Chapter 88

88 Benwang doesn’t count that as being a wife Part I

“Is Your Highness courting me again?” She said with an innocent look. The other person remained silent, his long fingers that were holding her hand were raised to her forehead...before flicking it without hesitation.

Snap!

“Ouch!”

Ouyang Feilong held back the most he could.

Bai Yu held her forehead as she glared at him. “Can’t you-”

“Treat a beauty more gently,” Ouyang Feilong smilingly said. “Benwang is tired of hearing it.”

“Then be more gentle.”

“You’re not-”

“Not a beauty.” Bai Yu pouted. “I’m tired of hearing that as well.”

.....

“Do you want to hear other words too? Benwang has many words that can define you.”

She knew that those words would surely include ‘fool’ or ‘ugly’, or ‘deceitful lady’.

“I may not be a beauty, but at least my embroidery skill is better than this!” Changing the subject was the key to win an argument. Bai Yu held the handkerchief up, showing the handiwork to the craftsman.

Ouyang Feilong frowned. “Benwang is a man. Of course, being better at this than you is impossible.”

“Then please make it look pretty.”

“Benwang doesn’t embroider a handkerchief for anyone,” he said with a calm face and tone.

Bai Yu narrowed her eyes at the person who still acted indifferent even though his ears had been bright red ever since he handed the handkerchief to her. This was the opportunity for her to ask what had been on her mind for a while. “What about your wives? Does Wangye embroider handkerchiefs for all of them?”

“Benwang doesn’t have a wife.”

“But those beauties in your palace...”

“There were only women given by the Emperor. Sharing a roof for several days doesn’t count as being a wife.”

“Yet you still embroider their handkerchiefs.”

Ouyang Feilong raised an eyebrow. His golden eyes had a strange glint that Bai Yu did not notice. “Benwang doesn’t embroider anyone’s handkerchief.”

Bai Yu nodded. She unconsciously smiled, feeling victorious even though she did not know who her rival was. “But you embroider a handkerchief for me.”

Ouyang Feilong sighed. He pressed his knuckle to the wrinkle between his brows, looking as if he was trying to clear his stress. “Can you stop saying ’embroider handkerchief’ for a moment?”

Bai Yu looked at his enchanting face, then saw his ears turning a darker shade of red and chuckled. She carefully folded the handkerchief before putting it in her sleeve pocket.

“I’ll take good care of it.”

“That means you’ve accepted benwang’s apology.”

“Yes.”

“Now you’re obedient.”

With only a few words, her heart stuttered and started racing again. Bai Yu coughed, trying to regain her composure, before starting on what she had been wanting to say to him.

“There’s one thing I wanted to request from Wangye.”

Ouyang Feilong arched an eyebrow as a questioning look. Bai Yu took a deep breath before continuing.

“If something happens, can you please listen to my explanation first?” She paused to observe the listener’s expression. “As long as you still consider me a friend, I want to have that right.”

“Having a right?” Though he did not understand what that ‘right’ would cover, he was willing to grant a ‘right’ she wanted.

Bai Yu nodded. “That’s correct.”

“How?”

“Before this, both Wangye and I had met in undesirable situations. But I still consider our chance of meeting each other a blessing. If we’ll continue to be good friends, then at least we should learn about each other and have a shared understanding.”

Golden eyes silently watched her. Bai Yu did not see Ouyang Feilong’s intention to say anything, so she continued to speak. “Since we don’t have much time to get to know, of course, it’s impossible for us to be of one mind. So from now on, I want us to communicate and listen to each other when something happens.”

Dark eyes met the golden ones. She did not want him to misunderstand, no matter when. When a situation like last time happened, she did not understand why she would worry about him so much. She thought that being straightforward today would benefit their future and prevent further miscommunication.

“Friends don’t always understand each other as well, so if something happened, you should hurry to explain and don’t let it weigh on your mind. Keeping thoughts to yourself make it harder for others to understand you. That’s why we should communicate so that at least the two of us will understand each other.”

Ouyang Feilong was quiet, while Bai Yu stared at him, waiting for an answer.

The prince’s face came closer to Bai Yu’s. She braced herself and tried not to step back, even though they were so close that she could feel the hotness of his breath. Ouyang Feilong’s mouth corner curved up in a slight smile, his low voice said only one sentence after listening to her long speech.

“I see, so Miss Bai actually wants to be benwang’s confidant.”

——————–

The next morning, news of Ouyang Mingxian successfully quelling snow bandits spread all over the capital. Citizens of the capital all praised him for his bravery. The wind was changing its direction. Rumor was heard that the owner of the East palace might change hand.

The owner of the said palace, Ouyang Yongxian, was unbothered by words out on the street. Currently, his attention was directed to nothing but his new concubine who was both beautiful and knowledgeable in herbs and medicine. People said that she was the villager who had helped Taizi when he was injured by the bandits.

Because of this, Taizi Fei could not sit still. Not only her husband’s title was unstable, but her title was Wang Fei as well. She requested an audience with the Empress every day, but she still could not win over a mother’s worry for her child. Taizi had yet to recover, and so Empress Wang forbade Taizi Fei from doing anything that might affect her son’s health, including laying her hands on the new concubine.

Bai Yu calmly listened to Xiao Xi who came to report her every morning. Everything was going according to the storyline. The only deviation was Taizi’s concubine...which was of her own doing.

Considered that concubine her ‘thank you gift’ to Taizi Fei for taking her out to the middle of the woods. That woman would be so busy that she had no time to bother her for a while.

According to the series, Ouyang Mingxian would be ambushed and become missing in the next few days. She assumed that Bai Hua had already made preparations to help the injured male lead. She had named several poisons from Da Chu from her memory. This time, the Empress was not the only one who wanted to harm him, but Da Chu was involved as well.

But that was the story of the protagonist. Let’s turn back to focus on the villainess.

Bai Yu carried her sewing kits to the Xu family mansion early in the morning. Her morning training was temporarily put on hold since general Yue was too busy with his work, but she still had to return for her afternoon training to train attack stances from Yue Huiling like normal. Today, she hurriedly came to meet Xu Luanle in particular, so she did not expect to see another.

“Hi! Little sis.”

“Weirdo.”

Bai Yu playfully greeted Xu Peipei who stuck to Xu Luanle. The response she received was a frown from the top-heavy woman. Bai Yu shrugged, then sat down beside her friend and stated her purpose.

“I want you to teach me how to sew.”

Xu Luanle tapped the tip of his fan on his chin as he glanced up to look at her. “Isn’t your needlework already fine enough?”

“I want to be as good as you.”

“Impossible.” It was Xu Peipei’s voice. She sipped her tea, her eyes scanning the surroundings as if her word was not intended for anyone in particular.

“Your skill is not that much better than her, Pei-er.”

“Brother!”

Again, Xu Luanle took her side because of his hobby of teasing his little sister. The two reminded Bai Yu of the son of heaven who also enjoyed teasing his brother so much that she somehow became a victim too.

Since Xu Luanle had to hurry his hands to finish the dress she had designed in time for Lady Meihua competition, Bai Yu soon received a lesson. She started embroidering a handkerchief on her own while listening to the instruction from Xu Luanle, who was sewing a dress beside her. Xu Peipei, too, started sewing a fragrant pouch, intending to give it to Ouyang Mingxian to celebrate his successful mission.

In truth, Bai Yu did not intend to embroider a handkerchief for Qin Wang at all. She was only practicing, in order to add a golden butterfly onto the newly received handkerchief.

So that the little butterfly would not feel lonely.

That was all it was.

———————-

Three days later, news of Ouyang Mingxian’s disappearance was as much discussed as his victory. Bai Yu was summoned by Empress Dowager Wei in the morning. She had to drag herself out of bed while still exhausted from training martial arts and magic. Her only consolation was the fact that everything went according to the story, that everything was under control.

When she reached the palace, Bai Yu was most surprised by the scene of senior maids and eunuchs kowtowing, paying respect to a man she was familiar with. Cries were heard throughout the area. Servants under Empress Dowager Wei were all elderly since they were those who had served her ever since when she first came to the palace. Because of this, it was rare for them to disrespect royalty.

Bai Yu walked forward to curtsy to the sole person standing among kneeling figures. She greeted him according to his rank. “Blessings to Wangye.”

Considering his rank, he would be respected as a prince. But right now, everyone in the palace was shaking while groveling at his feet. Some were even heard calling him ‘Your Majesty’.

Ouyang Feilong was standing facing the palace. Bai Yu curtsied next to him, so he turned to wave to her. Today he looked different from every time before. The white of his robe could not make his face seem brighter.

“Your...Your Majesty.”

“Benwang came to see mother.”

“Your Majesty...uh...Wangye...”

“Ouyang Feilong.”

The trembling whisper from a senior maid was cut off by the commanding voice of the mistress of the palace. Bai Yu curtsied to her, before steeling herself to look at the face without a mask of the person next to her. Then, she turned to see Empress Dowager Wei’s unusually cold expression.

The relationship between the two royals seemed to be too complicated for Bai Yu to understand.

“He is Ouyang Feilong, commander general of Da Yang. Have you all gone mad?!” Her words echoed throughout the palace. All servants all frantically asked for mercy.

Smash!

Something flew. The sound of a vase shattering on the floor silenced everyone. Even Ouyang Feilong was quiet, his eyes cast downward.

“Yu-er, you go wait for aijia at the royal garden.” Her gentle tone was a night and day difference from moments before. The tension in the air seemed to loosen. Bai Yu bent her knees and bow then followed a eunuch away obediently.

.....

Still, she could not help but glance back to Ouyang Feilong. Those large hands that had held a handkerchief to her were balled into fists so tightly that vessels appeared. Bai Yu left with a hanging heart.

“Miss Bai must be worried.”