Yu Gege glanced at the massive object beside her and couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
Puyi was a man of his word. When he promised to reward Yu Gege with a valuable item, he delivered. Following the golden floral necklace and the painting of the "Immortal Maidens in the Peach Garden," he had now asked Yu Gege to have a large blue-glazed lotus-shaped vase sent out of the palace.
This vase stood over half a person's height, with a bulky size. It couldn't be worn around the neck or hidden in Ruan Xian. Being a delicate piece of porcelain, it couldn't be transported by horse-drawn carriages or palanquins either.
Maybe there really wouldn't be a next time because this time's challenge was one Yu Gege couldn't overcome.
Yu Gege could only find a large wooden crate and carefully wrapped the lotus-shaped vase in layers of padding, stuffing dry straw and cotton tightly around it. She also enlisted the help of two experienced and reliable palace servants to help carry the wooden crate out of the palace.
She knew that she would inevitably encounter that fearsome Nationalist Army officer at the palace gate. This time, she couldn't rely on luck with her eyes closed.
Yu Gege firmly believed that God helps those who help themselves. She couldn't gamble her safety on the kindness of others. So, before taking action, she brainstormed a plan. In essence, the key to her plan was that wooden crate.
As she approached the palace gate, Yu Gege spotted the Nationalist Army officer from afar, wearing a sly smile on his face. They were familiar with each other, so Yu Gege took the initiative to show respect and courtesy, walking up and bowing deeply.
The officer remained unfazed, maintaining his mocking expression, "Who are you celebrating a birthday for this time? You, along with these two old fogeys. How old is the birthday boy this time? So old that he can't hear or see anything anymore, right?"
The soldiers burst into raucous laughter, going along with their officer's humour.
Yu Gege clenched her fists in secret, suppressing her anger. She slightly bent her knees and forced a smile, "May I ask for the officer's esteemed name?"
"Skip the 'esteemed,' just call me Mr. Li..."
Yu Gege was about to address him as "Mr. Li…"
"The full name is Li Da Ye, " He stared at Yu Gege with a provocative look on his face.
The soldiers were initially stunned for a couple of seconds, then erupted into even louder laughter.
Yu Gege pretended not to register the insulting tone in the Nationalist Army officer's words, Li Da Ye, these three words' pronunciation is same as "Your Lord" in Chinese.
Yu Gege proceeded to explain the reason for leaving the palace. This time, it was indeed for a birthday celebration, but she had taken into account the advice of Mr. Li from the last time and decided not to have singing and dancing but to do magic tricks.
"Do magic tricks? What kind of magic?" The officer asked, his demeanour becoming serious as he stared at Yu Gege. He knew this woman was up to something, and her tricks were often unexpected and caught people off guard. He had to be especially careful.
"A grand illusion show," Yu Gege replied confidently, meeting Mr. Li's scrutiny without any hint of submission.
Mr. Li remained silent, using his limited intelligence to try to connect the dots between the grand illusion show and the smuggling of valuable items out of the palace.
"You've never seen a grand illusion show, Mr. Li?" Yu Gege exaggerated her tone, "It's when a person lies inside a large box, gets cut into several pieces with a knife, and then those pieces are magically reassembled to reveal a whole person again."
"With this box?" Mr. Li raised his gun and pointed it at the two servants.
Yu Gege could clearly see that the two servants were trembling with fear.
"Is the birthday boy so destitute that he doesn't even have a box, and you have to carry it from the palace to the outside?" Mr. Li's words carried a hidden meaning.
Yu Gege smiled sincerely, intending to soften the sharpness in Mr. Li's words with her response.
"Oh, Mr. Li, you really haven't seen an illusion show? The magic is all in the props. These are things we're accustomed to and are like our own tools. Just like a soldier's weapon, would you borrow someone else's? That would be quite a joke."
Yu Gege had hoped to laugh heartily to highlight Mr. Li's ignorance.
"Open it!"
Mr. Li shouted angrily, showing that he was not buying into Yu Gege's explanation at all.
The two servants stole glances at Yu Gege. They had been specifically instructed to pay attention to her cues when they received their rewards.
"Officer, it's just a broken wooden box. There's nothing to see," Yu Gege said, deliberately swaying her hips a bit. She knew that at this point, she couldn't be too cooperative; the more she cooperated, the more trouble she'd bring upon herself.
"Open it!"
It seemed that Mr. Li was not swayed by Yu Gege's attempts.
"Officer—" Yu Gege mistakenly persisted in her strategy of flirtatiousness, "there's really nothing interesting to see. Watching it is even less interesting than watching…"
Mr. Li raised two fingers and gave a slight wave.
Immediately, two fierce-looking soldiers rushed forward, brandishing their gun butts, ready to smash the wooden crate.
"Oh, my crate..."
Yu Gege, fuelled by newfound courage, spread her arms and sprawled herself on the crate, like a protective mother hen guarding her chicks.
"Fine, you can watch, but can't we talk it out? If you break the crate, I'll have your..."
Yu Gege stopped herself from saying "pig's life." She almost forgot that at this moment, she was not the esteemed imperial princess but merely a vulnerable little creature at the mercy of others.
Fortunately, the Nationalist Army soldiers didn't pay much attention to Yu Gege's words. Their focus was entirely on the wooden crate.
After some reluctance, Yu Gege finally opened the crate. The soldiers pushed her aside, all eagerly stretching their necks to get a better look.
"Seriously?"
Yu Gege knew this was a disheartened sound. These soldiers had initially thought they had stumbled upon a treasure trove, but after building up their excitement, they realized it was an empty and worthless container. Who wouldn't feel frustrated in such a situation?
Yu Gege stepped into the circle of soldiers and gently closed the lid of the wooden crate.
"I told you there was nothing interesting inside. Mr. Li, can we leave now?"
Without waiting for Mr. Li's command, Yu Gege gestured with her eyes to the two servants to secure the ropes and hoist the crate onto their shoulders.
"Wait!"
Yu Gege's heart sank as she realized she had celebrated prematurely. She stared at Mr. Li, frustration growing in her eyes.
"Magic show, huh? Who's performing the magic, you or these two?" Mr. Li circled around Yu Gege, his gaze akin to a steel brush, as if he wanted to scrape off her flesh and reveal her bare bones.
Yu Gege's mind raced, realizing that this question had a hidden trap. A wrong answer could entangle her further.
"Oh, the magician who will perform the magic is waiting at Duke Qing's residence. These two are just labourers," Yu Gege replied.
"So, you're saying you have nothing to do with this birthday celebration? Then why did you leave the palace?" Mr. Li inquired.
Yu Gege hadn't anticipated Mr. Li's persistence in questioning her.
"Oh, I see—"
Yu Gege stared at Mr. Li in terror, still baffled about how this Nationalist Army officer seemed to have figured it out.
"You're a prop, just like this wooden crate, and the person who will be magically transformed is you, isn't it?" Mr. Li leaned in close to Yu Gege, his expression unusually playful and charming.
Yu Gege swallowed hard, unsure if she should answer and, if so, how to answer.
However, Mr. Li seemed to interpret Yu Gege's swallowed spit as confirmation. He clapped his hands.
"Great! I've never seen a grand illusion show before. Perfect! The crate is here, and the person is here. You can perform it for me."
Everyone's gaze turned to Yu Gege, and they all had that triumphant look that cats have when they corner a trapped mouse.
Yu Gege's voice trembled like a sheep's. "The performer isn't here. How can I perform the magic?"
At this moment, her mind was relatively clear. She knew that if she denied being the living prop, this Nationalist Army officer would definitely not let her leave the palace.
"It's okay, didn't you just say the magic is all in the props? I heard that sometimes, to prove it's not a hoax, magicians even pick someone from the audience to participate, blowing air through swords and such," Mr. Li explained.
Yu Gege's face turned pale in an instant. This Nationalist Army officer was testing her. If she admitted to being a living prop, he would be the one using the knife on her once she lay inside the crate.
Yu Gege absolutely couldn't lie inside that crate. It might indeed have mechanisms, but they were meant for Puyi's precious lotus-shaped vase. If she lay inside, without the proper mechanisms to protect her, it would truly be like offering herself up for slaughter.
However, if she didn't lie inside, the best-case scenario would be her sneaking back into the palace, returning the vase to Puyi, and letting him choose an old and crooked man as her husband. The most likely scenario would be these ruthless soldiers surrounding the wooden crate and smashing it open. At that point, it wouldn't be a matter of whether she'd rather be shattered like jade or keep her whole form; she might not survive at all.
Caught between a rock and a hard place, the adventurous spirit of Duke Duan family revived within Yu Gege. She lifted her skirt, stepped into the wooden crate, and lay down on her back.
As soon as the crate's lid closed, Yu Gege began to mutter under her breath.
"Yan, is that you? Where are you? Hurry and come save me. If you rescue me this time, we can be together. If you can't save me, I'll tell you how she died..."
Her hushed mutterings were interrupted by a muffled sound from outside the wooden crate. Yu Gege immediately stopped talking and strained her ears.
"Hey, I'm about to use the knife. If you can't come back to life, don't blame me. Blame this crate for not working properly and not protecting you when it mattered."
Laughter erupted again, and it seemed that the soldiers outside the crate were a heartless bunch of brutes.
Yu Gege clasped her hands together in a prayer to all the gods, hoping that if Yan couldn't save her, they would come to her aid.
With a sharp sound, a blade pierced through the wooden crate lid, aiming directly at Yu Gege's abdomen. Yu Gege instinctively sucked in her stomach, and the blade only grazed her skin.
As Yu Gege held her breath, on the verge of suffocation, she heard a creaking sound. She realized that the Nationalist Army officer was withdrawing the knife, preparing for a second strike.
Feeling that she was running out of time and that no one had come to her rescue, Yu Gege cried out. Her first thought was of Jun. She decided that if she made it to the other side and saw Jun, she would tear off her mask and tell her that she didn't like her at all. All those years of pretending to be in love were just an act.
Swish, another cold flash of steel, and this time the blade's tip was aimed directly at Yu Gege's nose.
It was unclear whether it was the Nationalist Army officer who hadn't eaten a full meal or if he deliberately wanted to torment her with this near-death fear. Yu Gege couldn't retract her nose, so she had no choice but to focus on her nose tip in despair, waiting for that moment to come.
The blade tip began to tremble gently, moving on her nose tip as if it were a stick in the hands of a spirit medium. It moved up and down and left and right.
Then came a buzzing vibration. Yu Gege listened carefully and realized that the lid of the crate was vibrating lightly.
The buzzing sound grew louder, turning into a humming, then into an even louder sound, and finally, it became a deafening roar. Yu Gege felt like she was inside a resonating gong, with every strike causing her head to throb painfully, and her ears rang loudly.
Her survival instincts kicked in, and she quickly lifted the crate lid, sitting up straight.
No one paid attention to her; everyone was looking up at the sky.
Yu Gege also gazed at the sky, where something resembling a large bird was circling.
She was familiar with that object—Master Stanton had told her it was called an "airplane." She had seen it six years ago when rumours circulated that Puyi was going to be restored as the emperor. It was capable of dropping bombs and causing harm. Once it locked onto a target, there was nowhere to hide.
"Don't just stand there! Run quickly! It's coming for you!"
Yu Gege shouted loudly, proud of her ability to turn a crisis into an opportunity.
"Who are you trying to scare? That's a Republican airplane. Do you even have those in the Qing Dynasty? Why would a Republican airplane target our Nationalist Army?"
Mr. Li seemed knowledgeable, but as soon as he finished speaking, the airplane suddenly dove and headed straight for him.
Instinctively, Yu Gege leaned backward and once again lay down inside the wooden crate.
That airplane was flying remarkably low, and Yu Gege could even see the people inside the cockpit—it wasn't Yan.
Mr. Li was frightened and scurried for cover, followed by his soldiers, who scattered in all directions.
The airplane continued to pursue the Nationalist Army troops, showing no mercy.
Yu Gege assessed the situation and finally sat up in the crate.
"Damn it," she muttered under her breath.
The two servants stared at Yu Gege as if she were a strange creature. Apparently, Yu Gege's profanity was more shocking to them than the airplane.
"What are you looking at? Hurry up and help me out."
The two servants quickly approached, one on each side, and helped Yu Gege step out of the wooden crate.
"Hurry, pick up the crate and let's go. Lord Pujie is still waiting."
However, the two servants remained standing, seemingly concerned about the Nationalist Army and the menacing bird in the sky.
"It is said that fortune favours the bold. I promise you that once this job is done, you won't have to be servants anymore," Yu Gege assured them.