Quick Transmigration: Knowing I'm a Bad Woman, Yet Still Liking Me?

Entering the Imperial Garden, passing through the white marble arch bridge, one sees apricot trees stretching out in a continuous line, their pink and white petals adorning the branches.

Just as Bai Yuan was about to reach out and stroke a nearby apricot blossom, she caught a glimpse of a woman in a moon-white embroidered apricot-flower dress walking towards her with her maid on the stone path not far away.

The style, embroidery, and even the pearl trim on the neckline of her dress were almost identical to the one she was wearing.

The other person seemed surprised to see her, and quickly walked up to her, curtsied according to etiquette, and said in a light voice, "Your Majesty, I, Jiang, greet Your Highness."

Bai Yuan didn't wake her. She glanced at her a few times, found her face unfamiliar, and then casually asked the person beside her, "Who is this?"

Wan Yue replied in a low voice, "Your Majesty, it's Consort Jiang, who was just promoted a few days ago. I heard that His Majesty has stayed at her place for three consecutive days."

As Wan Yue finished speaking, Consort Jiang stood up on her own, smoothing her sleeves. "It's quite a coincidence to meet Your Highness here. I never expected Your Highness to be wearing...such a bright color. However, Your Highness is so dignified and elegant that this moon-white color actually weighs down your bearing. Unlike me, who is young and looks quite light and carefree in this attire."

Bai Yuan thought to herself, "That's such a coincidence..."

Also, she's only 19 this year, and she's being told she's too old here...

What a tragedy of our times!

Bai Yuan suddenly laughed, raising her hand to cover her nose with her round fan. "Jiang Cairen...look at the apricot blossoms on this branch. A few of them just started to tremble in the wind. Guess when they'll fall to the ground?"

Consort Jiang laughed along with her, "How would I know? Whether a flower falls or not depends not on the wind, but on how firmly it clings to the tree."

"Yeah?"

Bai Yuanqian gently placed her hand on a branch laden with apricot blossoms, shook it, and the petals fell like snow. "You're wrong. No matter how fierce the wind blows or how lush the tree grows, it doesn't matter. The important thing is that I only need to raise my hand, and these flowers can only obediently fall into the mud."

Jiang Cairen's heart skipped a beat, and her tone became tense, "This is supposed to be a beautiful spring scene. To break it so easily seems... a bit too domineering, and it would be a waste of the spring beauty in this garden."

Bai Yuan raised an eyebrow at her. "Domineering? There's something even more domineering."

After saying that, she gently raised her hand and said, "Guards, strip this Consort Jiang of her clothes."

"No~"

Consort Jiang froze, her smugness and provocation instantly turning into terror. She never expected the Imperial Concubine to be so vicious.

She staggered back two steps, only to be firmly pinned down by a palace maid who rushed forward. Her hands struggled wildly, her voice trembling with sobs as she screamed, "Your Majesty, spare me! This is the Imperial Garden! How can you humiliate me like this in front of everyone? This is tantamount to taking my life!"

Bai Yuan slowly walked forward, looking down at her condescendingly. "Since you dared to come to the Imperial Garden to cause trouble wearing the same clothes as me, you should have been prepared to bear my wrath. Don't worry, I won't take your life. I will give you the opportunity to complain to the Empress and His Majesty."

"Let's do it."

Jiang Cairen's eyes instantly filled with tears, and the maid beside her also cried and struggled, "Your Highness, please spare me...you can't do this..."

The palace maids used tremendous force, and with a ripping sound, the outer garment embroidered with pale pink apricot blossoms was torn off and thrown to the ground.

Jiang Cairen was wearing only a plain white undergarment, her hair was disheveled, and strands of hair clung to her tear-stained cheeks. She shrank back when she saw Bai Yuan's gaze.

Bai Yuan turned to look at Shen Xun'er, "You stay here with Consort Jiang. When the Empress or His Majesty arrives, tell them the truth."

Shen Xun'er opened her mouth, but still curtsied and said, "Yes, Your Highness."

"What a disappointment." Bai Yuan pouted slightly, then turned and left.

Only after they walked out of the Imperial Garden did Wan Yue look at Bai Yuan with some reproach, "Master, you went a bit too far."

Bai Yuan casually glanced at the scene. "They went to so much trouble to build this stage. I can't just slap that Consort Jiang a few times and call it a day. That would make it seem like I'm not giving them any face."

The provocation was so obvious that even Wan Yue and Ting Xue, who were standing nearby, could see it.

"But Master, what about the punishment afterward..."

Bai Yuan didn't say anything more, but instead chatted with the little system in her mind.

The little system slumped down, thinking, "I never expected the female lead to be this kind of person."

Bai Yuan waved her round fan. "What kind of person do you think she is? This is ancient times; a naive, unassuming girl won't grow up. Do you think she's really a peasant girl? This is the imperial palace; you can't just walk in whenever you want. Guess who's behind her?"

"I guess it's the Empress. After all, you're a Noble Consort, equivalent to a deputy Empress, so she must want to suppress you."

"I bet it's the Emperor. You'll see who she meets with first."

Not long after, the little system exclaimed in shock, "She actually met with a little eunuch from Wang Shun'an's side in a secluded place. Is the female lead the emperor's person? What about what's written in the book... Alas, my favorite novel has been ruined."

Bai Yuan's eyes lit up. "From an insignificant pawn in the emperor's hands, to helping the emperor get rid of the Qi family, and then helping the emperor get rid of me, the imperial concubine, and the general's mansion. In the end, she was able to help the fourth prince ascend the throne and become the empress dowager herself. Don't you think this is more like a true female protagonist's wish-fulfillment novel than the story of a peasant girl becoming empress dowager?"

The little system thought for a moment, "That's true, but I still feel like something's not quite right!"

"Wei Ci," Bai Yuan reminded him.

"Oh right, normally it's impossible for Qi Hengxuan, the son of a disgraced official, to become the head eunuch of the Eastern Depot. Unless the female lead didn't tell the emperor that Wei Ci was Qi Hengxuan at all, she... she's trying to have it both ways?"

"That's right...."

The little system immediately got excited again, "Then wouldn't we be able to directly tell Wei Ci what the female lead did, or tell the Emperor about what these two did, and take them under control?"

"The story has only just begun, what's the rush? Let them make a fuss, they better make as much trouble as they want."

The little system muttered under its breath, "Isn't the emperor afraid that the original owner will find out by having the female lead do something so obvious?"

"That's why I said the original owner was smart. Look how successful her character was. Everyone thought she was a spoiled idiot."

The group returned to Jade Hibiscus Palace, and soon after, the emperor's decree came down, confining her to her quarters for a month.

Wan Yue was displeased. "This afternoon I heard that Master has just quelled the war at the border."

The Emperor saw that their master's prestige was too high after winning the battle, so he used their mistress to suppress the master and also to test the general's mansion's attitude.

Bai Yuan was also unhappy. "If it were such a small matter, he should have said so earlier. I could have just picked someone in the harem that I didn't like and slapped them a few times. It's such a waste to ruin one of my clothes."

Wan Yue was amused by her words, "Even at a time like this, Master is still thinking about clothes."

"I'm not just thinking about clothes, I'm also thinking about food. Is the apricot yogurt ready yet?"

"Alright, alright, I'll go get it for you right away."