Chapter 19

After the second time she cried out in pain, Shen Yu had already figured out what was happening. It turned out that the original owner of this body suffered from dysmenorrhea, the kind that was excruciatingly painful. Since Shen Yu had never experienced such pain before, her initial reaction had been so intense.
Later, when she heard Shen Xiao panicking and thinking she was dying, Shen Yu would have laughed out loud if she hadn’t been in so much pain.
Uncle Li, being older and more experienced, stopped panicking after seeing the blood on the carpet. He directed Shen Xiao, "Quick, pick her up and carry her back to her room. Let her lie down on the bed."
Shen Xiao, who was usually the one giving orders, would never tolerate anyone bossing him around. But at that moment, he was too flustered to care. He scooped Shen Yu up and dashed upstairs, running as if a single second’s delay would cause her to stop breathing.
Uncle Li quickly found a hot water bottle, filled it with hot water, and brought it up to warm her stomach.
After everything was settled, Uncle Li pushed Shen Xiao out of Shen Yu’s room. "It’s alright now, she’s fine. She knows what to do next. I’ll go make her a bowl of sweet soup."
Shen Xiao, still shaken, glanced at the closed door and asked Uncle Li uneasily, "Is she really okay?"
Uncle Li replied, "Menstrual cramps won’t kill her, don’t worry."
Shen Xiao pressed, "Are you sure we don’t need to see a doctor?"
Uncle Li said, "If the pain is unbearable, she can take painkillers. Seeing a doctor won’t help."
Shen Xiao thought to himself: If doctors can’t even treat menstrual cramps, what’s the point of having them!
As the two walked down the stairs together, Shen Xiao added, "Have I been bullying her too much lately?"
It was rare for Shen Xiao to engage in self-reflection, and Uncle Li felt gratified. "The young lady is still young, and you’re her only family. Be kinder to her."
Shen Xiao thought irritably: Why is she harder to raise than a pet?! She used to be so dull and boring, but now that she’s finally become more interesting, she breaks so easily. What a hassle!
After a moment’s thought, he said to Uncle Li, "Doesn’t she like those dolls? Give them all to her."
Uncle Li nodded eagerly, thinking to himself that the young master had finally learned to care for someone.
To surprise Shen Yu, he deliberately waited until she was asleep at night and sneaked into her room to arrange the dolls on her bed.
When Shen Yu woke up the next day, she opened her eyes to find ten SD dolls sitting around her, staring at her with eerie expressions. It nearly scared her to death.
The intense pain from her period had left her utterly exhausted. She had never experienced menstrual cramps before, but now she would have to endure them every month, the thought alone was terrifying.
She had no idea how the original owner of this body had managed to cope, but she couldn’t bear it. Not only did she take painkillers, but she also asked her teacher for two days off to rest at home.
She decided to use those two days to prepare for the performance exam. After some thought, she concluded there was no need to modify the script Bai Muyu had given her. However, Bai Muyu couldn’t control how she performed on stage, especially since the two weren’t rehearsing together.
Still, she couldn’t deliberately ruin the performance. After all, this was a monthly exam that affected her grades, and both teachers and students took it seriously. That was precisely why Bai Muyu felt confident teaming up with her, she had no fear of Shen Yu intentionally sabotaging the act.
Although Bai Muyu was only a sophomore, she had a popular older sister and frequently landed supporting roles in dramas, an opportunity most of her classmates couldn’t match. With all that experience, Bai Muyu’s acting skills were undoubtedly more polished than those of her peers. She likely thought so herself, which was why she teamed up with Shen Yu, intending to outshine her with her superior acting.
But no matter how flawless Bai Muyu’s plan seemed, she would never have guessed that Shen Yu was actually a transmigrator, and an actress who had starred in several period dramas. Even if her skills weren’t top-tier, she was far from inexperienced or stage-frightened. In fact, compared to Bai Muyu, she might even have the upper hand.
Thinking it over, Shen Yu felt a little guilty. It almost seemed like she was bullying a younger girl. But since Bai Muyu had started this childish rivalry, there was nothing she could do about it.
After two days of rest, followed by a weekend, Shen Yu ended up with four consecutive days off. During that time, she didn’t see Shen Xiao at all. When she asked Uncle Li, even he claimed not to know his whereabouts. She wondered if her painful period had scared him off, prompting him to stay elsewhere.
Once her four-day break ended, it was time for the exam. With her period over, Shen Yu felt refreshed and full of energy, as if she were invincible.
She arrived at school early in the morning to find most of her classmates already there. The desks and chairs had been pushed aside, leaving an open space in the middle for the performance.
Since it was only an in-class exam, there was no need for a large stage, the classroom space was more than enough.
Shen Yu scanned the room but didn’t see Bai Muyu. However, Bai Muyu’s close friends had already arrived. They huddled together, glancing at Shen Yu and whispering among themselves, occasionally letting out soft giggles.
Shen Yu ignored them, found a seat, and pulled out the two-page script Bai Muyu had given her. Although she had made slight adjustments, she hadn’t marked them on the paper, so the script appeared unchanged at a glance.
Shen Yu had only been seated for a short while when Bai Muyu arrived. Upon entering the classroom, Bai Muyu didn’t go to chat with her close friends. Instead, she walked straight over to Shen Yu and said with a smile, "I thought you wouldn’t dare come to school."
Shen Yu looked up at her. "Why wouldn’t I dare?"
Bai Muyu replied, "Afraid of performing opposite me in the small exam!"
Shen Yu said, "Since I accepted your script, I naturally have no reason to be afraid."
Bai Muyu frowned as she studied Shen Yu, thinking that she really seemed more and more different lately, now she even dared to talk back without batting an eye.
"Have you lost weight?" Bai Muyu suddenly asked her.
Shen Yu was taken aback. Although she was still wearing the original owner’s loose clothes, her weight loss was quite noticeable, and neither the clothes nor her glasses could hide the truth. "That’s none of your business."
Bai Muyu sneered, "Truly, the ugly ones make the most fuss. Even if you slim down to a bolt of lightning, you still won’t become pretty."
Shen Yu smiled faintly. "That’s also none of your business."
Bai Muyu leaned in closer and whispered, "You can laugh now, but you’ll be crying soon enough."
Shen Yu raised an eyebrow and retorted, "We’ll see who cries first."
Anyone could talk tough, it didn’t cost a thing.
For this small exam, students were paired up, with each group performing for about 15 minutes. They could choose their own topics, and the teacher would grade them based on their performance during that time.
The content of each small exam varied, depending on the teacher’s assigned theme.
Shen Yu and Bai Muyu were the fifth group to perform. After receiving their number, unlike the others who huddled together to rehearse, they each studied their own scripts separately.
It wasn’t until the class monitor called them that the two walked in together.
The teacher also had copies of the scripts the students had submitted. Seeing the two of them paired up was a bit surprising, but since they had come to perform together, it meant they had already worked things out. Without further questions, the teacher simply told them to begin.
Bai Muyu played the role of a favored consort, deeply cherished by the emperor. In the entire imperial harem, no one could surpass her status, and she even monopolized the authority of the inner court, making even the empress seem inferior in comparison.
Arrogant and spoiled by the emperor’s favor, the consort looked down on everyone except the emperor. When she walked, it was as if her eyes were fixed on the top of her head.
For Bai Muyu, such a role was practically tailor-made, she could portray it with remarkable authenticity without needing much acting skill.
Shen Yu’s role as the empress, however, was more challenging to grasp. Though she held the highest rank as the empress of the nation, her status was inferior to that of a mere consort. The emperor rarely saw her throughout the year, and she lived a life full of grievances and sorrow.
In Bai Muyu’s imagination, the empress was a pitiful character, perfectly suited to Shen Yu, someone who ought to be timid and miserable.
In reality, however, Shen Yu’s performance was far from what she had envisioned.
Since it was a scene from a period drama, wearing glasses could easily break the immersion. So when the teacher signaled the start, Shen Yu took off her glasses. Although her vision was blurry, it didn’t affect her positioning on stage.
Both of them had some acting experience, so the moment they stepped into their roles, their expressions and demeanor shifted noticeably.
Bai Muyu radiated confidence and arrogance, while Shen Yu maintained her dignified presence, though a shadow of melancholy lingered between her brows, making their character backgrounds clear at a glance.
The scene was set in the imperial garden where the two crossed paths. The empress, in low spirits, tried to avoid the consort and find another place, but the consort wasn’t about to miss this chance to humiliate her.
She immediately blocked her path.
The favored consort stepped forward with a smug expression and said, "Has the Empress also come to admire the flowers? Perfect timing. The peonies His Majesty gifted me a few days ago are in full bloom. Would the Empress care to take a look?"
The Empress maintained a calm expression, though one of her hands was clenched tightly into a fist as she struggled to suppress her emotions. "No, you may enjoy them yourself."
The favored consort eyed her up and down, her delicate brows furrowing. "Empress, isn't that dress from two years ago? Has the Imperial Household Department not delivered new ones to you? Those two-faced scoundrels, I’ll make sure to teach them a lesson!"
The Empress glanced at her and replied, "Enough with the false concern. Who gets what is entirely up to you, isn’t it?"
The favored consort suddenly burst into laughter. "So you do know who holds the real power in the harem! I can withhold your supplies as I please, what can you do about it? A woman long out of favor, what do you have to compete with me?"
Though Shen Yu had read the script countless times, facing Bai Muyu’s performance still made her curse inwardly. Damn it, this script must have been written by Bai Muyu herself. What kind of Empress would truly allow a consort to trample over her like this? Even if she had fallen out of favor, she was still the Empress, her status remained intact!
According to the script, the Empress was supposed to shed pitiful tears at this point, then lose all composure and curse the favored consort, creating a heart-wrenching and sorrowful scene.
But Shen Yu had no intention of following Bai Muyu’s script from the very beginning. Lips pressed tightly together, her gaze toward Bai Muyu carried a frosty chill, the dignity befitting an Empress who ruled over the nation and the resentment of a woman whose love had been stolen.
With resolute and unwavering steps, the Empress closed in on the favored consort. The moment she stopped, her eyes flashed, her brows tightened, and she raised her hand to deliver a sharp slap across the consort’s face.
Smack!