Bad girl. Do not do anything like this ever again

"Yu-er!"

Splash!

Bai Yu was conscious enough to notice that someone had followed her into the water, but the current that swept her further from shore forced her to start awkwardly kicking her legs in an attempt to reach the surface. She had one weakness, which was the reason why she brought soldiers along with her…She could not swim!

After struggling until running out of strength, she felt her body turned heavy, too heavy to keep herself afloat. Her body started sinking as she choked on more and more water, yet help did not come. Eventually, she sank into the water.

When he saw the small figure disappeared, the lieutenant-general of the grand army became even more anxious. He dove down immediately, dark eyes opened wide underwater without difficulty. 'Bai He' tried to find the body of his younger sister.

Even while his heart was burning with worry for his beloved sister, he had long been trained to stay calm in every situation. It was not long before he spotted her, who should have been at Bai mansion, being carried away by the current, unconscious. He hurriedly swam closer to Bai Yu and brought her out of the water.

When they see their leader emerged from the river, the group of people on the bank could finally breathe a sigh of relief. It was not that they did not want to help, but the woman was the Bai family's first daughter and sister to their commander, Bai He, who cherished her above everything else. They could not even dare to look directly at her.

Bai Yu was drenched in water. Fortunately, the dark blue clothes she wore would not turn transparent when wet, though they clung tight to her skin, emphasizing her figure. Her whole body was enveloped in an aura of black color magic. Bai He used healing magic that was unfamiliar to him as he tried to sustain her condition until a doctor could come.

"Lieutenant-general Bai, royal doctors are stationed at a village near here," a soldier who accompanied Bai Yu went to report to him after realizing that at the present, there was no one who could treat her.

"Is that not the villager near Bai family's ancestral temple?"

"It is, sir."

"Very well…" Bai He tightened his hold on his sister. "…I will go there first. You two come with me. Everyone else finishes up here first, then wait for further order."

"Master, please bring me too." Xiao Xi was as worried as him.

"You, take her." The first master of the Bai family turned to give a terse order to one of his subordinates before soaring away with his martial arts. Xiao Xi was carried by a black-clad man who used the same technique, then, finally, another man who held a sword followed.

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

In the end, Bai He was able to hand Bai Yu to a doctor. It was fortunate that the magic enveloping Bai Yu was able to sustain her until she received help in time. They only had to wait until she regained consciousness.

The people in the village had been searching for the missing Miss Bai, but no one had thought that she would go as far as to the headwater. Ouyang Mingxian and Bai Hua rushed back when they received news about Bai Yu's disappearance, and when they arrived, they met with Bai Yu's pale sleeping face and a newcomer who should have been stationed at the border.

"Blessings to Qin Wang." Bai He put his fist and palm together in a salute as he bowed to the higher-ranked man. At the same time, Bai Hua confusedly curtsied to her eldest brother that she remembered from the original body's memory.

"Benwang thought you were stationed at the border."

"Replying to Wangye, I followed the general commander which was to go back to the capital according to the royal decree. On the way, I found my sister on the riverbank, but she was not careful and fell into the water." Bai He chose to lie to Ouyang Mingxian, for fear of revealing the secret mission he received from Ouyang Feilong.

While Bai Yu was resting, Bai He questioned the soldiers who came after him and discovered that Bai Yu went out to find the source of the epidemic. As a brother, he wanted to discipline her for risking herself. However, at the same time, he was also proud of his sister's keen eyes and ability to come close to finding the clue, if he had not run into her while chasing enemies.

In fact, he, as the lieutenant-general, had received an order from Rui Wang to investigate the same matter. However, he accidentally came across a group of the enemy that was involved in his secret mission and that corpse, leading to the chase that had taken over one shichen.

Bai He stroked the pale cheek of his most important person as he silently blamed himself. He could not let her bring the corpse back herself, otherwise, Bai Yu would be pulled into a more complicated matter, and that would surely affect the secret mission Ouyang Feilong had been assigned by the Emperor himself.

"I'm sorry, dear sister."

Warm lips pressed onto the sleeping person's forehead.

Your effort today was acknowledged by both your brother and Wangye, but for the public…I could not reveal it to anyone.

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

It had been two days since the accident where the first miss fell into the river. Bai Hua's acupuncture was progressing smoothly, easing the tension in the air. For Bai Yu, she just woke up after sleeping for two whole days. She rapidly blinked to tune her sight as she slowly sat up to find water.

"Wa…water."

"Yu-er" The familiar name was said by the man who had been waiting by her side for a long time. Shortly, after she had drunk water to moisten her throat, Bai He put down the teacup and stroked his sister's hair. He said the words that had been hanging heavy in his heart. "Brother was very worried about you."

"Big brother."

Bai Yu gazed at the eyes that had the same color as hers while trying to jog her memory. She recalled that this man was her eldest brother who was born to Yue Mei, same as her. In these recent years, she had not had much opportunity to meet Bai He because he had been fighting alongside Ouyang Feilong. He held the proud title of the lieutenant-general of the grand army. He also had a close and loving relationship with his young sister.

"Bad girl. Don't do anything like this ever again."

Bai Yu felt dizzy for a moment when her brother suddenly pulled her into a tight hug. It was so tight that she could not breathe fully, but she did not move to push him away. She only felt tears falling from her eyes and an uncontrollable warmth that took over her heart.

So this was the love between siblings. Between Bai Yu and Bai He.

"Big brother, I'm sorry. I just want to be useful in a situation like this." After holding back her tears, she said sweetly to her brother as she returned his hug. She snuggled against her brother's broad chest.

Obviously, this tone and action could always make Bai He forgive his sister without fail.

"My little girl, you're useful with just your existence alone. Who dare says my sister's useless?" His big hand patted his sister's smooth hair. He was smiling so wide that two dimples that resembled his sibling appeared.

He missed her so much.

"I want to be capable like big brother, of course. How could I just laze around?" Bai Yu brought his hand to her cheek and nuzzled while praising him. Though they had never met before, the feeling from this body alone was enough to make every action feel natural. She felt comfortable with him as if they had known each other for her whole life.

She did not have siblings in her former life, so being able to act childish like this felt so good to her. At least one good thing came out of crossing over to this world, and that was having a handsome big brother to heal her heart!

"You rambunctious girl, don't try to act sweet now. Tell me, why are you here?"

He knocked his sister's forehead with his finger. Bai Yu only giggled before starting her story from what happened at the palace banquet up until when she discovered the corpse, though she did not mention the part where she had insulted Ouyang Feilong, since that person was her brother's commander. She was afraid that if she told him what she did, he would have gone to kneel to ask for forgiveness in her place for three days and nights in front of that man.

Bai Yu and Bai He were only one year apart. The siblings were born from the Bai family's first Furen. They grew up together and were two peas in a pod. Bai He loved his younger sister so much because he knew what she had to go through since birth. He also knew the resentment his mother held very well, so he did not try to interfere when Yue Mei educated Bai Yu to become the perfect consort for Qin Wang.

Bai He was the only son of the Bai family, which was an aristocratic family on the side of civil matters. However, he did not follow in his father's footsteps but instead chose the path of the military. He became a soldier in Ouyang Feilong's grand army and trained himself to advance his rank in order to accrue military power. All this was to support Bai Yu to become the most suitable candidate for being Qin Wang Fei.

Although his mother and younger sister were unpleasant to others in the mansion, he did not take it to heart. Bai He only had one thought: to find a way to make his mother and sister happy, because the two were the most important women in his life, so he had to support them with all his strength.

"Third sister must have been quite rebellious toward you, then."

"Yes, but I've taught her some lessons already."

"That's good. I'm always worried about you and mother when I'm not at home."

"Then brother should come back home." Bai Yu pressured him further with her puppy eyes. Bai He's role in the series was so insignificant that Bai Yu had forgotten that she had an older brother. But now that he was right in front of her and was so indulgent toward her like this, she wanted to act all cute to her heart's content. She had been missing him so much that the feeling made her want to keep him close.

"This time I'm accompanying the commander-general, so I'll be staying at the capital for some time. Oh right…" Bai He seemed to remember something. He brought out a black silk pouch with delicate embroidery and handed it to his sister.

Bai Yu took it, puzzled.

"What is it, brother?"

"This is probably Rui Wang's compensation for when you saved him."

Ouyang Feilong had told Bai He that his sister was the one who saved him when he was injured, and so the lieutenant-general assumed that the thing inside that pouch must be a reward given by Wangye as thanks. However, Bai He's assumption made Bai Yu even more confused.

She remembered that he had given her that black jade already. Why would he give her this as well?

No matter how much she thought, she could not find an answer, so Bai Yu hurriedly took out the 'reward'.

It was a letter written in handwriting so beautiful that she could not believe it to be written by that foul-mouthed man.

There were only several words written within. Even without a signature, Bai Yu could fully believe that it was from Ouyang Feilong since the content was…

'You fool, you should practice wielding a sword.'

What kind of reward is this? He was clearly antagonizing her! She was a lady. There was nothing strange that she could not wield a sword. If he wanted her to train sword fighting…then he should go learn how to sew!

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

"Why are you here?"

"What about you? Why are you here?"

"I've been helping the villagers here."

"And I'm here to help the villagers too."

"Coming all this way must've been hard on your chest."

"Y—you!" Miss Bai Yu won this round.

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

"Give me that!"

"What are you doing?"

"You've just recovered. Sit still."

"You know how to make congee?"

"Is there anything you can do and I can't?"

"Hmph!" Miss Xu Peipei won this round because her opponent was too lazy to argue.

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

"Qin Wang, this is Xu Peipei / Bai Yu, I have brought you dinner."

"Why are you here?"

"What about you, why are you following me?"

"Taking care of Wangye is my duty."

"But you said you came here to help me take care of the villagers."

"You do it yourself, then!"

Bai Yu sighed at her and Xu Peipei's action. Currently, they were like villainesses who was fighting for popularity, creating a comedic scene for the viewers. What Miss Xu did not realize was that it was useless to compete with Bai Yu since Ouyang Mingxian only had eyes for Bai Hua who was giving villagers acupuncture.

Xu Peipei came to this village in hopes that she could look better in Ouyang Mingxian's eyes by helping villagers, and, at the same time, to stop Bai Yu from stealing all the spotlights. Little did Xu Peipei know that she only made Bai Yu's job easier, since she took over almost everything Bai Yu did.

Originally, Bai Yu was taking care of both the villagers and Ouyang Mingxian out of duty. She did not have any ulterior motive at all. This time, she had to thank Xu Peipei for taking away her problem regarding Ouyang Mingxian.

After Bai Yu fully recovered, Bai He who had been her sight for sore eyes then had to return to Ouyang Feilong according to the royal decree, carrying her letter that wrote: 'Then you should learn how to sew'. It seemed that she had eaten a bear's gall and tiger's heart.*

When she realized that she might be punished for insulting Ouyang Feilong and tried to take the letter back, her brother had already departed. Bai Yu could only hope that the great black dragon would not be so sensitive that he would get angry and punish her dear brother.

This matter made Bai Yu realize that she was so used to her old habit that she forgot about the noble rank and hierarchy in this world!

"I have troubled you both." Bai Yu stopped thinking about the letter that she could no longer stop and turned her attention to the man in front of her instead.

Right now, on Ouyang Mingxian's wickedly handsome face was a clear trace of fatigue. Since Qin Wang had to take over Ouyang Feilong's responsibility for the number of casualties caused by the plague that had slowly spread to more and more villages, it was natural that the weariness would set in. Luckily, several days ago Bai Yu could find the source of the disease in time, so they had successfully stopped the spread.

Bai Yu's drowning incident was half covered up. People only knew that she fell into the water and caught a fever in her attempt to find the cause of the sickness which was the contaminated water caused by a dead dear stuck on a boulder in the middle of the river. The truth was that the contamination was a poison on a human corpse, not the rotting dear that Bai He had prepared.

Regarding where the body and the poison came from, Bai He did not have permission from Ouyang Feilong to tell his sister. Even though Bai Yu was not pleased, she understood that a secret mission was involved. So, she helped her brother conceal the story.

Even if it was only a half-truth, Bai Yu still received praise. It seemed that after returning to the capital, Bai Hua would not be the only one to be acknowledged by the Emperor like in the series, but Bai Yu who made an outstanding contribution would receive the reward as well.

You do your good deed, and I will walk in my own path!

Her feat this time did not come from exploiting anyone. This time, they could let go of the grudge against each other.

"Pei-er is very worried to see Wangye working so hard like this." Xu Peipei poured warm tea for her beloved man. She had to make quite the effort to receive her father's permission to come to take care of Qin Wang here.

But for the second miss of the Xu family…she was willing to go through anything for the man she loved, and she could not let Bai Yu had any more opportunity to be close to him.

"Please take care of your health, Your Highness," Bai Yu said out of her true feeling of worry and not politeness. His dedication to the people as the prince of the empire really did make her admire him.

"Miss Bai too, take care of yourself. Don't be too boisterous."

Ouyang Mingxian still teased her with a straight face like the last time. His action easily provoked Xu Peipei's jealousy.

"Pei-er will also assist Miss Bai to lessen Wangye's load."

With one sentence, the top-heavy woman made Bai Yu become a three-year-old child and herself the saint. Truly dangerous!

"I have to trouble Miss Xu, then."

Xu Peipei smiled to Ouyang Mingxian then continued to happily serve him during his dinner. Today she wore a pink dress with a white fur shawl for warmth. Her hair was tied half-up and pinned by a hairpin with dangling ornaments in the shape of lotuses, enhancing her alluring charm. This style of beauty that was her own was a refreshing view indeed.

Bai Yu silently pitied Xu Peipei. She did try hard, even though she would still lose to Bai Hua. Suddenly, she felt her own heart dropped at the thought.

Bai Yu looked up to peer at the face of the man who was the focal point of love of the two women here. Though she who came from another life did not have any romantic feeling for him, the pang in her chest still confirmed that the feeling engraved in this body was not so easy to erase.

However, it seemed that she had stared at him for too long and made him aware of her gaze. His dragon eyes and her phoenix ones directly met. Bai Yu did not look away. And Ouyang Mingxian raised his brow in surprise.

She was thinking back to the series, to all her attempts at gaining this man's attention just like what Xu Peipei was doing. But in the end…she still lost to Bai Hua.

"Miss Bai, you have been staring at benwang for quite a while. Is there anything you want to say?"

I love you.

The voice in her heart screamed, but Bai Yu stamped it down into silence.

"Are you feeling sick, Bai Yu?"

She shook her head to Xu Peipei then turned her face away from the two pairs of eyes. A small drop of tear was discreetly wiped away by her sleeve in time. She could not stop this body from feeling. She could only suppress it the best she could while being close to him.

Ouyang Mingxian looked at the familiar face that he had seen since childhood. How she grew up and how beautiful she became, he knew them all. And of course, how she felt toward him, this Ouyang Mingxian also knew it best.

When his mother was alive and had the title of Empress, she greatly favored this little miss. She intended to make him the only son who was appointed Taizi, even though Ouyang Mingxian did not want it at all at that time. His mother and grandmother both insisted on allying to the Bai family in an attempt to shore up the Wei family's influence and made him Taizi.

When she was young, Bai Yu often came to play with him. The innocent child did not realize that she was pulled into politics. The marriage proposal in front of his father that day was forced out of him by his mother. He did not know at all how his words as a child would cruelly turn a woman's life upside down.

Up until now, Ouyang Mingxian tried to make amends for hurting Bai Yu's pure heart by treating her with respect and staying close with her more than any other woman. Still, there was not a moment that he felt anything toward her, who still devoted herself to love only him.

When his mother died and royal consort Gui Fei was anointed Empress, the Wei family's influence that had been gathered by Empress Dowager Wei and Empress Wei to support Ouyang Mingxian became unstable. In the end, the eldest prince Ouyang Yongxian, born to Empress Wang, was given the title Taizi.

Ouyang Mingxian never wished to become Emperor like his mother wanted to. He only took the path toward the throne after finding out the truth about his mother's death, the truth that Wang Gui Fei, royal consort at the time, and the Wang family were actually behind it. It was their slander that damaged his mother's reputation and honor. And when the new Empress came into power, the Wei family's influence waned, people who were associated with the Weis were force out of court positions. Ouyang Mingxian became a prince without authority. There was only Empress Dowager Wei left to support the family's name as the mother of the Emperor.

These resentments made him unable to let go of Bai Yu.

First miss Bai Yu's powerful family attracted many princes. Although Da Yang already had its crown prince, the authority within the royal court from her father combined with the military power of the Yue family from her maternal grandfather would make these princes' standing in politics much more stable.

Fortunately, the current Emperor only had a few princes and princesses, otherwise, the fight for the throne would be bloodshed like in other eras.

The day Bai Yu attended the hair-pinning ceremony to mark her coming of age, Ouyang Yongxian who just became Taizi sent a matchmaker to propose Bai Yu as his first consort. It was because of the power of two major families in her hand that she was able to refuse the title Taizi Fei.

At that time, Bai Yu loved only Ouyang Mingxian. He himself never believed in love, because he had seen his mother's fights with other consorts in his father's inner court. Furthermore, his hatred toward the Wang family and his desire to avenge his mother made him plan to take advantage of Bai Yu's love, taking her as first consort and using her family's power to go against the Wang family which became more and more influential by the day.

Ouyang Mingxian knew how terrible this Miss Bai's personality was, but that was not a problem since he had never loved her from the start. Even after he married her, he would not care what cruel things she would do, since she had always acted reserved, putting up the image of a merciful young lady while committing evil acts behind that beautiful façade.

What surprised him was when she was almost exposed at the palace banquet, there was an intelligent woman who saw through her scheme. The third miss of Bai's family was quite interesting. Still, in the end, Bai Yu could take back control and escaped being punished. It truly did broaden his view, so he decided to tease her,

For Ouyang Mingxian who never believed in love, he did not care if he had to marry a wicked woman, as long as she had a powerful family that could be useful for him. There would be nothing for him to lose, as he saw those schemes as little tricks that women played against each other.

However, all of Ouyang Mingxian's beliefs were upturned by a single woman. Although he became more interested in Bai Yu, his whole interest changed when he met her…

The woman who would insist on proving her own innocence to the very end.

The woman who saved his life with a strange method, despite herself being called useless.

The woman whose outlook was different from everyone else, who still had a bright smile even when she was being framed.

The woman who treated him as a man, not the prince of the empire.

'Bai Hua'

The woman who was a precious flower sent to him by fate, whom he will forever protect.