Turns out, you’re a villainess just like me! Part I
Yoknapha thought she was dreaming...
Yet, the pain in her fingertips told her otherwise. The color red that painted each and every one of her fingers caused her to uncontrollably shudder. She felt frightened…
Yoknapha had lived for thirty-six years, during all those years she was never afraid of blood. But at the sight of red leaving her body, staining the expensive fur carpet, this was the first time she felt the fear for it. Still, it was too late. She died just at the cusp of realizing this newfound fear.
That’s right! She, the globally known villainess, was dead. Dead by her own hands!
But then why was this damned soul not in hell, but transported to a place that seemed to be a banquet? Was hell trying to throw her a welcome party?
She calmly took in the unknown place in silence. The red plum blossoms were the first thing to catch her eyes. Those flowers decorated the refined and elegant architecture of this place, elevating it to the level of the palace within China’s Forbidden City. The exterior was covered in white snow, a full contrast to the bright vermillion of plum blossoms that made the ethereal beauty of this place seemed so heavenly.
Her phoenix eyes swept through the crowd. There were people of varying ages wearing clothes that resembled the attire of the Tang dynasty. They were sitting behind low tables full of colorful dishes of food and teapots. And right now, everyone was looking at her.
Yoknapha at first did not understand why she was stared at, but suddenly, a thought made her turn to an elderly woman sitting, at the highest seat, across from her. Her eyes met with that owner of greyed hair tied up in the style of a married woman, decorated with golden hairpin which was elegantly shaped to resemble a Chinese phoenix. When coupled with her clothing, gold fabric embroidered with a Chinese phoenix in flight, it was clear that she was of an outstanding status.
If this was one of the Chinese dramas that Yoknapha had once starred in, those phoenix accessories and patterns would make it easy to guess that this woman was surely either the ‘Empress’ or the ‘Empress dowager’.
Taking the color of her hair into account, then the answer must be an empress dowager, otherwise, she would be an empress who had an unusually long life… Wait, was this kind of thought considered a lese-majeste?
“Yu-er”
A call of a familiar name shook her out of her reverie. It was not Yoknapha’s actual name, but rather a name that she had used while working in China.
A sudden pain distracted her before she could answer. She looked down at her palms, discovering that they were wet with blood from a small wound. The wound was no bigger than a knife cut, yet there was no sign that it would stop bleeding. With only the guqin in front of her, Yoknapha could only assume that it was the cause.
A red droplet dripped down, then her hands started to tremble…That same fear attacked her yet again.
“Call the royal doctor!” Chaos occurred as soon as that woman with the highest authority ordered.
The middle-aged woman who had called Yoknapha’s name before rushed to hold her bloodied hands. She pressed down on the wound with her soft handkerchief. Her face, sheen with sweat, was full of worry.
This woman is her mother… No, this body’s mother.
Yoknapha closed her eyes. Her small body tried to endure the cacophony of memories within this new body. Various scenes started coming back, one by one.
“Your Majesty, grant us justice. My daughter was targeted!”
Furen of the Bai family, or Lady Bai, proclaimed as she kowtowed to the most senior seat at the banquet. Her smooth forehead knocked loudly against the floor. No reservation as she asked for justice for her own daughter, ‘Bai Yu’, the first daughter of the senior chancellor ‘Bai Han’ and the first wife ‘Yue Mei’.
Today Bai Yu, Yue Mei, and another half-sister came here to the flower viewing banquet hosted by the empress dowager at the imperial palace. During the banquet, empress dowager Wei asked Bai Yu to play the guqin that she had gifted to her.
Obviously, the beauty did not lack ability. Bai Yu came up, and gracefully performed guqin in front of other noble guests without a stutter. However, while she was playing ‘Enchanted Qin’, all of her fingers were cut by the strings. And as she was bleeding out, Yoknapha’s soul took over Bai Yu’s body.
“What are you implying, Bai Furen?” Empress Dowager Wei questioned her claim.
“Answering Empress Dowager, this guqin is laced with poison,” Yue Mei answered, pointing at the gifted Qin.
Empress Dowager’s face turned sour at the action.
“Impudent!”
“I do not dare, Your Majesty,” Yue Mei bowed again before looking up and continued, loud and clear.
“This Qin was a gift that Your Majesty had given to Yu-er during the last Peony viewing banquet several months ago. Since then, she has been practicing with this same instrument and taking great care of it without fail. Nothing was out of the ordinary. Today she even takes it to perform here at the imperial palace, but now ends up being injured. Your Majesty, there must be someone who’s trying to harm her.”
“Who is responsible for maintaining that guqin?” A deep voice sounded from a man sitting beside Empress Dowager. Yue Mei turned, her eyes met with Bai Yu’s, who is Yoknapha within.
That look…was it her turn to act already?
“Your Majesty…” Yoknapha had no choice but to pretend to be Bai Yu. She smoothed her expression and voice, maintaining calmness in the face of an unprepared situation such as this.
“The one who maintains this guqin is my personal maid.”
Although the original body’s memory was just partially recalled, her acting ability from her former life enabled her to answer confidently.
The charming beauty lowered her face, mannerly, while also compressing her lips in an attempt to suppress the pain from the cut that strangely, suddenly intensified. Even though she still did not fully understand the situation, she had to go with the flow in order to avoid suspicions. And even though she was still frightened by the sight of blood pouring out of the cuts, she could not show weakness. She was a world-renowned actress after all!
“Bring her here,” another man said. The absoluteness in his voice was clear. No one dared to dally.
Banquets held within the imperial palace did not allow the guests to bring their own personal maids, and so they had to stay at a separate reception that was only for servants. No longer than one ke* later, a young maiden with a pretty face was brought in by the soldiers. The girl kowtowed before sitting up. She kneeled there, trembling in fear, with her heads lowered.
Yoknapha looked at the maid, satisfied. Apart from her own mother, this Bai Yu also had a personal maid who knew how to act as well.
“What did you do to this guqin,” Empress Dowager Wei started interrogating.
“Answering Empress Dowager, this servant checked the guqin before leaving the mansion. Everything was normal…” The maid suddenly stopped. Her eyes widened in surprise, then her trembling became worse.
“…It was this servant’s fault. I was not careful. I only thought that first miss and Furen’s carriage was too small for the guqin, so I…”
According to the script of the dramas she had starred in, the next scene would be the scene where the villain was exposed, or…
“So I asked to put it in the third miss’s carriage”
The scene where the protagonist got slandered!
“The third daughter of Bai family?” As the maid’s voice ceased, a man in red spoke up for the first time. His voice was full of enthusiasm for this little play in front of him.
“That was me, Your Majesty,” a soft voice firmly replied. There was no fear to be found in that voice.
The person who answered slowly walked out from among the seats. Her skirt waved as she walked at a gentle pace befitting a noble lady, the white lotuses embroidered on it fluttered as if they were drifting on the water, conjuring pleasant scenery. Her figure was eye-catching. The parts that should be slim were slim, and parts that should be full were all ample. The pink dress added to her clear, white skin, making her seem almost fairy-like.
Unmistakably, this was the introduction scene for the female lead!
-------------------------
*Ke : Ancient Chinese timekeeping measurement. 1 ke = 15 minutes