The north wind was bleak, sweeping thick, white snow through the sky until it lay piled across the ground, gradually rising past Xu Yu’s knees.
She knelt in the snow, her entire body covered in a gleaming layer of white. Beads of ice had formed one after another in her dry, yellowing hair, while the snow weighing down her lashes kept her from opening her eyes. Even the breath leaving her mouth had turned almost cold.
The roads were slippery in such bitter weather. Earlier, she had gone to deliver some pastries to one of the ladies staying in the outer residence, only to lose her footing and fall. The lady had taken offense and punished her by making her kneel here and reflect on her mistake.
She had known that none of the ladies in the outer residence were easy to serve. She should have been more careful. But it was too late for regrets now. The chilblains on her hands had split open one after another, itching and aching as though ants were gnawing at her flesh.
The snowfall grew heavier.
It pressed down upon her shoulders until she could hardly keep herself upright. The sharp pain and the biting cold mingled together until she could no longer tell which hurt more.
Amid the soft hiss of falling snow came a rustling sound.
Xu Yu lifted her eyes. She shuffled forward several steps on her knees and pleaded desperately, “Auntie Steward, I know I was wrong. I shouldn’t have dropped the lady’s pastries, and I shouldn’t have talked back to her. Please, I beg you, say something to the lady on my behalf. Spare me this once. I promise I won’t do it again.”
The road really had been slippery from the snow. She had fallen by accident. She couldn’t understand why merely explaining herself had been called talking back.
But she was so cold.
If she stayed kneeling here, she would die.
All she could do was lower her head.
The steward merely snorted. “Speak for you? Why should I speak for you? If you hadn’t caused trouble, I wouldn’t have to stand out here freezing my fingers off either.”
“I really was wrong. Please, for the sake of my sister and brother-in-law…”
“Your sister and brother-in-law? They’re nothing more than two hired hands at an inn. Do you even know who that lady you offended is? Tomorrow, that lady will be going to serve a lord who has come from the capital. She may well rise to wealth and glory from then on. Who told you to be incapable of carrying even a plate of pastries without dropping it? You’ve offended her, so you’d better endure it!”
The steward rubbed her hands together and hurried away through the snow, still grumbling under her breath.
“Poor enough that you have to come out and do odd jobs, yet you still don’t know your place. It’s one thing to drag yourself into trouble, but now you’ve dragged others into it too. In weather like this, what wretched luck…”
Xu Yu lowered her eyes.
Warm tears rolled down her cheeks, melting into the snow in an instant, leaving behind nothing but an icy sting.
Her sister and brother-in-law worked at the largest restaurant in the city. They had served quite a few distinguished guests, and it was through their recommendation that she had found this temporary job.
If only someone could help her send word to her sister, her sister would certainly find a way to come and save her.
But the weather was too cold.
Snow came sweeping down without pause. No one heard her faint cries for help.
Perhaps someone had heard.
Perhaps they simply did not care.
Her fingers had gone completely numb. It felt as though her knees had ceased to exist. Meltwater from the snow seeped through her clothes, chilling her to the bone.
Her strength was failing.
Her mind was blank. Her vision blurred. She could barely think.
“What kind of person is she? Why is she kneeling here?”
A vague voice drifted toward her.
She slowly raised her head, but her vision was too blurred to make out the person clearly. All she could see was a pair of black boots, and above them, a long black cloak.
The steward hurried over through the snow and bowed repeatedly.
“She is a little maid from the kitchens. Her hands and feet are clumsy, and she dropped the pastries meant for an honored guest, so the guest punished her by making her kneel here. This servant finds you unfamiliar and does not know your honored name or why you have come. Please, give this servant your orders.”
The attendant holding an umbrella beside the man spoke up.
“It was only a plate of pastries. To make someone kneel out here in the freezing snow—isn’t that simply asking for her life?”
The steward immediately changed her tune.
“This… this was all ordered by those above us. This servant merely follows instructions. How could I dare say anything?”
The man said nothing.
Frowning, he untied the cloak from his shoulders.
The black cloak fell over Xu Yu’s shoulders, shielding her from the snow and wind.
She looked up in surprise.
And met the man’s eyes.
They were extraordinarily gentle.
She had never seen eyes so gentle before—warm and bright, with a trace of compassion in them. They made one want to draw closer, to trust him without question.
“Come.”
His voice was slightly low, smooth and warm as polished jade.
Through the cloak, the man took hold of her arm and helped her to her feet.
She rose in a daze, but her frozen legs could not support her. She pitched forward, falling against the man’s chest.
“I—I…”
Panicked, she hurriedly tried to straighten herself, but her legs simply would not obey.
“Don’t hurry.”
The man steadied her by the shoulders and helped her toward the corridor ahead.
The steward hurried after them.
“May I ask your honored name? I must give an explanation to the distinguished guests in the outer residence.”
The attendant turned around and raised a command tablet.
“Assistant Palace Secretary Nie Huiming, Lord Nie.”
The steward’s expression changed instantly.
She dropped to her knees in the snow with a thump.
“This servant pays her respects to Lord Nie!”
Nie Huiming paid her no attention. Supporting Xu Yu as he walked, he asked quietly, “Can you still walk?”
“Ah.”
Xu Yu froze for a moment before immediately lowering her eyes, not daring to look at him again.
“Yes…”
“Zhanlu, find the way.”
Nie Huiming gave the order and quickened his pace. He strode along the covered corridor and soon reached the courtyard, where he helped Xu Yu inside.
A young servant came out to greet them and looked at her in surprise.
“My lord, this is…?”
“Put more charcoal in the brazier.”
Nie Huiming helped Xu Yu sit beside the fire, then stepped back several paces and took his own seat. His tone was noticeably gentler.
“Qizhang, find this lady a clean change of clothes. And bring her a bowl of ginger soup.”
“The weather here is cold, my lord. We always keep ginger soup prepared, so I’ll fetch it at once. I’ll bring bowls for you and Zhanlu as well. As for the maid’s clothes, though, I’ll have to ask the people here for them. That may take a little while.”
The servant, Qizhang, went out and soon returned with the ginger soup. He poured a bowl for Nie Huiming before bringing one to Xu Yu.
Xu Yu accepted the bowl with both hands. She stole a quiet glance at the man across from her and whispered her thanks.
It was only a glance. She had not been able to see his features clearly, only the way he sat there, his posture remarkably straight.
She had heard what they called him.
Lord Nie was apparently some kind of official—an Assistant Palace Secretary?
She had never heard of such an office and had no idea where he had come from.
He seemed remarkably approachable, though. Even an ordinary servant could speak to him so casually.
“Miss, do you feel better after drinking the ginger soup?”
Qizhang suddenly spoke again.
Xu Yu was startled. She hurriedly drank the hot ginger soup, then lowered herself to the floor and kowtowed.
“Thank you, my lord, for saving me. This servant is endlessly grateful. If there is ever anything you require of me, I will do my utmost and never refuse.”
Qizhang smiled.
“You haven’t even told us your name. If our lord really does have need of you someday, how are we supposed to find you?”
Xu Yu’s cheeks grew warm.
“This servant is Xu Yu. I work in the kitchen of the outer residence. If my lord ever has any orders for me, you can send someone to the kitchen to find me at any time.”
“Get up. Tell me what happened today. Why were you kneeling in the snow?”
Nie Huiming spoke once more.
His mellow voice flowed like a warm spring bubbling over smooth stones.
Xu Yu immediately felt much more at ease. She slowly straightened her posture and answered in a low voice.
“This servant works in the kitchen and often has to deliver food to the ladies staying in the outer residence. Today, with the heavy snow and slippery roads, I accidentally fell and overturned the lady’s pastries. The lady reprimanded me, and when I foolishly offered an explanation, I was punished by being made to kneel in the snow.”
“What kind of lady is she? There are female guests living in this outer residence? What a temper,” Qizhang remarked.
“The outer residence houses several women who are both beautiful and talented. Whenever an important person comes, these women are sent to keep him company. The people here rely heavily on them, so servants like us naturally have to treat them with respect.”
“Courtesans?”
Xu Yu lowered her eyes and dared not answer.
Qizhang continued, “Then it sounds as though they have people backing them. Even in weather this cold, she wasn’t afraid that you might lose your life kneeling in the snow?”
“This servant doesn’t really know. I only heard the steward say that the lady is being assigned tomorrow to serve a lord who has come from the capital. Perhaps she will rise to wealth and prominence from then on. Once that happens, no one will dare offend her.”
Qizhang laughed heartily a few times and glanced at Nie Huiming.
“My lord, don’t tell me you’re the lord that steward was talking about?”
Xu Yu froze.
She couldn’t help looking up.
Could this kind and gentle lord before her be the very man they had been talking about—the lord who had come from the capital?
She quickly lowered her eyes again and kowtowed.
“This servant was blind and did not realize that you were the lord who came from the capital. Please forgive this servant, my lord.”
“A lady isn’t a deity. How could she possibly recognize a person’s background from one glance…”
Nie Huiming interrupted him.
“Where are you from?”
Xu Yu’s heart began to pound. She answered everything at once, like beans spilling from a broken sack.
“This servant is from Dingyuan Commandery. My family lives in a village in one of the counties under Dingyuan Commandery. My father was once the village headman, and my elder brother is a scholar. But my father died suddenly, and our family fell into poverty. That was why I asked my sister and brother-in-law to find me temporary work here.”
Nie Huiming asked again, “What do your sister and brother-in-law do?”
“They’re only hired hands at a restaurant in the city. They’re quick and capable, so the manager favors them and gives them important work. That’s how they managed to find a connection and get me this temporary job here.”
Nie Huiming gave a slight nod and leaned back a little.
His voice was gentle.
“Get up.”
“Thank you, my lord.”
After being questioned so thoroughly, Xu Yu felt somewhat intimidated. She kept her eyes lowered and no longer dared sneak glances at him.
Nie Huiming, however, remained comfortably seated, his gaze resting upon her as he continued in the manner of casual conversation.
“So it isn’t easy for an ordinary person to get in here?”
“This place entertains all the officials of the commandery, as well as wealthy families and nobles. Naturally, it isn’t easy to find work here. And this servant doesn’t want to sell herself into servitude. I only wish to do temporary work, which makes it even harder.”
“Why not?” Qizhang teased. “Don’t you want to serve high-ranking nobles and rise to wealth and glory?”
Xu Yu’s face flushed scarlet again.
She answered softly, “This servant is plain-looking and has no particular talents…”
Qizhang teased her further.
“So you’re saying that if you were exceptionally beautiful and could sing and dance, you’d become one of them?”
“I—I…”
Xu Yu lifted her eyes toward the man sitting opposite her and stammered an explanation.
“This servant absolutely did not mean that…”
A knock sounded at the door.
A maid from the outer residence had brought a clean change of clothes. Qizhang accepted them and handed them to Xu Yu.
“Go change in the room at the back. I’ll keep watch here. No one will come in.”
“Yes. Thank you…”
Xu Yu hugged the clothes to her chest. She slowly stood, glanced once more at the man sitting there, and walked into the adjoining room.
Nie Huiming…
She silently repeated his name once.
Then she removed the clothes soaked through with melted snow, changed into the clean ones, and slowly stepped back outside.
“My lord.”
She knelt on the floor, her eyes falling on the cloud-patterned hem of his indigo robe.
“Thank you, my lord, for saving me. This servant is endlessly grateful. If you have no further instructions for me, this servant will take her leave.”
Nie Huiming lowered his eyes and looked at her once.
He waved his sleeve.
“Go.”
“Yes.”
She bowed and withdrew through the door.
The snow was still falling.
Nie Huiming finished his bowl of ginger soup and held his hand beside the brazier. Then, in a low voice, he gave an order.
“Weren’t they planning to arrange someone to attend to me?”
“Zhanlu, go tell them to send this Xu Yu to serve me.”