Chapter 16
My Aunt, Lady Zheng, is a concubine of Lord Zhang, the Censor-in-Chief.
An old concubine, faded in beauty and out of favor, who is not well regarded.
In the Capital, among official families, there are always some poor relatives who come seeking shelter. To maintain their reputation, most prominent families are willing to offer protection.
For example, in the Censor’s Mansion, there is a West Side Courtyard in the West Back Alley, specifically used to house the distant relatives of the various wives and concubines.
I am among them. By rights, as the niece of an old concubine like my Aunt, I should have moved with the other poor relatives of the Zhang family to the estate in the suburbs. But my Aunt won the favor of the Madam, Lady Zhu, and praised me highly. Lady Zhu, hearing that I had attended a private school and was of similar age, agreed to keep me in the mansion to serve as a Female Companion-Reader for the Fourth Miss, Zhang Mi.
This was something my Aunt had begged for. She thanked Lady Zhu with tears of gratitude, but privately felt it unfair, saying to me, “Female Companion-Reader? It sounds nice, but isn’t it just putting you at the Fourth Miss’s side to be ordered about? They get both the substance and the appearance. You came to me with a good family background, not sold into the Censor’s Mansion.”
She was right. The Fourth Miss, Zhang Mi, who is the same age as me, has treated me as a servant she can order around ever since I came to her side.
Such is the fate of those who live under another’s roof. My Aunt, after complaining, would still pull herself together the next day, smiling as she paid respects to Madam Lady Zhu, massaging her legs and back, doing her utmost to please her.
A concubine who has neither children nor favor-there are countless women of such status in the Capital, and all their hopes for the latter half of life rest in the hands of the Madam.
If the Madam is pleased, she may respond kindly and with a smile; if not, she might throw a teacup at your head, drawing blood.
As the saying goes: Dragons beget dragons, phoenixes beget phoenixes, and rats raise their young in the rafters.
Before I turned thirteen, I was the daughter of the rice shop owner in Qingshi Town. Now, four years have passed, and I am but Miss Xiao Chun, a young girl living under the roof of the Censor’s Mansion in the Capital.
The Fourth Miss, Zhang Mi, is different. She was born a lady of the Imperial Authority, a noble daughter of a distinguished house.
Her father is the Censor-in-Chief, a third-rank official; her uncle is an Inner Court Attendant Official; her grandfather, now retired and living in his hometown, was once a Cabinet Minister during the previous emperor’s reign-a family of civil officials for generations.
Zhang Mi, like all daughters of noble families, is of high status, graceful and intelligent, and proud to the core.
Her pride comes not only from her noble birth, but also from the hierarchy ingrained in her bones.
She, like her mother Lady Zhu, can treat me kindly, or turn cold and rebuke me in the tone of a mistress for breaking her rules.
It truly feels unjust.
I became her Female Companion-Reader at thirteen; she was also thirteen then, at the prime age for play and amusement.
Lady Zhu spared no effort in cultivating her, hiring the best tutors in the mansion. Thanks to her, the other young ladies of the various branches were also well educated.
There was a time when Zhang Mi was extremely rebellious, scheming to sneak out of the mansion. When the gatekeeper in the back courtyard stopped her, she dragged me to the West Side Courtyard in the West Back Alley.
I had once told her that in the West Side Courtyard where we lived, there was a large tree whose branches stretched beyond the courtyard wall.
She pulled me up the tree to sneak out of the mansion, wandering the streets for half a day, fascinated by everything she saw, buying a pile of things.
I urged her to return quickly, but she paid me no heed. In the end, she was accidentally spotted by her second brother, Zhang Yunhuai, who brought us home.
Then Lady Zhu slapped me across the face.
The blow was so strong that my cheek immediately swelled, and I tasted blood on my tongue.
Zhang Mi stood aside, silent before her furious mother. Instead, it was her second brother, Zhang Yunhuai, who reminded his mother, “Xiao Chun is not a servant of the mansion; Mother should not strike her.”
Lady Zhu was taken aback, her expression changing swiftly. She guiltily took my hand, “I was muddle-headed and forgot that Xiao Chun is Aunt Zheng’s niece, not a servant of our mansion. I was just angry for a moment. You won’t blame me, will you?”
As she spoke, she picked up a piece of pastry from the box on the table and handed it to me, saying it was almond crisp freshly made by Wanfu Building, and told me to try it.
Like coaxing a child.
That year, I was fourteen. I bowed my head and replied gratefully to Lady Zhu, “Madam has shown Xiao Chun great kindness. Thanks to Madam’s shelter, I am spared hardship. I am deeply grateful and would never dare blame Madam.”
Lady Zhu nodded, very satisfied.
I was satisfied too, for I had fulfilled my father’s teaching of ‘adapting to the times.’
Only my Aunt, Lady Zheng, was not satisfied. She wiped her tears in private, cursing Lady Zhu behind her back for being a woman who bore sons without an anus.