Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Xuyang Pavilion had been repaired for the purpose of receiving guests.

After Young Master rose to fame with a single poem, a number of talented scholars came to visit him out of admiration.

When he met someone he found truly congenial, Young Master would compose a poem and present it to his new friend.

Through these people, Young Master’s poems gradually spread. Invitations to banquets began pouring into the Marquis’s Mansion like running water.

Most of the invitations emphasized that they hoped the Eldest Young Master of the Marquis’s Mansion would attend.

Most were for poetry gatherings, literary salons, or refined assemblies where scholars gathered to admire orchids, bamboo, and the like…

Yet even after the Marquis came to persuade him time and again, Young Master never attended another banquet of that kind.

I understood Young Master far better than the Marquis did.

I knew his ambitions did not stop there.

If he became the Uncut Jade Talent, Young Master might one day hold some idle post at court and become famous throughout the realm for his literary brilliance.

But what he wanted was not merely fame. What he needed was power as well.

On Her Majesty the Empress’s birthday, the palace held a banquet.

The opportunity Young Master had been waiting for had arrived.

In past years, the Marquis would only bring Ye Tingze to the banquet, while Madam brought the Fourth Miss, Ye Yiyi.

I did not know what Young Master and the Marquis discussed in private. In any case, after Young Master returned, he began preparing to attend the palace banquet.

The number of guests allowed was limited. It was not as if every official could bring his entire household along; even the imperial palace could not hold that many people.

The Marquis held a first-rank post, and Madam was a second-rank titled lady. Each of them could only bring one person.

The servants whispered among themselves. They had heard that Fourth Miss flew into a terrible rage, smashed all the jade ornaments in her room, and even beat two maidservants.

A palace banquet was an occasion of the highest order. Young masters and young ladies from noble families would all be there. It was such a perfect chance to show one’s face: for men, it meant prospects in officialdom; for women, nothing more than a good marriage.

That very night, Fourth Miss came to Xuyang Pavilion with two maidservants.

Young Master had already made arrangements and told me to stop Fourth Miss for him.

He could deal with Ye Tingze with perfect grace, since Ye Tingze never bullied Young Master. He would only flaunt his superior status in front of him.

Ye Yiyi was different. She had been pampered since childhood and was arrogant and overbearing. Young Master could hardly get into an open shouting match with his own younger sister.

Who would have thought Fourth Miss would not give me a chance to speak at all? The moment she arrived, she slapped me. Her pretty fingernails cut across my cheek.

“Don’t block me. Tell Ye Tingzong to come out!” she snapped, her face full of fury.

My face burned with pain, but I still repeated the excuse I had prepared long ago. “Miss, Eldest Young Master has taken his medicine and is resting. He said no one is to disturb him.”

“Resting? If his health is poor, then he should obediently lie in his room instead of stirring up trouble all day!” As she spoke, she tried to charge inside.

I reached out and stopped her. “Miss, Young Master is resting. It would be improper for you to barge in like this.”

My actions clearly enraged her.

She had already come here with resentment in her heart, and now she happened to pour it all onto me.

“Slap this wretched maid’s mouth for me!”

Her two maidservants seized me. It seemed there was no avoiding a beating.

I hurriedly admitted my fault. “Miss, spare me. This servant knows she was wrong.”

I glanced at the tightly shut door. There was not a trace of light within. It was as if Young Master really had fallen asleep.

Just then, Old Madam arrived after hearing the commotion, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

Old Madam was unwilling to disturb Young Master’s rest, so she had someone drag Fourth Miss away.

“Xiacao, come in.” Young Master’s voice came from inside the room.

I obeyed and went in, walking up to Young Master.

I was glad he had lit the oil lamp. This way, he could clearly see the swelling and redness on my face.

Young Master took out a medicinal salve and carefully applied it to my cheek. In a soft voice, he asked, “Does it hurt?”

“No,” I answered.

“Your birth mother must have been a beauty too, to have given birth to such a lovely face.”

I did not answer. I had told Young Master before that I had no father or mother.

“A girl’s face is very important. This salve won’t leave a scar after you apply it. Take it with you.”

“Thank you, Young Master.”

I kowtowed in thanks and did not refuse. This was what I deserved.

Perhaps because the room was dim, Young Master did not notice anything unusual about me.

I looked at the salve in my hand. It was worth a fortune. A master personally applying medicine for a servant-perhaps I ought to have been overwhelmed with gratitude. Yet I did not know what was wrong with me. A faint chill had risen in my heart.

If Old Madam had not arrived in time, then with Fourth Miss’s temper, I feared I could have said goodbye to this face of mine today.

But Young Master had given me salve. Did I truly have to be overwhelmed with gratitude? Was this not compensation I deserved?

At the thought, I could not help laughing at myself. Perhaps I had gone mad. He was the master, and I was a servant. It was only right and proper for a servant to shield her master from disaster.

Young Master said I was someone he trusted, and that he would treat me well.

He did treat me well indeed.

He gave me a priceless salve without even blinking.

He would not be like Madam, forcing maidservants to do wicked things that offended heaven and reason.

He would not be like Fourth Miss either, beating and cursing servants at every turn.