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Everyone was brought out, and Bai Tang sat comfortably in a chair, sipping the fragrant tea served by the palace maid, looking extremely relaxed. In reality, her consciousness had infiltrated the inner palace, listening to Yongming Emperor confiding his feelings.
Loxi explained her background, coming from a few hundred years in the future as a white-collar worker, believing she had crossed into an alternate world. It wasn't until she overheard discussions about Lin Ruhai and the Rongguo Mansion that she realized she had actually entered the world of a book. Her greatest regret was not being able to see Jia Baoyu, Baojie, and Lin Mei Mei, the three main characters. Although Jia Baoyu was missing, Baojie and Lin Mei Mei were still around. Yongming Emperor promised his lover that he would summon them into the palace to entertain Loxi. Loxi told Yongming Emperor her original name, asking him to remember it as it represented her true self.
"Your Majesty, please call Young Master Bai in; I have something to say to him," Loxi pleaded.
Yongming Emperor could not refuse any request from the woman and loudly called out the name of the close eunuch. Bai Tang withdrew her consciousness, and soon after, Yongming Emperor's trusted chief eunuch Su Cheng'en came out from the room to her side.
"Young Master Bai, the Emperor requests your presence!" Su Cheng'en's demeanor was very humble; he had never shown such respect even to the Empress or Loxi. Although he did not know Bai Tang's identity, as Yongming Emperor's close confidant, he could tell from Yongming Emperor's attitude that this person was extraordinary and someone who absolutely could not be offended.
Bai Tang smiled and nodded. Su Cheng'en led her into the room and then stepped back outside.
"Young Master Bai, your Qian'er’s soul does not belong to this world. After her death, will her soul return to her original world?" Yongming Emperor asked directly.
"That's correct," Bai Tang nodded.
"I died in my original world; will I be able to come back to life after returning?" Loxi asked in confusion.
"Who said you died? You just had an accident; you are not dead!" The system indicated that your modern body is strong; surely kind-hearted people took you to the hospital for treatment. You might have become a vegetable in the eyes of doctors and nurses!
"How do you know I had an accident?" Loxi was astonished.
Of course, I overheard! Bai Tang adopted a high master demeanor: "It's simple for me to find out what happened."
This appearance confirmed her divine identity in Yongming Emperor's eyes, but to Loxi, who grew up in an atheistic environment, it seemed like pretentious nonsense.
"Can I go to Qin Er's world?" Yongming Emperor asked.
"It should be possible!" Bai Tang recalled the second part of Scarlet Heart, Step by Step into Love. "After you die in this world, you can be reborn in Zhang Qian's world. If your fates are deeply intertwined, you will definitely meet again."
"Great!" The brows of Yongming Emperor and Loxi relaxed.
"Qin Er, wait for me. I will definitely find you!" Yongming Emperor held the woman's hand and said affectionately.
Loxi responded with a weak smile, stunningly beautiful: "This time, it's my turn to find you!"
Bai Tang thought the two were about to get all lovey-dovey again, so she stood up to leave but was called back by Loxi. "Young Master Bai, wait a moment. I have something to say to you." She cast a pleading look at Yongming Emperor, who paused for a moment before reluctantly stepping out of the room alone.
"What do you want to talk to me about?" Bai Tang asked curiously.
Loxi stared at Bai Tang, her gaze making it hard for Bai Tang to understand: "I only realized a year after coming to this world that I had crossed over into the world of Dream of the Red Chamber. So I began to inquire about the main characters' situations. I found that the fates of the characters in this world differ greatly from those in Dream of the Red Chamber: Madam Wang has fallen, Jia Zhu is alive, Lin Ruhai and Jia Min are alive, Shi Xiangyun is not an orphan, and Xue Pan has become an ambitious general... Up until now, aside from Ningguo Mansion's downfall, all four great families have not declined at all; it’s completely different from the original plot. I don’t think it’s a butterfly effect caused by my crossing over. Now that I see you, I’m sure that butterfly is you!"
"You must have crossed over too, right? That's why you've made so many changes to the plot?" Loxi stated confidently.
Bai Tang wanted to laugh but held it back, pretending to be confused: "What crossing over? I don't understand what you mean! I like to do things as I please; Jia Zhu and Xue Pan are fated with me, so I help them; Lin Ruhai is my friend, so naturally, I wouldn't watch my friend die. As for the Wang family, their changes are due to Madam Wang, right? What does that have to do with me?"
She had no interest in recognizing fellow townsfolk; besides, Zhang Qian was not from her hometown. Just because she hadn't seen Scarlet Heart didn't mean they came from the same world.
Bai Tang's response was unexpected for Loxi. She thought that since the other person also came from modern times, she would be happy to recognize her and share experiences of being in another world. Instead, she received a negative answer. Looking at her expression, it seemed she wasn't pretending—after all, having guest-starred in a movie had improved her acting skills.
"Are you really not from another world?" Loxi asked doubtfully.
Bai Tang shook her head.
Loxi expressed disappointment: "Are you really a deity? Does this world truly have deities?"
"Yes, Jinghuan Fairy and Miao Miao Zhen Ren and Vast Sage are all deities. Miao Miao Zhen Ren and Vast Sage even mingle among the crowd; if you are destined to meet them, you might just encounter them."
Forgive Bai Tang for her poor language skills; it was really hard to find an appropriate adjective for Loxi's expression.
Loxi felt very complicated. Although she had experienced a time travel herself, her education over the past twenty years made her not believe in ghosts or deities. Even after traveling to the world of Dream of the Red Chamber, she did not think deities existed; Jinghuan Fairy was merely a fictional character in Jia Baoyu's **, while Miao Miao Zhen Ren and Vast Sage were two frauds and traffickers. Now someone was telling her that those three were indeed deities, and that the deities themselves appeared before her, making her feel like her worldview had shattered.
"Since you are a deity, can't you let me stay in this world to accompany him?"
"I’m afraid not. Your soul does not belong to this world, so it will naturally be rejected by the rules of this world. The fact that you have survived until now is already a concession from the Rule of Dao." Bai Tang was talking nonsense. In reality, Loxi's body was suffering too much in the Cold Palace, and as long as she took the Peiyuan Pill, her body would improve. However, Bai Tang did not want to save Loxi. The subsequent troubles would be too much, and Bai Tang hated trouble the most. After all, Loxi was not truly dead; she was just returning to her original body, which made Bai Tang feel justified.
Loxi lowered her eyes in disappointment: "So even deities have things they cannot do. You can go now; let me be alone for a while."
Bai Tang looked at her deeply for a moment before turning to leave. She walked straight out of the Palace and returned to the Qiqiao Pavilion. Lin Ruhai had already been inside drinking three cups of tea. When he heard that Bai Tang was summoned by the Eunuch to see the Palace, he hurried over to wait for her.
Bai Tang understood his intentions and did not beat around the bush, saying directly: "Don't worry, I didn't save that person."
After a sigh of relief, Lin Ruhai asked worriedly: "The Emperor didn't make things difficult for you, did he?"
Bai Tang smiled slightly, sensing Lin Ruhai's thoughts; she felt quite comforting: "Don't worry, the Emperor won't hold a grudge against me."
"That's good!" Lin Ruhai felt completely relieved.
Three days later, Loxi died, and the Yongming Emperor held court for three days. While the ministers were angry, they secretly rejoiced that the legendary enchantress was finally dead and could no longer influence their wise emperor. The women of the court were almost ready to hold a celebration; for the past few years, they had been sidelined because of Loxi, but now that she was gone, they were all eager to seize the opportunity to win the emperor's favor.
Bai Tang did not pay attention to the implications of this event; she was listening to An Ping's account. Over six years, Qiqiao Pavilion earned five hundred thousand taels of silver. It was impossible for no one to be envious of such a large income, but those with ulterior motives were deterred by the plaque outside Qiqiao Pavilion, which was personally inscribed by the Yongming Emperor. With the emperor as a backing, who would dare to target Qiqiao Pavilion? They feared that the emperor would deal with them harshly.
Bai Tang's "immortal" status was recognized by the Yongming Emperor, allowing her to operate without the previous secrecy. She was not afraid of betrayal from her four subordinates; she had provided them with enough benefits. No one in their households lived as well as they did under Bai Tang's care, and she often rewarded them with "sweet dates." All four were intelligent individuals; how could they possibly choose betrayal? Bai Tang truly did not fear their betrayal; with the game system in place, she had plenty of ways to deal with traitors.
"Thank you, Master!" The four of them held their contracts of servitude and were moved to tears. Especially the An family father and son; they were originally good citizens who had been framed by Madam Wang and turned into servants. Their greatest wish was to regain their freedom and allow their descendants to live comfortably.
Grateful, the four once again pledged their loyalty. Although they were no longer servants but merely Bai Tang's employees, they swore that their loyalty to her would never waver.
Bai Tang smiled and accepted their loyalty. She left one hundred thousand taels of silver notes for An Ping as working capital for Qiqiao Pavilion and packed the remaining five hundred thousand taels into a bundle. After transferring items she had brought from modern times to An Ping, Bai Tang no longer concerned herself with Qiqiao Pavilion's affairs; she was busy with a major shopping spree. The New Year was approaching in modern times, and Bai Ma urged her to buy more festive goods in ancient times, where the atmosphere for celebrating New Year was much more vibrant than in modern times. The ingredients available in ancient times were abundant and fresh—bear paws, bear meat, wild boar meat, fox fur... where could one find these in modern times? In ancient times, as long as one had money, even meat from endangered species could be purchased. With money in hand, Bai Tang bought whatever she wanted; when she swept through the street where Qiqiao Pavilion was located, the shopkeepers greeted her like they would a god of wealth. As soon as Bai Tang appeared, they smiled broadly and offered her their latest goods for selection.
After packing everything into her personal bag and at the gang's base, Bai Tang decided it was time to return to modern times. Before she could take action, however, Yongming Emperor came looking for her again.
"I want to know about Fourth Son's future." This time, Yongming Emperor brought along a child around three years old.
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