Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Over the next few days, Ah Si gradually learned to handle many chores.

The weather was getting colder by the day.

Grandma decided to slaughter the ducks to treat us to a hearty meal, and planned to use the fresh down along with what she had saved from previous years to make a quilt.

The meat had just begun to simmer, filling the air with a savory aroma, when an uninvited guest arrived.

My uncle walked through the door with a beaming smile, poking his head around and peering in every direction.

“Is there some good news coming our way? You’re actually willing to stew meat! When are you being sent over? Honestly, keeping such a wonderful thing from your own uncle… you really don’t treat me like family.”

He carried a box of pastries in his hand, which he shoved into mine the moment he entered. Without waiting for an invitation, he headed straight for the stove and lifted the lid of the pot to take a look.

“When it comes to stewing duck, no one beats you, Auntie. Is it done? If it’s ready, scoop out a couple of pieces for me to taste.”

I shoved the pastries back into his hands and pressed the lid back down on the pot.

“What are you doing here?”

My uncle was a lowlife.

He was the type who wouldn’t get out of bed unless there was something in it for him.

Back when my mother was still alive, he used to show up constantly to sponge off us. It wasn’t that he was truly too poor to survive; he simply couldn’t stand to see our family doing well.

Since my parents passed away and life became difficult, he hadn’t set foot in our house for years.

His arrival today made him a rare guest indeed.

He looked me up and down as if inspecting merchandise. There was a flash of surprise in his eyes, followed by regret-the kind of regret one feels when they realize they’ve missed out on a bargain.

“Look at you, child, still trying to hide it from your uncle. You’ve caught the eye of the County Magistrate! Why didn’t you tell me about such a joyous occasion? Your parents are gone, but you still have an uncle to make the arrangements for you. Tell me honestly, how much of a bride price did the County Magistrate offer? I need to see how much dowry I should prepare for you.”

Ever since Liu Ying’s visit, rumors had been circulating in the village that a nobleman had taken an interest in me and wanted me as a concubine.

The highest official the villagers had ever seen was the County Magistrate.

Consequently, as the gossip spread, it morphed into the story that I had been chosen by the County Magistrate to be his concubine.

I hadn’t paid any mind to such nonsense, but I hadn’t expected my uncle to take it seriously.

I said coldly, “There’s no such thing. Just leave.”

My uncle didn’t believe me and continued to argue stubbornly.

“You’re still trying to fool me? They’ve even sent a maid to serve you, and you still dare to lie and say it’s not true? Are you afraid I’ll benefit from your good fortune? Hmph, let me tell you, the County Magistrate’s inner court isn’t that easy to enter. His wife is a real tigress. Without a male relative like me to back you up, you’ll be beaten to death or sold off the moment you step inside.”

The moment those words left his mouth, I knew things were about to go south.

Ah Si was definitely going to blow a fuse.

Sure enough, Ah Si rushed out of the inner room, her brows arched in fury.

“Who are you calling a maid?”

My uncle froze for a moment, as if he had found even more evidence.

“I’m talking about you! Who else but the County Magistrate’s household could produce a maid with such delicate skin? Li Yiguang, even if you don’t want me to get anything out of this, think about your Grandma. Once you’re married off, who else is going to look after that old woman besides me?”

Ah Si’s eyes turned red with rage.

My uncle continued to drone on incessantly.

I dashed into the room and took my bow and arrows off the wall.

Nocking an arrow, I let it fly. With a sharp *thwack*, the arrow landed right at my uncle’s feet.

My uncle jumped in shock.

“You little brat, you actually dare?”

“Get out!”

My uncle glared at me, grabbed his pastries, and scurried away like a frightened rat. Before he left, he didn’t forget to shout threats over the wall.

“You shameless wench! You have no respect for your elders! Just you wait!”

Ah Si shot a glare at him, then another at me, before spinning around and heading back into the house, slamming the door shut behind her.

I stood there in silence.

I knocked on the door, but she wouldn’t open it.

I had no choice but to keep knocking.

Annoyed by the persistence, she finally opened the door.

“What do you want?”

“He’s just a lowlife.”

“What does that have to do with me?”

“You took it to heart.”

Ah Si fell silent.

Status was an eternal, insurmountable barrier between us.

She was the Impostor Princess, her title illegitimate and her position precarious.

Deep down, she already felt as though she were beneath me.

Her pride was the only thing she had left-her knowledge and worldly experience-yet she had just been dismissed as a mere servant.

That pathetic shred of self-respect shattered into pieces.

“It’s not like I wanted to be swapped at birth,” she sobbed. “If I had never seen the world outside, I could have convinced myself that I was just a mountain pheasant. But first they told me I was a phoenix, only to force me back into being a pheasant. How can I be content with that? Were the last fourteen years nothing but a dream?”

I held her and patted her back, soothing her the way Grandma used to soothe me when I was little.

As she cried, she eventually grew too embarrassed to continue.

She rubbed her stuffed nose and whispered, “Do you think I’m being pretentious? I enjoyed fourteen years of wealth and status; I should be willing to give it all back to you. But I’m lost. How can the things I learned and the people I’ve met allow me to just stay here? I’m just… I’m not resigned to this. Do you think I’m a bad person?”

I shook my head and said calmly, “Remember how you feel today. All of this is real.”

What I didn’t say was that I would likely feel the same way when I eventually reached the capital.

Going to a completely strange place, unable to fit in, forcing oneself to integrate, being ridiculed, and having no way to change it-that kind of isolation and helplessness would surely be despairing.

I hoped she would remember today’s bitterness.

So that in the future, she wouldn’t kick me while I was down.

A meal of duck meat followed, and it was delicious.

Grandma looked at her, then at me.

She couldn’t quite figure out what had happened between us, but her intuition told her that something had changed.

After finishing the meat, Grandma sat in the room sewing quilts.

She had visited many households in the village today, spending money to collect duck down from them. She had finally gathered enough to make two down quilts.

I tried to persuade her, saying that making one for Ah Si was enough and that I could keep using my old cotton quilt from previous years, as it was just as warm.

She shook her head. “No, both my granddaughters must have one. You are both my own flesh and blood.”

She paused for a moment, then added, “Nannan, you did the right thing. It’s a good thing you kept her here.”

She looked as if she wanted to say more, but in the end, her words dissolved into a long, low sigh.

I think I understood.

If Ah Si didn’t stay, she would always look down on Grandma and me as lowly commoners from the perspective of a noble lady.

She would never know the price Father and Mother paid to keep this home together, nor would she truly feel exactly what it was she owed me.

For the next many days, the house remained peaceful. As the weather grew colder and we could no longer go out, more neighbors started dropping by to chat.

Aunt Zhang cursed my uncle with a face full of disdain, saying he was subhuman and that she had never seen anyone use such foul language against their own niece.

I knew why. My uncle wasn’t resigned to his lot.

He truly believed my family was hiding money. Once, while Ah Si and I were out and Grandma wasn’t paying attention, he actually sneaked into the house and ransacked our belongings.

When Grandma caught him, he didn’t even have the decency to be ashamed; he just swaggered out.

That day, I chased him to his house and shot three arrows into his front door.

The wood split with a loud crack.

He hopped around inside, screaming curses, but he didn’t dare come out.

Since then, he didn’t dare come near our house and could only spread rumors about me elsewhere.

But a grasshopper in autumn doesn’t have long to jump.

Before long, my uncle was arrested and thrown into jail on charges of slandering a government official.

Ah Si and I clapped our hands in celebration.

“How could you have an uncle like that?” she asked.

She thought for a moment, then corrected herself. “How could *I* have an uncle like that?”

I smiled. “He’s not our uncle, just a local thug. When Mother was alive, he would come to harass her. After she passed and Father fell ill, I went to his house to borrow money. He took a big broom and swept me right out the door.”

Ah Si’s smile faded.

She gave me a gentle hug.

“Yiguang, I’m sorry.”