A Quiet Homecoming

System 04 immediately waved its little handkerchief. "This time, the host will definitely succeed."

Then it watched as its host lowered her head and, in a flustered scramble, wrestled the clothes onto herself.

Chen Yao let out a breath of relief, silently thankful that ancient maidservant attire was relatively simple to put on.

Only then did she sneak the door open again, bowing her head and hunching her body as she hurried out of the courtyard.

Her heart was in her throat the entire time, but unexpectedly, everything went smoothly. Before she knew it, she had already reached the back gate.

For her, as long as she could leave the marquis's residence before being carried onto the bridal sedan, everything would be fine.

After all, if the bride ran off, the Pingyuan Hou Mansion would have no choice but to let the female lead marry in her place, just like in the plot.

Just as Chen Yao was feeling smug, thinking victory was within reach, she was suddenly halted by a stern shout from a middle-aged matron.

"Stop! Whose courtyard are you from? What are you running around for at a time like this?"

It was a matron with an unfamiliar face, staring at her with a stony expression. "Why are you keeping your head down?"

Chen Yao, "..."

She wished she could bolt right that instant, but for now, she could only deliberately lower her voice and keep her head bowed as low as possible.

Then she explained, "In answer to your question, ma'am, this servant is from the eldest young lady's courtyard. The eldest young lady is craving the peach blossom cakes from Yunwei Studio at the moment, so she ordered me to go buy a box from West Street."

She could only thank her lucky stars that, over the past while, Xie Qingyan had been sending her pastries and snacks from time to time, leaving her with some impression of the place.

Matron Wang nodded. "Since it's the eldest young lady's order, then go on your way quickly. Don't dawdle."

Chen Yao breathed a sigh of relief, then hastily kept her head down and made a dash for the back gate.

Once there, she gave the same spiel to the guard on duty.

But with so many people coming and going through the mansion today, the guard frowned and was about to press for more details, seeing how timid and shifty the servant girl before him looked.

"Oof!"

However, he noticed that not far off, two servants carrying a chest had stumbled over something underfoot, nearly dropping the chest to the ground.

The guard immediately forgot about her, waving a hand to signal the servant girl that she could leave the mansion.

Then he sternly barked as he rushed over, "Are you out of your minds?! These chests are full of valuables! If even a scratch appears on them, ten lives wouldn't be enough to pay for it!"

"Forgive us, sir guard! We'll be more careful next time!" The carriers were already drenched in a cold sweat, only able to nod and bow submissively.

Chen Yao glanced at them, but quickly averted her gaze and kept walking briskly without stopping.

When she finally stood outside the back gate, she turned to look at the towering walls of the mansion behind her, almost unable to believe it.

She had actually managed to escape, just like that?

But then she remembered that in the plot, the vicious supporting female lead had indeed skipped out on the wedding with just a few words, and she relaxed again.

"Hehe, I made it out!" Chen Yao's tone was brimming with excitement.

System 04 felt that things couldn't possibly be that simple, but since its host had already made it out of the mansion, it didn't want to spoil her mood.

It only clapped in response. "Congratulations, host."

But Chen Yao didn't get to stay happy for long.

She had barely stepped into the alley when a figure dressed in the same maidservant attire emerged from the shadows and blocked her path.

Ying Qi spoke up, "Young Madam, please return."