Chapter 1

Chapter 1

“Here. Burn this good charcoal for now. I saved it especially for you.”

I looked at the man before me, his face sagging with flesh, and gave him a smile. “Thank you, Brother Ah Gui. It’s been so cold lately. I don’t know what I’d do without the charcoal you bring me.”

A lewd look came over his face. He reached toward my waist and slid his hand lower, groping twice. “No need to be so polite, little Xiacao. As long as you follow me, you’ll have plenty of good days ahead.”

Forcing down my disgust, I calmly removed his hand from my body and did not forget to flatter him with a smile. “Brother Ah Gui, the Young Master will be waking soon. It wouldn’t be good if he saw.”

His expression shifted slightly, and a trace of wariness entered his voice. “Why make yourself suffer serving that sickly invalid all day?”

“There’s nothing I can do. It isn’t up to me.”

He reached out and pinched my cheek. “Then I’ll come see you another time.”

Watching Li Agui leave, I scrubbed hard at my face, trying to wipe away the filth he had left behind. If the Young Master hadn’t been so gravely ill, I never would have lowered myself to play along with him.

I carried the basket of charcoal into the inner room. The thick smell of medicine rushed straight to my head. On the bed, the Young Master coughed softly twice.

“Young Master, you’re awake. This servant will light the brazier now. It won’t be cold in here for long.” I took two pieces of charcoal and placed them into the stove. There wasn’t much charcoal, so we still had to use it sparingly.

His voice was hoarse as he said to me, “Don’t go begging him again.”

“Young Master, you heard?”

“Following a sickly invalid like me must be a grievance to you.”

I stepped forward and tucked the corners of his quilt around him. “Young Master is a good person. This servant feels no grievance. It’s just that your cold hasn’t improved after so long, and Madam keeps withholding the charcoal from our courtyard. This servant is worried about your health.”

“Xiacao, even if I die of illness here, don’t go begging that disgusting wretch.” As he spoke, he coughed twice more.

Seeing this, I patted his back. “Young Master, please stop talking and rest well.”

The Young Master furrowed his brows, his voice full of humiliation. “When Grandmother returns, life will get a little easier.”

I nodded. Once Old Madam returned, the marquis’s wife surely would not dare treat the Young Master so harshly anymore.

“Young Master, this servant will go decoct your medicine now,” I said.

Five years ago, I was sold by a human trafficker into the Marquis of Qiyang’s Mansion.

The Young Master, Ye Tingzong, was the eldest son of the Marquis’s Mansion. He had been frail since childhood, and his mother, Lady Lu, had died early. His father later remarried, and after his stepmother, Lady Sun, married into the family, she gave birth to two sons and a daughter.

With that, the Young Master’s position as the legitimate eldest son became rather awkward within the household.

For one, his stepmother loathed him. For another, his father neglected him.

Fortunately, Old Madam of the mansion still loved her eldest grandson and protected the Young Master in many ways. But not long after the New Year, Old Madam went to Long’an Temple to pray for blessings, and the Young Master just so happened to catch a cold at that time. Madam then began to throw her weight around and stir up trouble.

Steward Li was Madam’s lackey, and he openly withheld the charcoal meant for our courtyard, intending to make the Young Master suffer more.

As for the steward’s son, Li Agui, he had long harbored filthy thoughts toward me. For the sake of the Young Master’s health, I had no choice but to resort to this desperate measure.

I was only a lowly maidservant. I truly had no advantages to speak of.

After serving the Young Master his medicine and washing the clothes, I finally went inside to rest.

Chilblains had appeared on my hands two days ago. At first, they only looked ugly, but now they truly hurt so much they were hard to bear.

Madam said the Young Master was frail and needed quiet rest, so there were only two maidservants in the courtyard, me and Ming Yue. The only benefit was that with two people sharing a room, it was at least fairly spacious.

When I returned, Ming Yue was sitting before the mirror, fiddling with her earrings.

She glanced at me. “Only just back?”

“Mm.”

I was a little angry and did not want to speak to her.

Ming Yue was naturally lazy and impudent. The Young Master had a good temper and never punished anyone, and ever since she came to serve in the Young Master’s quarters, she had only become more unrestrained.

For two whole days, she had not left the room, leaving all the dirty and tiring work to me.

Ming Yue seemed somewhat embarrassed. Thick-skinned as ever, she came and sat beside me. “Sister Xiacao, it’s so cold out. I really don’t want to go outside. In my opinion, the Eldest Young Master’s body won’t last much longer anyway. Why are you still bothering with him?”

I could not help reminding her, “No matter what condition the Young Master is in, he is still our master. We are maidservants. If you act like this, be careful you don’t get punished.”

She smiled disdainfully. “How could that happen? Madam has never liked him. If we win Madam’s favor, perhaps we can even be transferred to serve in the main courtyard. What future is there in following this sickly invalid?”

I looked at her and shook my head. In the end, I said nothing.

Servants bullying their masters had never come to a good end since ancient times.

Ming Yue linked her arm through my sleeve and laughed sweetly. “Sister, you must be tired from work. I’ll go fetch you some hot water. Rest well.”

I watched her leave and said nothing more. Then I took out a salve and rubbed it onto my hands. This salve had also been brought over by Li Agui earlier.

Ming Yue had been sold into the mansion together with me.

Back then, when we were with the human trafficker Granny Liu, she had deliberately tried to get close to me.

Later, Granny Liu wanted to pick four girls to take out. She chose me first, then two other girls. At that moment, Ming Yue suddenly stepped forward.

“Granny, choose me. I want to stay with Sister Xiacao.”

A sale was a sale no matter who was sold. Granny Liu was fairly easy to talk to, mainly because we had always been obedient and had never caused her any trouble.

Seeing that Ming Yue was petite and pretty, she agreed.

The more valuable a maidservant was, the better the place she would be sold to. Those who could not find buyers could only be sold into brothels in the end.

I could read, keep accounts, and was also decent at needlework, so naturally I could be sold to a good household.

But someone like Ming Yue, who was illiterate yet beautiful, would fetch the highest price in a brothel.

The Marquis’s Mansion was a noble household, and its monthly wages were higher than what ordinary families offered. Naturally, it was a good place to serve.

After noon, I had just finished brewing the Young Master’s medicine when I saw Ming Yue hurrying over.

“Sister Xiacao, you must be tired. Take a rest. I’ll help you.”

She smiled at me, picked up the medicine, and carried it into the Young Master’s room.

For her to act so oddly today…

I counted the days. The Old Madam had been away at Long’an Temple for more than half a month.

I lowered my head and looked at my hands. The wounds on them had only just scabbed over. Gritting my teeth, I dug at them with my fingernails, then plunged my hands into cold water and soaked them for a while.

Sure enough, voices soon came from outside.

The Old Madam had returned. She was in the Young Master’s courtyard.

I grabbed a bit of medicine dregs and rubbed them in my hands, letting the smell cling more heavily to me. Then I picked up the bamboo slips the Young Master had left drying in the courtyard and entered the main room.

The Old Madam and the Marchioness were both inside. I greeted them one after the other. Seeing Ming Yue at the bedside feeding the Young Master his medicine, I sneered inwardly, though I showed nothing on my face. I obediently placed the bamboo slips neatly on the cabinet.

The Old Madam said angrily, “Ting Zong has had this cold for so long. Why hasn’t he recovered yet?”

The Marchioness lowered her eyes and answered meekly, “This daughter-in-law has been worried as well. He has been taking medicine for many days now. Could it be that these two maids are usually slacking off and not serving their master with proper care?”

Hearing this, the Old Madam looked at me, then at Ming Yue.

Ming Yue rushed to speak first. “Old Madam, this servant serves the Young Master his medicine every day. I would never dare be negligent.”

I quickly knelt and deliberately made a formal bow, exposing the frostbite on my hands. “Old Madam, please forgive me. This servant would never dare slack off.”

The Young Master suddenly coughed, as if he had choked.

“Move aside. Let Xiacao serve me instead.”

At his words, I stepped forward and took the medicine bowl from Ming Yue. Inwardly, I let out a breath of relief. As long as the Young Master was willing to stand on my side, I had nothing to fear.

Ming Yue looked at the Young Master with an aggrieved expression, but no one paid her any attention.

The Old Madam glared at Ming Yue. “Idiot! So clumsy. What use are you?”

The Young Master soon finished the medicine and said to the Old Madam, “Thank you for worrying, Grandmother. Your grandson is fine. It’s only that winter is cold, so the illness is slow to heal. And the charcoal in our mansion was insufficient. Fortunately, this girl Xiacao went to Steward Li the day before yesterday and asked for some. Now that the room is warm, I feel my illness is nearly better too.”

“What did you say? The charcoal was insufficient?”

The Old Madam turned to the Marchioness and demanded, “Can this vast Marquis’s Mansion not even afford charcoal?”

The Marchioness hurriedly said, “Mother, you misunderstand. The merchant who delivers charcoal to the Marquis’s Mansion was delayed, so Ting Zong’s supply was held up for a few days. It arrived two days ago, and we immediately had it sent over to him.”

The Old Madam nodded. “If such a thing happens again, then change suppliers. How much face can a mere charcoal seller have? It is not as though we must buy from his family and no one else.”

The Old Madam may not have truly believed that explanation, but the Marchioness came from a second-rank earl’s household, and her maternal family was powerful. The Old Madam could not rebuke her too harshly.

The Young Master said nothing more. With no one to rely on, no matter what he did, he could not bring down the Marchioness.

In the end, I could not help cursing inwardly. Just thinking of Li Agui’s lecherous face made me sick.

“My good grandson, rest well. In a while, I will have someone invite the physician to come examine you again.”

The Old Madam turned to look at me, studying me from head to toe, then glanced at Ming Yue beside me, who was dressed exquisitely with every hair in place.

The Old Madam signaled to Mama Zhang at her side. “Ah Mei, wipe her face clean.”

Mama Zhang immediately walked up to Ming Yue, took out a handkerchief, and scrubbed hard at her face, using so much force it was as if she wanted to scrape off a layer of skin.

“Ah!” Ming Yue cried out in pain.

Mama Zhang let go. The handkerchief was indeed covered in the rouge and powder Ming Yue had applied. Then she backhanded Ming Yue across the face. “What are you screaming for?”

The Old Madam sneered. “A lowly maid has the leisure to dress herself up so finely. Anyone who did not know better might think you were some family’s young lady!”

Ming Yue was so frightened that she quickly knelt. “Old Madam, please forgive me. This servant knows her mistake. This servant knows her mistake…”

“I see no need for you to remain here. Ah Mei, drag her out and-”

The Young Master suddenly spoke. “Grandmother, considering this is her first offense, spare her life. A lesson will be enough.”

I also quickly knelt. “Old Madam, the Young Master is ill and has yet to recover. Seeing bloodshed at a time like this may be inauspicious.”

The Old Madam sighed helplessly. “My grandson is still too kind. Since that is the case, go kneel outside for two hours and learn your lesson!”

Ming Yue hurriedly said, “Thank you, Old Madam. Thank you, Young Master.”

The Old Madam gave the Young Master a few more instructions before leaving.

The Marchioness’s surname was Sun. Speaking of which, she was also the legitimate daughter of an earl’s household, so her marriage to the Marquis was considered a suitable match. There was only one thing I could not understand… I had heard the Marquis was nearly twelve years older than the Marchioness.

Once, by chance, I heard some of the older servants in the mansion mention that on the day the Marquis and the Marquis’s Wife were married, they did not bow to heaven and earth, nor did they bow to their parents. The Marchioness had been tied up with rope and brought down from the bridal sedan.

Two hours later, I helped Ming Yue inside.

She glared at me resentfully. I pretended not to see. What a joke. She had brought this on herself. What did it have to do with me?

No matter how dissatisfied I was inside, I still said with concern, “You must be frozen. I was so worried. Thank goodness the Young Master pleaded for you. Otherwise, it would have been terrible.”

Hearing this, Ming Yue was also struck with lingering fear. Then, with a regretful expression, she sighed. “The Eldest Young Master truly is a good person. What a pity his health is poor. Otherwise, he would surely be a refined young gentleman.”

I found it rather funny. Was she actually being picky now?