1 Turns out, you’re a villainess just like me!

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 young 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 maids' 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!

"I am Bai Hua. Blessings to Empress Dowager." She clasped her hands at waist-high and curtsied in a noble manner, then stood up. Her back was straightened gracefully as her face was slightly lowered.

"I heard that the third daughter of the Bai's family was born from a concubine. How could she even dare to come to a high banquet like this?"

"Even if she has the chancellor's blood, she still doesn't possess the glamour of the noble. She's just a worthless woman."

"But her manners are undoubted of a noble."

"Bai Furen and Miss Bai Yu are so generous. They even went through the trouble of raising a worthless woman into a lady."

"And yet she harms her own sister. Look at that guqin! The young miss's maid said it was in her carriage."

A stream of chatter and gossip ensued as soon as 'Bai Hua' appeared. Still, she maintained a light smile which made her pretty face looked even more delicate. Despite the calm façade, both her hands were squeezed tightly. She looked worth protecting, just like the meaning of her name.

'Hua' meant a beautiful and delicate flower. Useless, but so dear!

While 'Yu' meant an exquisite jade. Highly sought-after, but not to be cherished!

Internally, Yoknapha sneered. Oh, Bai Yu…turns out, you were a villainess just like me!

"No need for such formality." As soon as Empress Dowager Wei said, the talking stopped.

Hmm, at least the aristocrat in this period had some manners.

"The guqin was in your carriage, was it not?"

"That is right, Your Majesty."

Bai Hua answered the Empress Dowager with no trace of uncertainty nor fear. Yet such insolence was forgotten when she lifted her small face. The peach blossom eyes showed sweetness that was also imbued with stubbornness. Her egg-shaped face, small nose, full lips, and slender, willow-like brows…

If one claimed that Bai Hua possessed such devastating beauty that could inspire war, no one would think to oppose.

But for Yoksapha…she only felt hatred for that beautiful face! Because it was the face of the woman who had driven her to take her own life!

"Ugh!" The tumultuous feeling came back to her again. Her heart was so full of frustration that, at one point, she wanted to yank that figure down and hit her again and again until that woman died by her hands!

This…this must be Bai Yu's resentment toward Bai Hua. These two women had been at odds for a long time, so it was of no surprise that the owner of this body would hate her own sister so much. And in the future, these two half-sisters would fight against each other until one of them died!

What was unfolding in front of her was the first scene in the series…

Bai Hua used to be a tractable girl. She was relentlessly bullied by Bai Yu and Yue Mei. This time the mother and daughter pair wanted her dead, so they devised a plan to borrow the Empress Dowager's power to do so. But Bai Hua's personality suddenly changed and she somehow resolved the situation, to the shock of Bai Yu and Yue Mei.

In the end, Bai Yu was exposed and her reputation was damaged, all without knowing that Bai Hua who stood up to her was actually 'Padma', a woman from the 21st century who transmigrated into Bai Hua's body. She put up a fight against the evil stepmother and sister, as expected of a villainess in the body of a miserable protagonist.

What was different from the original series here was that the one who transmigrated here was not Padma in Bai Hua's body, but Yoknapha in Bai Yu's. She couldn't believe how this could be real…but the pain in her fingertips confirmed to her that this was not a dream.

But then…this Bai Hua in front of her was the 'old' one, or the 'new' one?

Yoknapha closed her eyes and tried to think. She was a professional actress, so she was familiar with and could very well understand the character Bai Yu. To continue 'acting' was easy, but that was not the problem here; the problem was the fact that she really was in the body of Bai Yu!

To be honest, Yoknapha did not have any grudge against Bai Hua. But if she had to continue being Bai Yu and lost to Bai Hua here…the one who had to bear the shame would not be Bai Yu, but Yoknapha herself!

I'm sorry Bai Hua…If this truly is fate, then as the 'new' Bai Yu, I have to take care of myself first!

The transmigrated villainess smiled to herself despite the dire situation. Fine, she would play along with fate's little game.

The royal doctor came to take care of Bai Yu's wounds before Bai Hua could explain anything else. An orange aura emitted from the doctor's hand stopped the bleeding, but the wounds were still open. He stared at it for a moment before hurriedly turned to the Empress Dowager.

"Your Majesty, Miss Bai's wounds are caused by poison. My magic is too weak to completely heal her without an antidote. I beg for Your Majesty's permission to grant me half a shichen* to brew the potion."

"Hurry to it then."

The doctor bowed to Empress Dowager before hurrying away.

"Grandmother, I have heard that tribes in the south have a poison that can make strings and ropes turn sharp," the man in red said. His gaze toward Bai Hua was openly flirtatious.

If she was not mistaken, this was Da Yang's crown prince, 'Ouyang Yongxian'. The villain who had a hobby of collecting beautiful women and one of the characters who made Bai Yu's life hell.

"Your Majesty, certainly I am not the one who harmed my sister. Hua-er does not have the ability to acquire such poison…"

The meaning of Ouyang Yongxian's words was clear to everyone. But Bai Hua still firmly insisted on her innocence.

"You lack ability, but what about your maid!" Yue Mei did not let the daughter of a minor wife she hated make excuses any longer. She immediately fanned the flame. "…Your maid is from the south!"

Suddenly, the crowd's chatter began again. The reveal made it even harder for Bai Hua to get out of the accusation. Empress Dowager Wei ordered the soldiers to bring Bai Hua's maid to interrogate.

"Miss! It was not me! This servant did not do it!" the maid wouldn't stop crying. Her reaction was opposite to her master who was still calm despite being trapped in a predicament.

"Lin mama, search them!" The head of Empress Dowager's personal maids gave other servants a look, ordering them to search Bai Hua's maid.

"I found it." One of the royal maids took a small case out of the maid's fragrant pouch and immediately presented it to the Empress Dowager, who passed it to a man wearing black next to her. He considered it for a moment before nodding to her.

It was practically confirmed that the case contained the poison that Ouyang Yongxian spoke of. Empress Dowager Wei's face was filled with anger.

Bai Yu took advantage of the commotion in front of her and took out a damp handkerchief, pressing it on the guqin's strings. Her action, hidden behind the elegant drapes of her clothes, went unnoticed to the people who did not pay any attention to her.

"That was not mine! I did not do it!" Bai Hua's maid knocked her forehead against the floor, begging for mercy.

"A maid like you would never dare to do such thing. Speak! Who ordered you?" Empress Dowager looked at Bai Hua.

"Your Majesty, please give me permission to prove innocence." After realizing that she could not escape, Bai Hua kowtowed to the Empress Dowager. In her head, she deliberated over her newly thought-out plan.

"How?" the man in black attire asked. Bai Yu sneaked a glimpse of his face, and her heart pounded uncontrollably.

Strangely, this body's memory did not seem to have this man in it. But Yoknapha was sure that he must be one of the princes. The problem was, which one? While there were numerous princes in this series, the most prominent ones are 'Qin Wang*', the male lead, and 'Wei Wang', the secondary love interest.

"If my servant was truly the one who applied the poison to the guqin, then that poison would still remain on the strings. Your Majesty, please allow me to examine the guqin." Even while lowering her head and hiding her gaze, Bai Hua's voice was filled with determination and confidence.

"Go ahead," this time Ouyang Yongxian who had the title of Taizi* answered.

Bai Hua did not waste a moment to go straight to the pair of mother and daughter. The accused glanced at Bai Yu before sitting down in front of the guqin in question. Under the gaze of every guest in the banquet, Bai Hua pressed her fingers on the strings, and…there were no cuts on them.

So the poison was not on the guqin!

"Your Majesty, if I was the one who applied the poison to these strings, then why are my fingers not hurt at all?"

Plunk!

To confirm her words, Bai Hua plucked at the strings again. She moved to confront Bai Yu with a pleased smile, then pulled Bai Yu's hand up to show to the crowd's curious eyes.

Damn your mother! My wounds still hurt!

"It is true that my sister's wounds are caused by poison. But the poison was not applied to the guqin in my carriage…" Bai Hua looked at Yue Mei, then slowly moved her gaze to Bai Yu. "…It was applied to my sister's fingers!"

Correct answer!

In the series, Bai Yu was caught by Bai Hua this way too…so right now, this Bai Hua was really Padma who had transmigrated here!

"You mean…" Ouyang Yongxian raised his brows at the female lead.

"Answering Taizi…Miss Bai Yu poisoned herself!"

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* Shichen : Ancient Chinese timekeeping measurement. 1 shichen = 2 hours

*Ke : Ancient Chinese timekeeping measurement. 1 ke = 15 minutes

*Wang / Qin Wang : The first rank of the prince in ancient Chinese nobility rank. Normally those who receive the title Qin Wang are the sons or brothers of the emperor. *Qin is a name received at the same time as the title, for example, Qin Wang (Qin Qin Wang), Wei Wang (Wei Qin Wang)

*Taizi : Crown prince who is designated to be the heir to the throne.

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