“Miss, you’re awake. Let this servant help you get up.” An unwelcome voice interrupted Xu Rusheng’s thoughts.
She stretched out her hands—no bright red nail polish, no cold, luxurious bracelets. These were the hands of a ten-year-old child.
She still couldn’t believe she had returned to the year she was ten.
Ten years old—the year her mother died.
The bed curtains were drawn open, and the glaring sunlight made Xu Rusheng squint. Out of the corner of her eye, she glanced at the maid beside her.
It was Qinglian. Xu Rusheng sneered inwardly. After her mother’s death, when Princess Chunyi entered the household, Qinglian had become one of the princess’s trusted aides.
“Miss looks much better today. You should go pay respects to Old Madam,” Qinglian said, pulling open the curtains on her own and reaching to remove Xu Rusheng’s brocade quilt.
“Since when do you decide my affairs?” Xu Rusheng’s sudden remark made Qinglian’s hands freeze.
Qinglian felt wronged, her eyes reddening with unshed tears.
Xu Rusheng watched her performance coldly and raised her voice to call out:
“Mama Wu, where is Mama Wu?”
A middle-aged woman hurried in from outside, anxiously asking:
“What’s wrong, Miss? Are you feeling unwell again? This old servant will go fetch the doctor right away.”
The caring words warmed Xu Rusheng’s heart, but when she saw Qinglian putting on that pitiful look again, she said with disgust:
“The maids in this courtyard are growing bolder by the day, acting on their own and showing no regard for me as their mistress.”
Seeing that the young miss was well, Mama Wu felt relieved but also puzzled. The miss had always favored Qinglian the most, and this maid had grown spoiled and arrogant. What had happened today?
With a gentle smile, Mama Wu stepped forward to coax Xu Rusheng, saying affectionately:
“Today, this old servant will personally attend to you, Miss. Let Qinglian step aside.”
Xu Rusheng acted as if she hadn’t heard, pointing toward the door and glaring impatiently at Qinglian as she scolded sharply:
“Go kneel outside. Don’t get up until you’ve grown a brain.”
Qinglian was both shocked and humiliated, her tears finally spilling over. The miss—the miss had called her brainless!
Gritting her teeth, Qinglian knelt down, her neck stiff with defiance:
“Miss, please tell me what I’ve done wrong. It doesn’t matter if you punish me, but I’m afraid Old Madam might find out and damage your reputation.”
Xu Rusheng sneered inwardly. Her mother wasn’t even dead yet, and the maids in this courtyard dared to defy her openly while paying lip service to Old Madam.
No doubt her dear grandmother had long hoped her mother would die on the journey back to the capital.
Xu Rusheng unconsciously clenched her hands. “Since I can’t command you, Mama Wu,” she narrowed her eyes slightly, a faint, ambiguous smile curling her lips, “go call a slave trader. Have her sold far away and buy a few maids I can actually command.”
“Don’t be angry, Miss. This servant will go kneel outside right now.” Qinglian’s face instantly turned pale, and she dared not talk back any further.
Sold out of the household? Don’t be ridiculous. What place was Linjiang Houfu? It was a pinnacle of wealth and status. Even as a servant, one lived more respectably than many wealthy young ladies outside.
Mama Wu lovingly stroked Xu Rusheng’s jet-black hair. “Don’t be angry, Miss. If Qinglian doesn’t listen, we’ll just teach her the rules again.”
Seeing Xu Rusheng’s expression soften slightly, she added with a smile, “Madam isn’t in the capital, and you’ve been ill for so many days. You look much better today. Why not take advantage of the lovely spring weather and go for a walk?”
Yet she made no mention of going to pay respects to Old Madam.
Xu Rusheng rose and walked to the dressing table, examining in the mirror a face still youthful yet beginning to bloom. A pair of fair, delicate hands picked up a comb, stroking her hair methodically. "Today, I shall go pay respects to Grandmother."
Mama Wu smiled with relief. "This old servant will have Qingbi come to attend to your dressing."
A round-faced, timid maid entered, kneeling respectfully and kowtowing on the floor. "Qingbi pays her respects to the young miss."
Xu Rusheng helped her up at once, carefully observing the still-immature Qingbi before her. What a loyal Qingbi she was! After her mother’s death, her days had grown difficult. The servants in the courtyard, watching Concubine Wang’s expression, paid her only superficial obedience. Only Qingbi remained steadfastly loyal.
Just as Qingbi finished dressing Xu Rusheng, voices were heard from outside the courtyard. "What has happened to the eldest young miss? At the slightest disagreement, she punishes someone by making them kneel in the courtyard. People coming and going will see it, and if word reaches Old Madam, I fear it will tarnish the young miss’s reputation."
Qingbi cautiously watched Xu Rusheng’s face gradually darken and softly reminded her, "Young miss, it’s Qinglian’s mother, Mama Liu, who has come. Mama Liu serves by Old Madam’s side, so I’m afraid…"
Before she could finish, Xu Rusheng stepped out of the room. Seeing Mama Liu at the entrance, her hair half-white and meticulously combed, Xu Rusheng smiled brightly.
"You old servant certainly has sharp ears! I had only punished Qinglian for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, and you already received word and rushed over from Old Madam’s side. Those who don’t know might think the Marquis’s household is under your control."
Mama Liu’s expression tightened, her smile not reaching her eyes. "The young miss has made Qinglian kneel so openly outside. Naturally, news spreads quickly among the servants coming and going in the mansion."
"Those who know understand I’ve punished a servant. Those who don’t might think I’ve committed some heinous crime." Xu Rusheng spoke cheerfully, showing no trace of anger, and made no mention of letting Qinglian rise.
The early spring weather was still cold. Qinglian, usually pampered like half a young lady, had never endured such hardship and could no longer bear it, lifting her eyes to look pleadingly at her mother.
Mama Liu clenched her handkerchief tightly. "I wonder what fault Qinglian has committed. If the young miss tells me, this old servant will vent your anger on your behalf."
Xu Rusheng’s pretty face darkened, and she snorted coldly. "It’s only been a few days since Mother passed, and already the servants of the Marquis’s household dare to come to my courtyard and give orders. What, must I seek your permission to punish a servant by making them kneel?"
She turned and strode back into the room, saying harshly, "Mama Wu, drive this ungrateful old servant out for me. Then go tell Grandmother that I’ve been made ill with anger today."
"Go to the outer courtyard and ask when Father and Mother will return. Wuwu~ Grandmother allows her servants to bully me."
Mama Liu and Qinglian stared dumbfounded at Xu Rusheng’s retreating figure. Mama Liu’s heart was in turmoil—this! How had this even implicated Old Madam?
Mama Wu felt deeply gratified. Heavens, the young miss had finally grown a backbone! Over the years, her mistress had acted with such low profile, and the young miss had been raised with a meek temperament.
Mama Wu pushed and shoved Mama Liu out, dispatched a clever little maid to deliver the message to Old Madam, and sent Qingbi to summon a physician to examine Xu Rusheng. For a moment, chaos reigned.
In the Rongshou Hall of the Marquis of Linjiang’s household, the women of the mansion were paying their morning respects. Old Madam had long been displeased with Xu Rusheng’s absence.
After being ill for over ten days, treated like an ancestor in the mansion, she even sent a little maid to say she had been angered into sickness. Concubine Wang rolled her eyes.
Who dared to provoke her!
Seeing Old Madam’s displeased expression, Second Madam He said with a forced smile:
"Mother, A Sheng is probably missing her mother and feeling sad. She’s just using this as an excuse, hoping we’ll visit her. Let’s go see her. With her mother not here, if someone truly bullied her, we elders should help her vent her anger."
At the mention of the Marchioness of Linjiang, Old Madam’s expression grew even darker—a noble-born daughter-in-law who couldn’t bear a legitimate son.
Beside them, Xu Ruzheng, eating pastries, swung her legs and tilted her head innocently as she looked at Old Madam:
"Grandmother, if Elder Sister misses you, why doesn’t she come to see you? When Zhen’er misses Grandmother, she comes directly to pay her respects."
Her birth mother, Concubine Wang, wiped Xu Ruzheng’s mouth with a handkerchief and chimed in:
"That’s right, Old Madam. I think the eldest young lady is most likely pretending."
Madam He’s lips twitched. Concubine Wang truly forgot the pain once the wound healed.
Concubine Wang was the concubine of the Marquis of Linjiang, having borne the Marquis’s eldest son out of wedlock. She even called Old Madam of the Marquis of Linjiang her aunt. With such status, any main wife would be wary of her.
But she happened to encounter Wen Li. Wen Li never engaged in scheming with her; if displeased, she would directly have the matrons slap her.
Concubine Wang resented it, Old Madam resented it—but what could they do?
Wen Li had a father who served as the Emperor’s tutor, an elder sister who was the Empress, and an elder brother who commanded two hundred thousand troops.
Even without a legitimate son, no one dared to speak a harsh word to her.
Just as Madam He was about to speak, she saw a servant hurriedly enter:
"Old Madam, the Marquis sent this servant to report that Old Master Wen has passed away. The Marquis will depart for the capital tomorrow, while the Marchioness will remain to handle the funeral affairs. I’m afraid it will still be some time before she can return to the capital."