[JXSY] Chapter 1: A Winter Day

December 15, 2020AwkwarDerp

After several days of snowfall, the roof, trees and ground were covered with layers of frost. The light shone through from the paper window, much brighter than usual, making the room fully lit. 

The 11th Lady put down her half-read book, ‘The Great Zhou Jiuyuzhi’, and opened the window to look out. 

The forest outside of Luyun building was all covered with a thick layer of snow. Sometimes, the wind blows by and the snow that was resting on top of the tree branch falls down, revealing the green leaves, which makes the person’s spirit lifted. 

It turns out that Yuhang, where she used to live, is in the northwest of Hangzhou. In the southwest direction, there are Dadishan Mountains and Jingshan Mountains in the northwest. There is the Tiaoxi River in the south side, which originated from Tianmu Mountain in Qianxian. 

There was too little information. 

She had been to Yuhang before, but that was because of a business trip. The client’s wife took their child and hid in Yuhang, therefore, she had to take a trip to Yuhang; trying to convince his wife to give up custody of the child. As a lawyer, she was paid a seven-digit salary. This is the first pot of gold in her career. 

Thinking about it now, the 11th Lady couldn’t help but sigh. 

What was the point of thinking about all of this now?

After being here for three years, the farthest place that she had been to was the inner house of the Luo Family, to pay respect to Luo Madam of the Luo Family. She was the mother of Lady Xu, who was from Cian Temple. 

What is Yuhang like now? Is it far from Hangzhou? What does it have to do with her?

Even if you witness it with your own eyes, what good will it do?

The world isn’t the same as before. 

The 11th Lady let out a long sigh – as if she wanted to blow everything away with her breath. 

“11th Lady!” The maid, Binju, came with hot tea and bread. At the same time, she saw the opened window next to the 11th Lady, “You opened the window again. The wind is very strong today.” After she finished her words, she placed the tray on the table, then walked up and supported her Lady to sit down, “Today, I made ochna bread, have a taste.”

Three years ago, she fell and became unconscious for three months, then remained on her bed for six months. If it weren’t for Binju and another maid, Dongqin, she wouldn’t have been able to live through the miracle.

The 11th Lady, who couldn’t bear to ignore her kindness, obediently took a sip of the hot tea.

Rich flavour black tea with a bit of honey – this is one of her favourite drinks. 

The 11th Lady’s eyes were full of satisfaction. 

As Binju watched her, the corner of her mouth lifted, she turned and closed the window. 

Suddenly, a loud banging noise from up the roof startled the both of them.

The expression on Binju’s face changed, she raised her head to look at the roof. She was about to say something, but the 11th Lady started chanting: “Let her be. Avoid her. Be patient. Don’t worry. Don’t look at her.”

There was a sound of laughter outside the door. 

The 11th Lady and Binju couldn’t help but follow the sound. A young girl appeared wearing a pink dress, carrying a bag on her back, standing by the door. 

“Dongqing Sister!” Binju’s eyes lit up, “You came back!” While she was talking, she rushed up to help carry the bag on her back. 

Dongqing is from Yuxian province. Because her younger sister was getting married, she was given five days off to go home. Today is the fourth day, and they didn’t expect her to come back so soon. 

“Why didn’t you stay home longer?” The 11th Lady smiled, “You won’t get too many opportunities like this!”

“There’s no need to stay.” Dongqing let Binju help her, “My brother has only been married for a few years and they already have a bunch of kids. The house is getting crowded, plus there isn’t much room there. It’s best if I come back early.”

In the past two years, Dongqing’s family relied on her salary as a maid to live. Last summer, her brother wanted to buy the land next door, but he was short on money, so his wife came and asked Dongqing for money. 

Seeing Dongqing’s awkward expression, Binju smiled and said: “What is it this time?” After she finished talking, she went and poured a cup of tea for Dongqing. 

Before leaving, Binju lent Dongqing five taels of silver and the 11th Lady gave her two gold hairpins. 

Dongqing avoided the topic, smiled and opened her bag that Binju had put on the table: “My mother made a pair of shoes for you, she told me to bring it here…”

As they were talking, the noise upstairs was getting louder and didn’t show signs of stopping; making other people feel uncomfortable. 

The three people in the room remained the same, as if they were enjoying a nice breeze in the garden. 

“…This embroidered handkerchief is for Binju…The soybean sauce is for Nanny Xin.”

“You guys made soybean sauces again this year?” Binju smiled upon hearing soybean sauce, “It seems that your family has a good harvest this year. Miss loves to eat it, you should’ve brought more…”

Dongqing was a little embarrassed. 

Although her family was thoughtful, compared to Nanny Xin who works really hard for the 11th Lady and still able to buy things for herself, Dongqing doesn’t even have the courage to mention the word ‘repayment’. 

She didn’t know how to explain it, but the 11th Lady smiled and asked: “Did you pay respect to the Nanny yet?”

“Yes, I did. I even gave Nanny Hua two jars of soybean sauce.”

The 11th Lady nodded. She took the pair of shoes and examined it: “Dongqing, your mother’s craftsmanship is very good.”

“You don’t even have to say it.” Binju joined in from the side, “Dongqin’s skill is genetic.”

Unsure why, the 11th Lady suddenly remembered her time at school. After the spring festival, everyone brought something special from their hometown to share with their roommates. Only the 11th Lady had her bag filled with expensive items from the market.

She unexpectedly turned sad. 

Looking at her, Dongqing couldn’t help but think about something she was most worried about. 

“11th Lady,” Dongqing’s voice was full of uneasiness, “Is it because of me?”

The 11th Lady froze, a moment later, she finally realized what she meant. 

Dongqing is beautiful, has a good temperament and is good at embroidery. She is adored by Nanny Yao, the person next to Luo Madam. Nanny Yao wants to matchmake Dongqing and her nephew together. However, not only is he a despicable person, he also loves to gamble. Let alone the 11th Lady, even Dongqing can’t stand him. 

A year ago, Nanny Yao came and talked about this with the 11th Lady. In front of her, the 11th Lady said it’s a blessing for Dongqing and they are a match in heaven. But right after NannyYao left, she immediately took the chance and went to Luo Madam, and innocently said: “Nanny Yao wants to marry off Dongqing to her nephew, but me and Dongqing are together everyday. So, how did her nephew meet with Dongqing?”

After that day, Luo Madam and Nanny Yao’s relationship started to fade, therefore, the wedding problem naturally solved itself. But since that day, Nanny Yao and the 11th Lady had become enemies. 

After a while, the Luo Madam started to treat Nanny Yao the same as before again. Her confidence suddenly increased, she even said: “You guys just wait, in less than two more years, I will make sure this maid is under my nephew and let him ride her.”

There is an old unwritten rule by the Great Zhou Family: maids who still haven’t been married off by the age of 20 will automatically be kicked out of the house, regardless of the situation. 

Dongqing is already 18 years old. 

Concubine Lv, 11th Lady’s birth mother tried to persuade her: “Why are you trying to create trouble with Nanny Yao because of a maid? She is the head of the servants by Luo Madam. You can’t even take care of yourself. Yet because of a maid, you’re offending other people.”

Thinking about her words, the 11th Lady was slightly irritated. 

Doing it for Dongqing, she doesn’t have a slight regret. 

Luo Family, living in a place full of women, if you’re too kind, you will be deceived by others. If you can’t even protect your own maids, nobody will respect you. Besides, Dongqing had done a lot for her.

She’s also worried about her own future. 

A beautiful concubine, but her mother is not favoured. The luck is in the hand of the Luo Madam. 

If only Luo Madam was a simple person who can fool people with a few words. Unfortunately, she is a Lady of a honourable family in Qiantang, and her father is a government official in the *Ministry of Rites. She followed her father to his workplace since she was a child, spending time running around many places and reading, so she was raised like a man. At the age of thirteen, she was married off to the Luo family and became the head of the household, taking charge at fifteen. Next to the Old Master, there are six wives. Except for Concubine Ke, who was originally a maid on Luo Madam’s side, but she gave birth to a son that was nine years younger than the eldest child, the rest of the concubines’ children were either dead or a daughter. Every time she sees Luo Madam’s calm face, like the calm face of Bodhisattva, the 11th Lady becomes nervous as if she was sitting on pins and needles. 

*[Ministry of Rites = one of the Six Ministries of government in late imperial China, they’re in charge of watching over examinations and China’s foreign relations, TN]

The thought flashed and the 11th Lady couldn’t help but look up at the ceiling above her head with a strange expression. 

There are three rooms and two floors in the Luyun building. On the east side of the first floor is the 11th Lady’s room, on the west side is the 12th Lady’s room and upstairs is the 10th Lady’s room. 

Concubine Lv, the 11th Lady’s mother and Concubine Yang, the 10th Lady’s mother had fought for most of their lives. At the end, these two were overpowered by the 12th Lady’s mother, Concubine Lu. The 10th Lady ordered her maid to bang on the floor with a mallet, making those downstairs restless. 

The 11th Lady can ignore it, after all, in her body hides a mature soul. But the 12th Lady is only seven years old, yet she could withstand it, the 11th Lady couldn’t help but be impressed. 

“Dongqing Sister, don’t worry.” Seeing that the 11th Lady isn’t saying a word and the joy in the room was fading, Binju smiled and comforted Dongqing, “Isn’t there two more years? Our Lady is very smart, she’ll find a way.”

Dongqing’s expression darkened, she remained quiet. 

The 11th Lady looked at her, she suddenly remembered Dongqing’s expression when she came in.

She turned to look at her with a serious face and asked, “Dongqing, did Nanny Yao send someone to your house to propose a marriage?”

Dongqing lowered her eyes. 

Her action had answered her question, a burning feeling appeared in the 11th Lady’s heart. 

She coldly ‘humphed’, meaning to say something, but then she heard Binju deliberately raise her voice: “Nanny Yao, there’s a lot of snow outside, why did you come here? Quick, come inside and drink some hot tea to warm yourself.”

Everyone in the room was stunned. 

Binju panicked and pulled the 11th Lady’s sleeve: “What do we do? What do we do?”

Dongqing was always a calm person, but right now, there is a slight sharpness in her eyes. 

“Why are you panicking?” The 11th Lady stood up, calmly ordered them, “Dongqing, you go and take out the dahong pao tea here to treat the guest. Binju, you go and bring Nanny Yao here.”

Her calmness surprised Dongqing and Binju. 

The two of them nodded, before they could split up to do the work that was given, Nanny Yao had let herself inside, lifted up the curtain and walked in the room, looked at the three of them and smiled: “11th Lady, Luo Madam wants you to come over.”