As a young miss from a noble family, one thing Bai Yue's room didn't lack was jewelry. From the far too many hairpins to the numerous bracelets and necklaces accumulated over the years, the content of her jewelry boxes was worth several thousands of taels.
She selected a box and pushed the lid off with the pad of her thumb, her lips curling into a sneer at the sight of a hairpin with inlaid rubies on its length. What was the point of having so many pieces of jewelry? It wasn't like they could accompany her on her journey to the after-life. It would be better to sell all those useless things and make money.
Behind her, Liu'er was squirming, still flustered because of her question.
"Young miss, why don't you reconsider it? It is too dangerous. What if the Lord and Madam find out?"
Going out in secret, if found out, one could very easily be accused of being promiscuous and meeting with a lover. For a man, if only a bit ill-mannered, it was just a matter of a slap on the hand and perhaps a few days spent reflecting on his mistake. For a woman, on the other hand, the best outcome was to be sent away to a monastery or to be married off to a son of a concubine from a minor family. And the worst was simply to be sold off to a brothel or to be drowned. Unfortunately, the latter was one noble families preferred as it stopped rumors from spreading. They only had to say the deceased died of illness and no one would raise questions.
Bai Yue shut the lid and shoved the box into a leather bag before grabbing another one and doing the same. In her mind, she could already imagine all the banknotes she would receive at the end of the day.
"They won't find out if you don't say anything," she said nonchalantly. "I already ordered people to not let anyone come in because I will be resting."
"But Madam-"
She turned and cut off Liu'er, saying in a gentle tone, "and Mother rarely comes to see me. You don't need to worry, Liu'er, it will be fine."
Not only did her mother rarely come, but she certainly wouldn't worry about Bai Yue today. Instead, the dignified Madam Fu of the Bai family would most likely be busy making sure everyone in the manor knew about Concubine Xi's matter so that the latter wouldn't dare to show her face anymore. Of course, she wouldn't do it openly and would act like a woman worried for the concubine of her husband.
Opening the door of her closet and picking up a simple but elegant white dress, Bai Yue looked at Liu'er feeling somewhat excited.
"Now, let's swap our clothes!"
"Young miss, I really don't think it is a good idea. You are going to get me killed!" Although she was saying this, Liu'er didn't dare to not take the dress from Bai Yue. The fabric felt soft and light, and it slid perfectly over her underpants and undershirt. She couldn't help but marvel at it, momentarily forgetting her fear.
Momentarily because the fear came back in full strength when her eyes fell on her young miss who was dressed like a servant.
"I know you can't judge a book by its cover but really, just a change of clothes and we look completely different," Bai Yue wondered aloud at her reflection in the bronze mirror. Standing up straight, she twirled a little. The dress was poorly made and a bit itchy at the wrists but it certainly made her look like a servant and covered everything that needed to be covered. "How do I look?"
"Er..." What was the right answer? Obviously, the young miss looked no different than a poor and famished maid but didn't nobles like thinking that their aura and presence made them different from the commoners? Something about the blood and cheekbones being noble and unable to lie about one's true identity.
"Like a maid, right?" Bai Yue insisted cheerfully, understanding what the girl was thinking inside. "It's perfect. As for you, you look far prettier than I."
Liu'er turned red and looked down at her feet.
"You also look pretty, young miss."
"Don't lie," Bai Yue snorted and gave a light pinch on the girl's cheeks. Perhaps it was because she was soon going to go out, but there was a feeling of euphoria rising inside her. As if butterflies were fluttering in her stomach, tickling her from the inside. Her lips were almost smiling on the own. "Add some gold and colors, and you could pass as a princess. You best stay in bed or someone will take the opportunity to steal you away."
Bai Yue didn't say it but it was painfully obvious that her own nightmares and screams kept Liu'er awake at night. For the girl to forget about the guests, the lack of sleep was probably the main reason. Resting would do her good.
"But young miss, I will dirty your bedsheets..."
"It's fine, it's fine," Bai Yue quickly responded, only half-listening to the nonsense while covering the lower half of her face with a veil. Then, taking Liu'er's identification plate, she made her way to the door. "I'm off, sleep well, my dear!"
There were few servants in her courtyard and none of them gave her a glance when she walked past them. Taking the winding paths of the inner court, she nodded politely at a few servants who nodded back without trying to talk to her. The nerves in her stomach tightened when she reached the gate leading to the outer courter but once again, no one looked her way.
In fact, all the way to the back door servants used to run errands outside for their respective masters, no one tried to stop her.
"Identification plate," the man guarding the door said in a monotonous voice, obviously bored with his job.
The hammering of her heart against her ribcage echoed loudly in Bai Yue's ears and almost covered the voice of the guard.
This was it. After this, Bai Yue would be outside.
Her shaking hands brought the identification plate to the guard. Would he realize that something was amiss? Would she get caught? What would happen to her then? Oh, dear, she should have listened to Liu'er!
"You may go," the guard told her after a quick glance.
She blinked and stared up at the man in a daze. Where were the questions? How could it be so easy? He didn't even ask about the veil!
Why didn't she try to go outside before?
When she didn't react, he frowned and finally looked at her covered face.
"Is something wrong?" Then seeing the other servants lining up behind her and waiting for their turn, his frown deepened and the tone of his voice turned colder, not leaving any room for a disagreement. "Move, you are blocking the way."
She nodded and all but rushed forward. Her feet couldn't move fast enough as they carried her out.
Passing the gate, Bai Yue stepped out of the manor for the first time in the ten long years she spent locked in the imperial harem. Even before entering the Emperor's harem, she rarely left the inner court. And when she did, it was always in a carriage with the only glimpse of the world coming from the small gap in the curtain blocking the window of the carriage.
The last time she did so was the day of her wedding when she left the manor dressed in a bright red dress. While less grandiose than the wedding ceremony for the empress, her entrance in the imperial harem had been spectacular and music had filled the streets of the capital the whole day, people cheering loudly when the wedding party passed by them on the way up to the Imperial Palace.
Yet, now, here she was, standing alone in the street with the imposing walls of the Bai manor behind her, their shadows looming over her small body.
Taking a deep breath and filling her lungs with her first waft of freedom, Bai Yue's face under the veil split into a wide grin, the skin underneath her eyes crinkling as her two dark eyes curved into two tiny crescent moons. Even with half her face hidden, it was far too easy to spot her happiness.
She took a second step, then a third, and a fourth, and the walls of the Bai manor became smaller and less imposing the more she walked away. Soon, they were nothing more than a small spot behind her and she found herself in what seemed to be a whole new world.