“Mmm…”
Su Xiaocheng slowly opened her eyes.
Bright sunlight streamed through the window, passing through the light gauze curtains and falling warmly on her body.
Fragments of unfamiliar memories flooded into her mind.
From them, Su Xiaocheng learned her identity: Crown Princess of the Galan Empire, the only royal descendant, and the current heir to the throne.
“This isn’t right. Where is this?”
Su Xiaocheng looked around at the unfamiliar surroundings and instantly became alert.
The last thing she remembered was being sucked into the bronze gate.
When she woke up, she was in this strange place, and even her clothes had been changed into an elaborate ancient-style ruqun.
She was currently sitting beside a desk in an antique-styled room.
In front of her lay an ink wash painting.
The room was filled with exquisite calligraphy, paintings, and porcelain.
A faint fragrance of incense lingered in the air, making one feel refreshed.
Su Xiaocheng tried to transform, but discovered she had no magic power at all.
When she called out to Xiaotuan in her heart, there was no response. It felt as if becoming a magical girl had only been a dream.
From behind the folding screen, a familiar figure bowed.
“Your Highness, the banquet is about to begin. Please do not miss the appointed time.”
Su Xiaocheng suddenly felt her body lose control. She could only watch helplessly as her body put away the ink wash painting, stood up, and walked around the folding screen.
Then, she saw Su Xiaowei on the other side, her eyes also filled with panic. However, even though they were anxious, their bodies calmly boarded a sedan chair.
Once seated in the sedan, Su Xiaocheng felt she had regained control of her body.
But just as she tried to leave, the feeling of losing control returned.
“It seems we can’t leave,” Su Xiaocheng said helplessly, giving up on escaping for now.
“Big Sister, what’s going on? I can’t transform, and Afu isn’t responding at all either.”
Su Xiaowei had also returned to normal.
“I don’t know either. I have no idea how the others are doing.”
For now, they could only adapt to the situation as it unfolded.
Just like that, the two of them arrived in front of a magnificent golden palace.
As if guided by some unseen force, Su Xiaocheng knew she was supposed to get off the sedan and enter the hall.
“If I don’t follow the instructions, I’ll be forced to move again, right?”
Su Xiaocheng had no choice but to follow the directions.
“Xiaocheng!”
Before she even entered the hall, Lu Yinxi’s delighted voice came from behind.
Su Xiaocheng turned around.
Just as she was about to approach Lu Yinxi, the feeling of losing control struck again.
At the same time, Lu Yinxi’s attitude changed abruptly.
With a hint of respect, she said, “This humble minister greets Your Highness.”
“Chancellor, there is no need for such formality.”
Su Xiaocheng only had time to give her a meaningful look before she and Lu Yinxi entered the hall one after another, each heading to their respective seats.
Su Xiaowei poured wine for Su Xiaocheng before retreating behind her.
“It feels like we’re acting in a play,” Su Xiaocheng thought silently. “For the parts written in the script, we have to perform them. If we don’t, we lose control. Outside of the script, we still have some freedom to act.”
Looking around, she was surprised to see quite a few familiar faces.
Lu Yinxi, dressed in official robes, sat across from her.
She was the Prime Minister of the Galan Empire, holding great power.
Further back, An Li wore a plain white long robe and held a folding fan.
From the memory fragments, Su Xiaocheng knew her current identity was Grand Scholar of the Galan Empire.
At the entrance of the hall, Desert Fox was dressed in armor, looking imposing.
However, the large tail sticking out from the gaps in the armor somewhat ruined the atmosphere.
She appeared to be a palace guard.
“Her Majesty the Queen, the Queen Consort has arrived~”
Su Xiaocheng looked up.
A stunningly beautiful woman wearing a tasseled headdress and luxurious robes walked out from the back of the hall, holding the hand of another equally radiant woman dressed in court attire.
The two of them took their seats at the highest position.
Lu Yinxi stood up and walked stiffly to the center. She took out an exquisitely packaged jade box and said, “Today is Her Majesty’s birthday. This humble minister presents a luminous pearl from the Eastern Sea. May Your Majesty live ten thousand years, ten thousand years, ten thousand ten thousand years!”
Before Su Xiaocheng could even mock Lu Yinxi’s awkward performance, she felt the script’s instructions descend upon her.
Su Xiaocheng tried to act as naturally as possible as she took out the ink wash painting that was supposedly drawn by her own hand.
“This is a painting of dragons and phoenixes in auspicious harmony that your child has personally drawn.May Your Majesty live ten thousand years, ten thousand years, ten thousand ten thousand years!”
She handed the scroll to a maidservant and looked toward Lu Yinxi.
At this moment, Lu Yinxi was doing her best to suppress the corners of her mouth that kept trying to rise.
It was obvious she was also struggling hard not to laugh.
Su Xiaowei felt relieved in her heart: Thank goodness I’m only the princess’s personal maidservant. I don’t have any lines.
One by one, gifts were presented. Soon, it was An Li’s turn.
An Li’s performance was even more disastrous. When she stood up, she accidentally knocked over her wine cup.
Just as she was at a loss, everyone’s vision blurred.
When they came to their senses, time had rewound by half a minute, returning to the moment before An Li had stood up.
An Li looked completely confused. Before she could do anything, she lost control of her body and was forced to perfectly complete her part in the script.
Soon, only the person in the lowest seat remained.
Judging from his attire, he seemed to be merely a merchant.
Normally, he wouldn’t have the qualifications to attend this banquet.
He bowed nervously, keeping his head lowered as he took out a stone box and held it high above his head.
“Your Majesty, this commoner presents a wondrous item today. May Your Majesty live ten thousand years, ten thousand years, ten thousand ten thousand years!”
The originally listless eyes of the Queen sitting at the head seat suddenly lit up with interest.
“Open it.”
A maidservant stepped forward to receive the stone box and opened it in front of everyone.
A brilliant light shone from within the stone box.
A ring-shaped gem rose into the air on its own.
It was composed of two parts — black and white — with the black and white halves connected head to tail, intertwining like a Möbius strip.
As the gem manifested, Su Xiaocheng and the other two were pleasantly surprised to discover that they could finally sense the existence of their Maiden Hearts again.
Weak magic power was also flowing within their bodies.
“What is this thing? The moment it appeared, my magic power returned… although it’s not worth mentioning compared to my peak. It’s not even B-rank level,” Su Xiaocheng thought in shock.
The ring-shaped gem flew straight toward the top of the hall and landed in the Galan Queen’s hand.
“Good, good, good! From today onward, you shall be the First Imperial Merchant and be granted the title of Marquis of Ten Thousand Households!”
The Queen played with the ring-shaped gem in her hand, her joy clearly visible on her face.
***
The banquet ended and everyone dispersed. Today’s script seemed to have concluded here.
As they were leaving, Lu Yinxi gave the others a meaningful look.
After leaving the hall, the four of them tacitly gathered in an empty corner.
Desert Fox didn’t seem to be able to come.
She appeared to still be trapped within the script.
“Although we don’t know what’s going on or why we ended up here, that gem is definitely the key!” Su Xiaocheng said first.
“You don’t need to tell me that,” Lu Yinxi replied. Tonight’s script had clearly been written just to deliver that ring-shaped gem.
Seeing that the three of them didn’t seem to have any useful information either, An Li cleared her throat and said, “I actually know a few things.”