At dawn, chaos gripped the Ju estate.
Meilan wept loudly by the garden path, clutching torn silk and scattered
hairpins as if they were sacred relics. Her cries echoed through the
courtyards, drawing out sleepy guards and panicked servants.
Lord Ju's face turned ghostly pale as the head steward breathlessly relayed
the news.
> "The young mistress is missing — the back gate lock was broken. The
guards on night duty found a trail by the northern wall. There's blood. We
fear… she was taken."
> "By Heaven…" Lord Ju muttered, clutching the doorway. "A ransom? Or—
or an enemy nation?"
The Western envoy arrived within the hour. His calm face twitched with
unease as Lord Ju bowed in apology.
> "We are searching every corner of the city," he said. "But this is sabotage.
I swear it. No daughter of mine would leave so disgracefully."
Servants whispered about masked men, silk torn in a struggle, shadowy
figures near the outer kitchens. The entire estate bristled like a beehive
struck by stone.
No one suspected Meilan. She wept too convincingly.
And no one thought for a moment that Ju Xian had walked out by her own
will.
By nightfall, wanted posters were ordered. Rewards were promised.
But Ju Xian was already gone.
And not a single soul in the estate — not even her father — realized she had
just chosen freedom over a crown.