Chapter 5

When Fifth Madam’s business collapsed overnight, I thought I might be free.

Instead, girls already sold once by their parents were confiscated and sold a second time by the state.

The official slave house was finer than Fifth Madam’s. At least moss did not grow on the walls, and a sheen of oil sometimes floated on the gruel.

On our third day there, another buyer arrived. She too was said to serve a great household, selecting maids for the women of the inner residence.

We lined up once more.

Small as I was, I disappeared into the crowd and did not expect to be chosen. Yet the servant woman noticed me at once. She wore lake-blue embroidered silk and only two plain silver pins. She was not as gaudily rich as the woman who had claimed to come from Qinghe, but she looked far more respectable.

She patted my head, her eyes gentle. “She is young, but obedient and sensible. Even if she cannot do much work, she can keep the Second Young Miss company.”

And so I left the official slave house.

At a midnight stop, I heard the two servant women chatting.

“How much did we spend? Was it within the household allowance? Madam will punish us if we exceeded it.”

“Don’t worry. I’ve handled outside errands for years. In all Qinghe Prefecture, no one knows the buying and selling of maids better than I do.”

I woke from a doze at the words Qinghe Prefecture. Forgetting every rule, I seized one woman’s sleeve.

“Nanny, are you from Qinghe?”

“Of course. We serve the Song household there.”

My eyes lit up. “Do you know which Qinghe family sent a stewardess to Qingyun Street some time ago?”

The other woman’s expression changed. “That is no question for you! Release Nanny Cui at once.”

Nanny Cui was the woman who had chosen me. She did not take offense at my bluntness.

“If she asks, she must have a reason,” she said with a smile. “Go on. Tell me.”

I hid nothing and explained everything. I hoped for even the smallest clue about Yaer, if only the name of the household she served.

Instead, Nanny Cui frowned. “Embroidered silk and a head full of jewels? No stewardess from a respectable Qinghe house would dress so ostentatiously. Besides, as far as I know, our household sent the earliest buying party among all the prominent families in Qinghe.”

The blood in my body seemed to freeze.

I had spent all my cunning trying to secure Yaer a better future, only to learn that the woman had never come from Qinghe at all.

Seeing my devastation, Nanny Cui tried to comfort me. “Qinghe is a vast place. Your sister may not have entered a great household, but that woman dressed richly. Perhaps she took the girl as a maid for some wealthy family. Once you reach Qinghe, there will always be a chance to find her.”

I steadied myself enough to thank her.

It was not that I took the matter lightly. Regret could change nothing now. My only choice was to serve well in the Song household. If I earned favor, I might one day receive permission to leave the estate. Then I could search for Yaer myself.

I forced the worry down and behaved with such obedience throughout the journey that both women beamed at me.

Three days later, the carriage reached Qinghe Prefecture.

I believed our new closeness would help Nanny Cui secure me a good post.

I had no idea how much more complicated matters would be.