Chapter 21

Chapter 21: Oh Bai Yu, do not lose to fate Part I

“Miss, that jade tassel...”

“Bring me the prepared emerald grass.”

“Right here, miss.”

“Did you wash it with saline water?”

“Yes, miss.”

“Very good.”

The beautiful face showed concentration as she dropped a handful of emerald grass into the pot. No matter how hot the congee pot in front of her was, Bai Yu did not turn her face away from the vapor. That was because she was trying to evade her maid’s question about the black jade.

.....

“Miss, that jade from last night...”

“Bring me some salt.”

“What will miss use it for?”

“I’m adding it to the congee, of course.”

Though Xiao Xi was confused, she still obediently followed the order. She knew that her miss was trying to dodge the question about the jade tassel by waking up early to make congee for handing out to the villagers who lived near the temple. Normally, her arrogant miss would never do something like this by herself.

Because Bai Yu did not want to answer any questions, she tried to make herself constantly busy. In truth, she could just stand by and order the servants to do these things. In this world, the congee that was distributed to the villagers was made by boiling rice with water and stewing until it became congee without using any seasoning. Bai Yu accidentally saw a plant that resembled a pandan growing along the stream. At first, she was unsure whether it was the same pandan that she knew or not. After asking Xiao Xi, she was told that the people of Da Yang called it emerald grass and no one had used it in food before. Thus, in her cooking, Bai Yu added the emerald grass for fragrance and some salt for taste into the congee that was to be handed out.

Following the unscripted event last night, the villagers in the area of the temple came at dawn to ask for help. Because many people in the village fell ill, they did not have enough labor to work like before. After hearing that, Bai Yu then had the servants at the temple bring utensils and ingredients to the village. They would cook congee and hand it out starting from dawn to almost noon.

On top of receiving a helping hand was aromatic and delicious congee, which made the villagers rejoice. Bai Yu generously told them the congee’s simple recipe, leading to her being praised further.

At the same time, Bai Hua, who was wearing a maid uniform, also accompanied Bai Yu as one of her followers. Though she was surprised by the familiar recipe, her position made her unable to say anything. She could only continue to scoop congee from the pot and distribute it to villagers with a pretty smile to raise their spirits.

No matter how beautiful the heroine was, her reputation had to lose to Bai Yu this time. She had Xiao Xi as her own megaphone to spread the word that the first miss of the Bai family was both magnanimous and down-to-earth.

Bai Yu herself did not have any ulterior motive at all. She merely thought that she wanted to make merit because she came to visit the temple. It was her personal maid that was too good at her job.

“Miss...”

“Stop!”

“Miss...”

“I said stop.”

“I just wanted to ask, can I go relieve myself?”

Bai Yu internally regained her composure from embarrassment before waving to give her permission. Was she too paranoid that Xiao Xi would pester her?

“Haah...”

She sighed while taking the jade in question out of her sleeve pocket to inspect again. No matter how much she tried, Bai Yu could not find the answer to Rui Wang’s identity. Last night she was so busy thinking that she could not sleep. Coincidentally, the villagers came to ask for help at dawn, so Bai Yu brought her servants to distribute the food. She thought that she would take a nap after returning, but Xiao Xi made her thoughts circle back to the problem of this jade’s owner again.

After some time of thinking, she came to the conclusion that...it did not matter who that man was, because she would surely not meet him again! What kind of man treated a beauty that way? She lost control over her emotions again and again because of his provoking.

“How can I keep calm like this?” She murmured to herself. The slender figure in a dark blue dress stood up and left her room, heading to the praying area within the temple.

Bai Yu came here because she wanted to calm herself down. She had to go through too many things after being in this body, and when coupled with the circumstances in her former life, they all made her feel purposeless. Her dreams during those nights had told her to come here. She thought that the time when there were no maids following her like this was the most ideal opportunity to find the answer for herself.

The area within the temple was tranquil. It was clear that workers from the Bai family were thorough in maintaining it. As Bai Yu walked, she was greeted by bows from everyone in the area. She saw Bai Hua and her two maids sweeping the leaves in the courtyard. Even after all her clothes were taken away, Bai Hua’s beauty still stood out amongst other women wearing the same maid uniform.

Bai Yu walked past the three who curtsied to her, not sparing a glance.

If she knew manners, then there would be no need to lecture her half-sister.

——————–

“Seems like you are being lost.”

A voice of a woman sounded behind her as Bai Yu was heading back to her room after finding that praying did not make her any calmer.

She frowned, unsure whether the woman was talking to her or not. She changed her expression to a slight smile in order to be mannerly before turning back to the other person whose magic aura was exceedingly strong.

Obviously, it was magic of some higher level than hers, enabling the user to approach Bai Yu without her noticing at all.

“Benxiaojie* knows this path very well. Guniang* must be mistaken.” She replied with her characteristic arrogance and intentionally addressed herself with an honorific.

“You are not lost in the temple...” The mysterious woman in pure white stepped closer. Bai Yu could not see her face because of the Chinese wide-brimmed hat with a long, thin veil connected to hide the wearer’s appearance. “...You are lost within your own heart.”

“What does guniang mean?”

“I am the reason you came to this temple.”

Her heart beat faster at her words. Bai Yu had never told anyone of her dream. There was no possible way for this woman to know what had led her here.

The villainess examined the stranger for a mere moment before faking a surprised reaction. She intended to push the boat along the current* “So it was you!”

The woman did not answer. She moved closer until Bai Yu could see long silver hair brushing against her ankle. It sparkled prettily under the sunlight. “It was not with those dreams that I led you here.”

“You mean...” She knitted her brows. It seemed that this woman really did know something.

“Even your soul was also brought here by me, Yoknapha!”

Her dark eyes widened. This time, she was truly stunned. Who was this person?

In the area that Bai Yu stood, there were only her and this guniang. The surrounding seemed to be cut off by a strange white mist.

The mysterious woman whose face was concealed had strange, shimmering silver hair...there was no description of such a unique person in the series. Throughout Da Yang, no one had silver hair as well. When Bai Yu carefully examine the person who knew her old name, she then noticed that there was a faint gleam of silver light surrounding the woman.

“Just who exactly are you?”

She hoped fate would not play a joke and made her meet a goddess in the fairy tale.

“I am the one you had blamed in all of your many lives.”

What did that mean...

“It means that no matter what question you have, I will be the one to answer it.”

If she was the one Bai Yu had blamed, then that person could only be the goddess of fate. Was this woman truly a deity?

“It is as you think.” The goddess of fate calmly listened to the thoughts of the woman who she brought across the world. She did not interrupt as she let Bai Yu try to make sense of suddenly facing a goddess, a situation above ordinary human’s comprehension.

“Where...is this?” Not long after Bai Yu finally suppressed her shock, she asked the question that she had been wanting to know all along.

She believed that this woman who had a high-level magic aura could answer her because up until her death she had blamed and complained the goddess of fate so much. Even though this was so unbelievable, she was largely certain that this guniang was the goddess.

The fact that her soul could be crossed into this world must mean that a goddess of fate did, in fact, exist.

“This world is your first life, after your first incarnation as a human,” the goddess in the form of a mortal explained to her. “When your soul was born into this life, your every action created karma that would intertwine and create a ripple effect to your many lives after. You have to go through endless cycles of rebirth, eternally repaying for all karmas you have committed. It is the same as how you have died in this world as ‘Bai Yu’ and continued to reincarnate in other lives until you finally became ‘Yoknapha'”

Bai Yu nodded as she understood the story she was told. This must mean that she did not transmigrate into a TV series like she initially thought but instead came back to the first incarnation of her soul.

“Then, why did my first life become the series I have starred in?”

“It was I who planted the idea in the mind of the people in that life. It was to prepare you before bringing you here.”

That was too unbelievable!

This goddess let her know about her first incarnation through the series so that she could come here and know the future. Did that mean the goddess of fate intended for her to return while knowing how she would die? Would she have to die like in the series this time?

“Everything would continue the same way if you wish so.”

No way. She would never die because of her devotion to Ouyang Mingxian. Never.

“Do not be afraid, child. You have yet another path to take.” The goddess of fate gently soothed her. “And this is the reason why I bring you back to this life.”

“Wha...what do you mean?”

“Oh child...Now, you are the new Bai Yu. By coming here, you have the ability to choose to repeat the same story you had played or paved your new destiny of your own.”

Change your own destiny?

————————————————————————————-

*Benxiaojie: A first-person honorific used by a lady from a noble family. It means “Me, who is a young lady”

*Guniang: A pronoun used to address a woman

* Push the boat along the current: Go with the flow

.....