Chapter 51

51 Only the richest and most beautiful would be able to afford this! Part I

Bai Yu quietly looked at the mother and daughter in front of her. The lips that were always slightly lifted at the corner slowly broke into a wide smile, making her already pretty face a breathtaking beauty. Yue Huiling and her mother stared at that silent smile, puzzled, before their eyes widened when Bai Yu turned to talk to general Yue without reacting to them at all.

“Yu-er came to pay respect to the elders, but aunt-in-law and biaojie warmly welcomed me before I could say a word. Grandfather, grandmother, please excuse Yu-er’s rudeness.” She said sweetly as she slightly bowed her head. She completely ignored the two women who she had just indirectly insulted.

Her grandfather had yet to say anything but biaojie decided to cut in first. Even in a family of soldiers that did not care too much about formality, this kind of behavior was still considered rude and disrespectful toward the elders.

Bai Yu chose to indirectly comment on that. She was unsure whether the two relatives would understand the implied meaning or not, but she was certain that she saw the corner of Yue Chen’s mouth lifted for a second before returning to calmness.

“I don’t mind, not at all.” The elder Furen waved her hand like she was brushing away the matter. Her generous smile was still on her lips even after her granddaughter just cut the two Yue women with her words. “Is your mother well?”

“Mother is well. She asked me to tell you that she misses grandfather, grandmother, and uncle a lot.”

“Hahaha. Yu-er is polite and mannerly. It’s unbelievable that my big sister who was that strong could give birth to such a delicate girl.” Her uncle Yue Chang laughed as he said to her, while his father sat still, not showing any emotion.

“From the letter that Mei-er sent yesterday...”

“Furen” It was general Yue who interrupted the elder Furen before she could mention the letter’s content that spoke about Bai Yu’s true intention of coming here. It seemed that the matter was known to only Yue Chen and the elder Furen, and no one else.

.....

“Let Miss Bai rest first. I’ll call her to talk later,” he said to Madam Ping. She happily followed the elderly woman, as her grandfather hid her objective to prevent her from being mocked by Yue Huiling and her aunt-in-law.

Madam Ping led Bai Yu to the Meihua residence. It was originally Yue Mei’s place before she married, and it was still regularly cleaned under Madam Ping’s supervision.

Inside was decorated as elaborately as her Jiu Yu building. The only main difference was the swords, lances, bows, arrows, and other weapons that were hung on the wall.

Plum blossom trees of various colors were planted outside. They reminded her that the old Bai Yu truly did follow all her mother’s footsteps except for fighting, the only thing that her mother forbade her to do. Bai Yu felt that Meihua residence was not so different from her Jiu Yu residence, so she felt comfortable staying here.

Still, there was one thing that made her excited. It was a large courtyard for practicing martial arts behind the building which has a level of privacy to it. She guessed that Yue Mei had used it to practice without being disturbed by others. It made Bai Yu feel even more positive toward this place.

After investigating Meihua residence to her heart’s content, Bai Yu went back inside to rest. Shortly after, daily appliances, clothes, and accessories were sent to her by the elder Furen. Seeing that she had some free time while she waited for Yue Chen to call her, Bai Yu sat down to sort through those pieces of jewelry, not realizing that Yue Huiling was looking at her with scornful eyes before leaving quietly.

She waited until lunchtime and was still not called. She ate her meal in her building since a maid carried the tray to her here. She did not know what the tradition within this family was, so she could only go with the flow. After sorting the fabrics and pieces of jewelry, Bai Yu continued designing clothes that matched those fabrics to kill time. Night came and there was no sign of her grandfather, so she ate her dinner with a slight frown on her face.

The next morning Bai Yu went to have breakfast at the main building, like how the Bai family normally did. This time, the mother and daughter pair was silent but still kept giving her strange looks. Yue Huiling seemed satisfied with something, while the elder Furen and her uncle were all smiling as usual and kept glancing at general Yue.

It was the same with Bai Yu who looked at her solemn grandfather, seeking an answer. And the answer that she received was a stern silence that made her unable to ask about training martial arts.

A few days later and Bai Yu still had yet to be summoned by her grandfather Yue Chen. She was certain that she was being tested. But she did not know what to do to pass that test, so she could only be patient and wait quietly in her building, contemplating about what she had to do to gain acceptance from her grandfather and make him teach her martial arts.

It was typical for a good master to play hard to get. Or should she copy what she had seen from martial arts movies in her last life? Starting by saying ‘I’ll kneel here until you accept me as your disciple’ and then knelt in front of the main building amidst the pouring rain.

Hmmm. That was not a bad idea. The problem was that where could she find rain from?

“Miss, the dress you ordered from the anonymous master is here. The shop said that it’s free, and in exchange, miss should consider the message in the letter.”

Bai Yu accepted a letter in a sleeve embroidered in beautiful but unfamiliar patterns. She took out the letter and read the content. It was short but still enough to make the villainess smile. She understood and liked the proposition from that master.

The two maids took the dress for the royal banquet out to check while waiting for their miss to read the letter. Their eyes went wide as their jaws dropped. Bai Yu saw those reactions and lightly laughed.

“How is it?”

“It’s gorgeous, miss,” Xiao Xi excitedly answered.

“It looks a little unusual, but it is most exquisite.” Xiao Chang looked at her in admiration.

“It’s not just this dress, but there’s still hairstyle and accessories that I need you to help me with tomorrow.” The two maids intently listened. They shared the same determination that they would make their young miss the most beautiful person at the banquet.

Bai Yu had been anticipating being called by her grandfather so much that she forgot about the royal banquet that was her first confrontation against Bai Hua in the story. The only difference here was that they both know the truth of each other’s origin.

She had to thank the anonymous master who had somehow known where she was and sent the dress to the Yue family mansion. This reminded her to start preparing for the banquet, though she did not think it would cause too much trouble for her, even when it was the occasion that she would utterly lose to Bai Hua.

Bai Yu was woken up to bathe since early in the morning, despite the banquet being held at night. The two maids did not allow her to sleep even a wink more. Xiao Xi heard that this was the rare occasion that Miss Huiling who liked to mock her young lady would take off the armor and dress up in noble lady’s clothing.

And so, Bai Yu was treated as a dressed-up doll from morning to late afternoon. Because of the slightly modified dress, the process of wearing became slightly more complicated. The maids were not used to this new style and had to be more careful, resulting in taking longer than usual to wear a dress. Luckily, Madam Ping came to help them finish dressing their young lady.

—————————-

When it was almost time, a large carriage sent from the Bai family came to pick her up in front of Yue mansion. Bai Yu refused to go together on Yue family’s carriage with her aunt-in-law and biaojie, using an excuse that since her mother did not participate in the banquet due to health issues, Bai Yu had to be Bai family’s representative in her place.

Bai Yu stepped onto the carriage when the sky was turning dark, which was a little before the time of the banquet. Xiao Xi proudly helped her miss up the carriage steps. Though the maids were not allowed to follow their masters into the party, Xiao Xi was still confident that her miss was the most gorgeous person there. Her thought was opposite to Bai Yu’s feeling as she blamed herself for having the same habit from her old life where she would keep putting on accessories until they all match, resulting in her head being so decorated that it became a hassle to move her head.

Still, with the calmness and ever-present slight smile on her lips, the two maids did not realize that Bai Yu was both sleepy and feeling that her head was too heavy. Her condition became worse when she saw her guqin being carried into her carriage. Bai Yu immediately tensed up.

She was too preoccupied with trying to train martial arts, she forgot to practice guqin!