Chapter 11
Chapter 11
“Xiacao, why don’t you give this courtyard a name?” Young Master looked over the newly arranged courtyard and asked me with great interest.
I said softly, “This servant has little learning and less talent. Young Master should name it instead.”
“How about Xuyang Pavilion? What do you think?”
I nodded. “A name chosen by Young Master must naturally be excellent.”
In the Marquis’s Mansion, every master’s courtyard had a name, such as the Marquis’s Wife’s Huaqing Xuan, the Second Young Master’s Fenghe Yuan, and the Fourth Miss’s Zhaixing Ge.
Young Master’s courtyard had originally been Tilan Yuan, where Lady Lu had lived before her death. But after Madam married into the household, she believed anything belonging to the dead was unlucky and wanted to seal off the entire courtyard.
Young Master pleaded again and again, and only then did the Marquis leave the courtyard to him. However, the plaque had been taken down and burned by Madam.
Within two days, a new plaque was quickly made. I stood at the courtyard gate and watched as they installed it.
Once it was in place, I carried the tools to the woodshed.
A faint exchange of voices from the distance made me stop in my tracks.
“All right, stop crying. I know you’ve been wronged. I’ll make it up to you in the future.”
My breath caught. If I had not heard wrong, that was… Ye Tingze’s voice.
Then came Ming Yue’s sobs. “Second Young Master, this servant has to do so many dirty, exhausting chores every day. Xiacao is always throwing her weight around and bullying me too.”
I was so angry I nearly cursed aloud. When had I ever bullied her?
“Don’t worry. I’ll find a chance to teach her a lesson and vent your anger for you.”
“Second Young Master, this servant truly can’t take it anymore. Take me away with you. Let this servant serve you in Fenghe Yuan.”
Ming Yue went on crying pitifully.
Ye Tingze coaxed her patiently. “Now isn’t the time. I need you to help me keep an eye on things here. But don’t worry. Once I become Heir Apparent, I’ll take you as a concubine at once.”
The two of them continued acting sickeningly intimate for a while. I did not keep listening. Before Ye Tingze could come out, I hurried away.
When I returned, Young Master was playing chess alone off to the side.
I told Young Master truthfully what I had seen, but he did not seem surprised.
“Could the Second Young Master and Ming Yue be…” I made a vague guess.
Young Master gave a disdainful laugh. “Don’t worry. He wouldn’t dare.”
Wouldn’t dare? I was a little confused. Who exactly wouldn’t dare?
Young Master explained patiently, “Father and Grandmother care most about the family’s reputation. The men of the Ye family are especially forbidden from becoming lecherous and indulgent. When they come of age, they may choose only one bedchamber maid, and they are not permitted to visit brothels or chase women. Only after taking a wife may they take concubines.”
That was indeed true. Though the Marquis had many concubines, all of them had been brought into the household only after he married Young Master’s mother.
That was why Young Master was the eldest son of the family.
However, this was not because they were pure and self-disciplined, much less because they were devoted and faithful. It was merely because they wanted one more advantage in marriage alliances between noble families.
Young Master suddenly took hold of me and said softly, “Xiacao, Grandmother… has already begun preparing my capping ceremony.”
I did not understand why Young Master suddenly told me this, so I could only nod along. “Old Madam dotes on Young Master. She will surely make careful arrangements. Young Master is now known in the capital as the Uncut Jade Talent. Your capping ceremony is sure to be very lively.”
Yet Young Master began to laugh softly.
I frowned slightly, quite puzzled. Had I said something wrong?
Young Master pinched my cheek. “Do you know that Grandmother has already begun looking for a bedchamber maid for me?”
My heart jolted. I dug my nails hard into my own palm, doing my best not to panic.
A man’s capping ceremony, also called his coming-of-age ceremony, did not merely mean he had crossed into a new stage of life. It also meant that on that day, he would be initiated into the affairs between men and women.
I forced out a smile. “Anyone Old Madam prepares for Young Master must surely be good.”
“Xiacao, I have already refused Grandmother. She needn’t trouble herself over this matter.”
I was not certain whether he meant what I thought he meant.
I racked my brains, but had no idea how to answer him. I could only lower my head and fall silent.
Young Master was not angry. He mistakenly thought I was only feeling shy, as girls did.
“Don’t worry. You are naturally different to me. I will certainly give you a proper status.”
It was normal for women not to understand these matters before marriage. After all, no one would teach them such things. If a woman discussed them, she would be cursed as immoral and shameless.
But my mother had told me everything long ago. She said that as a woman, it was necessary to understand these things, so that I would not be bullied later without even knowing it.
It was very common for sons of noble families to choose bedchamber maids from among their servant girls.
And the only maids serving Young Master were Ming Yue and me.
It was obvious that Old Madam was dissatisfied with both of us, which was why she had personally begun searching for a candidate.
I knew very well what this face of mine looked like. Even my own birth father had once cursed me as a temptress.
And indeed, people of this world all liked that sort of clear, refined beauty, that gentle and graceful beauty. Not someone like me…
Had Young Master chosen me because he truly felt lust? But Young Master was not that kind of person.
Could it be because of my “risking my life to save him” last time?
He couldn’t possibly think I had saved him because I had feelings for him, could he?
But no matter what, I could hardly tell him that I had no interest in him, and that saving him had actually been a lie. I had only wanted to preserve my own life.