Marrying the Sweet Story’s Melodramatic Villainess [Transmigration] - Chapter 2

“My Lady, we have arrived.”

The sound of the rolling wheels ceased. Dongzhi lifted the carriage curtain and hopped down nimbly. Gu Jing followed closely, setting the footstool in place before calling for Cui Yi to disembark.

Cui Yi leaned forward slightly as she emerged from the carriage. Supporting herself with Gu Jing’s hand, she stepped onto the small stool and reached the ground.

Noticing that Cui Yi’s complexion was rosy and she showed no signs of discomfort, Dongzhi felt reassured enough to go forward and present the invitation.

Cui Yi had come today to fulfill an appointment with the Second Mistress of the Lu family. After her recent awakening from a dream, her internal knots had unraveled. She had been actively nursing her health for less than half a month, and her vitality had improved significantly. Coincidentally, Lu Erniang had sent an invitation. Due to her frail health, the original owner of this body had only ever attended two such gatherings of young noble ladies.

Lady Du had been reluctant to let her come, but she couldn’t withstand her daughter’s persistence. Ultimately, she relented but remained uneasy, strictly instructing the two accompanying maidservants to keep a close watch on her.

The gatekeeper of the Lu residence examined the invitation handed over by Dongzhi and respectfully, warmly invited them inside.

That the Lu family could extend an invitation to the Cui family was a testament to their exceptional status. The Lu clan was a great family of Jingzhao; Lu Erniang’s father, Lu Huai, served as the Chancellor of the Secretariat, making the family both prominent and culturally refined.

The estate was built with the deep heritage of a prestigious clan, exuding an air of extreme elegance. After walking for nearly fifteen minutes, they finally reached the back garden.

Before she even stepped inside, Cui Yi spotted Lu Erniang—whose given name was Lu Xi—sitting in the seat of honor in the pavilion, chatting and laughing. As soon as Cui Yi arrived, the gazes of all the ladies present fell upon her.

The reason was simple: she was a fresh face.

Having met Cui Yi before, Lu Xi hurried forward to introduce her enthusiastically. She hadn’t actually expected Cui Yi to show up. It was common knowledge in their circle that the Eldest Miss of the Cui family was in poor health. For Cui Yi to attend the banquet was, in Lu Xi’s eyes, a great gesture of respect.

Though Cui Yi possessed a cold temperament, her social skills were not lacking. While she wasn’t overly warm, she never let the atmosphere turn awkward.

The banquet hosted by Lu Xi was, to put it simply, a final “bachelorette party.” She was betrothed, and once married, she would no longer be able to frequent the circles of unmarried maidens.

Lu Xi was naturally satisfied with this marriage. The groom was her father’s student, and the two could be considered childhood sweethearts. Though his family background was slightly lesser, he was someone they knew root and branch. Furthermore, the groom was a fine scholar in his own right; her father had vetted him and felt that passing the provincial examinations to become a Jinshi this autumn was a certainty.

When the topic shifted to marriage, the young ladies’ faces flushed one by one, yet in such a large group, friction was inevitable.

“We must also congratulate Lady Yun for her upcoming marriage into the Prince of Yue’s estate. Once you’ve risen to such heights, please don’t forget us lowly sisters.”

These words carried a hint of bitterness.

Liu Yun gave an awkward smile. Her family background was ordinary—her father was a mere Assistant Secretary—yet she had managed to become betrothed to a member of the imperial clan. And this wasn’t just any branch; it was the same lineage as the Son of Heaven. The Prince of Yue was the grandson of Emperor Xuanzong and the younger brother of the late Emperor Huidi.

For some reason, the descendants of Xuanzong’s line were few. Xuanzong had only two sons: Huidi and the Prince of Yue. After Huidi ascended the throne, he, like Xuanzong, only had two children: the current Emperor and the Grand Princess of Huayin. The Prince of Yue’s lineage was even thinner, producing only one “lone sprout”—the current Prince of Yue who had inherited the title. And the current Prince, like his father, had only one “golden sprout”—the current Heir Apparent of Yue, who was now betrothed to Liu Yun.

The Emperor was nearly forty but had no imperial heir. The voices in court petitioning for an adoption were growing louder, and the imperial clan was nudging him both openly and secretly. The Prince of Yue shared the same direct bloodline as the Emperor, making the chances of his son being chosen very high. How could people not look on with envy?

Hearing the title “Prince of Yue,” Cui Yi’s gaze fell upon Liu Yun. The woman had a lush, beautiful appearance that made one’s eyes brighten at a glance.

Cui Yi lowered her eyes and took a sip of tea. In the book, the male protagonist was the true Heir Apparent of the Prince of Yue’s estate.

While some were bitter toward Liu Yun, others sincerely congratulated her on finding a good husband. The Heir Apparent of Yue was of a gentle temperament, a student of great Confucians, and had no one in his back courtyard. For Liu Yun, marrying him was like falling into a nest of blessings.

Lu Xi didn’t lose her temper seeing everyone fawning over Liu Yun; instead, she joined in with a smile to tease her.

Cui Yi sat to the side, listening quietly. Occasional peals of delicate laughter reached her ears, and as a gentle breeze brushed past, she felt a rare sense of tranquility.

“Oh? What are you all talking about?”

A crisp, somewhat nonchalant voice rang out.

Cui Yi looked up.

What entered her vision was a blaze of fiery red. Even dressed in such a vivid color, it could not overshadow the newcomer’s bright, dazzling, and exquisite features. Cui Yi’s expression dazed slightly.

It wasn’t just her; everyone else felt the same. It wasn’t that no one in Chang’an wore red, but none wore it as boldly and brilliantly as this woman.

Lu Xi rose to greet her. “I didn’t expect the County Princess to come. Please forgive my lack of hospitality.”

As she spoke, she moved to give up the seat of honor.

Pei Mingjiao didn’t sit. She surveyed the surroundings, the pearl hairpins in her hair swaying gently and shimmering under the sunlight. Blinking as the glint caught her eyes, Cui Yi lowered her gaze and pursed her lips. Pei Mingjiao quickly found a spot to the left of Cui Yi, where no one was sitting.

Just as she headed that way, servants nimbly set up a square table and a prayer mat. In a mere moment, they had added tea and a spread of delicate, exquisite dim sum to the table.

They were a living demonstration of what it meant to be professional.

Cui Yi: “…”

As Pei Mingjiao sat down, a faint, clean fragrance wafted over. All noble ladies carried scents, but none were as impossible for Cui Yi to ignore as this one.

Pei Mingjiao wasn’t polite in the least. She opened her mouth and asked, “Why isn’t Gu Yue here?”

Gu Yue was something of a lackey to Pei Mingjiao. Not having seen her for several days, Pei Mingjiao found it quite strange.

Among the young ladies present was a close friend of Gu Yue. “It seems her grandmother is ill; she is at home attending to her.”

Hearing this, Cui Yi estimated that the female protagonist had likely transmigrated. Gu Yue was the protagonist’s stepsister. The plot began when the grandmother fell ill, and both Gu Yue and Gu Ning were attending to her. During their service, Gu Yue received a few more words of praise. Gu Ning, believing that the grandmother who had always doted on her had started favoring her stepsister like her father did, couldn’t handle the shock and fell ill as well. At that time, the family’s attention was entirely on the elderly grandmother, and they neglected Gu Ning. Already depressed, Gu Ning lost the will to live, and that was when the protagonist, Gu Ning, transmigrated into the body.

Pei Mingjiao gave an “oh,” took a sip of the fresh tea provided, and sat in a relaxed, lazy posture. “What were you all talking about just now that made you so happy?”

The young ladies around her began to chatter and giggle again, and the atmosphere grew lively once more.

However, the ladies’ attention would occasionally drift to Pei Mingjiao’s hair ornaments and clothing.

Pei Mingjiao was essentially a “fashion influencer” of Chang’an. She possessed extraordinary beauty—her face like white jade and her features as radiant as the morning light. Her background was illustrious: her mother was the Grand Princess of Huayin, the biological sister of the current Emperor, and her father was the youngest son of Pei Qi, the Minister of Education who had served as the tutor to three emperors. With such a lineage, Pei Mingjiao had been titled County Princess of Yongjia at birth, endowed with a fief of a thousand households.

With such honors, Pei Mingjiao had been raised with a spoiled and willful temperament. However, given her status, no one dared to cross her. Although many disliked her personality, she was always a trendsetter in fashion. Coupled with her title as the “Number One Beauty,” every time she debuted a new outfit, it would become a craze in Chang’an.

The color red complemented one’s skin. These pampered ladies naturally had fine complexions and could pull it off. That hairpin… I haven’t seen that style before. Is it new? Are her eyebrows shaped differently today? What did she put on her lips to make them look so hydrated?

The ladies’ minds began to race.

Pei Mingjiao was perfectly at ease. She propped her chin on one hand, her head tilted slightly, while the fingertips of her other hand tapped the edge of the dessert plate.

Cui Yi was an arm’s length away. Every time Pei Mingjiao moved, the hairpins on her head swayed, distracting Cui Yi and shattering the tranquility she had felt earlier.

After listening for a bit, Pei Mingjiao grew bored and switched hands to prop up her head. This move brought her gaze to Cui Yi, who was quietly drinking tea with her eyes downcast. After studying her carefully, she spoke: “Which family are you from? I haven’t seen you before.”

Cui Yi replied, “The daughter of the Cui clan. My father is Cui Yan.”

Pei Mingjiao knew of Cui Yan, the Palace Attendant; she knew his family had a sickly daughter.

Cui Yi’s skin was very pale—a pallor that carried a hint of frailty. Her features were elegant and her lips were somewhat light in color, though they looked moist from the tea. Pei Mingjiao felt she would look stunning if she applied some lip rouge.

As if asking on a whim, Pei Mingjiao ceased her attention. She picked up a piece of tea cake, took a bite, frowned slightly as she forced it down, and refused to take a second bite.

“It’s getting late. I’m going back.”

Pei Mingjiao stood up, gave her regards, and left directly. She truly came and went as she pleased.

The hem of her skirt brushed past Cui Yi. When Cui Yi looked up, she could only see a slender silhouette in red.

As soon as she left, the noble ladies began their sarcasm. Many had noticed Pei Mingjiao’s reaction to the tea cakes. The refreshments at the Lu residence were premium in both ingredients and preparation; that they were so “unswallowable” to Pei Mingjiao naturally made Lu Xi, who had prepared everything meticulously, feel uncomfortable. Hearing the others speak this way, she didn’t try to brush it off.

The Pei family’s extravagant lifestyle was famous in Chang’an. Last month, Consort Pei’s husband spent ten thousand taels of silver just to buy a single cricket. This absurd matter had been impeached by the censors, only to result in a trivial reprimand from the Emperor. The Grand Princess of Huayin was even more extreme—she loved operas, so she built a theater and kept over a hundred actors. She would take her carriage to listen to music whenever she pleased. Such a waste of labor and wealth went entirely unchecked by the Emperor; in fact, he even sent numerous performers from the palace to her.

According to rumors, a single dish at the Grand Princess’s estate cost at least several dozen taels of silver.

The young ladies grew more envious the more they spoke. How could Pei Mingjiao be so lucky?

However, they then remembered the Emperor had no sons. Pei Mingjiao’s family relied entirely on the Emperor to sustain their decadence. Once a successor ascended the throne, how could he tolerate the Pei family?

Suddenly, Liu Yun became the focus again.

Who doesn’t like to hear pleasant words? As Liu Yun began to feel lightheaded from the flattery, she suddenly remembered her father’s words.

Be cautious in speech and action.

Countless eyes were watching her now. If she made a single mistake, she would be attacked by many. Thinking of this, Liu Yun immediately corrected her mindset.

Seeing her remain unmoved and maintaining her decorum, the noble ladies actually thought better of her. Originally, Liu Yun’s status wasn’t as high as theirs; though they spoke words of flattery, they didn’t truly feel comfortable in their hearts.

Cui Yi, on the other hand, learned quite a bit from the conversation. Because she looked sickly, the ladies would check in on her from time to time so she wouldn’t feel neglected.

The tea party lasted for nearly four hours. Of course, they didn’t sit the whole time; they spent a good while strolling through the Lu family gardens. By the time it ended, Cui Yi breathed a sigh of relief. She didn’t plan on attending another such banquet anytime soon.

As she boarded the carriage, Cui Yi looked up at the sunset glow in the sky. That streak of vibrant red somehow made her think of Pei Mingjiao.

The “brainless, straw-bag villainess” of the book.

Did she… not seem very bright?