chapter 3

chapter 3

Days and seasons passed. Soon I had buried treasure in every suitable corner of the courtyard.

Madam was generous, and Young Master Xie spent money as if it were water, so I had plenty to bury.

I was probably the luckiest maid alive. Once, I overheard a woman mention that her family had executed a restless servant girl. Her tone was as casual as if she had stepped on an ant.

Had I met anyone other than Madam, I might already have ended wrapped in a straw mat. I would never have enjoyed such a life—earning silver while Madam taught me to read, keep accounts, and understand the world.

When I came of age at fifteen, she gave me my indenture contract as a birthday present.

She said that if I wanted to marry a good man, she would provide my dowry. If I wanted to continue working for her, she would arrange an apprenticeship at one of her cloth shops.

I did not understand why she asked. I clung to her every day. How could there be room in my eyes or heart for another man?

Marriage was out of the question. I had no desire to become a beast of burden in someone else’s house. I only wanted to earn silver with Madam.

I had counted carefully. After the money I sent Mother each month, I still had more than thirty taels saved. In a few years, I could buy a house in one of Huajing’s outlying counties and let her enjoy her old age.

Madam said her dream was to become the richest silk merchant in Yongyuan.

I thought seriously. “Then I will follow Madam and become the richest maid.”

…

I believed I would remain at Madam’s side for life, serving her children and then her children’s children.

Disaster came without warning.

Soldiers carrying torches burst into the estate and took Madam and Lord Fu away. News spread everywhere that Fu Qi, the newly appointed top scholar, had embezzled drought-relief funds.

The servants packed their belongings and sought new masters.

Naively, I thought Madam had only gone away for a short while. I guarded the enormous estate, frightened and uneasy, cleaning every corner over and over. Madam loved cleanliness. I wanted her to be pleased when she returned.

But she did not return.

One rainy night, Uncle Zhong, who had left with the others, knocked on the estate gates. I ran out joyfully, only to find Young Master Xie lying bloodied on a cart.

Uncle Zhong was soaked through, his face grim. He said Madam had been thrown into death row and would never come home.

Young Master Xie had begged everyone he knew for help. An enemy ambushed him in an alley and beat him half to death. The clinics refused to admit him, and no physician would come. His enemy had evidently arranged it all. With nowhere else to go, Uncle Zhong brought him back to the Fu estate.

Together we carried him inside.

Before leaving, Uncle Zhong looked at me as if he wanted to speak. I knew what he meant: the Fu family had fallen, and any clever person should make plans for herself.

He had an eighty-year-old mother and a son who had been bedridden for years. Even the generous wages Madam paid had never covered all the medicine. While we worked together, he often lamented that the world was hard and a person lived like an ox or a horse.

I understood his burdens. No one could blame him for seeking a new livelihood to protect his family.

But Madam’s kindness to me was deeper than the sea. In her absence, I had to care for her only brother.

Young Master Xie burned with fever. I knew nothing of medicine and bitterly regretted not learning while Madam sorted herbs. Back then, I had cared only about chasing mosquitoes away from her.

With no other choice, I boiled every herb in the house into a pot of black liquid and poured it all down his throat.

For three days, I did not dare close my eyes. Every little while, I checked his breathing, terrified that if his enemies had not killed him, my medicine would.

At last, he woke.

Then officials arrived to seal the estate. They drove us out and escorted us to a refugee settlement beyond the city.

Young Master Xie was terribly weak. He woke only briefly before losing consciousness again.

The village women were warmhearted. They brought porridge and water, then refused to leave. Crowding around him, they marveled that they had never seen such a handsome boy.

I saw no difference between him and anyone else. Did we not all have two eyes, one nose, and one mouth?

Uncle Chen, once a physician, said his injuries were grave. His life was safe, but his leg was broken. It needed herbal poultices and complete rest. Whether he would ever walk again depended on fate.

The herb needed to set the bone grew on Dayun Mountain, thirty li away. It was also sold in the city, but I had no money.

Climbing the rugged mountain road under the blazing sun, I wanted to beat my chest in regret. Why had I buried all my treasure? When we were driven from the estate, I had not carried a single coin.

Young Master Xie was conscious now, but seemed to have lost his soul. He lay in silence, staring at the thatched roof.

No—that was not entirely true. He could still slap away a bowl of medicine.

For several days, he overturned every dose I brewed. Even Uncle Chen finally protested.

“Little Tao walked for days to gather those herbs. The poison has left both her hands red and swollen. You should not waste what she endured for you.”

He did not react.

After consulting Uncle Chen, I decided to force the medicine down by brute strength. It did not matter if he hated me. I only needed to heal him and answer to Madam one day.

I rolled up my sleeves, ready for a struggle. Yet when I brought the bowl to the bed, he opened his mouth a fraction. His face looked terrible, but at least he drank.

Madam’s imprisonment sat on my heart like a mountain. Young Master Xie kept his eyes shut except when taking medicine. Afraid that speaking of her would worsen his injuries, I held back and went to help the village women farm in exchange for grain.

Thanks to their kindness—or perhaps to his handsome face—we survived on the buns and thin porridge each family brought us.

Charity could not support us forever. His treatment cost money, and I needed money to bribe Madam’s jailers.

Once he was settled, I walked more than ten li into the city to find work.

Madam had taught me many things. I could read, write, and keep accounts, and I was strong enough for hard labor. Surely someone would hire me.

Heaven refused to cooperate. A teahouse drove me away. A tavern laughed at me. No one wanted me anywhere.

For days, every door closed in my face.

Still unwilling to yield, I borrowed hair ornaments made by a village auntie and set up a stall in the western market. Business went smoothly—until a gang of thugs arrived as I was packing up. They stole all my earnings and kicked me for good measure.

Now I had earned nothing and owed the auntie money.

After enough incidents, I realized something was wrong. Uncle Zhong had mentioned the enemy who injured Young Master Xie.

Was that person behind this too?

Young Master Xie was already crippled. However deep their feud, should that not have settled it? Why make trouble for me everywhere?

Wait. He could not have murdered the enemy’s parents or violated his wife and daughters, could he?

Considering his long record of crimes, it was entirely possible.