Xianglan sat on the soft couch holding her embroidery frame in a daze, feeling deeply wronged. Seeing no one around, she quietly wiped away her tears. She had no one to rely on in the mansion, and unlike Hui'er or Huairui, she simply couldn't bring herself to grovel and flatter others. She had hoped to establish herself through hard work, always being kind and enduring humiliation without contention, yet somehow she kept being bullied and having her merits stolen, leaving her with even less footing.
Just as she was wiping her tears with her sleeve, someone suddenly spoke from the window: "Xianglan, come out and help this old woman with something."
Startled, Xianglan turned to see Granny Liu standing outside, beckoning to her through the window. She quickly blinked back her tears and stepped out, forcing a smile. "What is it, Granny Liu?"
"Come help me tidy up the tea room," Granny Liu said.
Once they entered the small tea room behind the house, Granny Liu studied Xianglan's face for a moment before sighing. "Child, you're too honest. Even when you're wronged, you cry in secret. No wonder those girls bully you."
Xianglan forced another smile. "I wasn't crying—just got some dust in my eyes and rubbed them too hard..." But when she saw Granny Liu's knowing, shrewd expression, she trailed off awkwardly and lowered her head.
Granny Liu pulled up a small stool and sat down, patting the empty spot beside her. "Come sit here, girl." Xianglan obediently sat next to her. Granny Liu exhaled deeply. "You're new here, so I shouldn't say too much, but I've been watching quietly, and I can see you're a good girl—not like those flighty young things. But you just work yourself to the bone without a word. I've wanted to advise you several times but never got the chance. Today, seeing how blatantly they were ganging up on you, this old woman couldn't stand it anymore. You slave away day and night—I know you spent three days making those shoes. I see it all."
Xianglan felt comforted, as if half her grievances had melted away.
Granny Liu continued, "You're too soft, girl. If you let people walk all over you, they'll trample you to death and still call you a coward! That Cousin of yours is no good, either. Her maternal grandmother was just a concubine-born sister of our old master, and after some ugly quarrel decades ago, they stopped speaking. Now she comes all the way from Yuzhou to freeload. The old master and mistress initially pitied her for being orphaned—thinking that even if her grandmother had faults, the granddaughter was blameless—and her sweet talk won them over, so they let her stay. But the mistress, wary of her grandmother's bad character, had the second Taitai investigate. Guess what they found?"
Xianglan asked, "What?"
"Turns out this Miss Huan was a tyrant at home. After her parents died, she and her brother seized their two half-sisters' dowries and a half-brother's inheritance. She even arranged for one half-sister to marry a fat old salt merchant as a replacement wife and the other to be a concubine to some white-bearded petty official—all because neither demanded a dowry and even paid the family a hefty sum!"
"What?" Xianglan was stunned.
"The second Taitai, who tolerates no nonsense, reported this to the mistress immediately. At first, the mistress was fooled by Cousin and let her stay with Ling Jie'er. But within two days, they quarreled, and Cousin even hit Ling Jie'er. So the mistress moved her out to the farthest, most remote Gauze Snow Dock and assigned her the least favored maid, Huairui."“Ah?” Xianglan was dumbfounded—Huairui was actually the least favored maid in Old Madam Zeng’s quarters!
“Huairui’s father was a prominent steward under the old master’s command. He insisted on sending his daughter into the household, secretly hoping she’d become a concubine. But his daughter… tsk tsk, what does she have to offer in looks, eloquence, or skills? She’s lazy and loves to slack off. The old madam only tolerated her out of respect for the old master and shoved her off to Cousin. Who’d have thought they’d hit it off?” Granny Liu sneered coldly. “I once saw Huairui secretly slip Miss Huan a piece of silver and two bolts of fabric, which Miss Huan accepted without batting an eye. Oh my, what a joke! These days, it’s always been mistresses rewarding servants, but now we have maids giving gifts to young ladies!”
Xianglan smiled faintly. “No wonder Cousin never assigns her any work—must be thanks to that silver and fabric.”
Granny Liu sighed. “But now that Miss Huan is in the household, leaving won’t be so easy. She’ll have to wait until her mourning period is over to marry out. To squeeze more silver from the family and fatten her dowry, she’s been fawning over the old madam day in and day out. The old madam remains indifferent, but she still won’t give up. The old master, however, still holds some affection for her and always urges the old madam to treat her well. Eldest Madam Lou is close to her, and together, who knows how much of the Lin family’s silver they’ve schemed away.”
Xianglan didn’t know what to say and silently poured Granny Liu a cup of tea.
Granny Liu snorted. “Once Old Madam Zeng kicks the bucket, the main branch will return from the capital for the funeral. When First Madam comes back, all these demons and monsters will be exposed for what they are!”
Xianglan asked, “Is First Madam really that formidable?”
Granny Liu chuckled. “Twenty years ago, when First Madam was still here, the household was nothing like this. Later, the old master was promoted, and the main branch moved to the capital, leaving only Eldest Master Lou to be raised by the old master. Second Madam is blunt and straightforward—no good at managing a household. After a few years under her, things started falling apart. When Eldest Master Lou married, Eldest Madam Lou took over, and it got even worse. That Eldest Madam Lou only loves flattery—whoever sucks up the most and offers the biggest ‘tributes’ gets promoted. Hardly anyone in the household does real work; they’re all focused on slacking off and lining their pockets. As for Eldest Master Lou, no one has a bad word to say—handsome, capable, not only a Licentiate but also a Martial Arts Top Scholar. He’s helped the family grow their business, earning enough silver to last generations. But as the saying goes, ‘A good man often gets a bad wife.’ He married this creature, and after five years, she still hasn’t borne a child—and won’t let him take a concubine either.”
Xianglan thought to herself, “Zhao Yuechan is also a harpy-like figure. Birds of a feather flock together—no wonder she and Cao Lihuan get along.”
Granny Liu, clearly having bottled this up for a long time, rambled on. “Back when First Madam was here, she promoted me to the accounts office. I had my moment of glory—not a single coin passed through my hands without being accounted for. When Second Madam took over, though I wasn’t her favorite, I was still useful. But once Eldest Madam Lou arrived, afraid I’d uncover her embezzlement, she banished me here to be a lowly servant…” Her voice trailed off with regret.
Xianglan comforted her. “Don’t lose heart, Mama. When First Madam returns, she’ll remember your past service and surely assign you a better position.”Granny Liu smiled and said, "At my age, I should be retiring home in a couple of years—what more could I ask for in terms of assignments? But you're different. You're so lovely and kind-hearted. You shouldn't be following that wicked woman who's rotten to the core... Ah, but then again, that Cousin is also pitiable. Since childhood, her parents were at each other's throats. Her father had five concubines and countless maids he'd taken advantage of—any girl who was even slightly pretty was dragged into his chambers. He drove her mother out to live in the Manor. Truly, the pitiable have their own faults."
Xianglan sighed as well. "She used sweet words to trick me into working my fingers to the bone for her. One moment she'd promise to put in a good word for me with Taitai, the next she'd claim that without her, I wouldn't even be allowed to stay in this household—that Taitai would surely kick me out and sell me off..."
Granny Liu widened her eyes. "She said what? That without her, Taitai would throw you out?"
Xianglan nodded.
Granny Liu scoffed. "Who does she think she is? Taitai or the Old Mistress? How dare she spout such nonsense—she should be careful not to bite her tongue! She doesn't have that kind of pull with Taitai. You can rest easy staying with the Lin family, no matter what that Cousin of hers is!" She sighed again and patted Xianglan's head. "Remember this: the more capable you are, the more work you'll get. Others will happily dump their tasks on you while they laze about. Once you get used to it, you won't be able to stop even if you want to, and then people will gossip behind your back, calling you lazy. You're too honest, child. Learn to be a bit sly when you need to, and grow a few more wits about you!"
Xianglan smiled. "Being honest is a good thing. If I weren't, Granny Liu wouldn't think well of me or take the time to advise me like this."
Granny Liu wanted to say more, but seeing Xianglan's sweet, innocent smile, her heart softened, and she held her tongue.
Though Xianglan's expression remained guileless, her mind was working differently. She thought to herself, "This impression of being 'simple' and 'foolish' isn't necessarily bad. After all, I'm not one for scheming, and appearing a bit slow-witted is safer than flaunting cleverness. But I can't let people push me around anymore—I need to find a way to break free from Cousin." After mulling it over, she asked Granny Liu more about the Lin household, but that's a story for another time.
Thank you all for voting for Xiaohe—I'm truly so grateful! I'll do my best to write this novel well in return for your support. Special thanks to LMG, Huaxiyuexi for the tips, and all the readers who voted for me (forgive me for being a bit slow—I don't know how to check who voted). And to those who followed me from ** to Qidian to show your support, I can't thank you enough! ^_^
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