Chapter 5

“Daji! Daji! Don’t go, my Daji!”

Shangguan Yao talked in her sleep more and more often.

Each time, Bai Su immediately roused her with a warning.

And each time she woke, Shangguan Yao slapped her hard.

Bai Su had long since grown used to it. She stood before her mistress without expression.

Shangguan Yao rose and ordered us to prepare cold water.

Only by soaking in icy water could she make the flush in her cheeks slowly fade.

Afterward, she could not sleep at all.

She paced, then sat, then rose again, restless and agitated.

Like the other maids in the room, I stood with my head bowed and said nothing.

She had been especially cruel to the maids of late.

Every girl in the courtyard feared for her life.

After half a month of these sleepless nights, I increased the dose.

Now she was frantic and unsettled even during the day.

She soaked in cold water more frequently still.

When the Marquis visited, she wore thinner and thinner clothes.

But his face darkened at the sight. He rebuked her: the mistress of a household ought to behave with dignity and restraint.

After that, he stopped coming even for meals.

“My lady, since there’s nothing to do, why don’t we invite an acrobatic troupe to perform here and relieve your boredom?”

I judged that the medicine had done enough, and raised the suggestion as though it were a passing thought.

All the maids in the room held their breath when I spoke.

They were waiting for my punishment.

“Invite people here? An acrobatic troupe?”

Shangguan Yao murmured to herself. Then a smile bloomed across her face, the first in many days.

Bai Su’s expression darkened.

“We cannot simply let outsiders into the estate.”

Shangguan Yao glared up at her.

“I am mistress of this household! What is wrong with inviting a troupe to amuse me?”

That was not enough to silence Bai Su.

“Then invite only the women in the troupe. Otherwise, people may talk.”

She had found what she thought was a compromise.

I had been watching her closely during these past days.

Cautious and careful, Bai Su had been born into service and was fiercely loyal to the Shangguan household.

Knowing how dependable and prudent she was, the Minister’s wife had placed her beside Shangguan Yao.

At critical moments, she was to advise her mistress.

“Who would dare talk? I’ll cut out her tongue!”

Seeing that Bai Su meant to argue further, Shangguan Yao slapped her across the face.

“You’re only a dog! You dare defy your mistress?”

Bai Su lowered her head.

“I would not dare.”

With a cold smile, Shangguan Yao ordered her to fetch the troupe at once.

“Bai Su, tell them to bring plenty of unusual things. Have them find some large chests. Don’t disappoint me.”

She stared straight at Bai Su.

“Yes, my lady.”

Bai Su’s brow furrowed slightly.

She rarely let her feelings show.

Now she knew this would bring disaster.

But as Shangguan Yao had said, she was only a dog.

She had no power over her mistress.