Since moving to her new quarters, Cao Lihuan had been in a foul mood. Every day she would shut herself in with Hui'er to curse Qin Shi repeatedly. In fits of anger, she would take it out on Xianglan, while making snide remarks about Siqiao: "Who knows if she's pretending or really still unwell, lying in bed like a corpse all day, living better than her mistress! As if I needed another young madam to serve here, putting on such airs!"
Hearing this, Siqiao had no choice but to endure the pain and rise, limping to attend to her duties. Yet Cao Lihuan would complain about her clumsiness and order her to do needlework instead. Being unskilled with her hands, Siqiao often couldn't even finish embroidering a single flower in a day, inevitably earning more scolding. Xianglan pitied her and would help with the work whenever she had spare time. As Siqiao stitched, tears would begin falling uncontrollably. Xianglan would immediately nudge her, whispering, "What are you crying for? If those tears stain the fabric, that ogress won't spare you! Quickly wipe them away. Why feel wronged? We're all enduring the same. Whether you face the day with joy or sorrow, it's still the same day—you must find your own way to bear it."
Siqiao wiped her tears with her sleeve, sobbing, "I don't think I can endure it..."
Xianglan said firmly, "You must endure, whether you can or not. Would you rather hang yourself? Sometimes it's like this—you see no way forward, yet who knows if just around the corner lies a hidden village beyond the willows? Other times everything seems splendid and full of promise, only for you to step off a cliff and be dashed to pieces..."
"What are you saying? You're scaring me," Siqiao said, rubbing her arms. She was about to say more when Cao Lihuan's voice rang out from the courtyard: "Xianglan! Xianglan!"
Xianglan quickly answered and set down her embroidery hoop to go outside. Cao Lihuan had ordered her to fetch water again. Dragging a bucket along, Xianglan went out, and upon returning, she noticed a short, stocky man standing at the courtyard gate.
Pretending not to see him, she lowered her head and tried to pass by. The courtyard they now lived in was connected to the inner gate, and since moving here, Cao Lihuan had often summoned her trusted servant Si Shun'er to discuss matters. Cao Lihuan was a scheming woman—when her parents passed away, she had conspired with her brother to divide the family fortune, securing a sum for herself. With it, she had purchased a small manor on the outskirts of Jinling, entrusting it to her wet nurse's family to manage. This Si Shun'er was her wet nurse's son, in his twenties. Though short in stature, his features were decent, and he had once seemed capable. But he was given to drinking, gambling, and womanizing, his mind never set on the right path. He had taken up with two young widows and squandered money in brothels, exuding an air of vulgarity. He had a wife back home, but upon arriving in Jinling and catching sight of a few maids from the Lin household, he immediately felt his own wife was as fat as a pig—nothing like the Lin family's maids, with their slender waists swaying like willow branches, more enchanting than celestial beauties. Since then, whenever he came to the Lin residence, he would dress up, hoping to seduce a few pretty maids, but none paid him any attention.
Now, as Si Shun'er stood idly by the courtyard gate, he suddenly caught sight of a beautiful girl carrying a wooden bucket. His eyes widened, his soul nearly leaving his body. The famous sing-song girls he had paid five taels to spend a night with now seemed like dirt in comparison. Eagerly, he approached with a grin, saying, "Sister, that must be heavy. Let me carry it for you." As he spoke, he reached for the bucket, taking the chance to grope Xianglan's hand.Xianglan had heard of Si Shun'er from Cao Lihuan and Hui'er before, and now that she saw him, she immediately recognized him and grew wary. As Si Shun'er approached, she quickly sidestepped, lowering her head and saying, "No need," before hurrying inside.
Si Shun'er wasn’t about to let her go so easily. He followed her, waving a folding fan with what he thought was charm, smiling eagerly. "Sister, do you serve Miss Huan? How come I’ve never seen you before? You look so familiar—could it be fate from a past life?"
Xianglan found his words both ridiculous and irritating. She kept a stern face and walked on, but Si Shun’er kept babbling, "Are you Miss Huan’s maid? I heard the family gave her a girl named Siqiao, said to be as pretty as a fairy, clever and skilled—truly living up to her name. Could that be you?"
Xianglan stopped in her tracks and turned around, her expression severe. "What business do you have here? This is the inner courtyard. If you take another step, I’ll call for help!"
Seeing Xianglan’s cold, disdainful look only made Si Shun'er’s heart flutter more. He grinned and said, "Miss Huan sent me—"
"If Miss Huan sent you, you should wait at the gate! Only enter when summoned. Do you have no sense of propriety? Your shamelessness is an insult to Miss Huan!" With that, she abandoned the water bucket and stormed inside.
Once inside, she noticed Siqiao wasn’t there. A half-embroidered butterfly-and-peony piece lay on the kang. Xianglan picked up the embroidery hoop and finished stitching a leaf before quietly cracking the window open to peek outside. Seeing that Si Shun'er had left, she finally went out to fetch the water bucket, filling the copper kettle in the tea room to boil water.
As for Si Shun'er, Xianglan’s sharp rebuke only made her seem more alluring to him—her fiery temper adding to her charm. His heart itched like a cat’s scratch, and he was still dazed when Huairui called him inside. He returned to Cao Lihuan’s quarters, where she gave him two tasks: first, to fetch two baskets of fresh pears from the Manor for Qin Shi’s upcoming birthday celebration, and second, to deliver a message to her brother Cao Gang, telling him that Zhao Yuechan had approved a landscaping job and they only needed Qin Shi’s final nod, so he should be patient.
After giving him a handful of coins as a reward, Cao Lihuan was about to dismiss him when Si Shun'er suddenly dropped to his knees with a thud, kowtowing twice. "Miss—no, no, Madam, my ancestral lady! If you don’t grant me this favor, I won’t be able to go on living!"
Cao Lihuan was startled. "What is it?"
"Just now, I saw a maid carrying a water bucket—I don’t know if she’s the one you mentioned, the girl named Siqiao given by the Lin family. The moment I laid eyes on her, my soul left me! If you could arrange for her to marry me, I’d divorce my wife the moment I got home and serve you for the rest of my life—I’d even give my life for you!" He kowtowed again, his forehead thumping loudly against the floor.Cao Lihuan knew Si Shun'er was a lecherous scoundrel and secretly looked down on him. But with no better alternatives at hand, she usually turned a blind eye, though she often cursed him behind his back to Hui'er as "that lustful donkey who trembles at the sight of a woman, can't keep his pants on, always scheming vulgar deeds—a wretched creature who deserves to die horribly." Yet face-to-face, she still coaxed him with sweet words to serve her loyally. Hearing his request, she pondered briefly before lifting her teacup for a sip. "Siqiao? The girl who carries water buckets? What does she look like?"
Si Shun'er knelt stiffly, gesturing eagerly with both hands. "Well... she's quite pretty—fair-skinned, big-eyed, with a slender waist, wearing her hair in a maid's bun and dressed in a pale blue skirt..."
"Enough, enough." Cao Lihuan understood immediately from his description, her lips curling into a cold smile. "I doubt you'd settle for Siqiao. That girl is Xianglan—from the Lin household. You'd better put that idea out of your head."
Si Shun'er protested at once. "What does it matter if she's from the Lin household? She's still just a servant girl!" Grinning obsequiously, he shuffled forward on his knees, his face plastered with exaggerated cheer as he shot Cao Lihuan a meaningful look. "My dear lady, my loyalty to you has always been unwavering. If you grant me this favor, you'll be like my second mother, my savior! Besides, haven't I served you faithfully all these years? If not for merit, then at least for my hard work..."
Cao Lihuan felt nauseated by Si Shun'er's fawning closeness and leaned back, her expression icy. "Enough! Look at how pathetic you are!" After calming herself, she reconsidered. Though Xianglan was simple-minded, lacking social graces and cunning, she worked diligently without complaint—easy to control. Moreover, her exquisite needlework made her valuable, and Cao Lihuan had long intended to keep her. The only problem was her striking beauty—a future liability if Cao Lihuan married. Handing her over to Si Shun'er, however, would kill three birds with one stone: securing his loyalty, ensuring a servant's wife couldn't cause trouble, and gaining a pliable underling. Calculating coldly, she saw no reason to hesitate—she was no saint, caring only for her own gain, heedless of karma or others' suffering. A vicious scheme took shape in her mind. Seeing no one else in the room except Hui'er dozing in the inner chamber, she finally said, "What you ask... isn't entirely impossible..."
Si Shun'er reacted as if granted divine favor, eagerly inching closer. As Cao Lihuan spoke, he nodded like a pecking chick, finally clapping his hands and smacking his lips. "If this succeeds, I'd die happy!"
Cao Lihuan smiled warmly. "I always knew you were sensible. I don't ask for gratitude—just serve me well in the future as repayment."
"Understood! Understood! This lowly one wouldn't dare forget!" Si Shun'er assured her repeatedly.
Clutching her handkerchief, Cao Lihuan's smile held a trace of cruelty. Deep down, she knew the truth—she envied Xianglan! That little maid carried herself with innate nobility, as if born to be a mistress, her every gesture exuding restrained elegance. It infuriated Cao Lihuan. Though she had schemed relentlessly to break Xianglan's spirit, and the girl appeared obedient and meek, she sensed an unyielding pride beneath the surface—one she had never truly subdued.Cao Lihuan's eyes gleamed with cold malice—"Let's see how that haughty backbone of yours holds up once you're forced to submit to some vulgar, worthless man!"
Behind the screen, Siqiao trembled uncontrollably. There was a back door in the room, positioned right behind this screen. Earlier, Cao Lihuan had instructed Siqiao to move two potted plants outside to sun them. Upon returning with the plants and about to close the door, Siqiao suddenly heard Si Shun'er mention her name. Summoning her courage, she hid behind the screen to eavesdrop—only to break out in a cold sweat from what she heard.
Dazed, Siqiao returned to the small room she shared with Xianglan. Upon entering, she saw Xianglan holding an embroidery hoop, working on her behalf. In a daze, she sat down on the kang, only to jump up immediately from the pain in her backside. Xianglan chuckled, "You can't sit so soon. You're still limping when you walk. A couple more days of medicine, and you'll be fine."
Looking at Xianglan's smiling face, Siqiao swallowed the words that had risen to her lips and said nothing.
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