Chapter 44

44 What could her magic do? Part I

Bai Yu decided to escape from the situation by faking a faint. She closed her eyes and braced herself for the pain when she hit the floor, in case that no one could catch her in time. However, a loud voice interrupted before she could do as she had planned.

“Make way for the Emperor.”

Thank heavens! Wait, no. Thank Son of Heaven!

“Blessings to the Emperor. May you live and reign for ten thousand years, tens of thousands years, ten thousand of ten thousand years.”

The mind game between the two pillars of the inner court was interrupted by the monarch of Da Yang. The figure clothed in gold arrived with Taizi, Qin Wang, and Wei Wang. It seemed they came after the royal meeting at the throne hall had concluded.

Bai Yu hid a sigh of relief. She lowered her head, staring at the hem of the golden clothes worn by the Emperor who had unknowingly saved her life. This royal garden was located between the throne hall and royal study, so it was not unusual for the Emperor to encounter them.

“What a coincidence. Mother and Empress both come to view the flowers here at the same time.” The gentle voice of the middle-aged emperor was strangely familiar to Bai Yu.

For a brief moment, she wanted to see the face of the man who sired the two male love interests of the story. She wanted to see how much of their handsomeness was inherited from him. And she wanted to see his face even more after hearing the warmth in his tone toward his own mother. However, Bai Yu did not dare to risk offending the Son of Heaven to merely satisfy a passing curiosity.

“I happened to meet mother here, Your Majesty.” Empress Wang’s voice was sweet as honey. The polar opposite to how she spoke to Empress Dowager Wei moments before.

.....

“Aijia came to admire the flowers with Miss Bai. She’s keeping this old woman company.”

“Miss Bai, huh?” Bai Yu sensed the gaze that turned to focus on her. She curtsied and mannerly introduced herself.

“Your Majesty, I am Bai Yu.”

“You’ve grown a lot...” His voice was kind. “...Beautiful like the rumor says.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty,” Bai Yu said with a pounding heart, knowing full well that he was merely being polite. It was impossible to see her face clearly when she was looking down like this.

This man was as old as your father. Your heart can’t just skip a beat like this, Bai Yu.

The villainess never thought she would have the opportunity to come this close to the Emperor. This was the Son of Heaven who she had heard of only from textbooks. Though this life was not related to any history, the power that could be felt from that golden presence alone was enough to humble Bai Yu. Even with that gentleness, it still could not conceal his great might.

“And those...”

“They are the third and fourth miss from the Bai family,” Ouyang Wenrou informed his father when he saw Emperor Ouyang Hongxian asked about the other two women who just caught up with the group and came to curtsy him.

“You must be Bai Hua,” the Emperor said to the woman in pink without any hesitation that he might be talking to the wrong person. “You were the one who discovered the cure for the villagers.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. It was me, Bai Hua.”

Bai Yu was not sure whether Bai Yue looked like a fool, or the Emperor was so perceptive that he could accurately pick out Bai Hua.

“Zhen* has much to talk with you. Today’s meeting may be counted as a blessing. Now that everyone is gathered, why don’t we have tea together?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Ouyang Hongxian nodded, then took Empress Dowager Wei’s arm to support her. They walked together at the frontmost, leading further into the royal garden. Deeper within, there was a gazebo for the palace residents to come to drink tea while viewing flowers. The snow today was not heavy, and the weather was not too cold. The light winter breeze made this gazebo most suitable for relaxing.

When they reached the large gazebo, Ouyang Hongxian who was Emperor sat in the middle. To his left was Empress Dowager Wei and to his right was Empress Wang. They all sat in a circle to talk, just as the Emperor had intended. Next to Empress Wang were Taizi Ouyang Yongxian and Taizi Fei, then Bai Yu, Bai Hua, and Bai Yue. After Bai Yue was Ouyang Wenrou and Ouyang Mingxian who seated next to Empress Dowager Wei.

After everyone was seated, the royal maids brought tea and desserts to the table. The Emperor was the first to drink, then others could follow suit.

Bai Yu sat with her back straight and her gaze cast down. She hid the lower half of her face as she drank a whole cup of tea in one go without realizing that the tea was still hot and she was not used to drinking hot tea like the people in this world. Luckily, her sleeve was wide enough to hide the fact that the number one beauty was sticking out her scalded tongue to lessen the pain.

While still suffering from the burn on her tongue, the villainess intently listened to Emperor Ouyang Hongxian asking Bai Hua about her treatment for the villagers, with Ouyang Mingxian occasionally adding to the conversation.

Bai Hua conversed with the Emperor and Qin Wang in a modest manner, even when her words were full of confidence. The topic of treatment and recovery that were being discussed in detail made Ouyang Wenrou join in on the conversation as well.

When others saw that the subject interested the Emperor, they also asked some relevant questions and shared their own opinion as to not be left out. Except Bai Yu was sitting by herself without uttering a word as if she did not have any part in the said situation.

Because of her tongue, Bai Yu did not feel like talking or saying anything. And when she had nothing else to do in a conversation where no one paid attention to her, the quiet first miss stole a glance toward the Emperor who was being entertained by stories from Bai Hua and Ouyang Mingxian.

After seeing the face of the Son of Heaven, Bai Yu lowered her head again.

‘Ouyang Hongxian’ was the name of the current Emperor. Though he was already forty-four years old, he still looked younger than his age. Moreover, he was more than seventy-percent identical to Li Wenrou, and the similarity was not only limited to his appearance but included his gentle voice that Bai Yu recognized since the first time she heard him.

Both Ouyang Hongxian and Ouyang Wenrou had faces and personalities that were so similar to Li Wenrou that it surprised Bai Yu.

The one main difference between the father and his son was that the Emperor had golden eyes.

Even with the formal headwear and its beaded strings which he wore to the royal meeting every morning obscuring the wearer’s face, it still could not hide the power of gold level magic in those eyes.

Ouyang Hongxian was truly the Emperor who possessed the golden eyes of the mighty dragon!

Bai Yu frowned. In terms of look and character, Ouyang Wenrou was like a copy of his father. Then why would he not be favored?

Still, that question was not as important as her heartbeat when she sneaked another glance toward the Emperor. She knew that Ouyang Wenrou was Li Wenrou, but the kind atmosphere surrounding this middle-aged Ouyang Hongxian was much more similar to her past life’s Li Wenrou than Ouyang Wenrou.

It might be because of the fact that the current Ouyang Wenrou was not at the same age as Li Wenrou when she left that world, so Ouyang Hongxian reminded Bai Yu more of her past lover. Her heart raced because of that similarity. She swore that she did not have any feelings toward this man...

“The cause of the disease was discovered by the first miss Bai Yu, Your Majesty.”

Her name that was uttered from Ouyang Mingxian pulled Bai Yu from her reverie. A slight smile appeared on her beautiful face when the golden eyes gazed at her.

“What a meticulous young lady, solving the problem at its cause. Zhen has to thank you for putting an end to this plague,” the wielder of gold magic continued in the same gentle voice. Bai Yu knew full well that he was privy to the ‘true cause’ of the disease, so she did not brag or exaggerate her ability, but simply smiled and thanked him.

“Zhen heard that the inventor of the multiplication table is also you.”

“Regarding this matter, I just happened to read about it from an ancient text and then decided to share it with others. I could not take full credit for the invention at all. Moreover, I did not think such a trivial matter would reach Your Majesty’s ears.” The Son of Heaven smoothly changed the subject, so the villainess also went with his flow.

“A novel idea from a young lady who is both learned and meticulous. Of course, Zhen would be interested.”

“It is an honor, Your Majesty.”

“Your Majesty...” Suddenly, Empress Dowager Wei interjected.

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*Zhen: A first-person honorific used by the Empero