Сhарtеr 8: Delivering Сlоthеs
Sесond Housеhоld.
Upon hеaring Bi Wu’s rероrt, Zhао Wаn was sо furiоus shе smаshed a tеacup.
“Did she rеаlly sау thаt? Yоu’rе not lуing tо mе?”
How dаrе that littlе wretch defу her!
Вi Wu hurriedly shoоk her hеad. “It’s аbsоlutely truе! She told the mistrеss tо sееk the Young Маstеr’s рermission first—оnly if thе Young Mаster agrеes will she tаke on the еmbrоidеry wоrk fоr the Secоnd Hоusеhold.”
“Fine, finе, fine!”
Zhaо Wan lаughеd in shеer аnger. “So nоw that she hаs sоmеone backing her, she doesn’t еvеn see me as wоrth а glance. Аlright, I undеrstand. You may leave.”
No matter how lowly A’Yuan might be, she was still Wei Xun’s woman. By invoking Wei Xun’s name, Zhao Wan truly couldn’t openly do anything to her.
Bi Wu had been hoping Zhao Wan would make things difficult for A’Yuan, but she never expected Zhao Wan to back down as soon as Wei Xun’s name was mentioned.
Fuming, Bi Wu stamped her foot but dared not say more, though her resentment toward A’Yuan only grew stronger.
As she left Zhao Wan’s room, a sly-looking servant waiting nearby called out to her.
“Auntie Bi, the Second Master is asking for you. Auntie Qiu is there too.”
He was one of Wei Cong’s attendants, having picked up many of Wei Cong’s vulgar habits. Bi Wu found him utterly repulsive but couldn’t afford to offend him openly.
“Understood.”
Bi Wu let out a coquettish laugh and swayed her hips as she entered the inner chamber.
Despite the bitter cold, she wore only a thin pink jacket that clung tightly to her slender waist and rounded hips, her movements as sinuous as a water snake.
The servant stared, clicking his tongue softly. If only the master would reward him with a taste someday.
But his Second Master was all bark and no bite—always requiring two women to serve him yet lacking the vigor to follow through. These delicate concubines had yet to experience a real man’s prowess.
Once they grew too deprived, perhaps they’d think of him.
The servant snickered, rubbing his hands together before slipping inside after her.
Soon, the sounds of flirtatious laughter between men and women drifted from the inner chamber. The maids and older servants outside pretended not to hear, quietly going about their tasks, though their eyes betrayed their disdain.
The Second Household was truly a den of filth—a nest of thieves and whores, tarnishing the Peaceful Marquis Estate’s honorable reputation.
……
“Nanny, send someone tomorrow to fetch Yingxue.”
After hearing Bi Wu’s report, Zhao Wan finally relented, though her teeth remained clenched.
Though she disliked the idea of her cousin Su Yingxue overshadowing her, she despised even more A’Yuan’s arrogance born of favor.
If even a lowly bedchamber maid dared to defy her by relying on Wei Xun’s backing, what would happen if a noblewoman from a prominent family were to marry in? Would she really have to relinquish her authority over the household?
Zhao Wan refused to accept that.
“Yes.”
Nanny Chen had long hoped she would come around. Now that Zhao Wan had agreed, she promptly accepted the order and left.
……
A’Yuan remained unaware of the Second Household’s schemes. The injury to her knee wasn’t severe; after Wei Xun helped massage away the bruising, it had mostly healed.
But Chun Tao strictly followed Wei Xun’s instructions, forbidding her from leaving the bed. Bored from lying around, A’Yuan asked Chun Tao to bring her sewing basket.
“Mistress, your injury isn’t fully healed yet. Why are you doing embroidery again? Didn’t you already decline the Second Mistress’s request?”
Chun Tao didn’t want her to overexert herself, but A’Yuan smiled softly. “The weather will warm up soon, and the Young Master’s robes need to be changed. Since I’m just lying here with nothing to do, I might as well make them for him.”
Her eyes sparkled as she spoke, like a maiden in the throes of first love. Chun Tao immediately swallowed her objections.
“Then I’ll go select some fabric for you. The Young Master prefers dark colors. Last year, the Old Madam gifted a bolt of cloud-patterned brocade—it would be perfect for spring attire.”
It was rare for Jade Clarity Courtyard to receive such a reward. The brocade was black, clearly intended by the Old Madam for A’Yuan to make clothes for Wei Xun.It’s just that in the past, A’Yuan didn’t know how to curry favor with Wei Xun, leaving this fabric to gather dust in the cabinet. Now, she had finally come to her senses.
Chun Tao brought the fabric and thoughtfully prepared tea, then helped A’Yuan with the cutting.
A’Yuan had measured Wei Xun’s size night after night, so she could cut the fabric without even using a ruler.
Her embroidery skills were already deft, and with her eagerness for Wei Xun to wear it soon, she finished a robe in just four or five days.
“Master, shall we take it to the Young Master now?”
Seeing A’Yuan about to put the finished robe away, Chun Tao quickly urged.
Her master was gentle and considerate, but she lacked much in the way of competing for favor. If it were another family’s concubine, they would have long taken their embroidery work to the master to seek rewards.
A’Yuan clenched her fingers, a flicker of struggle flashing in her eyes.
She had always been the type who neither fought nor contended. Wei Xun visited her courtyard twice a month, and sometimes, when busy, he might not come even once. But A’Yuan had never complained or gone to his courtyard.
She strictly adhered to her role as a bedchamber maid, fearing to overstep the rules.
But now, looking at the carefully made robe, A’Yuan suddenly wanted to see him.
“Alright.”
Jade Clarity Courtyard was only a gate away from the outer study. It took A’Yuan and her maid just half a quarter of an hour to walk there.
Wei Xun was not accustomed to being served by maids or elderly women. Only Chang Yuan and two young servants were in the outer study, but at that moment, a charming young lady emerged from the study.
She wore an apricot-yellow jacket and skirt, her face powdered, with willow-leaf eyebrows and cherry lips. Resting her hand on her maid’s wrist, she stopped haughtily in front of A’Yuan.
“So you’re that bedchamber maid of Brother Xun? No wonder, with that seductive face.”
The Su family, like the Zhao family, held only seventh-rank official positions, but Su Yingxue had also grown up pampered and spoiled, her temperament raised to be willful. Now, with Zhao Wan promising her marriage to Wei Xun, she already saw A’Yuan as a thorn in her side even before entering the household.
A’Yuan halted her steps, not understanding why this young lady before her was trying to provoke her.
Su Yingxue snorted coldly, “I’m about to marry Brother Xun. If you dare seduce him, just wait—I’ll have you sold off!”
To see Wei Xun, she had adorned her head with hairpins and ornaments. The afternoon sunlight fell on them, stinging A’Yuan’s eyes so sharply that tears nearly fell.
Su Yingxue’s words felt like a heavy hammer striking her heart, making her halted steps even harder to lift.
Was Wei Xun really… about to take a wife?
“Master Xie, Chun Tao, what brings you here? Come in quickly!”
Chang Yuan had just been ordered by Wei Xun to throw out the tonic soup Su Yingxue had brought. Opening the door, he saw A’Yuan and her maid.
The disdain on his face turned to delight, and he hurriedly welcomed them inside.
The Young Master had been thoroughly annoyed by that cousin earlier. Seeing Master Xie now would surely lift his spirits.
Hearing the door open, Su Yingxue fled with her maid. She hadn’t yet entered the household, and scolding the bedchamber maid in Wei Xun’s courtyard was, after all, improper. She would deal with this seductress properly once she married Wei Xun.
A’Yuan’s face turned as pale as paper, as if all strength had left her body.
A haze seemed to cloud her vision as she shook her head with difficulty. “I won’t… go in.”
But before she could finish, Chun Tao took over.
“Master stayed up three nights to make a robe for the Young Master and wanted him to try it on.”
“That’s wonderful! Master Xie’s embroidery skills are outstanding. The Young Master will surely like it.”
Chang Yuan eagerly opened the study door, leaving A’Yuan no choice but to enter.
She stepped inside with difficulty, her mood now entirely different from when she had arrived.Those secret joys had long since vanished without a trace.