emotions.” A pretense of worry was uttered from Bai Yu’s lips. And as soon as the words were said, Empress Dowager Wei’s eyes instantly turned to her.

“How could aijia stay calm when the devil that killed aijia’s great-grandchild is still walking free?!” Empress Dowager Wei called out sharply. “Taizi Fei!”

“Yes, grandmother.” Chu Jiaoxin bowed her head in response.

“You’re the one responsible for the investigation. What have you found?”

“That…”

Chu Jiaoxin glanced at her before turning to look at Ouyang Feilong.

Bai Yu unconsciously touched her bracelet. In Da Yang, jade was a highly valuable accessory. Thus, it was often used to create tablets for royalty to identify themselves. Each jade color had its meaning, namely the green jade representing heaven’s son.

Purple jade symbolized perseverance to achieve the intended goal. It also signified the status of…the heir to the throne.

Bai Yu had seen that jade on Ouyang Mingxian when she fainted in the royal garden.

The purple jade she and Ouyang Feilong were wearing represented the heirs!

Everyone believed that Bai Yu was behind Bai Hua’s miscarriage because she was pregnant with the dragon heir. The pregnancy of Taizi’s second consort presented a future threat to the heir that would inherit the throne after Ouyang Mingxian. Naturally, all were convinced that Bai Yu would dare to commit the crime to secure her children’s future.

Due to Da Yang’s tradition, Chu Jiaoxin’s children could not inherit the throne, despite her being Taizi Fei. The emperor of Da Yang could not have a drop of blood from Da Chu.

In the end, only Bai Yu’s child had the right to the throne. However, Bai Hua’s pregnancy became a major obstacle to Bai Yu and Ouyang Feilong’s child’s ascension. At the same time, Bai Hua’s miscarriage would greatly benefit Bai Yu and her children.

Bai Yu knew that she was not the culprit. No matter how beneficial the loss was to her, she did not do it. And the purple jade bracelet that Ouyang Feilong had given her while wearing one himself made her think of something…

After that night, other than Xiao Chang’s imprisonment, Ouyang Feilong remained silent. She had thought that it was a result of him being limited by the pressure from various sides. But when she looked at the purple jade bracelet, a thought came to her…Ouyang Feilong did not keep quiet and let the conflict fester because he could not find the culprit. Instead, he had known who it was all along!

She was pregnant with twins. There were two purple jade bracelets given to her by Ouyang Feilong before the incident occurred.

Among those who would gain from Bai Hua’s miscarriage, apart from Bai Yu…there was Ouyang Feilong as well! It was possible that the plan that Ouyang Feilong had did not end with Ouyang Mingxian’s becoming Taizi.

But that plan had been for their children all along!