Chapter 7

Chapter 7

The man’s familiar curses no longer reached my ears.

Because I was busy taking out the chopstick and, stroke by stroke, carving a tally mark into the earthen wall.

Five.

Five deaths had finally taught me one thing.

Charging in headfirst and trying to fight it out would never lead anywhere.

And if the promise was too grand, no one would believe it.

If I couldn’t let the madam see a benefit she could reach out and grab, she would never let me go.

So this time, the hand clutching the man’s robe did not let go.

I forced down the lingering taste of blood in my throat and pushed myself into his arms.

“My lord didn’t have his fill just now. That was this slave’s fault.”

The trouser cord he hadn’t had time to tie properly dropped again.

I wrapped my legs around his belly, layered thick with fat.

“This slave begs my lord for another chance. Let this slave serve you once more. I only ask that when you go out, you say a few good words to Mama, so this slave can be spared a beating and scolding.”

It didn’t matter who it was.

Right now, the only thing I had to my name was this body the original owner had left me.

The unchanging timeline was disrupted.

The second man in my memories did not come in.

The person the madam brought in next was an unfamiliar face I had never seen before.

The satisfied old customer brushed past the eager newcomer.

And at long last, I earned my first favorable review.

“As expected of a little thing trained by a wealthy household. She tastes damn good.”

For the sake of that one good review, the madam’s anger toward me finally eased a little.

When the day ended and she came in again, she was carrying a bowl.

It was a chipped, coarse porcelain bowl. In the murky rice water, there were so few grains floating that one hand could count them. A tiny pile of pickled vegetables, their color impossible to make out, had sunk to one side of the rice water.

There were no chopsticks.

At some point, the madam had dug out the bamboo chopstick I had used to carve marks into the wall. She was pinching it between her fingers.

“Well, well. Who would’ve thought? Still a chaste little heroine, are you?”

The bowl was set down heavily. The rice water sloshed, and the bit that splashed out was quickly absorbed by the bedding, turning into stains of different depths that mixed with the filth already there until they could no longer be told apart.

The sharp end pressed against my cheek. Her strength was controlled perfectly-not enough to pierce the skin, but enough to make fear crawl up my spine and make me flinch.

“What were you hiding this for?”

“You dare die on me before you’ve earned this old woman enough money? Just try it and see.”

I couldn’t resist. Resistance would only bring an even more vicious beating.

I couldn’t threaten her. Threats would be taken as proof that I was restless and trying to run.

I knelt on the earthen bed-platform and gripped the madam’s wrist tightly with both hands.

“Mama, please spare me. I won’t dare do it again.”

The body’s real reaction could not be faked. The cold wind slipped through the crack of the door and into my loosely closed padded robe, raising a shudder.

“Mama kept me here and rewarded me with a mouthful of food. I’m grateful to Mama beyond words. I wouldn’t dare be anything but diligent.”

The madam looked down at me from above.

In those eyes squeezed narrow by flesh, a light and calculation I could not understand flickered.

The shadow of my last death had yet to fade.

That pain and despair, carved into my very bones, were like thorny brambles, constantly coiling and spreading through my body, making my pleas sound more and more sincere.

“This daughter was ignorant before. I didn’t understand how good Mama was to me, and I offended Mama. Mama, please treat me as your own daughter and don’t hold it against me. From today on, I’ll be obedient. I’ll be filial to Mama.”

Time passed, drop by drop.

My knees went from aching with pain to completely numb.

At last, the madam gave a cold snort and withdrew her hand.

“You’d better not be harboring any other thoughts. Stay here and behave. There’ll be good days for you in the future.”

She turned and headed out.

“If I catch you again, I have plenty of ways to make you suffer worse than death.”

Without the slightest hesitation, I knocked my forehead against the edge of the earthen bed-platform.

“This daughter thanks Mama for her instruction.”

The door curtain fell.

This day was finally over.