The Silent Phoenix Warrior

Drugged Wine (4)

  (Narrator's pov)

Before the sun even rose, BaiLing was up. After getting ready, she headed over to the kitchen to check on breakfast.

Whether it was a workday or a day off, the Ming family was always up before sunrise. To them, the days were too short, so the earlier they are up, the more time they have to do things.

Once BaiLing made sure everything was ready, she headed over to the dining room, where her father and brother were.

Me: "Morning dad, ge."

Dad and brother: "Morning."

Soon after she sat down, the food was brought out.

After some time, BaiLing's brother spoke up and asked her.

"Why are you eating so little?"

Smiling, she told her brother.

"I'm supposed to be heartbroken. How can I have the appetite to eat? I should look like I'm in pain."

Tears started to fall from her eyes as her brother looks at her.

Not caring about her tears, he proceeded to say.

"You already look heartbroken enough to me. No need to lose more weight. Besides, you're already very skinny."

Seeing how her brother didn't even flinch at the sight of her tears, she wiped them away and went back to her usual expression.

"To play the part, you need to look the part."

All her brother could do was shake his head while their father just watched them.

Once they were done with breakfast, the servants came and cleaned everything up, and everyone returned to their room.

BaiLing knew that the fifth prince wouldn't come until after noon, so she spent her morning reading and putting together the music score for the dance. BaiLing knew that the empress dowager was from a literary family, so she choose to create a piece that was elegant, graceful, and matched with the empress dowager's style. To make sure that the music sounded right, she had to pull out all the instruments needed and cast a spell on them so they would play together all at once for her to hear.

It pained her to do all of this, but she soon got it done and was able to send it off to the emperor with all the instructions listed on a separate paper.

Around 11, BaiLing started to get ready for the arrival of the fifth prince. She first went to get changed. Going over to her closet, she took out a beautiful pink and purple outfit with flower embroideries that looked like a field of freshly bloomed flowers in spring. Although it was not her color of choice, it was what the fifth prince liked. Layer by layer, she put the dress on. Before putting on the waistband, she put on a sheer purple shawl over her shoulders, then adding the belt to secure everything and complete the look. Next, she went over to her vanity table to do her makeup. BaiLing wasn't a fan of makeup. She only ever wore it when it was needed.

BaiLing started off with a light layer of powder on her face, followed up with some blush. She then added a little bit of color to her eyelids, and to finish everything off, she put on a bit of lip color.

Now that makeup was done, it was time for hair. BaiLing did a half-up half-down hairstyle. She took the upper part of her hair and braided it, then pinning it down to look like a flower. Then she took two small strands of hair from the side and pinned them to the back of her head under the bun, creating a loop on each side. Once she was done, she added in some hairpins and then wore her jewelry. BaiLing kept it simple, with a pair of dangling earrings that looked like a fan, and a matching necklace.