Since winter began, the wind and snow had not ceased.
The cold wind rattled the half-open lattice window with a creaking sound.
“Crash—”
The porcelain vase with flower arrangements on the windowsill shattered into pieces.
Ming Ying shrank back, jolting awake.
She struggled to sit up, her lips colorless, her small face as pale as thin paper. Unable to suppress it, she covered her chest and coughed violently several times.
The cold had not yet healed; in fact, it had worsened.
Howling gusts of cold wind poured into the room, snowflakes settling on the charcoal fire.
Slipping on her shoes, she walked to the window, reaching out to close it, when she heard a sharp female voice from the corridor not far away.
“…And now, putting on the act of a sickly beauty, Eldest Master hasn’t come for a month. Who does she think she’s fooling with this act? Born a lowly servant, does she really think she can enter the Guogongfu?” The pink-clad maid complained indignantly, venting her frustrations to the green-clad maid beside her.
The green-clad maid said, “Zhui’er, say less. Miss Ming is Eldest Master’s woman. We should still show her some respect.”
Zhui’er, full of herself and resentment, retorted, “Sister Ling Shuang, you’re a first-class maid. Why are you afraid of her? She won’t be able to put on airs for much longer anyway. Once Eldest Master marries County Mistress Jianing, a seductive woman like her will definitely be kicked out!”
“I’m saying this for your own good. Watch your mouth.”
Ling Shuang knew she couldn’t rely on Zhui’er and only asked her to stay behind. “Miss Ming is still ill. I’ll go fetch a doctor. You guard the courtyard and don’t let anyone else come in to disturb her.”
The voices were scattered by the wind and snow. Ming Ying closed the window with a heavy heart, but Zhui’er’s words lingered in her ears, refusing to fade.
Her long eyelashes swept down, casting a shadow over her cheeks.
It had been three months since she followed Young Master to the capital.
For these three months, she had been placed in this secluded residence, living in seclusion, as if cut off from the world.
For the first two months, he would come at night, making love to her as usual. But this month, she hadn’t seen him at all.
Since coming to the capital, he never spoke to her about his affairs. When he came to be with her, he would only stay the night before leaving in a hurry.
Was he truly as Zhui’er said, busy with his wedding, with no time to spare for a mere bedchamber maid like her?
Kicked out?
A dim, watery light gathered in her eyes.
He wouldn’t do that.
Otherwise, why would he have brought her back to the capital?
No matter what he was busy with, once he finished, he would surely come to her.
Two days ago, she went to Baimasi and caught a cold. She took some pills, but they didn’t help. Now, she still felt weak and dizzy all over. She took a few more pills, lay back under the covers, and closed her eyes.
Snowflakes drifted down in flurries, adorning the jade-like trees and branches in the courtyard.
The charcoal brazier had almost no embers left. Ming Ying, burning with fever, drifted in and out of consciousness. Her cheeks were flushed like dyed clouds, and a fire seemed to burn in her internal organs. She tossed and turned, curling into a ball in discomfort.
Half-asleep, she felt a sudden chill as the quilt was pulled away by someone.
Already feverish, the cold wind against her body made her teeth chatter uncontrollably.
“Hey, stop pretending! Get up now!”
A woman’s shrill voice jolted Ming Ying awake.
She shook her heavy head and finally saw the faces of two unfamiliar women before her. Her lips trembled as she whispered, “Who… who are you?”
The only women in this secluded residence were her, along with Ling Shuang and Zhui’er, who had been sent to accompany her. She truly did not recognize the two before her.
The tall, thin woman who had pulled the quilt away explained, “I am from the Guogongfu, surnamed Tian. I am a maidservant serving Madam.”
As she spoke, she pushed the short, plump woman in blue standing behind her and said bluntly, “This is Madam Wu, a well-known broker in the capital. You vile woman have bewitched the Eldest Master, so Madam sent us to deal with you and find you a good place to go.”
A broker, a human trafficker?
Ming Ying watched the two women before her warily. Those three words once again made her feel as if she had fallen into a demon’s lair.
Madam Wu’s shrewd gaze fell upon her, appraising her as if she were an object.
She forced herself to steady her mind. “I don’t know you. Please leave.”
Nanny Tian, meanwhile, examined her closely.
The woman before her had a delicate, lotus-like face, with round eyes still shimmering with unshed tears. Her skin was as smooth and tender as milk skin, fair and glowing, even more pampered than that of a wealthy young lady.
The soft, sweet tones of the Jiangnan dialect, paired with that innocent and pitiful expression, would make any man who saw her feel a pang of sympathy.
Nanny Tian immediately spat to the side. “A lowly thing, no wonder you’re a whore from a brothel, bewitching the Eldest Master and turning his head!”
Ming Ying’s vision blurred, her eyes stinging uncontrollably. She repeated, “Please leave.”
Provoked by her defiance, Nanny Tian’s anger flared. She beckoned to Madam Wu. “Madam Wu, what are you waiting for? Once you’ve finished looking, take her away quickly so I can report back.”
Madam Wu stepped forward and tried to pry open Ming Ying’s mouth. Startled, Ming Ying mustered all her strength to resist, actually pushing Madam Wu off balance.
“What are you doing? Don’t touch me!”
“Nanny Tian, look, she’s too fierce…” Madam Wu clutched her arm in pain.
Cursing under her breath, Nanny Tian signaled Madam Wu to join her, and together they dragged Ming Ying off the bed.
Ming Ying’s knees hit the cold floor, the pain bringing tears to her eyes. Gasping for breath, she cried out, “I belong to the Young Master! You can’t just dispose of me as you please. I want to see the Young Master!”
Nanny Tian grinned, crushing her hopes outright. “Let me tell you the truth. Although we came today on Madam’s orders, we also have the Eldest Master’s permission. Otherwise, how could we have gotten in?”
“You’d better be sensible, girl. If you truly care for the Eldest Master, you shouldn’t ruin his promising marriage. The Eldest Master is noble and precious—even his concubines and maidservants must come from respectable families. A woman like you, born in a brothel, isn’t even fit to polish his shoes!”
Hearing this, Ming Ying felt as if a needle had pierced her heart. A chill rose from the soles of her feet, and the last trace of color drained from her face.
Was it true? Was he getting rid of her because he was about to marry?
Salty tears dripped onto her trembling lips, and her mouth tasted as bitter as if soaked in coptis juice.
She was born in Yangzhou, originally the daughter of a respectable family. Her father made a living crafting qin. But times were hard. Her father was implicated for making a qin for the rebellious prince’s mansion. The authorities raided their home overnight, her parents died tragically, and her brother disappeared without a trace.
After being taken in by her foster mother for a year, she was sold at the age of twelve into Yangzhou’s pleasure quarters, to the famous Mianyuelou, which dealt in Slender Horses.
That day, the trafficker had also pried open her mouth like that, nodded in satisfaction, and gave her foster mother ten taels of silver before leading her away.
Her worthless life was worth only a mere ten taels of silver…
After entering Mianyuelou, because she was young, she had never received clients, but she could not wash away the stain of her reputation.
She still remembered, at fourteen, performing at the prefect’s residence, the Young Master praised her pipa playing. In that moment, he was like a dazzling star in the sky, shining brightly into her eyes.
She had never seen such a handsome man before.
The next day, the madam joyfully told her that a handsome gentleman wanted to redeem her. The day she followed the Young Master out of Mianyuelou, it felt as if all her suffering had dissolved. She simply stared at him blankly, her mind in a daze.
He held an official post in Yangzhou, and she stayed by his side for three years. Even if it meant climbing mountains of blades or descending into seas of fire, she never left him. He was her benefactor, her master, and the man she loved.
Three years of affection—she thought it was unbreakable.
Yet, in his eyes, it turned out to be so worthless.
If he truly intended to clean house, where could a drifting weed like her possibly go?
Even if she died, she’d likely be wrapped in a straw mat and tossed into a mass grave, with no one sparing her a second thought.
Tears streamed down her face, freezing like icy blossoms, stinging with pain.
Nanny Tian found her presence irritating and wanted to deal with her quickly to claim her reward. Seeing Ming Ying dazed and unresisting, she reached out to pry open her mouth. “Madam Wu has always handled this kind of business. Go back to where you came from. Don’t harbor foolish hopes, and you might just keep your wretched life!”
Ming Ying suddenly lifted her face and bit down hard on the fleshy part of Nanny Tian’s hand, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth.
“You little wretch! How dare you bite me!”
A sharp slap struck Ming Ying’s face. Her head rang, and if she hadn’t been held up, she would have collapsed on the spot.
Just then, Ling Shuang led the physician inside. As soon as she entered, she heard piercing commotion coming from the main room.
“Nanny Tian, what are you doing?!”
She recognized Nanny Tian from the Madam’s side, but she only followed the Eldest Master’s orders. No one was to harm Miss Ming, no matter who came.
“Miss Ming belongs to the Eldest Master. How dare you beat and threaten her at will?”
Nanny Tian cursed at her, “Ling Shuang, you ungrateful little wench! Don’t forget whose hands your mother works under!”
Ming Ying was pulled and dragged from all sides, like a tattered ragdoll, her limbs and bones feeling as if they were coming apart. She had no strength left.
Three years ago, the moment she followed him, she had thought she could change her fate.
But in the end, she was just lowly. She should never have dared to dream.
Amid the chaotic voices—screams, accusations, mockery—she finally couldn’t hold on any longer. Darkness clouded her vision, and she collapsed.
The window gauze was dim, making it impossible to tell whether it was day or night.
The room was filled with the refreshing scent of dried tangerine peel. A small stove simmered with tangerine peel water, brewed to treat colds.
Ming Ying opened her eyes groggily, seeing the familiar pale green bed curtains.
Was she… still in the villa?
She was wrapped tightly in layers of blankets, drenched in sweat. Though sticky, her body felt somewhat relieved.
The right side of her face, where she had been slapped, still burned with pain, reminding her that what had happened was no dream.
If it wasn’t a dream, shouldn’t she have been resold by a trafficker to some brothel by now?
Her mind was foggy. She tentatively called out for Ling Shuang a few times, but there was no response.
A moment later, bright yellow flames flickered outside the courtyard, casting eerie, shifting shadows on the window paper like floating ghosts.
Then came the heavy, rhythmic thuds of “bang, bang,” mingled with the broken screams of men and women.
Her heart pounded with fear. She had no idea what was happening outside. Without bothering to put on shoes, she rushed barefoot toward the door.
As she reached out to lift the curtain, a force from the other side pulled it open first, revealing the slender, jade-like fingers of the person standing there.
The dark floral brocade curtain stirred, letting in a sudden chill wind that collided with a pair of clear, bright eyes she hadn’t seen in a long time. Her fingertips trembled uncontrollably.
The man was broad-shouldered and long-legged, his frost-white robe dotted with a few snowflakes. The silver-threaded cloud patterns on his lapel swayed with his wide strides. Looking up further, she saw a face of extraordinary grace, coldly elegant and noble.
Ming Ying suddenly held her breath, stunned. “Young Master, you…”
In the next moment, she felt her body lifted lightly, the icy sensation beneath her feet vanishing as her nostrils filled with a cool, familiar scent of sandalwood.
The man before her swept her up into his arms and strode directly toward the bed curtains.