Chapter 39 – Ancient Era: A Dance to Enchant the City—The Emperor’s Celestial Fairy (09)
On the other side, Bai Shang forced a smile as she sent off the deeply worried Prime Minister’s wife. Once the woman had left, she waved her hand to dismiss the maids. After confirming that she was alone, she opened her wardrobe and jewelry box, frantically packing all the valuables she could carry, looking like a bandit on a raid.
Just moments ago, before the Prime Minister’s wife had entered her room, she had still been dreaming of becoming the Empress. But after hearing what the woman had to say, she was completely stunned. No wonder the Empress Dowager had been so angry when she performed her dance. Now it all made sense—the Empress Dowager saw her as a woman like the late Emperor’s favorite concubine. Yet, she was merely the daughter of a lowly Prime Minister. If the Empress Dowager sought revenge, how could she possibly survive?!
Sure enough, by noon the next day, an imperial edict confirmed Bai Shang’s worst fears.
The Empress Dowager had summoned her to the palace.
For what? To become a concubine or a mere palace maid? If it was the latter… Bai Shang shivered. Every palace drama had taught her that most palace maids met tragic fates.
Seizing the moment while her father was busy bribing the eunuch delivering the decree, Bai Shang quietly snuck back into her room. Grabbing the bundle she had prepared in advance, she slipped out through the secluded back gate, unnoticed.
She firmly believed that fate had not brought her into this world just to abandon her. If her destined true love wasn’t the Emperor, then he had to be out in the martial world. She, Bai the Heroine, was going to conquer Jianghu!
“Tang Tang, the female lead ran away~” The system covered its face as another surge of machine oil threatened to leak out.
Bai Tang had deliberately saved the last five minutes of his transformation ability for today. At this moment, a small, fluffy creature lay curled up beneath the window, basking in the sun.
Hearing the system’s alert, Bai Tang lazily rolled over. “Oh~”
Too… too cute… The system quickly turned around to wipe away the machine oil dripping from its nose.
Before long, panicked cries from the maids echoed from the front yard.
“Something terrible has happened! Miss is missing—!”
The Prime Minister and his wife, who had just received the imperial decree, were startled. What do you mean, ‘Miss is missing’? They rushed to Bai Shang’s courtyard, only to find the room spotlessly clean. Bai Shang was nowhere to be seen, and all her gold and silver jewelry had vanished—clearly, she had left on purpose.
“What have I done to deserve this? To raise… to raise such a daughter!” The Prime Minister’s breathing grew rapid, his eyes widened, and then he collapsed backward.
“Husband! Husband—!”
Another scene of utter chaos ensued…
“How is Father?” Bai Tang asked, imitating the original host’s tone.
“The Prime Minister suffered a severe fit of rage. He must not be agitated any further,” the physician said as he retrieved his silver needles and wrote out a prescription.
“Tang Tang, Father is fine. Did I scare you?” The Prime Minister, looking at his obedient son, felt a bit comforted. The siblings had always been close, and at least his son hadn’t strayed onto the wrong path.
From the original host’s memories, Bai Tang knew that the Prime Minister had always been fond of this son. In fact, the entire family had doted on Bai Tang. Playing the part of the original host, Bai Tang offered a few comforting words before the Prime Minister’s wife instructed the servants to take the young master back to rest.
The Prime Minister sent people to search for several days, but Bai Shang was nowhere to be found. Even when the time came for her to enter the palace, she was still missing. With no other choice, the Prime Minister claimed that their residence had been robbed and that the eldest daughter had been abducted by thieves.
The palace seemed to accept this explanation and remained silent.
“She actually ran away… quite bold,” the Empress Dowager remarked, raising an eyebrow as she read the report.