Chapter 4

# Chapter 4

“Eldest Sister actually made some ignorant little country bumpkin her study maid! Just wait until that girl causes trouble and distracts her. Then first place in the next exam will be mine!”

The Second Young Lady lifted her chin and stormed away with her entourage.

The senior maid beside the Eldest Young Lady whispered to me, “The Second Young Lady is about the same age as our young lady, and she competes with her in everything. But our young lady wins every time! The Second Young Lady still refuses to admit defeat…”

Her name was Qiuyi, and she had served the Eldest Young Lady since childhood.

Aside from attending to her mistress, she never had to touch any menial chore.

Her skin was so fair and smooth that she could have passed for the daughter of an ordinary household.

“Let me warn you. While serving the Eldest Young Lady, you may take your time learning what you do not know, but never try to be clever and make trouble. If you cause her to lose to the Second Young Lady, I will not forgive you…” Qiuyi cautioned me with a stern face.

I timidly promised that I understood.

I blinked up at her until she coughed awkwardly.

“Since you have only just entered the residence and know nothing, I suppose you have never learned to read either. Starting today, I will teach you a few characters so that you do not truly become a burden to the Eldest Young Lady.”

She told me that the Eldest Young Lady was named Yu Wanning, the legitimate daughter of the lady of the house.

The Second Young Lady was Yu Wanrong, whose mother was also a much-favored concubine.

The lady had also borne two sons. The Eldest Young Master and Second Young Master both lived at the academy and seldom returned home.

Both were exceptionally promising young men.

There were several other sons and daughters born to concubines, and the lady treated them all fairly.

In the Yu residence, as long as you behaved properly and harbored no disloyal intentions, you could live quite well.

When I returned, I tugged at Concubine Su’s sleeve and chattered excitedly.

I told her how wonderful it was to be a servant in the Yu residence: I could eat my fill, dress warmly, and even had the chance to learn to read.

Concubine Su laughed at my lack of experience.

“A maid in a great household can rival a young lady from an ordinary family. Literacy is the bare minimum. Otherwise, when she accompanies her mistress outside, she will disgrace the household.”

I saw that Concubine Su had taken out her pipa and was holding it in her arms, carefully polishing it with a handkerchief.

“Are you going to teach me a tune now, Aunt Su?” I asked.

Nostalgia filled her eyes, though her words were reproachful.

“I truly do not understand why you insist on learning this thing. Would it not be better to study proper music, chess, calligraphy, and painting with the Eldest Young Lady?”

I said, “I only want to learn the songs my mother remembered all her life. If I ever have the chance to return, I can play them at her grave.”

Concubine Su’s eyes reddened.

She gently wiped their corners. “You really are impossible to refuse.”

She raised the pipa and plucked its strings with slender fingers.

A low, lilting melody flowed from her hands.

As I listened, I remembered my mother holding me while softly humming in her hoarse voice.

If her voice had not been ruined, how beautiful would it have sounded with this melody?

By the time the piece ended, tears had streaked my face.

I begged Concubine Su to teach me to play.

She was still hesitant.

She said the tunes she knew were considered too common for respectable company. The lady and the Old Madam must not learn of it.

She could only shut the door after nightfall and teach me for half an hour each day.

Even that was more than enough to make me happy.

And so, during the day, I ran errands for the Eldest Young Lady.

After she returned from her lessons, Qiuyi would use her free moments to teach me a few characters.

I was slow-witted and took ages to recognize a single one.

Qiuyi often became so exasperated that she threatened to smack me on the head.

The Eldest Young Lady would sit nearby, smiling as we bickered.

She always held a book in her hands, utterly undisturbed by us.

As expected, she beat the Second Young Lady again in the academy’s examination.

The Second Young Lady stamped her feet in fury, ran to her sister’s courtyard, and declared that she would certainly win next time.

She was always arguing noisily with the Eldest Young Lady, but it never went beyond words.

In time, I grew accustomed to it.

I also met the young masters of the household. They were all openhearted and good-natured.

Sometimes I wondered whether my mother might have lived a better life if she had truly come to the capital with Concubine Su all those years ago and met the Yu family.