Chapter 015
Chapter 15: The Masters Want to Void the Contract?
With a bucket swinging from her hand, Xiao Man walked with a light step and hummed an off-key tune. Her mood could not have been better.
Dong Chun passed with an empty plate, did a double-take, and came back to stare curiously as she asked, “Xiao Man, did you find some money? You look so happy. Did the little kitchen save you a treat?”
Xiao Man tapped Dong Chun’s forehead with a wet fingertip and said, “All you think about is eating.”
Her eyes swept over the chatty little maids in the yard. Dong Chun and Qiu Yue were there too, each fresh-faced and pretty. [Why did the rutting of Buddha’s Chosen fall on me alone? If I leave, will that jerk Lin Qing Xuan set his sights on these girls instead?]
She muttered inwardly, [Time, hurry up. A few more months and I can take my indenture deed and go. I won’t look back.]
But then a small, strange ache flickered in her chest, and she could not name it.
A cool voice cut in behind her: “Xiao Man.”
Xi Qiao, First Madam’s personal maid, had appeared without a sound as she said, “First Madam wants to see you.”
Xiao Man’s heart lurched. The bucket almost slipped, and water splashed across the ground. Flustered, color draining from her face, she asked, “Sister Xi Qiao, did I… did I do something wrong?”
Xi Qiao shook her head with a blank face and said, “I don’t know.”
She truly did not. Seeing Xiao Man shrink like a quail, Xi Qiao actually added a touch more, a hint of tease at her mouth as she said, “Go and you’ll find out. When did you get so timid? Last time in the back room playing flower tiles, you won my money. When you held out your hand for payment, your voice was not small.”
Xiao Man pouted and said, “That’s not the same.”
With a doomed feeling, she followed Xi Qiao to First Madam’s main room.
The heavy incense made it hard to breathe. Xiao Man dropped to her knees and offered proper greetings as she said, “This maid Xiao Man pays respect to First Madam.”
First Madam sat above with a teacup in hand and did not tell her to rise. Those sharp, clever eyes measured Xiao Man from head to toe. Pretty enough, but far from a great beauty. Skin not pale enough. Thin calluses on her hands from hard work.
How had she caught Qing Xuan’s eye? Maybe the old saying was right: every flower has its admirer. Never mind.
The Heir Apparent and Old Madam had already spoken. As long as she was a woman who could give the Lin Clan a child, they would worship her like a Bodhisattva. To keep Qing Xuan from changing his mind, the girl must be sent to his side at once.
First Madam set the cup down, took a slow sip, and then spoke in an even voice as she said, “Qing Xuan bumped his head last night and was hurt a little. His room lacks a quick, careful girl who knows how to tend him. Old Madam says you are the most capable and the most attentive. Pack up and go serve in the Auspicious Cloud Residence at once. Old Madam has already agreed. From now on, his food and clothing and his mornings and nights will be your responsibility.”
Xiao Man’s mind boomed like thunder. Go to the Auspicious Cloud Residence? Care for Lin Qing Xuan’s food and clothing, his waking and sleeping? That was sending a lamb into a tiger’s mouth.
She forced the words up and began, “First Madam, this maid…”
First Madam did not lift her eyelids, but her tone cooled as she said, “I know your indenture deed has less than seven months left. You also understand that though it is a term indenture, if the work is done poorly, it is not unheard of for the masters to keep the deed.”
The threat slid into Xiao Man’s ears like an ice pick. Void the contract.
They meant to hold that over her.
Sweat broke cold in her palms as her nails pressed into the coarse cloth.
The small click of First Madam’s cup touching the table sounded harmless, but in Xiao Man’s chest it fell like a hammer. Old Madam had approved. The words sounded like a grand favor, but every syllable was a link in a frozen chain.
She snapped her eyes up and met First Madam’s gaze. The look seemed gentle but allowed no argument. The refusal in her throat rolled and rolled, then she swallowed it down.
In this place, if the master wanted you to live, you could live. If the master wanted you to die, you did not even get to choose how.
A rush of humiliation burned her eyes hot. She bit the soft flesh of her lower lip and tasted iron before forcing the flood of anger back down.
She could not make a scene. She could not talk back. Fighting back was the same as courting death.
“Yes,” she heard herself say, the voice dry and strange to her own ears. “This maid obeys. Thank you, First Madam and Old Madam, for your trust. I will do my best to serve the Eldest Young Master well.”
Each word felt squeezed through her teeth.
She pressed her forehead to the cold, hard floor, hiding the churn of hate and unwillingness in her eyes.
“Good,” First Madam said with a satisfied nod, then added, “Go pack and go now. Qing Xuan must not be kept waiting.”
Xiao Man saluted and walked out woodenly.
Outside, the bright sun stabbed her eyes, while her heart sank into an endless pit of ice.
Dong Chun came hurrying over with a tray of fresh pastries. Seeing Xiao Man’s dazed look, her smile froze as she asked, “Xiao Man? What happened? What did First Madam say? You look so pale.”
Looking at Dong Chun’s worried face, Xiao Man’s throat tightened. She shaped a smile uglier than a sob and said in a faint voice, “It’s nothing. First Madam told me to go serve at the Eldest Young Master’s Auspicious Cloud Residence.”
“Ah?” Dong Chun’s eyes went wide, then a little envy slid in as she said, “Auspicious Cloud Residence? That’s the best post. The Eldest Young Master is a bit cold, but the courtyard is quiet and the rewards are generous. Not like those other courtyards with a thousand headaches.”
[Good?] Bitter taste flooded Xiao Man’s mouth. [That is a dragon’s pool and a tiger’s den. It is the lair of Lin Qing Xuan, righteous face by day and beast by night. Serve him? Be responsible for his ‘mornings and nights’? That is roasting me over a fire and making me smile while it happens.]
She echoed numbly, “Yes. ‘Very good.’”
She dragged herself back to her cramped little room, hands and feet cold as she packed her few things. A few washed-thin old clothes. A small jar of sweet pickled garlic from her aunt.
And then…
She reached under her pillow and found the protective talisman. It was no longer warm, even a little cold. The words of the Abbess of Azure Cloud Temple sounded in her ear: some karmic ties cannot be escaped.
[Can’t escape?] Xiao Man clenched the talisman until her knuckles went white. [I will escape.]
[Even if I’m shackled now, I will use every inch the chain allows to carve out a way to live.]
The shame coiled around her heart like a poison vine, squeezing her breath. Yet beneath the pain, something tougher stirred, the grit of a modern office worker hardened by life’s grind.
Lin Qing Xuan, First Madam, Old Madam… you want to make me a chess piece, a toy, a tool to carry on your line? Fine. I accept for now.
[But you had better keep me watched. Do not give me even a sliver of a chance. And do not let this pawn turn and stab your hand.]
She stuffed the last piece of clothing into the bundle and pulled the knot tight.
When she lifted her head, her clear almond eyes held only chill and a trace of mocking resolve.
Serve Buddha’s Chosen? She glanced at the empty room, tugged at one corner of her mouth, and said, “Fine.” Then she added, one word at a time, “We’ll see who outplays who first.”