Are all guys in that family posers?

After seven days, symptoms of diarrhea and vomiting were completely cured. However, fever still remained in villagers of both villages. Bai Hua and the group of royal doctors could only treat them by their symptoms, but not completely cure the sickness, until…a person died.

"Actually…there is another way."

"What is it?"

"Acupuncture."

The method Bai Hua suggested surprised everyone in the meeting since acupuncture was not often used in this world where magic existed.

Bai Yu who was standing in front of the tent could clearly hear the conversation inside because of her magic. She assumed that within, the discussion was going on in a serious tone. It was not that she was not allowed to join, but for her, she could not help anything no matter how long she took part in the meeting. In the end, she could only help prepare tea and snacks for the committee who had been inside for several shichens.

She believed that an army marches on its stomach. Furthermore, food hygiene was important, so she decided to personally handle the matter.

The first beauty of Da Yang stood in front of the meeting tent. Her back was straight. Her long black hair reached her slim waist. She wore her hair half-up in the style of an unmarried noble lady, decorated with a jade hairpin and a small comb decorated with jewels. Her accessories were rich and beautiful to match her status, yet at the same time not too gaudy for the situation.

Xiao Xi watched her young miss's slender back and felt dejected in her heart. Since young, her miss had never had to face this kind of hardship before. The noble lady like her now had to wake up at dawn to prepare three meals of food for the army and villagers. On top of that, she also had to go out alone to investigate the source of this disease.

Fortunately, the villagers from other several villages who showed symptoms of food poisoning did not have a fever or die.

For this matter, the Emperor had ordered Qin Wang and a large number of royal doctors to come and help. This benefitted the villagers, but when Bai Yu looked at it from the perspective of politics, this was equal to sidelining Ouyang Feilong by having Ouyang Mingxian take over his responsibility. In other words, he was blatantly stealing Ouyang Feilong's thunder.

Now Ouyang Mingxian had arrived here, but Ouyang Feilong still had an indifferent air on him the same.

"Wangye, Bai Yu requests your audience."

She said for formality's sake, interrupting the sound of argument inside, and then waited until she received a silent acquiescence. The two soldiers who stood guard open the tent for Bai Yu and the other eight maids to go inside. She curtsied to greet those attending the meeting before the maids started preparing tea sets and snacks knowingly.

"I saw that the meeting had been going on for several shichens, so I decided to bring tea and snacks."

"Miss Bai is too generous." Ouyang Mingxian mannerly replied to her, while Ouyang Feilong sat still like every time she brought food to the meeting. This uncle and nephew pair was like night and day!

"Two Wangyes, please take care of your health." The slender form in dark color clothes said sweetly. The new group of royal doctors who came with Ouyang Mingxian all praised this young miss's kindness.

Ouyang Feilong said nothing as he let Ouyang Mingxian handle the woman. Since before, he had never cared about his image, yet this time the black dragon signaled a soldier to bring a chair for Bai Yu, implying that he wanted her to join the meeting as well. Bai Yu was secretly irritated by his indirect order, but could only smile and thank him before sitting down next to Bai Hua.

It seemed that the entrance of Bai Yu, the number one beauty, had decreased tension in the meeting. In fact, Bai Yu chose this moment to interrupt because she wanted to stop the opposition from royal doctors who did not accept an unfamiliar method of treatment such as acupuncture. Bai Yu knew that Bai Hua would successfully persuade them like in the series, so she did not want them to waste any more time arguing. The faster they could decide on treatment, the faster the villagers would be cured.

"Qin Wang, Your Highness, I am not confident in this method of treatment." After the atmosphere had settled down and the meeting could progress, the royal doctor who came with Ouyang Mingxian said as he looked at Bai Hua with a distrustful glance.

"How about Miss Bai? How did you know acupuncture?" Ouyang Mingxian calmly turned to the woman who had saved his life. There was no sign in his manners that indicate closeness between them. It was as if they were mere strangers, which was opposite to the truth in their hearts.

According to the series, after the two leads knew each other's status, Bai Hua was the one who asked Ouyang Mingxian to act like he did not know her, for fear that Bai Yu would be jealous. And so, everything that happened was kept a close secret between them.

Bai Yu internally pitied them…Being protagonists sure was hard.

"I studied from a book while I was staying here, Your Highness." She replied to the second most powerful man in the room.

"Wangye, she is only a woman. How could she have any knowledge? Please allow us to find another way," another royal doctor that came with Ouyang Mingxian said to him. He had no faith in Bai Hua, unlike the doctors who had been here from the start.

Anyone would know that the third miss of the Bai family was useless. She did not even have magic, how could she know medicine? Not to mention healing magic! The news that she was the one who thought of the treatment and stopped the spread must have been a rumor. It must have been the army's royal doctor instead!

The male lead slightly frowned.

"Uncle, what do think of this matter?" Ouyang Mingxian turned to the man who was in a higher position than him. He could not make any decision without consulting Rui Wang of the former Emperor's reign. Furthermore, Ouyang Feilong was currently the commander-general and his own uncle as well.

"Let her try," the man in the dragon mask said in his usual cool tone. Still, the sternness in his voice made no one dare to oppose.

Royal doctors who came with Ouyang Mingxian were left with their mouth open, which was then closed without saying anything else. They could not argue with this man at all, as they knew that Rui Wang had the same personality as his brother Emperor. Everything that they said had already been thoroughly considered, and there would be no going back on their own words. They both were the most obstinate.

Bai Yu listened to his simple yet absolute decision with interest.

The uncle was nonchalant yet carried immense authority. The nephew was often cold toward others. Despite him having a more beautiful face than any lead actors in her former life, Bai Yu could not enjoy his appearance at all, because…Are all guys in that family posers?

"If there was a mistake, will you take responsibility with your life?" The man with silver eyes gazed at Bai Hua. Opposite to his indifference before this, right now he looked like the general giving command to his soldier.

The doctor from the future was so pressured by those silver eyes that she felt goosebumps breaking out. In her old life, she had met authority people, yet she had never felt this same level of pressure before. Bai Hua gripped her hand and took a deep breath. When her eyes met with Ouyang Mingxian's, she received a slight smile at the corner of his mouth as an encouragement. It made her beam, and so she turned to answered the general with a firm voice.

"If there is a mistake, I will take responsibility with my life, Your Highness!"

"Very well." Ouyang Feilong stood up to his full height. "From this moment on, benwang gives Miss Bai Hua full permission in treating the patients with acupuncture. Anyone who defies her will also be defying benwang's order as well!"

"We humbly accept the royal command."

"The Emperor ordered benwang to return to the capital. I will leave this to you." The latter sentence was said by the uncle to his nephew.

"Yes, uncle." Ouyang Mingxian bowed his head.

"Benwang will depart for the capital in one shichen. If you have anything about the treatment you want to discuss, feel free." As he finished his words, he turned away with a flutter of his black cloak.

"Farewell to Wangye."

After sending off Ouyang Feilong, everyone returned to their discussion about the treatment method, including the matter about needles which were the main tool for this occasion.

Both the royal doctors and Ouyang Mingxian intently listened to Bai Hua's explanation for over a shichen. Then, they all dissolved to go handle their own work in a hurry, leaving Bai Yu no opportunity to share her thought about finding the cause which she thought was as important as the cure.

It would be hard for her to ask for an audience with Ouyang Mingxian or talk to Bai Hua since both were in a rush to travel to another village. Her last option was to tell the general who had the power to make a decision, but when she left the tent, she saw Ouyang Feilong and his men riding their horses away with such a speed that he himself must have forgotten that he just recovered from an injury.

"What are we going to do now, miss?"

Xiao Xi asked her, now that there was no one left for them to ask for assistance. Today, Bai Yu wanted to talk about finding the source of the disease, since everyone had been working separately up until this meeting and they all did not pay much attention to the cause of sickness. Still, even when the two most important people participate today, her young miss did not have an opportunity to say anything at all.

"I guess I'll have to do it myself."

"But you already went to the river and found nothing, miss."

"The villages that are sick all use water from this river. I'll go back there again."

"I will go get people from the Bai family to help you."

"No need. Let them help with managing the food. As for guards, I'll ask the captain who is stationing here."

Right now, the person with the highest authority in the military was the captain who was staying in this village. Bai Yu wanted to examine the water from the river again thoroughly, so she needed to bring soldiers with her for safety.

--------------------------------

"In reply to Miss Bai's request, there are not many soldiers stationing here. I am afraid that ten soldiers that miss requested would be impossible."

"Then, how many soldiers can Captain lend to Benxiaojie?"

"Only four, miss. My apologies." The middle-aged captain said to Bai family's first miss with great respect. He knew that she was the former general Yue's granddaughter who they could not offend in the slightest degree.

"Does anyone in these four have magic?"

"Two of them have blue-level magic, miss."

"Then that would be enough."

She intended to investigate the river upstream, which would lead her quite a distance away from the village. That was the reason why she wanted soldiers with magic. In case that something unexpected happened, they would be able to protect her and Xiao Xi. Although it was rare for commoners to possess magic, Ouyang Feilong's troop was full of talented men so it was not too hard to find soldiers with lower-level magic.

Bai Yu returned to her tent to change from an elegant dress into something more practical. She tied her hair up into a ponytail, not caring Xiao Xi's objection that it was inappropriate for unmarried women. She never cared about anything outside of her convenience anyway.

"What are you nagging me for? I'm going into the forest, not visiting the palace." Bai Yu scolded her maid who would not stop fussing.

"But if Qin Wang sees you…"

"Qin Wang is busy with the royal mission. He has no free time to care about me," she said wearily.

Personally, she tried to avoid Ouyang Mingxian in order to erase the feeling that the original body had. However, her maids and her mother did not know her thought and were still insistent on her becoming Qin Wang Fei, so they kept trying to hand her to Ouyang Mingxian on a silver plate.

But if she told her mother that she no longer wanted to be Ouyang Mingxian's consort, then she would give her a heart attack. Her former self and Yue Mei had been trying their whole lives to make her the consort of Qin Wang's palace. An abrupt and extreme change would be hard for Yue Mei to accept, so Bai Yu intended to progress her plan slowly.

"Would you like your return, miss?"

Bai Yu shook her head.

Now she had arrived at the same river again. The water was still clear, but Bai Yu started having doubts that it was too clear. She tried to look below, and could not found a fish or any living thing in the water at all. She cupped the water in her hands again, but this time she brought it up to her nose to test the smell.

There was a foul smell in the water! Though the smell was faint, it proved that the water was not clean. The cause might have been from the river after all.

"Benxiaojie will go that way." She pointed at the magic forest which was the location of headwater.

"But that way is…"

"Benxiaojie knows. You all stay alert, benxiaojie won't go too far."

She intended that she had to follow the clue this time. She could not just leave after finding a lead like this.

After making up her mind, she and her group started walking along the river in question. Bai Yu ordered that anyone who noticed anything strange in the river or the area must inform her immediately. Xiao Xi and the soldiers enthusiastically replied. Despite being a young lady, her gaze and tone were surprisingly absolute, making the soldiers obediently acted according to her order.

Six of them continued to walk for more than one shichen. Bai Yu was panting and had to occasionally rest to take a drink, as she was a noble lady who did not exercise often. She was angry at herself for choosing the wrong time to set out. Because she was in a hurry to investigate the river, she had forgotten that it would soon be dark in one shichen. Still, she also felt that it would be a shame to return after coming this far.

"Aaaahhhhh!!!!!"

A scream from Xiao Xi who went to wash her face at the river made the soldiers rushed to guard Bai Yu. She put down her water flask then nodded to one of the soldiers, telling him to go to Xiao Xi. The little maid who had slumped down on the riverbank was helped up. She was still trembling all over as she pointed her finger at the boulder which was covered in tall grass in the middle of the river.

"What happened?" Bai Yu asked after determining that everyone was safe, and there was only Xiao Xi who was in shock.

"Answering Miss Bai, there is a corpse on the boulder in the middle of the river," the soldier who brought back Xiao Xi reported matter-of-factly. He had long been desensitized to seeing dead bodies.

"Should we bring it here?"

Bai Yu inhaled deeply. She once acted as a murderer antagonist, but that time the corpse was just a person in makeup. She had never seen an actual corpse before. She clenched her sweaty hands into fists in an attempt to suppress fear.

"Bring it here. Be careful not to damage the body too much." In case that there were clues left on the corpse

"Understood," the two soldiers replied and turned to work immediately as ordered.

The water current was not too strong during these past few days, so the corpse was still stuck at the boulder. However, if one paid close attention to the surrounding, they would notice that the water in this area had a stronger smell than the water near the village.

Whoosh…Thud!

"Protect Miss Bai!"

Bai Yu was surrounded by four soldiers from the army again after an arrow suddenly whizzed past her face. Outside of the guard formation, she saw a group of men in black garbs chased by another group of men wearing black. That arrow was probably a misfire, not an intentional attack targeted at her.

"Capture them alive!" a man who seemed to be the leader of the pursuing group ordered. The eyes behind the veil glanced in her direction for a split second before turning back to focus on the fight. Bai Yu stepped back, signaling her own group to retreat away from the skirmish

Clang!

The sounds of swords clashing and arrows zipping through the air did not seem to stop. The four soldiers also drew their swords to protect her and Xiao Xi. Due to their experience and training, their actions were calm and orderly.

"Take her hostage!"

The pursuee turned their attention to Bai Yu in an attempt to use her as leverage against the other group. However, they were stopped by the soldiers with quick slashes to their necks. Blood sprayed from the wounds and coincidentally spattered onto Bai Yu's face.

"Aaaaah!!!"

She shrieked in panic. Her phoenix eyes clenched shut due to being irritated by drops of blood. In her head, she tried to convince herself that this was just fake blood used for filming and not a real one.

"Capture them dead!" The order was changed by the loud commanding voice echoing through the whole battlefield.

Although other pursuers were surprised by the new order, they proceeded to kill without hesitation, dwindling the number of the opposing side and causing them to become even more desperate to capture Bai Yu. Still, it was not an easy task as the four soldiers were also fighting with all their might. Finally, the strength in number prevailed. One of them found an opening and was able to capture the target. Bai Yu was held from behind, with a sword pointing at her neck. Both sides halted.

"What a fucking bad luck"

Bai Yu cursed in her native tongue. There was a sword on her neck, her eyes still stung and she could not see very well. These factors make her more irritated than scared. The captive beauty intended to mutter only to herself, but because of the surrounding silence, everyone could clearly hear every syllable.

Obviously, no one understood her language…

"She's just a madwoman. Do you really think that can stop me?" the leader of the pursuer group mocked her after he heard an unfamiliar tongue.

Bai Yu knew that he was only calling the opponent's bluff, but she still could not help internally rolling her eyes.

"Then I'll kill her," the leader mercilessly replied.

Bai Yu's eyes met that man who accused her of being mad. At first, she intended to glare at him to protest that she was not willing to be killed by a threat, however, the warmth within those eyes somehow made her grievance disappear…leaving only tender comforts that were sent straight to her heart.

Because of the care in that gaze of his dark eyes, she regained her wits and stealthily gathered magic within her palm. The man intended to kill her as ordered, he started pressing his sword into the skin of her neck but was suddenly shocked when he saw a white hand encased in red magic holding the blade.

Don't underestimate an actress who had starred in an international action film!

The villainess discreetly smiled. She pushed the blade away and took advantage of the element of surprise to duck away from under the assailant's arm. The slim figure spun, drawing the momentum from her leg, then kick at the center of his manhood. The man doubled over in pain. The world-renown villainess with her action role talent then ran back to hide behind her bodyguards.

Do not expect to see any more acrobatics from Bai Yu here. Of course, she could not handle a real fight!

"Kill!"

The fighting resumed with increased intensity. Two of the pursuer group came to help the four soldiers protect Bai Yu and Xiao Xi. These six men were all skilled in combat, so this time she was fully out of the line of fire. The guards continued their battle, while at the same time, being pushed back to the peaceful river.

Whoosh

An arrow flew through the line of defense to Bai Yu again. She hurriedly crouched down, safely avoiding the projectile but unfortunately lost her balance, and fell into the water.

Splash!!

The slender figure was swallowed by the current at the same time that the chased men were completely eliminated.

The leader of the pursuer group cut off the head of the man who shot the arrow at his significant person. His dark eyes widened. The sword was thrown aside without care as he pulled down the veil. A striking appearance was fully revealed, along with his eyes. Jet black like the night. Sharp and powerful as a great eagle.

"Yu-er!"

He jumped, following Bai Yu into the river without any hesitation.