Transmigration: The Fate of the Villainess

She had lived with cruelty for so long that she could trust no one. She wanted those she loved to have a long life within this cage called the royal palace. She wanted a guarantee that she would leave this world in the arms of the people she loved.

It was natural that she would resent the man who had destroyed her life and had molded her into a wicked woman in order to survive when she should have been a general’s wife. It was natural that she would love her son, born of her blood and bone, the only man who loved her unconditionally.

And it was only natural that she would hate her child, who had the same face as the man who was the cause of her suffering. Only death could free her from this heavenly cage.

Who was to blame for the way everything had escalated up until now…? Everyone had a fate of their own that they must face.

“It’s not that I don’t love you, Feilong. I only hate that face that resembles your father so much that I can’t live while looking at it!” The common words made listeners feel as if they were laced with poison.

Bai Yu put her hand on the back of Ouyang Feilong’s hand that was tightened into a trembling fist. He already knew this. He had recently learned it from Ouyang Hongxian. His brother had known it all along as he tried to raise his brother and give him love the best he could. His brother was hated by his mother for a reason he had no part in, and at the same time, Ouyang Hongxian could not help his mother free herself from her hatred.

His father was ridden with guilt. His inability to cope caused him to die of heartbreak rather than the coup, as history had it. In this distorted history, the dark secret of the dynasty was written as prosperity.

On the day that Ouyang Hongxian was told of his red string of fate that had bound him since his last life, he had decided. He could not bear to break his mother’s heart for the second time. It was better for her to think he died rather than know that he was the one who took after his father, not his brother, whom she had always been biased against.

.....

Strangely, Ouyang Feilong was surprisingly calm. It was a mystery how he could listen to everything and remain calm, not putting the blame on anyone while handling everything perfectly. Ouyang Feilong had grown and had become stronger than anyone expected. He understood and accepted everything. But he would not stop walking down the path he had chosen.

“Mother…”

“…”

“…I cannot give up on the throne.”

——————-

“In the end, benwang receives the final answer… She doesn’t love benwang, no matter what.”

No matter what he did.

No matter where he was.

Whether he was alive or dead.

No matter what, his mother did not love him.

“Isn’t it already enough that Wangye loves Mother?”

Bai Yu could not judge who was right or wrong. First, it was not her problem. And second, because everyone involved in the matter was all hurt. What she could do was stroke Ouyang Feilong’s hair. He had used her lap as a pillow as soon as they returned to Rui Wang Palace.

“Mm.” He made a sound in his throat before turning to face her body. His arms hugged her waist as his face nestled close. Bai Yu could feel a wet spot forming on her clothes, and the reason could be none other than the person in front of her eyes. For this, she could not cry for him. She could only gently caress his hair to convey the care she had for him through her palm.

It was unknown how long they stayed in that position. The wetness on her clothes had since dried when Ouyang Feilong slightly moved.

“Benwang had never thought of the day that benwang would sit on the throne. In benwang’s memory, there was always cruelty and selfishness. Benwang had seen Father and Brother for so long that coming close to it was unimaginable… Benwang only wishes to live to protect Brother’s throne.”

“It’s all because of me.” Bai Yu knew that Ouyang Feilong was not blaming her. Still, she could not help but feel guilty for pulling him into this path of power. She only thought that changing her destiny would lead to severing karmic ties with others. She never expected this man to have a fate of his own as well.

“No. It’s because of benwang.”

Bai Yu shook her head. Ouyang Feilong turned to lie on his back and smiled at her, even though he had to be comforted by her until a while ago. “It’s because benwang chooses to protect you.”

“Then I will protect Wangye as well.”

Ever since the morning she had woken up in Ouyang Feilong’s palace, Bai Yu had been asking herself what she should do next with the fate she no longer had any knowledge of. She had thought of many things, many ways to move forward while stepping on others. Her future status could no longer be called ordinary life.

Ouyang Feilong never wanted to be an emperor. Bai Yu, too, never expected she would become empress.

“How will Xiao Yu protect benwang?”

“How about keeping Wangye locked up in the palace, not letting anyone see Wangye ever again?”

“Good.” Ouyang Feilong nodded with a light smile. “You’ll be with benwang too.”

“No, I’ll go out to play.”

“Then benwang shall follow.”

“I’ll go out to play in a place far, far away.”

“Benwang shall follow you everywhere you go.”

“And what if I crossed into another world?”

“Benwang shall go with you.”

Bai Yu could not suppress laughter at the image of Ouyang Feilong in the time she had come from.

“What are you thinking about?” He pulled on the cheek of the woman, who was smiling at her own imagination, completely ignoring him.

“I’m thinking about the life I’ve come from.”

Ouyang Feilong raised an eyebrow. “Tell benwang about it.”

“Yes?”

“The era you came from.”

“Mmmm.”

Bai Yu arranged the memories in her head in order to recount them to him. She started with the differences between Da Yang and her country, starting with the society, language, culture, and every difference that could combine and complement each other until international communication was born.

When she told him about her job as an actress, Ouyang Feilong laughed out loud as soon as she described what kind of woman the villainesses she had played were. However, the more she went into details, the more her husband was displeased at the knowledge of how intimate she had to be with other men.

Bai Yu ignored him. She teased that with his appearance, women would flock to him and he would become much more popular than her if he were born in the same era. To that, Ouyang Feilong only smiled and replied that right now was not too different.

Bai Yu slapped the arrogant person once before they moved from the bed to the writing table within the palace. She drew a picture of an airplane for him.

He was quite interested in the travels between countries, including the peace formed between the countries where she had gone to work. Ouyang Feilong felt that he had greatly broadened his horizons when Bai Yu drew a chart of the democratic system and explained the details that were related to it. It was strange for a person of this era to be interested in this kind of system, even more so when that person was a future emperor.

He was an open-minded person who was quick to adapt. These qualities could be seen in how he could calmly handle various problems he faced recently. They were quite similar in this regard.

“There is another thing that is visibly different between my time and Wangye’s.”

“Hm?’

“It’s also the thing I most agree with.”

“What is it?” Ouyang Feilong looked at her with expectant eyes.

“Men in my era…”

“…”

“…Have only one wife.”