Chapter 2
I thoroughly enjoyed my hunt in the woods.
Four hours later, I returned to the camp with five foxes.
Nanny Xu, my mother-in-law in my former life, stood at the entrance. The moment she saw me, she launched into a tirade.
“Her Ladyship went riding, and not only did you fail to attend her, you took half the guards!
“You enjoyed yourself. Have you any idea what Her Ladyship and the young heir suffered because of you?
“If His Lordship asks, can you answer for it?”
Although she had been Father’s wet nurse, Nanny Xu prided herself on being a hired freeborn woman. She thought of herself as a guest in the home of the son she had nursed, not an ordinary servant.
She would berate even elders of the clan if they crossed her, let alone an insignificant girl like me.
My stepmother used her to say everything she wished to say herself. Then she offered a few painless words—“She’s old, do make allowances,” or “His Lordship has always regarded her as an elder of his own family.” Between threat and kindness, whoever had been abused could only swallow it.
I did not argue. I set down the foxes and knelt outside the busy tent.
Nanny Xu glared at me and went inside to serve my stepmother.
After I had knelt for roughly the time it took an incense stick to burn, the people I was waiting for arrived.
As in my former life, the Empress came to visit with her sister-in-law, the Countess of Pengcheng.
Seeing me, the Countess exclaimed:
“Your Majesty, this girl is so young. Is she already serving as a guard?”
Before the words had faded, Nanny Xu rushed out and bowed, placing herself in front of me.
“Forgive us, Your Majesty, my lady. Her Ladyship is so badly injured she cannot rise. Please follow this old woman.”
As she spoke, she waved me off to kneel elsewhere.
I feigned alarm and shuffled forward on my knees.
“Ye Huaiyu, daughter of the Marquis of Jingwu, pays her respects to Your Majesty!”
The Empress’s interested gaze rested on my face for a moment.
“Get up.”
I followed them into the tent.
In my former life, I had protected my brother from so much as a scratch. This time, he had fallen from his horse and broken a leg.
Bandages also wrapped my stepmother’s waist and abdomen. I could not tell how many cuts she had taken.
“How were you hurt so badly?” the Empress asked with concern.
Seeing my stepmother struggle to speak, I dropped to my knees first.
“Forgive me, Your Majesty. Mother assigned a group of guards to me. I thought only of hunting a few foxes for her. I never considered that she might have too few men left, and brought this terrible disaster upon her.
“I failed to protect her. I beg Your Majesty and Mother to punish me!”
Winding her riding whip around her hand, the Empress frowned.
“You went fox hunting out of devotion to your mother. This attack was unforeseen. How can you be blamed?”
The Countess added:
“Miss Ye is not a bodyguard. Surely your mother’s safety cannot depend on you?”
I pretended not to understand and remained kneeling. “I have trained in martial arts since childhood. I usually attend Mother when she goes out.”
The Countess had always disliked my stepmother’s pretensions to moral superiority. She could not resist.
“My, Sister Jiang does love her daughter.”
Reclining against the bed, my stepmother spoke weakly.
“Yes… Huaiyu is dutiful.”
The Empress ordered someone to help me up.
“The Marquis of Jingwu is away suppressing rebels for His Majesty. How bitterly disappointed he will be to find his wife and heir injured.”
Then she changed direction.
“Even with only one group of guards, a surprise attack should not have left you so badly hurt.”
A flash of hatred crossed my stepmother’s eyes.
“Those guards were slippery. They would not… do their utmost to protect us.”
Of course I knew that.
Otherwise, in my former life, I would hardly have needed to sacrifice both hands to save my brother.
I still made myself look astonished.
“How could that be? Mother, why suffer in silence and cover for them?”
I knelt before the Empress again, tears trembling on my lashes.
“Your Majesty, Mother has always treated her servants generously. When guards are injured, she dresses their wounds herself.
“Last year a fire killed more than ten guards at our residence. Mother gave every family a full twenty taels of silver!
“Please see justice done for her!”
The Countess could not suppress a laugh.
“Twenty taels? Was she paying off beggars? Ask anywhere in the capital. People would laugh.”
My stepmother caught her breath. Beside her, Nanny Xu’s face twitched with agitation.
“Do not be disrespectful before Her Majesty, young lady!”
The Empress’s face chilled.
“I am speaking with Lady Ye and her daughter. A servant dares interrupt? Drag her outside. Twenty slaps.”
Before the Empress, my stepmother dared not trot out the nonsense she used to intimidate the clan.
Nanny Xu was dragged from the tent, her old face sagging.
A moment later, crisp slaps sounded outside.
The Empress turned and took my hand. A searching look flickered in her eyes.
“What a dutiful child.”
Through her sleeve, I felt her slip a ring from her finger.