Where is Vicki Zhao now? That's the second question — the first being, what did she do wrong?! — everyone has after news of the 45-year-old actress-director getting blacklisted by China made headlines last Thursday (Aug 26).

Vicki remained MIA until yesterday (Aug 29) when she updated her Instagram (‘cos, you know, she’s banned on Weibo) with a photo carousel that featured pics of a goat plushie, trees and blue skies.

“This is the best season… Chatting with mum and dad, it’s as if I have not grown up. So nice,” she wrote. Many netizens saw the post as Vicki's way of telling everyone that she's okay and that she's back home with her parents, who live in Beijing.

However, the post was deleted almost immediately, though not before nimble-fingered netizens took screenshots.

One netizen, however, claimed that the star has fled to France.

According to the netizen, Vicki chartered a plane to France on August 26, touching down in Bordeaux in the early hours of the morning the next day.

The flight would have taken at least 10 hours and this was probably why Vicki was uncontactable when the scandal broke.

The netizen added that a friend had seen her boarding a Toyota sedan at the Bordeaux airport parking lot.

She should have reunited with her husband Huang Youlong at their vineyard in the Bordeaux countryside. She fled successfully! Her husband has been hiding there for a long time, said the netizen.

Vicki and Youlong, 44, are owners of Chateau Monlot, a 17-acre vineyard, which they bought for S$6.4 million in 2011, just outside Bordeaux.

Although the star and her hubby are one of China’s richest and most powerful couples — they have a reported combined net worth of US$1bil (S$1.3bil) — they have been plagued with financial issues in recent years. Just two months ago, Youlong was reportedly sued for S$52 million after failing to repay his S$26 million debt.

Last week, Vicki's name and dramas were found wiped clean from Chinese websites, and any mention of her on social media has also been censored.

Though no official reason was given for the blacklist, netizens think it could be due to either the couple's business dealings and legal woes or a photo of Vicki wearing a dress with a Rising Sun flag design on a shoot in 2001.

Photos: Vicki Zhao/Instagram