The Emperor’s Beloved Ugly Girl

41. Cutting the Beard

Translator: Iris Guo

A’Chou got stunned and asked: “Cut the beard?”

In the Great Zhou Dynasty, there was a tradition of growing beards among men, especially those from rich and noble families. Males usually began to grow beards after coming of age. Pingxi Prince Zhong Zhiling, biological brother of the Emperor, was praised as the “Man with Great Beard”. Zhong Mingwei also grew a beard. Although he had suffered for almost six months, and there were certain earthshaking changes in his life, his beard didn’t get messy, and only grew a little longer. It was obvious that he used to take good care of his beard.

“Yes.” said Zhong Mingwei.

“I’ve heard that you noble men value your beards most,” A’Chou hesitated while holding the scissors, “When I was in the capital, I saw Master Duan taking care of his beard every day, even if he had a hard life. He treated it with great care, and the time he spent in front of the mirror was even longer than Mrs. Duan did.”

“Am I still a noble man?” joked Zhong Mingwei while smiling, “Taking care of the beard is tricky for me. You might as well cut it all.”

“Alright then. I’ll do it now.” In fact, A’Chou didn’t understand why men would grow beards at all, especially for teenagers and men in their twenties. No matter how good-looking they were, once they grew beards, she wouldn’t find them attractive anymore. Besides, Zhong Mingwei’s beard was so long that it was inconvenient to feed him porridge. She thought to herself but dared not say that out loud. Today, since he already asked her to cut his beard, she naturally would listen to him, so she cut off a wisp of his beard.

“I haven’t cut the beard for others before. Please forgive me if I don’t do a good job. The scissors may touch the wrong place.” said A’Chou while smiling and holding that wisp.

“I haven’t got anyone unskilled to cut my beard before. Please forgive me if I didn’t treat you right before. Please hold the scissors carefully.” Zhong Mingwei also smiled.

“Ha ha! I didn’t expect you to be this funny,” A’Chou burst out laughing and continued to murmur. Still, she cut Zhong Mingwei’s beard very cautiously: “Just relax. I’ll never hurt you. I’d rather hurt myself.”

“How’s the Co-Chancellor?” When A’Chou finished half side of his face, Zhong Mingwei finally asked after a long time of hesitation.

“The Co-Chancellor?” A’Chou was dazed first and then understood who he referred to, “Oh, you meant Master Duan?”

Zhong Mingwei answered hurriedly: “Yes.”

“Not good,” A’Chou frowned and pinched another wisp of Zhong Mingwei’s beard, “When I first came to the Duan Family, it seemed that Master Duan just got a six-grade demotion to a mere… Right, a Sub-Sixth Rank Compiler at the Hanlin Academy. I didn’t know what kind of position that was. Anyway, the family was short of money, and the small quadrangle courtyard was too small for dozens of members to live in. There was only one old housekeeper, and no maid doing laundry and cooking for them until I came.”

“By the way, how come you were sent to the Duan Family?” Something occurred to Zhong Mingwei and he looked at A’Chou confusedly, “Didn’t you work at the Imperial Washhouse before? Who sent you to the Duan Family?”

Imperial maids could apply for leaving the palace after they turned 25, and maids under 25 could never leave the palace without an edict. Zhong Mingwei could easily guess out that someone must have sent A’Chou to the Duan Family.