Chapter 3
The matron was about to kick me again when Liu Qingyan came running over with a laugh and flung herself into Lady Wang’s arms. Afraid of frightening the girl, the matron finally stopped.
Smiling, Lady Wang took out a handkerchief and wiped the sweat from Liu Qingyan’s brow.
Only then did Liu Qingyan notice me. She stared in disgust and pinched her nose. “Where did this little beggar come from? She’s filthy! She smells worse than that lame yellow dog Matron Wu keeps…”
Her words hurt, but I thought of Mother lying sick in bed. I quickly turned toward Liu Qingyan, knelt properly, and barked like a dog. “Woof, woof…”
My barking made her clap and laugh. “How funny! She’s really a dog…”
“Since you’re so obedient, I’ll grant whatever you came to ask Mother for…”
I hurried to thank her. “Thank you, Young Miss…”
Matron Wu opened her mouth to dissuade Liu Qingyan, but Lady Wang cut her off with a look. “Matron Wu, Yan’er has already given her word. Go find a physician.”
Matron Wu hastily agreed.
I let out a long breath of relief.
Lady Wang rose and took Liu Qingyan by the hand to leave. Then she looked back at me and said coldly, “So young, yet already scheming about how to manipulate people. Slap her mouth twenty times. A stern little lesson will teach her not to presume she can manipulate anyone she pleases.”
With that, she led Liu Qingyan away.
As I watched them go, I finally understood what Father had meant.
People were born into ranks. Things I could beg for in vain were granted to Liu Qingyan at a careless word. To them, Mother and I were lowly creatures—playthings they could dispose of however they pleased.
Matron Wu did call a physician in the end, and Mother recovered. My face, however, remained swollen for half a month.
Neither Mother nor I ever mentioned what had happened. But throughout that month, I often heard her muffled sobs beneath the blankets in the middle of the night.
We lived with the utmost caution, and eight years slipped by. With the backing of Lady Wang’s family, the household of the Marquis of Yongyang, Father became the youngest chancellor at court. Liu Qingyan’s reputation for talent spread across the capital. Even the Crown Prince regarded her with special favor and was only waiting for her coming-of-age ceremony before asking the empress to arrange their marriage.
Mother looked forward to Liu Qingyan’s coming-of-age ceremony too. She hoped that while Father and Lady Wang were pleased, she might find a chance to beg them to show me mercy and arrange a decent marriage for me as well.
I held no such hope. If I had my way, Mother and I would spend the rest of our lives quietly in the rear courtyard, far from every struggle and intrigue.
One month before Liu Qingyan’s coming-of-age ceremony, the steward summoned Mother to weed the garden. When she returned that afternoon, something about her seemed wrong.
Her face was deathly pale, her gaze unfocused.
Worried, I asked, “Mother, what’s wrong?”
She forced a smile. “Nothing. I’m just tired from the work. One good sleep and I’ll be fine.”
Fearing that she had caught a chill in the garden, I went to the kitchen to make ginger soup for her.
When I returned with the soup, she was no longer in bed. Unease tightened around my heart, and I hurried out to look for her.
I searched the rear courtyard without finding a trace of her. Not until dusk did I hear alarmed cries by the lotus pond in the garden. My heart dropped, and I ran toward the sound.
By the time I arrived, two young servants were hauling Mother out of the pond. She had long since stopped breathing.