“Ahh!” Right before Bai Hua could reach her, Bai Yu faked a panicked reaction as she stepped backward, right into Xiao Xi who was standing behind her and fell down. Her loud yelp attracted attention from all around, while Xiao Xi also acted surprised and followed suit, ending up on the ground beside her.
“Yu-er!” Both her parents called out her name in shock. Bai Yu communicated to her mother through her gaze before taking her father’s hand, extended to support her up.
“Are you alright?”
“It hurts,” she whispered. “My wound…” She looked at her fingertips that were starting to bleed, further evoking pity from her father.
The long sleeves of her attire became a useful tool for her acting yet again. She could make the wounds that had yet to completely dry bleed by just gripping her hands hard.
“Third daughter Bai Hua defied orders. She snuck out despite being grounded, ten beatings according to the household punishment. Her heart is so full of envy, she even dared to accuse her own elder sister. Furthermore, she did not respect the first miss born from the first wife and caused her harm. These warrants fifty beatings according to the household punishment.”
Yue Mei’s high voice was heard throughout the resident. Bai Hua who was shocked by Bai Yu’s trick stood dumbfounded. She could not say anything as she was dragged away by the male servants to receive her punishment. All the while her two maids were bawling, begging for mercy while trying to stop them.
The sounds of wood hitting the slender back resumed amidst the cry of two maids who were protected by their own mistress. Their young miss was so frail and delicate; she could not possibly endure the punishment; she would die if she received sixty beatings.
Bai Yu watched the scene in front of her, void of any emotion. In this world, the hierarchy system was something a newcomer had to accept. Here, controlling those below you was your duty. If the servants were not reined it, then it was the master’s responsibility to atone for it…Think of this as my lesson for you, Bai Hua.
“Father, please stop them.”
Under the sympathizing gaze for the third miss, everyone turned their heads to the first miss who kneeled down with bloodied hands caused by her own sister.
“Yu-er, what’re you doing?” Yue Mei tried to pull her daughter up and stopped her from begging for Bai Hua’s forgiveness.
“Please order them to stop beating third sister.”
After hearing his daughter’s repeated plea, Bai Han finally signaled the servants to stop. Bai Yu did not wait for her father to ask before she started crying.
“I was just startled, so I fell. That had nothing to do with third sister at all. Father, please have pity for her.”
“Yu-er!” Yue Mei was displeased with her daughter’s words. That useless woman had it coming to her!
“Originally, I asked for permission from Empress Dowager to punish her myself, so mother decided to ground her. Although she did sneak off, it was just to go to the marketplace. Third sister’s still young. It’s natural that she’d misbehave a little. Please, father, let me handle this.”
“What’re you going to do?” Her father asked. Underneath his calm voice was a noticeable relief for Bai Yu’s begging.
He loved Bai Yu, but he also cared about Bai Hua quite a lot.
“Third sister is fragile. If she received sixty beatings, she would be seriously hurt, or may even lose her life.” She said while sending a caring gaze to her younger sister. Bai Hua’s face was pale. Her back was slightly stained by blood and her hair was disheveled, yet her beauty had not diminished.
Bai Yu had thought about how she got away from the incident at the palace. What she did cause the subsequent situations to differ from within the series. If she let it go on, then the future within this world would turn into something she could not predict anymore, and she would not be able to escape from bad situations when they happened. That was why she decided to play along with the script in order to force the story back on its original track.
If everything stayed the same, then at least she would still know the future and be able to handle Bai Hua’s plans.
“Father please send third sister to stay at our ancestral temple for one month. By the time she returns, she’d have repented for her wrongdoings.”
Though religion was used as the reason, having to uphold the religious precepts and pray was actually considered a punishment. In the series, there was a scene where the heroine was sent to the Bai family’s ancestral temple. Her staying there led to the meeting between the male and female lead, and soon after they would fall in love.
“Good. Very good!” Bai Han nodded in agreement. He looked at Yue Mei who ruled over family matters, and when she did not voice an objection, he loudly announced. “Do as the first miss said. You two prepared yourselves to accompany your master to the ancestral temple. You will leave tomorrow at dawn.”
The two maids beside Bai Hua went pale. Though they were relieved that their young miss escaped the flogging punishment, having to stay at the ancestral temple was not a much better alternative. Still, both of them bowed their heads in thank before taking Bai Hua back to her faraway ‘Jiu Hua’ building.
“Yu-er, I’m proud to see that you have such a kind heart that knows how to forgive your siblings.” Her father helped her up from her kneeling position, then took her arms to support her back to the Jiu Yu building where calmness was returned.
“It’s me who should thank you, father, for being merciful to third sister.”
“Don’t worry. With an older sister like you, your every sister would be safe.” Bai Yu smiled at her righteous father despite the guilt she felt.
Bai Han was not a fool. She rushed through many acts, and without her mother and Xiao Xi as supports, her father would have seen through the deceit if given enough time to think.
Shortly after the doctor who was called to take care of her wound left, Bai Han left to go back to his work. Bai Yu guessed that he went to check on Bai Hua, like how any loving father would do.
As soon as both the doctor and her father left Jiu Yu building, her mother spoke. Her annoyed tone was opposite to the smiling face she had in front of Bai Han.
“Why don’t you let her be beaten to death?”
“The competition for Meihua Lady title will happen soon. I don’t want something to happen within our mansion, mother.”
“I understand your reason, but such a good opportunity like this doesn’t come so easily, Yu-er.”
“I understand.”
“You’re too kind.” Her mother sighed.
“You’re mistaken, mother…” She gave her mother a small smile. “…Bai Hua received over twenty beatings today. Going on a long trip must be hard on her body.”
Yue Mei’s eyes met her daughter’s, before letting out a laugh, satisfied with how she had raised a daughter who hid her fangs beneath the surface of a kind-hearted lady.
“Mother will send someone to the temple to take special care of her.” The only thing ‘special’ from Yue Mei could only be a ‘specially’ harsh condition that Bai Hua would face.
According to the original story of the series, after Bai Yu was grounded, Yue Mei fell ill and was taken care of by the royal doctor Mu that Qin Wang brought. At the same time, Bai Hua, as a transmigrate person, was excited to be in a different world and snuck out of the mansion to go see the marketplace. When she returned she was punished by Yue Mei who was furious with her, both for exposing Bai Yu at the banquet and for defying her detention order. Furthermore, Yue Mei accused her of having a secret meetup with a man, and so Bai Hua was sent to reflect on her actions at the ancestral temple.
What just happened differed quite a bit from the series, but at least in the end it led to the same conclusion that Bai Yu knew from her past life.
Bai family’s ancestral temple was very far away from the capital. When Bai Furen or Bai Yu visited, they would be comfortably received by the Bais who lived there. However, Bai Hua would not have the same treatment at all during her one month there.
During that time, Bai Yu who played the villainess was not in the same scene as the heroine, so she did not know the details of what happened there. She only knew that Bai Hua who was originally magic-less combined the medical practice she learned at the temple with the one from her former world and created an elixir that could bring out her magic power that was sealed when she was in the womb.
Everyone knew that the reason Bai Hua could not use magic was from the poison Yue Mei made Li Rong drank while she was pregnant. The poison rendered those who ingested it magic-less, and so Bai Hua was affected by it. Still, she only indirectly received the poison, so her condition could be cured by the elixir.
Bai Hua spent her time at the temple studying medicinal herbs and practicing her magic until she could utilize it without the need for a medium. One day, while she was in the forest looking for herbs, she stumbled upon Ouyang Mingxian who had been ambushed and used her power to heal him.
That was the beginning of their relationship, as they got to know each other and nurtured affection. Ouyang Mingxian was intrigued by how Bai Hua, who was from another world, had a different ideology and acted differently from other women. Moreover, the heroine was both beautiful and skilled. After being in close proximity for a while, they fell in love.
And at the same time…that was also the end of the villainess’s decade-long, one-sided love, The villainess, who did not have a clue of what was happening.
She was not sure whether this Bai Hua came from the same world as her, or from the same era or not. She decided to continue to observe her actions and personality. At least Bai Yu had to thank Bai Hua’s loyalty to her friends and her father’s righteousness for today’s success. Her behavior today confirmed that this Bai Hua had the same character as Bai Hua in the story…
Just like her, who was becoming more and more of an evil villain.