Controversial People
Princess Beiyue the Mad Princess showed up in Imperial College. That got her classmates nervous as they wondered...how far was her rehabilitation? They dare not look at her or else...she had gone mad due to how she was treated, and the knowledge she had no one to turn to as she was made to believe so she decided to go the brutal route for her own sake. She will kill anyone who looks at her wrong, was their fear.
Goodness knows many Palace Maids met that fate.
And she killed her mother's former maids too, for abandoning her and her only maid Dongling to their cruel fates by making them suffer before death. Breaking their bones aside, she used poison to maximize the pain they felt to insane degree before they died. What a revenge.
If the story came from Prince Jing and Third Prince, no doubt about the credibility of the tale. What she did to the assassin that she kept alive to interrogate made both princes ill as they talked to who would listen. Third Prince confided to his fiancee Meng Hongling who told her parents, and Prince Jing told his mother who in turn told her maternal relatives who in turn told friends...and round and round it goes...till the entire nobility knows.
Xue Che was glad she repudiated him. Sure he's a neglectful fiancee since being engaged to trash would ruin his reputation. But who'd want to marry a psycho who's fine with cutting people up in torture and bathe in their blood by keeping her clothes bloody with the man's blood?! Not that he said that to Jing's face of course, because he would side with his cousin who grew up suffering unjustly and cruelly till she broke...but who knew that for one with no Ki, she was strong enough to kill Gold-Class Assassins from the Mu Clan? Heck, he even got berated for neglecting her by his royal aunt and cousin!
His aunt was friends with Princess Royal which was reason she convinced the lady to engage Beiyue to him because family members are alike and in a harem household, its mostly mothers raising their kids, so like mother like children. She felt her nephew would have a good wife in Beiyue. By neglecting the girl instead of saving her, she became who she is today so his aunt wasn't happy with him and his father and he wasted such a chance.
It was Princess Yingye who witnessed the brutal killing when she tried to visit to get to know her cousin, only to encounter a night of horror and she was 'in yips' for a month until she got over her shock.
There's a Maid in Summoner Course. That came as a shock. Who on earth is this privileged servant, that their master let them attend Lingyang School?! Who is her master or miss? Must be Eccentric...and she's already a 2-star Summoner at just thirteen! Not only that, she was tall for her age and beautiful(by commoner standards)!
Those were two hot topics for when the wealthy went home to their families two years ago.
xxx
Present Time...
Classes start at 8 am and end at 3 pm. This was because of the travel time, and each class in Imperial College lasts an hour and half. However, students in the East College take until 5 pm due to training.
So Beiyue had an arrangement with Dongling beforehand.
She would go home ahead, but leave their carriage behind. She would go home on foot to stay in shape by running at insane speeds for home. Imperial College sitting around all day made her feel rusty just by thinking about it, when she poured great effort to gain a stronger body. She used pills to gain a better body than Kanroji-san's and improved the health of her organs to superhuman levels to peak levels a twelve year old body can have. She wouldn't allow herself to rust.
Mount Archery did NOT count as a class that allows for exercise.
Mount Archery Classes were more like a garden party...and this is the only interesting class so far. And it's her first class first thing in the morning.
She wore a sleeveless blue butterfly-print kimono top with orange waist-wrap and red cord, and black shorts underneath ending midthigh. Under it is white silk shirt with flutter sleeves, and a butterfly hairpin for her ponytail. As for her boots, lace-up western-style knee-highs! She also wore white tekko on her hands and arms. Normally, she'd wear a waist sash, but with Space Rings, that's moot now, is it?
She also began doing her nails, and taught Dongling how.
When men look at women, they look at four places:
Face.
Chest.
Hands.
...and the Waist.
Women LIVE by their looks after all, its how they score a husband.
This world doesn't have nail polish to her annoyance. It was a hot trend back home too.
In the old days in her study for medicine be it for life or for killing oni, she created nail polish using Balsam Flowers as the ones sold in stores in cities are full of chemicals that damage nails over time. Grinded into a paste for their juice and with a small brush, applied on the nails. She uses the red and pink kind in her garden. It became a huge hit among women in the corps because the nail polish made their hands look whiter. And the kind she made, was just right. Even better, its not expensive. Why, raise the needed plants, and pluck them any time!
For young hands, solely just the color of the Balsam. A simple light pink or red.
But if you're an adult, it's OK to make it more vivid and gaudy using Wood Sorrel as an additional ingredient.
On her last day on earth as she would die to give Kanao a chance to win, she made her nails vivid-red, not the mild pink she usually wears.
She had to find the equivalent of those two flowers here before doing it though! But the flowers she found, were very cute for the hands! Though she had to find a material that won't harm the nails.
The field felt silent at her arrival and quickly stayed out of her way nervously, as she walked like she owned the place.
She also drew curiosity.
What's her robe? It clearly wasn't embroidered but DYED to look that way! It's eye-catching!
What an exquisite figure she has! That tiny waist that emphasized her hips with her shorts that showed off her shapely, slender legs! And those boots! What style are those and what store sells that? Her hairpin is the same as her robe.
The Mad Princess was also responsible for some trends.
Dye-printed clothes which were more expensive than embroidered clothes and only Beiyue can perfect it while Tailors were still having trouble with it that prints don't come out the way they liked it and its STILL a work in progress yet the trendsetter herself has no problems doing her own dyeing! Yingye braved visiting her cousin for favors.
Pleated Skirts.
Underwear that's more comfortable.
And for women, 'that'. It made life easier!
So now there's the color on her nails that made her jade-bone hands look whiter. They're a light pink! Like, rose-pink, but sorta transparent-ish, not a solid pink color.
'Wow, what'd you do to your hands...?' Yingye croaked, eyes on her hands.
'Oh this? A little paint to look neater, that's all.' said Beiyue. 'I had plenty of time.'
Yingye translated that to, 'I have no social life so I went experimenting' because that's exactly what she just did, that her father and grandmother were appalled. She tutors Dongling, trains Dongling, and studying in her spare time. Medicine being her field of choice as she had been a victim of it.
Teacher Guo soon came to give a mini-orientation.
Teacher Guo Yuan who taught riding decided to take this group of freshmen to the east courtyard to see the real masters, hoping it will motivate their fighting spirit.
The students immediately got excited. Each one was energetic and followed Teacher Guo to the east courtyard.
In the eastern courtyard for martial arts, a group of relatively good students came this year. The coach taught them basic skills while the old students watched and guided them.
'Teacher Guo, what brought you here? To see my new group of students ah? They're all incredible!' Teacher Lei laughed and walked over here, his face smug.
Teacher Guo's face became uncomfortable but he stilled walked over there and smiled: 'Teacher Lei Yuan, I didn't expect you to be here today.'
If he knew it was Teacher Lei who taught today, he wouldn't have come . They're both students in the martial arts academy but Lei Yuan Shi can actually teach martial arts while he could only stay in Imperial College and teach a bunch of aristocratic young misses/masters riding skills! Not only that, she is here too!
'It's good that I'm here. Haha. Coincidentally, the new students came today. Teacher Guo, are you interested in a competition?'
Competition? A Competition with the martial arts academy?
These aristocratic young masters/misses immediately became timid and they looked at each other. Although they were usually proud, they still were smart enough.
Teacher Guo exclaimed: 'It is not necessary for a competition. You can just give us some tips.'
Teacher Lei was only joking anyway. He knew the levels of these aristocratic young masters/misses. He chuckled and waved his hand over: 'Meng'er, you can come to guide them.'
Surrounded by a group of young geniuses, revering her as their leader, Xue Meng walked out like a proud princess.
Teacher Lei looked around and saw Princesses Yingye and Beiyue who stood behind the crowd. He was taken aback: 'Princesses, you're here too.'
Princess Yingye could be counted as having talent in martial arts too. She was an old student but because of the Empress's worry, she didn't come to the martial arts academy often. Most of the times she spent her day in Imperial College learning poetry and etiquette.
Princess Beiyue on the other hand...worries him. She was someone who tore apart men and even destroyed Mu Mixin herself and to think she had no cultivation back then, while the man is a Sword Sage!
He also didn't like the way her eyes looked. It frightened him.
Meng'er, PLEASE behave, he thought.
Xue Meng nodded and walked up, revealing her beautiful smile. She paid her respects to Princess Yingye(and ignored the other on purpose) and performed a couple skills in front of everyone.
She wore a bright green dress, the cuffs danced, and her waist twisted, exposing her beauty to the maximum. The young men who only dared to bow their heads towards Princess Yingye, all looked towards Xue Meng with full attention. They screamed at how fantastic she was.
Teacher Lei also stroked the short beard on his chin and nodded. No doubt, Xue Meng was one of the students he was proud of.
After she finished performing, Xue Meng raised her hand towards the place she had just performed, asking: 'These few tricks are quite simple. Does anyone want to come out and practice with me?'
Xue Meng's skills had spread throughout Lingyang College. She and her elder brother were simply the same, both enjoyed to bring down the new student's self-esteem and confidence.
It was rumored that a new female student from this year was really beautiful and had a lot of talent. Xue Meng brought a few people with her and beat the female student until she couldn't stand up. She was taken home on her first day of school.
Many people didn't like the way Xue Meng acted but no one dared to say anything about it because of her background, strength, and beauty.
After all, even the teachers were on her side!
She smiled and walked around the crowd in a circle. Those aristocratic young misses were all afraid that Xue Meng would call on them, they all looking down and avoiding her gaze.
But of course, Xue Meng wouldn't look for any other people. She saw Huang Beiyue with her first glance. She wanted to teach this girl, who gained some reputation in front of everyone, a lesson!
Today she had the best chance. She wanted to see these skills everyone claims she has!
'Princess Beiyue. I heard that you're smart and agile. These simple tricks, you must have learned this before already. How about you come up and practice with me?'
Everyone knew that Xue Meng was purposefully insulting her by saying that she was 'smart' and 'agile'.
Xue Meng was just complimenting Huang Bei Yue first so it didn't seem like she was trying to find a weakling as an opponent. She made it seemed like she wasn't trying to take advantage of someone.
After she had said this, everyone turned their heads towards Huang Beiyue who looked amused and Yingye looked terrified. They either felt sympathetic or were waiting on a good show.
'Hummm, why not? I got stuff to show too.'
It seemed like an innocent enough sentence.
But coming from the insane Princess?
She disappeared so fast and sign that she moved?
That damaged concrete floor as if a sword gouged it with sword strikes and she appeared, flying past Xue Meng who was stunned.
The teachers were fearful as even they didn't see that...and suddenly, Xue Meng yelped in horror as she was sent flying upwards in a tornado that also gave her hundreds of paper cuts, making her yelp in pain.
'P-Princess, it's supposed to be a demonstration...' Teacher Lei sputtered. While he was amazed with the skill that clearly had no ki usage in it, he was also fearful of her reputation. At first he didn't believe it as seeing was believing, but now he and Teacher Guo clearly can!
'It is~' Beiyue winked playfully. 'But I'm not a dancer like she is, I'm a butcher.' her innocently-said words caused a lot of horrors. 'But I held back. Or she'll be chunks of meat by now. Aren't I nice?'
The way she smiled was akin to ice water poured down their backs as they felt her immense bloodlust that was so thick the students can't breathe while the teachers managed to endure it but were horrified this came from a frigging twelve year old. It takes hardened veterans to be able to do such!
'That Xue Meng provoked HER of all people.'
'She must be seeking death!'
'Her rehab isn't done yet, right?'
'Did you see her move?'
'No I didn't, she vanished and then things just happened!'
'If she can torture a Sword Sage, what hope does Xue Meng have?'
"T-this can't be real...!" Xue Meng gasped, shocked that the supposed mad waste of Nanyi Country pulled THIS on her.
Her.
This, she cannot accept, as she landed down with grace, ignoring her small wounds. She has hundreds of bleeding cuts with small amounts seeping out. Her hair disheveled and her dress having cuts too.
As much as she wants to retaliate, that palpable bloodlust made her see her own death in many ways incoming, so she stayed her hand.
'Er, let's go back to class.' Teacher Guo said nervously to his class, pale-faced and he looked clammy. 'I think you guys have enough experience...' it was a terrified class that quickly left.
Teacher Lei's class supposed Teacher Guo saved Xue Meng by leaving, otherwise who knows what else Huang Beiyue will do!
'Beiyue, isn't that a little too much?' Yingye croaked out. Her cousin is way too vicious!
'What, I just treated her fairly, nothing wrong with that~' said Beiyue playfully.
'And how?' Yingye choked out as the stark difference, was huge.
'Fufufu...the pretty dance Xue Meng made...you cannot hope to accomplish that without hard-earned balance, strong legs, strong joints and toes as well as hard-earned flexibility and timing...does anyone in this class have that? I sure as hell don't because I'm a killer, not a dancer~' Beiyue giggled girlishly in her admission. 'And she asks if we can do that with her? That's asking for trouble...try doing that at home...you'll fail horribly with muscle strains and a couple joint strains. And about a week of back pain to boot.' Teacher Guo and her class choked.
Teacher Guo then remembered the moves Xue Meng made.
Beiyue was right.
He realized the same thing she did minutes late after she pointed that out, how embarrassing!
'She has skill but what a thorny flower~ because she seeks to embarrass in public while arrogantly showing how superior she is. I simply repaid her viciousness in kind.'
'Ah...'
Nobody realized that.
Nobody realized Xue Meng's intent until she pointed it out! The Mad Princess actually saved them from losing face!
xxx
Xue Che was stunned.
He came to see how his sister was doing on his free time, only to find her nursing what looks like hundreds of papercuts!
'What happened?!'
'Well, she er...challenged Huang Beiyue...' a student said timidly. 'She moved insanely fast and sent Xue Meng flying in a tornado...' that got Xue Che and his friends staring at the junior in disbelief. 'Those gouges on the grounds? Huang Beiyue's speed alone did that and we couldn't see her move! She's so fast! We can see how she can attack Mu Mixin now!'
'She said she's no dancer, she's a butcher but she held back because she was nice!'
Xue Che was both shocked and horrified. Princess Beiyue is insane and who knows how far her rehab went, he could have lost a sister today if she wasn't feeling nice!
xxx
Lunch Break...
Yingye thought her cousin is always eating dishes she's never seen before. She asked to try bites of each, and they were all delicious!
'How?!' the unknown dishes were so good that it made her roast pork taste bland!
Beiyue has on her table, ebi furai, spaghetti naporitan, omurice, chicken nanban, miso soup and chikuzenni. In amounts enough for her stomach of course.
(In ancient chinese culture, people boiled or poached everything that not everyone eats vegetables and naturally, favored meat more. While cooking techniques gradually improved, it was still subpar compared to modern skills)
'Oh, I cooked.' said Beiyue. 'i got so much free time it all went to experiments! Then Dongling learns from me after that because I'm super busy myself~'
'Wow, you cook? That's kinda hard to believe...'
'Not really~ all women should be capable of cooking~ incase Dongling gets sick as nobody's healthy forever, we'll get sick at some point.'
It was also during lunch time where word spread about what happened between 'a certain class' that there were mixed feelings about the matter.