Chapter 2

Chapter 2

I placed the freshly fried sweet potato balls into a hollow-carved redwood food box and handed it to Hongxiu, who had been waiting off to the side. I didn’t forget to slip her a packet of water chestnut cakes, either.

Hongxiu was a maid serving Concubine Sun, the favored concubine of the Second Master of the household. Concubines didn’t count as proper masters, so they could only collect their meals from the outer courtyard kitchen.

After I entered the kitchen, I followed my master to learn pastry-making. When we weren’t busy, I could make things myself. Fried sweet potato balls were simple to make and tasted good. Concubine Sun had liked them after trying them once, and often asked for them by name.

Of course, asking the kitchen for food wasn’t free. One order of sweet potato balls was worth a hundred copper coins. But that money couldn’t all end up in my hands. Mama Zhao took seventy percent, and my master took seventy percent of what remained. In the end, I only got a dozen or so copper coins.

But that was already a considerable income. After I entered the kitchen, my monthly wages rose to one thousand wen. With tips added in, I could save three or four qian of silver every month.

“Don’t say I never look after you. In a few days, it’ll be Concubine Sun’s birthday. The master and the young misses will all be there. If you manage to please them, there’ll be no shortage of rewards for you. It might even be possible for you to be transferred to the inner courtyard.”

I secretly slipped Hongxiu two small silver pieces as well. “How could such simple things possibly catch the eye of the master and the young misses? May I trouble you to give me a little guidance, sister?”

I had been in the household for nearly a year by then, and I knew the household I served was the Duke’s Mansion. It had produced two holders of the title Empress. The current Empress Dowager was the late old duke’s own elder sister, and the late Empress was the Old Madam’s own daughter.

A great household like this placed the highest importance on rules. Food from the outer courtyard could not be easily sent to the masters of the inner courtyard, for fear that someone might develop ambitions above their station.

I hoped I could enter the inner courtyard kitchen. For one thing, the monthly wages were higher. Even if the mamas skimmed from me, I could still save one tael of silver a month. For another, the stewards of the inner courtyard could speak in front of the masters. Although I had been bought back by a steward of the outer courtyard, my indenture contract was in the hands of the masters.

Concubine Sun, who was half a master, was my target. I had spent quite a bit of money before and after just to form a connection with her, and now it had finally paid off.

“Clothes make the man, and a saddle makes the horse. Naturally, food is the same. Second Master likes lotuses, and Third Miss loves going to Thousand Carp Pond. You can figure out the rest.”

I thanked Hongxiu profusely and saw her off. Then I pondered it for an entire day. That night, when there were fewer people in the kitchen, I gave each of the gatekeeping pages a string of copper coins and secretly slipped into the kitchen.

In my previous life, I had liked making all kinds of pastries and desserts, both Chinese and Western. My skills couldn’t compare to the old masters of this era, but my advantage lay in having seen a wider world. I had my own strengths.

After working several nights in a row, I finally succeeded in my experiment before Concubine Sun’s birthday. On the day itself, I handed the finished product to Hongxiu.

“To think you had such ability. I really underestimated you. Third Miss will definitely like this when she sees it. She might even ask for you on the spot.” The sweet potato balls had been shaped into plump little goldfish, with flaky pastry made into lotus leaves and lotus blossoms. This was not merely food; it was a work of art filled with childlike charm.

“If I can go serve the masters and young misses, I will never forget your kindness, sister. You are the most capable person at Concubine Sun’s side, and you have some standing before the young miss as well. I must trouble you to put in a few good words for me in front of her.” I stuffed a bulging purse into Hongxiu’s hands. The broken silver inside added up to one tael.

“I have always treated you like a younger sister. It’s only a matter of saying a few words. Why be so polite? I’ll speak for you.” Hongxiu didn’t take my money. She only carefully carried the food box away.

A little over an hour later, I received a reply. Second Master had bestowed a name upon the pastries: Fish Playing Amid Lotuses. Third Miss had specifically requested that I enter the inner courtyard to serve, and that I be assigned to the small kitchen for the young misses’ courtyards to make pastries especially for them.

The servants in the kitchen all came to congratulate me. Even Mama Zhao smiled and said a few pleasant words. She and my pastry master also returned all the money they had previously withheld from me, and even took the initiative to exchange the copper coins for silver.

With five or six taels of silver tucked away, I moved to the inner courtyard. For the first time, I felt so close to my goal of buying back my freedom-yet I no longer wanted to buy it back quite so much.

Even if I went outside, what could I do? I had no family or connections here, and I was a woman. Wouldn’t I still be at the mercy of anyone who wanted to bully me?

If I could keep working in the inner courtyard kitchen, that would be a fine place to be. Working for someone was still working for someone. So what if I had signed an indenture contract? The pay was good enough to make up for it.

Besides, once you signed an indenture contract, you became the masters’ private property. If you got sick, the household would find you a doctor. If you died, they would even pay compensation. Wasn’t that better than working in my previous life?

Mama Zhao was the steward of the outer courtyard kitchen, and she lived such a comfortable life. If I could become the steward of the young misses’ small kitchen, wouldn’t that make me management at a Fortune 10 company?

The longer I spent in this world, the more I blended into it. Even that thin sheet of paper that was my indenture seemed to matter less and less. As long as life was a little better, I would take each day as it came.

After I entered the inner courtyard, Fish Playing Amid Lotuses made a name for itself among the young misses and young masters. Not long after, the Old Madam held a birthday banquet and invited guests, and the dish became one of the six snacks served at the little masters’ table.

Once the feast had dispersed, I took the leftover scraps and quietly slipped out to the outer courtyard.

Mama Zhao’s little grandson had heard of the dish and had been wanting to try it, but I couldn’t leave the inner courtyard easily, and no one else had the skill to make it. Only on a lively day like the birthday banquet, with so many people around, did I have the chance to sneak out.

I didn’t want to give up my connection with Mama Zhao. She was in the outer courtyard and could often leave the estate. There was no harm in keeping in touch with her.

After passing through the covered corridor, I turned a corner and ran right into several young gentlemen leading a great black mass of attendants. Some were from our household, and some were from other families. I hurriedly turned sideways to avoid them, praying inwardly that I wouldn’t be seen.

“Who goes there? Stealing and trying to flee in secret? Men, seize her!” I didn’t know who said it, but several young servants immediately rushed forward and pinned me to the ground.

What the hell? They were serious?

Rules were rules, but I knew the servants in the estate all preferred one less problem to one more. Even if I was caught, I could usually just hand over some money, which was why I had dared to come out.

“What are you stealing these pastries for?” My food box was snatched away and opened in front of the young gentlemen. There was no gold, silver, pearls, or jade inside, only a few little goldfish missing their tails, and lotus flowers and leaves that hadn’t come out prettily.

“These are pastries this servant made poorly. They are unfit to be seen by my masters, but I couldn’t bear to throw them away, so I took it upon myself to keep them. Please forgive me, Master.” Only I could make this dessert, so the household shouldn’t punish me too harshly.

“You made Fish Playing Amid Lotuses? I didn’t expect someone so young to have such clever ideas. But why did you bring them out?” This voice was different from the one earlier. It sounded like a question, but in truth, it was giving me a chance to explain.

“In reply to Master, when this servant first entered the estate, an older sister looked after me. That sister married Mama Zhao’s son in the kitchen, and now she is with child, but her pregnancy is unstable. This servant was bold enough to think that since the Old Madam enjoys both fortune and longevity, if my sister could be touched by even the tiniest bit of that blessing, it might keep her and the child in her womb safe. That was why I took it upon myself to bring out some scraps. This servant admits her fault and begs Master for leniency.”

“You are quick-witted and clever, and you don’t forget a kindness. Reward her. Get up.”

“Thank you, Master.”

“He is not your master.” A young servant with a slightly shrill voice stuffed a purse into my hands. I didn’t dare examine it closely. I hurriedly got to my feet, respectfully excused myself, and withdrew.

That had been terrifying. Luckily, I had always been cautious and hadn’t taken anything else. Otherwise, it really would have been hard to explain. If I had been caught stealing in front of so many people, I would have been beaten half to death at the very least.

After entering the estate, although I had to save money to grease palms and endure deductions from leaders big and small, my life was still quite decent. Once I entered the kitchen, I could eat meat every day. Compared to my days in the hands of the human trafficker, it was the difference between heaven and earth.

Besides, I could more or less accomplish what I set out to do. In just over a year, I had climbed from the bottom of a branch office into headquarters, and had even gotten my name remembered in front of the company heir. Though I didn’t want to admit it, I really had gotten a little carried away.

If this had been when I first arrived, I absolutely wouldn’t have dared sneak into the outer courtyard on the day of the Old Madam’s birthday celebration, no matter how great the benefits were.

I should focus on earning my freedom. I didn’t want my life held in someone else’s hands. This time, I had escaped by luck, but next time might not be the same. I couldn’t guarantee I would never make a mistake for the rest of my life either.

I gave the bits and pieces of pastry to Mama Zhao, matched up our stories with her, and only after returning to my quarters did I dare take out the purse and look inside.

It was the most exquisite purse I had ever seen. Even the young ladies of the household might not have such a fine thing. A good item like this, if given to a senior maid by the madam’s side, should be enough to earn me a favor.

Inside the purse were six little goldfish the length of a fingertip, shining bright and golden, dazzling to the eye. Each weighed one tael. Six taels of gold-more than enough to redeem myself.

Every year at the end of the year, the estate released a few servants, which was considered an act of virtue and charity. I needed to work this properly and leave the Duke’s Mansion by the end of this year.

In the meantime, I would build good relationships with the estate’s steward and the managers who could go out to make purchases. At least that way, in the future, I wouldn’t be left with nowhere to turn if I needed protection or help.