Chapter 1

Chapter 1

I have rather terrible luck.

On my second day as a maid in the Wei Family, the Wei Family fell from grace.

When I was sold into the Wei Family, perhaps because the Wei Family had paid a generous sum and the human trafficker was in a good mood, he said a few extra words to me.

He said the Wei Family was now at the height of its power, and if I could stay there to work, I ought to be secretly rejoicing for the rest of my life.

The servants of the Wei Family were fed extremely well. Big, round white-flour steamed buns were unlimited, enough to eat your fill.

I ate three in one breath and was happy for an entire night.

Then, the next day, several young manservants carried someone back on a wooden plank. That person lay facedown on the board, his lower body covered with white cloth, his hair loose and messy, so I could not see his face clearly.

Only much later did I hear from others that the person carried back in broad daylight was Wei Zhao, the Eldest Young Master of the Wei Family.

He had been dismissed from office and publicly given forty strokes of court caning.

As for Old Master Wei, he had pleaded for the Eldest Young Master in court and was demoted and exiled to Baling.

The Madam fainted as soon as she heard the news. Only after they poured three bowls of ginseng soup into her did she wake.

The entire Wei Family was thrown into chaos. The Second Young Master was far away studying at a renowned academy, and for a time, the Wei Family did not even have anyone to take charge.

Taking advantage of the confusion, I secretly asked Nanny Zhou, who was responsible for teaching me the rules, what court caning was.

Nanny Zhou said court caning meant having your trousers stripped off in public and being beaten on the backside with a rod.

I was struck dumb.

When I was little and naughty, if Mother was furious enough, she would pick up a straw sandal and beat my bottom hard. Then I would know to listen to her.

But that was when I was little.

Now, how old was the Eldest Young Master already? How could he still be beaten on the backside in public-and with his trousers taken off, no less? He would die of shame. How could he bear it?

Though I had only just arrived at the Wei Family, I had already heard plenty of rumors about the Eldest Young Master, Wei Zhao.

Old Master Wei did not hold a very high post. He was only a sixth-rank official.

The “height of its power” that the human trafficker had spoken of was mainly due to the Eldest Young Master, Wei Zhao.

The Eldest Young Master was a prodigy in his studies.

He began his education at three, had a memory that forgot nothing he had seen, and at nineteen, he achieved the triple firsts in the imperial examinations, making his name known throughout the realm.

Since the founding of this dynasty, no one had ever achieved the triple firsts, much less at such a young age. His Majesty made an exception and promoted him, appointing Wei Zhao to assist the Crown Prince.

Now Wei Zhao was twenty-two, and he was already an indispensable right-hand man to the Crown Prince.

Once the Crown Prince ascended the throne one day, with Wei Zhao’s ability, being granted a princely title or appointed prime minister would be only a matter of time. Was that not the very definition of being at the height of one’s power?

But now, the sky had collapsed over the Wei Family.

Everyone was anxious and afraid. The Wei estate was unnaturally silent. When dinnertime came, in that vast residence, not a single person spoke.

I was frightened by the heavy air of an approaching storm. Even the white-flour steamed bun at my lips no longer tasted good, and I only dared to take a few timid bites before putting it down.

The Eldest Young Master had been carried back on a wooden plank. His lower body was covered with a piece of white cloth, but in truth, covering it did not help much. There was too much blood, and the white cloth had already stuck to his lower body.

That night, the Wei Family summoned nearly every doctor of any reputation in Shangjing City. Medicine apprentices went in and out carrying medicine chests, all of them hurrying along. The entire courtyard was filled with the bitter smell of herbs.

It was said they had to do everything they could to preserve the Eldest Young Master and keep him from being left disabled.

Seeing everyone so panicked, the servants discussed it in private. The Eldest Young Master had angered His Majesty, and it was a crime even the Crown Prince could not shield him from. No one knew what exactly had happened in the Golden Throne Hall. Some said the Wei Family’s property would be confiscated. Some said the whole clan would be wiped out. Others even said nine degrees of kin would be executed.

It scared a person half to death.

I had only just come to the Wei Family and still could not grasp the situation. That night, I did not dare close my eyes. Breathing in the smell of herbs in the air, I thought in a daze-how had things been perfectly fine one moment, only to reach the point of executing nine degrees of kin the next?

Nanny Zhou lay beside me. Seeing that I could not sleep, she sighed and pulled a steamed bun from inside her clothes, then handed it to me.

“Silly girl. Take it. You may not get to eat again after this.”

With the Wei Family in its current state, that was indeed possible.

I took the bun and stroked it carefully, unable to bring myself to eat it. Instead, I tucked it beneath my pillow.

We barely made it through until dawn. Then the steward, on Madam’s behalf, gathered all the servants in the residence.

The steward mainly announced one thing: the Wei Family would be dismissing a number of servants.

Those who wished to leave, or who had somewhere good to go, would all have their indenture contracts returned by the Wei Family. Each person would also receive ten taels of silver.

Thinking about it, it made sense. The Wei Family was no longer what it had once been. The Eldest Young Master needed treatment for his illness, the Second Young Master needed to continue his studies, Madam needed to recover her health, and Master had to travel all the way to Baling to take up his post. There would be expenses along the road, carriages and horses to buy, and several young male servants to hire as attendants. Everywhere they turned, there was a need for money.

They truly could no longer afford to keep so many servants.

The Wei Family had its difficulties.

But I had mine as well.

That year, I was thirteen. I had come to Shangjing City with a broker who dealt in servants. Once I walked out the Wei Family’s gate, I would not know a single person.

The world was vast. The Wei Family had fallen, but apart from the Wei Family, it seemed I had nowhere else to go.

I could hardly take back my indenture contract one moment, then turn around and find another broker to sell myself all over again.

So I stayed.

Nanny Zhou, however, left. Over the years, she had saved a little money for her old age, and I heard she had relatives outside the residence whom she could depend on. Now that the masters were willing to return her indenture contract, there was truly no reason for her to remain.

Before she left, she gave me the sewing basket she had always used.

The Wei Family had once been a great household with vast holdings, but almost all of it scattered overnight.

In the end, only five or six of us remained, and I was the youngest. Besides the steward and me, there was Zhu’er, who served in Madam’s courtyard; Jianru, the Eldest Young Master’s close attendant; Cui Jiu, who had originally been in charge of tending the horses in the stables; and Liu Sanwan, an old servant of the household. With no sons or daughters, he had long since treated this place as his home.

In the end, Master chose Uncle Liu to accompany him to Baling.

The road was long and the journey far. He had to have someone at his side who knew him well and could look after him.

As for the Wei Family’s main residence, Sister Zhu’er belonged to Madam’s courtyard, so naturally she could not be moved. The Eldest Young Master was now injured and needed someone to wipe him down and attend to his daily needs; keeping a man by his side would be more convenient. The steward would continue to manage the household and keep the accounts.

That left only Cui Jiu and me.

He was assigned the work of sweeping and tidying the courtyards.

As for me, I had originally helped Nanny Zhou tend the fire and prepare the vegetables. Once Nanny Zhou left, there was no one in the Wei Family to take charge of the kitchen.

The steward’s gaze fell on me, hesitation in his eyes.

I understood what he meant. I looked too young. No matter how one looked at it, I did not seem capable of cooking for such a large household. More than that, I had only just arrived, and he did not know what sort of person I was.

But if the Wei Family was unwilling to keep me, where was I supposed to find work?

I bit my lip and said to the steward, “Back home, I often cooked too. Why not let me try first? If you think I can’t do it, you can replace me then.”

Besides, the fact that I was willing to stay already proved my loyalty to the Wei Family.

In such a desperate rush, if they went out to buy another maid, with the Wei Family in this state, they probably would not be able to find a good one anytime soon.

The steward considered it for a moment, then agreed.