Transmigration: The Fate of the Villainess

117 No-Makeup Makeup Part II

“Blessings to Wei Wang.”

Fan Lu’s eyes widened. She turned around as fast as she could before giving him a curtsy. Her actions seemed to reflect that she had never expected to meet royalty like Ouyang Wenrou. Fan Lu had lived in the mansion for the majority of her life, and her only visits to the palace had been to the inner palace quietly, so she could not help but feel excited to meet a prince for the first time.

“No need to be formal.” His words were soft, and his eyes were gentle. Ouyang Wenrou had always been like this. “Benwang accompanied the twelfth sister to watch the competition. Misses can relax.”

That was quite a bold-faced lie, Your Highness. Bai Yu internally chuckled.

Actually, she had asked him to come because there might be an event that required his help. However, she never expected him to use his sister as an excuse. The twelfth princess was sitting on a spot that had a raised platform to give her a full view of the performance. Thin veils were hung up around her seat to prevent the public from being able to freely see her appearance, as per the tradition of female royalties.

“Misses, it is almost time.”

After they had finished greeting each other, Bai Yu and Fan Lu went to the opposite corners of the stage. The surrounding seats were occupied by the audience, who were nobles, while foreigners crowded both the first and second floors.

Furthermore, there were audiences who could not enter the stage hall that already had full capacity. Those people were waiting outside, happy that they could only hear the sound of the guqin and not get a glimpse of the performance.

Da Yang was a large nation, surrounded by small states and various tribes. The seasonal beauty competition was an event that was unique to Da Yang, so it received enthusiastic attention from all of them. Moreover, the title of Meihua Lady was considered the lady above all ladies, so it was natural that more people would gather here than for any other round.

.....

This was the final round for Fan Lu and Bai Hua, so they could perform anything that they were skilled at. As for Bai Yu, she had to win both of them in order to protect her title. If she lost to either one of them, another round would begin where the three of them competed against each other at the same time with different performances.

Until now, Bai Yu had always won in the one-on-one round against both opponents. There was never once that she had to fight in a three-way round, and she intended to continue the streak. She had to plan and prepare for events that would happen in the future.

Seven-string guqins were placed in front of the two beauties.

One was given by Empress Wang.

The other was given by Empress Dowager Wei.

The audience felt as if they were witnessing the two power pillars of women in Da Yang going head to head under the guise of a beauty competition.

In this round, the two would play their guqins at the same time to give the audience a clear comparison of who was better. The judging process would happen after the performance ended. If an audience wanted to vote, their magic would be turned into a plum blossom and fly toward the person who was being voted on.

Every year, the number of plum blossoms created by magic showed a clear difference between the victor and the defeated. There was no need for any counting at all.

Silence fell immediately as Bai Yu put her hands on the strings. It was a familiar scene for many to see dark red butterflies slowly emanating from her at the same time as she started to sing.

Bai Yu began first. Fan Lu hid a smile. It was obvious that Miss Bai still played her guqin and displayed her magic in the same manner as every time before. She had made a wise choice to practice a fast-paced song to contrast with Bai Yu.

Fan Lu started with a slow tempo to match Bai Yu’s. Pink petals of plum blossoms that were falling down from the second floor were conjured by Fan Lu’s magic. Applause echoed when the two beauties showed their skills harmoniously, creating a beautiful scene within the inn.

Bai Yu lifted her face and smiled. Her dark eyes seemed to capture the audience’s hearts completely. Her fingers never moved away from the guqin strings or lost control of her rhythm. The butterflies that were playing with plum blossoms slowly flew to gather in front of their wielder. The group of butterflies seemed as if they were dancing along with the soft and slow tempo that Bai Yu and Fan Lu had created.

However...

The dancing butterflies were suddenly dispersed by a whirlwind that sent plum blossoms flying throughout the hall. Then, the wind slowed to a breeze, gently carrying the petals along with it. Bai Yu’s hair was sent flowing wildly by the wind, resembling the state of her butterflies.

Fan Lu revealed a delicate smile, in contrast to her hands, which were moving faster and faster, rushing the rhythm of the song without caring that the gentle scene Bai Yu had created would be destroyed. This was a competition, after all.

Magic plum blossoms were scattered not only around the stage but also in the audience seats. When they touched clothes or an object, it would shatter and turn into pink dust that occupied the area, mixing with the petals that were still floating in the wind. She could even control the wind. Impressive.

Fan Lu intentionally played a song with a fast rhythm to create a cheerful atmosphere. Together with the sweetly colored dust, she could easily charm the audience. Some even reached out their hand to touch the plum blossom in the air before breaking into a smile at the sight of it becoming pink particles when it hit their finger.

The young ladies were giggling, having fun grabbing at the blossoms and then opening up their palms to let the pink dust be carried away by the wind. The image of various beauties among the flowers was lovingly engraved into the men’s gaze.

Bai Yu would appreciate it more if she was experiencing it on the fourteenth of February together with her boyfriend. This girl seemed to have mistaken the date. It was almost the new year; there was no need for those pinkish things!

Thrum! The more forceful sound of guqin cuts through the romantic atmosphere and the bright, joyful song. Bai Yu chose to create a sharper and curter tempo to contrast with the ‘cutesy’ theme that did not fit her at all.

In order to take hold of a person’s heart, you must manipulate it. Bai Yu smiled. She rushed her fingers, creating sounds that resembled war drums with her guqin strings. The dreamlike scenery created by plum blossoms and pink particles was shaken away by Bai Yu. She was pulling them back to reality, to the thrill of her song. Her fingers plucked the seven strings with full intent to provoke the audience.

A dark red sword formed amidst the sweet plum blossoms.

Thunk!

Slash!

Her fingers moved once, and the magic sword cut through the flimsy petals into pieces. Pink dust dispersed, but before it could fly away, a red light splashed out from the cut petal and lashed against a group of women who had been staring at it.

“Ahhh!” One swing of a sword shattered the ethereal atmosphere that had existed only moments before.

A smile slowly disappeared from Bai Yu’s beautiful face. The calmness that was reflected in her eyes made the stunned audience feel the urge to straighten their backs. Both their hearts and Bai Yu’s were pounding to the same rhythm as the guqin. In the blink of an eye, magic swords appeared throughout the performance hall. They moved decisively, slashing the plum blossoms and sending waves of red splattering in every direction.

Bai Yu’s gaze turned cold. Fan Lu’s face went pale at the sight of her plum blossoms being slaughtered mercilessly. The soft, pink dust was washed away by the color of blood that stained those who were close to them.

The sound of guqin that resembled war drums pierced the hearts of the people within hearing distance. It was the reality of Da Yang that everyone was trying to suppress and cover with the enjoyment of the festival. Because the war had negative impacts on the citizens, Fan Lu aimed to use her performance to comfort them. In such an unstable time, making people forget their worries was a good strategy.

It was evident that her magic could lull everyone into a momentary peace and safety. Fan Lu thought that Bai Yu would try to use another method to reclaim the audience’s favor. However, she never expected that the renowned Miss Bai would choose to destroy the illusion and force everyone to face the cruel reality of war.

This woman... she was too ruthless!