Chapter 185 – The Concubine’s Counterattack: The Most Favored Empress – Escaping the Fire (15)
Ma Aoshan forced herself to stand despite the pain. Before Prince Zhuang’s men could return, she supported herself against the wall and slipped out through a side door.
If she didn’t leave now, was she supposed to wait for that man to come back and kill her? She was meant to be the empress! Prince Zhuang might be relying on his high status, but with her modern intellect, she refused to believe she couldn’t outsmart that old fossil.
Ma Aoshan had watched countless palace and family intrigue dramas, as well as period power struggles. She was confident she had mastered their essence.
She had prepared a backup plan specifically to deal with Prince Zhuang. It seemed she’d had to use it a little earlier than expected.
When one of Prince Zhuang’s trusted men returned to Chuxiu Palace, he found no sign of Ma Aoshan. Only traces of blood remained on the floor, leading in a trail toward the side door.
He immediately understood the situation and was just about to give chase when, all of a sudden, his body froze. Though his eyes still burned with determination, his body collapsed vertically to the ground.
The one who had struck him from behind was none other than Luo Dai—the very man Prince Zhuang had been searching for in vain.
Dressed in plain clothes, Luo Dai wore a blank expression. A terrifying aura, like that of a rakshasa, radiated from him.
He had originally come back to evacuate the concubines Ma Aoshan had captured—daughters of his most trusted ministers. But unexpectedly, on the floor of Chuxiu Palace, he spotted a tassel ornament that belonged to Bai Tang.
That tassel was braided from hair cut on their wedding night. Tang Tang never let it leave his side.
Its appearance in the palace could only mean one of two things:
First, that Bai Tang had returned;
Second, that Bai Tang had been captured by Prince Zhuang.
Of those two possibilities, Luo Dai hoped for the first—at least it would mean Bai Tang was still safe. But staying in the palace was bound to be dangerous.
In the blink of an eye, the man inside the hall vanished, leaving behind only the lifeless body of Prince Zhuang’s trusted subordinate, who hadn’t even figured out how he died.
Bai Tang, leading a group of palace women, crawled through dog holes and scaled walls. Whether daughters of military officers or scholarly officials, none of them complained. Instead, they helped one another climb, lifting skirts and offering hands.
Finally, after circling a long way, Bai Tang led them to the Cold Palace—the very same place he had once been confined. It was a forgotten corner of the imperial grounds.
After Luo Dai had carried Bai Tang out of the Cold Palace, the guards stationed there had been withdrawn. With no one watching it now, entering was easy.
“What should we do now? The whole palace seems to be full of Prince Zhuang’s men,” Wupin asked anxiously.
Everyone’s spirits were low. After all the effort it took to escape Ma Aoshan’s clutches, they still couldn’t leave the palace. If Prince Zhuang truly took control, they might never get out again.
“Right now, this place is still relatively safe. Those rebels would never think to look for us in the Cold Palace—but it’s only temporary safety,” Concubine Hua tried to comfort the others, though she too knew the situation was far from optimistic.
“Your Majesty the Consort, do you have any ideas?” she turned her gaze to Bai Tang.
“I don’t have any great ideas either,” Bai Tang replied. “Your poison has just been cured, and we’ve made our way across the entire palace to get here. Rest for now and regain your strength. I’ll go out and gather some information.”
Given the way the Imperial Consort had appeared at Chuxiu Palace, everyone agreed to the plan.
If His Majesty’s Consort really was a squirrel spirit, then he must have some unique abilities. Since they couldn’t help, at the very least they shouldn’t drag him down.
Prince Zhuang had increased the number of men searching the palace for the missing concubines—and for Ma Aoshan. He hadn’t expected that she could still escape after taking a direct hit from him. He had clearly underestimated her.
But it wasn’t Ma Aoshan’s own ability—it was Xiao A’s. Ma Aoshan had once taken a physical enhancement pill from Xiao A, which made her stronger than the average person. That was how she managed to run away.
In the Imperial Garden, more and more patrols roamed the palace paths. No matter how small Bai Tang was, if he tried walking out, he would be discovered.
If only I could get smaller, he thought.
As soon as the thought crossed his mind, Bai Tang transformed back into a small squirrel.
Xiao A was still trying to figure out why Bai Tang always transformed into a squirrel instead of a cat or dog—after all, the ability was supposed to be a generic “pet skill.”
The little squirrel darted north, sprinting across palace walls and leaping through the trees of the Imperial Garden, completely unnoticed by the patrols below.
Before long, the little squirrel reached the outer court. There, two groups were locked in brutal combat on the open grounds—fire blazed high into the sky, and the sound of shouting and killing was endless. Among the fighters was the one he had been thinking about constantly—Luo Dai.
The man, clad in silver-white armor, was fighting directly with Prince Zhuang. Every strike of his sword carried a sharp, murderous intent. It didn’t take long before Prince Zhuang began to falter and lose the upper hand.
Just as it looked like Prince Zhuang would die beneath Luo Dai’s sword, one of the prince’s trusted men suddenly rushed forward, dragging a richly dressed young man with him. He shouted loudly at Luo Dai, “Luo Dai! Your consort is in our hands!”
The tip of Luo Dai’s sword froze—just millimeters from Prince Zhuang’s throat.
Luo Dai looked up and saw a slender, finely dressed young man with his head bowed. A woman had a sword pressed against his neck.
“If you kill Prince Zhuang, I’ll kill your Consort in return.”
Everyone knew how much the Emperor loved his Consort—so much that he neglected the rest of the harem and even suppressed those in court who opposed him. If not for the fact that Luo Dai’s policies benefited the common people, Bai Tang would have long since been denounced as a demonic consort.
“Tell your men to stop,” the woman demanded. Her sword drew blood from the young man’s neck, and he let out a cry—exactly like Bai Tang’s voice.
“Everyone, stop!”
At Luo Dai’s command, the imperial guards ceased fighting. Seizing the opportunity, Prince Zhuang’s men retaliated and disarmed them.
“Let the prince go, or your beloved Consort’s life…”
Luo Dai, expressionless, dropped his sword and gave a swift kick to the man on the ground.
Prince Zhuang rolled away and crawled back to his trusted aide.
“Your Highness, are you alright?” the aide asked with concern.
Grasping the offered hand, Prince Zhuang struggled to his feet, trembling. “Luo Dai, take your own life, and I’ll spare your Consort.”
Luo Dai stared silently at Bai Tang for a long moment. Prince Zhuang, afraid that the delay might ruin his plan, barked sharply, “I always keep my word. If you don’t believe me, then go join your Consort in death as doomed lovers!”
As he spoke, he raised his sword to strike Bai Tang down.
“Fine. I trust Royal Uncle will keep his word—spare my imperial guards, my Consort, and my Empress Dowager.”
With that, Luo Dai lifted his sword to take his own life.
“Your Majesty—please don’t!”
His personal guards fell to their knees, pleading with him, but Luo Dai’s movements were too fast.
“Squeak squeak squeak!” A Dai…!
The little squirrel couldn’t stay hidden any longer. It leapt down, landing in front of Luo Dai and stamping on the gleaming sword hilt.
At the same time, a small stone shot through the air and struck the person impersonating Bai Tang in the stomach. The figure doubled over in pain and cried out.
The voice was an unpleasant-sounding male voice—definitely not Bai Tang.
Luo Dai had already found it suspicious. With Tang Tang’s personality, even if he had fallen into Prince Zhuang’s hands, he would never passively wait to be held hostage or killed. And to remain completely silent? There was only one possibility: this “Bai Tang” was a fake.
Sure enough, it was an impostor. Luo Dai had no intention of taking his own life anymore.
But now, the little squirrel standing on his sword somehow felt strangely familiar. Not only that—it seemed to be angry at him.
“Squeak squeak squeak…” How could you try to kill yourself?!
The little squirrel was furious, believing Luo Dai didn’t value his own life. If it hadn’t intervened in time, A Dai would already be a corpse.
Surprisingly, Luo Dai found that he could somehow understand what the squirrel was trying to say.
Was he going mad, or was it just an illusion? Still, he couldn’t help but feel warmth and affection toward the little creature.
“Alright, alright—you’re right. Don’t be angry. Be good~” Luo Dai instinctively cupped the squirrel in his hands and tucked it safely into his armor.
“Soldiers—attack!”
“Attack!”
Luo Dai’s personal guards were no fools. Even after being subdued, they still had the capability to counterattack.
With a wave of Luo Dai’s arm, the imperial guards on the field quickly overpowered Prince Zhuang’s men. From all directions, even more imperial guards rushed in.
If Luo Dai’s men were able to fight their way into the palace, it could only mean one thing: the forces guarding the perimeter had already been defeated. Prince Zhuang had lost.
Though Prince Zhuang was captured for committing treason, he was still a member of the Luo clan. Luo Dai didn’t intend to execute him but instead had him placed under house arrest. However, Prince Zhuang’s closest followers weren’t so lucky—they were all sentenced to death.
Suddenly, the person who had held the fake Bai Tang hostage pulled out a dagger and turned it on Prince Zhuang, stabbing him in the back.
Prince Zhuang stared at his trusted aide in disbelief, eyes wide.
She burst into loud laughter. “Prince Zhuang, you didn’t see this coming, did you?”
That voice—undeniably—belonged to Ma Aoshan.
Prince Zhuang truly hadn’t expected that Ma Aoshan was capable of something like this—disguising herself as his most trusted aide.
He struck her hard across the face, sending her flying like a kite with its string cut. She crashed to the ground and coughed up a mouthful of blood.
She tore off the fake human-skin mask, revealing her stunningly beautiful face.
“If I can’t live, none of you will either,” she said, breaking into a fit of mad laughter as she coughed violently.
Suddenly, explosions erupted from all four sides of the palace. The peripheral halls were already engulfed in flames.
This was originally Ma Aoshan’s contingency plan—to be used after Prince Zhuang had taken over the palace, allowing her to turn the tables and seize the throne for herself. She never expected it would become her final act of retaliation before death.
The explosion startled the little squirrel. Luo Dai felt the tremor in its body and gently comforted it. “It’s okay, don’t be scared…”
The little squirrel looked toward the fire glowing in the northwest and suddenly realized something. It leapt from Luo Dai’s hand and dashed off in that direction at full speed.
Consort Hua and the others are still there…
Sure enough, when the little squirrel arrived, the Cold Palace was already in flames. The fire had spread all the way to the palace gate—there was no way to get in.
Only two people had managed to escape. They had been shoved out the front door by Consort Hua before the collapsing beams blocked the exit.
“Consort! Consort! Please save them…” The two women knelt on the ground in tears as soon as they saw the little squirrel.
The squirrel was frantic with worry. Relying on its nimble body, it darted into the flames and quickly found the others who were still trapped inside.
“C-Consort…” Consort Hua was still semi-conscious, though several others had already fainted from smoke inhalation.
The little squirrel transformed back into Bai Tang. Consort Hua tore down an unburned curtain and used it to wrap around Bai Tang.
“Your Highness—how did you get in?”
“Don’t worry. I promise I’ll get you all out of here.”
No sooner had she spoken than another beam crashed down—directly above Bai Tang’s head.
In a moment of crisis, a vine suddenly shot out from the flames and swept the collapsing beam to the side.
After doing all this, Bai Tang was already gasping for breath. He had only recently discovered this ability and was still not very skilled at using it.
“Follow me, quickly!”
Bai Tang directed the vines to break through a window. The fire on this side wasn’t as severe yet. The conscious ones helped support the unconscious to the window, and one by one, they climbed out.
The window was a bit high, and with the fire to guard against, the self-rescue effort was challenging.
Luo Dai had followed the fleeing squirrel to the Cold Palace and immediately saw Bai Tang still inside, surrounded by flames.
“Tang Tang, come out—quick!”
The last person made it out, but Bai Tang, due to sheer exhaustion and smoke inhalation, could no longer hold the collapsing beams with his vines. In an instant, the burning wood blocked the window, and Bai Tang was still trapped inside.
“Tang Tang…!”
The man’s anguished scream was swallowed by the roaring fire. Only the crackling of flames remained—no answer came from the boy.
Looking around in desperation, he jumped into a fire-prevention water vat near the palace gates. Once completely soaked, he charged into the burning Cold Palace—ignoring the collapsing structure and the cries of alarm around him.
He had only one thought in mind: rescue Bai Tang.
Live together, or die together.
This was his promise to Tang Tang. If Bai Tang died, he would rather follow him into death.
Author’s Note:
This world is about to reach its conclusion. Originally, I planned for this arc to be very sweet, but as I kept writing, it somehow veered off course. It doesn’t feel as sweet as the previous worlds—do any of you cuties feel the same?
In the next world, I promise it’ll be full of sweetness! Please keep reading, darlings~
Here’s a little spoiler: it’ll be a full-dive VR game world! I hope you’ll love it~ ❤️