Whenever people came to redeem maidservants from the Chen household, they were always charged double the original amount. Furthermore, a few days earlier, Xu Daya had taken a particularly severe beating at the stewardess’s hands. The old woman had never intended to release her at this point. She simply wanted the family to realize the difficulty and give up. She had not expected this country bumpkin to dare question her. Immediately embarrassed and angered, her expression darkened completely. “You may be young, but you’ve certainly got a temper. So what if that’s the case? What can you possibly do about it?”
The stewardess stood inside the doorway with her arms crossed, looking down on Xu Mingzhu and her companions in their coarse, plain clothing. Her tone was full of contempt.
“What kind of family do you think the Chen household is? I originally asked for twenty taels as compensation and thought you were sincere about redeeming her, so I was willing to make some concessions. But now I’ll tell you this: twenty taels was the price a moment ago. Now I want thirty.”
“What? Thirty taels? You raised the price by another ten taels just from opening your mouth!” Mother Xu had never encountered such shameless behavior. Her face immediately turned pale.
The stewardess glanced sideways at Mother Xu’s panicked expression and Xu Ming’an’s visible discomfort. She could tell that a few words were enough to frighten them, so she pressed her advantage. “Looking at the way your family is dressed, I’d wager that even if you emptied your entire household savings, you couldn’t scrape together thirty taels. Since you don’t have the means, don’t pretend otherwise. Poor people should know their limits. Why insist on taking her back and burdening your family with another mouth to feed?”
The gatekeeper, emboldened by her presence, stepped forward as well. “Why aren’t you leaving yet? At least your girl gets enough to eat working in the Chen household. That’s a hundred times better than following you back home to freeze and starve.”
Mother Xu’s eyes reddened from anger and humiliation. Her lips trembled as she tried to argue, but she was too inarticulate to find the words.
Xu Ming’an clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles turned white. His chest burned with rage, but with his niece still inside the Chen residence, he dared not act on it.
Xu Mingzhu knew from their attitude that they had no intention of letting Daya go.
She stepped forward a few paces and said coldly, “The Chen family is a distinguished household, one that prides itself on propriety. If you truly need servants to attend to your affairs, we’re not unreasonable people. It would be fine for Daya to stay and help for a few more days. But we’d like to see her first. Please do us this small favor, Madam.”
The stewardess had long since lost her patience. “She is still a servant of the Chen household. Naturally, she has important duties to attend to. How could she come out to meet unrelated outsiders? And what do you mean by ‘help for a few more days’? If you can produce thirty taels of silver… no, forty taels… then you may take her away immediately. If you can’t, then leave.”
“What? Now it’s forty taels? You increase the price by another ten taels with a single sentence!” Xu Ming’an exploded in anger.
Xu Mingzhu frowned.
The harder they tried to block them, the more it confirmed her suspicions. Xu Daya had likely suffered greatly in the Chen household. Since reason wasn’t working, they would have to take a harder line. No matter what happened, they had to get her out today.
“You’re being completely unreasonable. If this is how you treat people, then my niece has undoubtedly suffered many injustices here. In that case, we’ll settle this before the magistrate.”
Instead of being intimidated, the stewardess became even more arrogant.
“Take a look at yourselves before talking about going to the authorities. Do you know who we are? The head of the Chen family and the Qingzhou County Magistrate are brothers of the same clan. I’d like to see whether a few country bumpkins like you can get anywhere with that.”
Xu Mingzhu’s heart sank. She had known that before its decline, the Chen family had been one of Qingzhou’s prominent households. What she hadn’t realized was that they were also related to the county magistrate. It seemed the threat of reporting the matter to the authorities wouldn’t work after all.
Xu Mingzhu quickly began calculating what to do next.
The stewardess shot Xu Mingzhu a sidelong look. Seeing her fall silent, she assumed the family had finally been intimidated.
“Alright then. You country folk have probably never seen much of the world. I’m a reasonable old woman, so I won’t make things difficult for you. Kneel, kowtow, and leave. We’ll pretend this whole matter never happened.”
The gatekeeper beside her joined in the mockery. “Why aren’t you leaving yet? I think you’re here just to cause trouble. If you don’t do as you’re told, we’ll tie you up and haul you to the authorities. Then you’ll learn what a real jail looks like.”
Xu Mingzhu raised her eyes. Her cool gaze swept over the overbearing stewardess as she asked, slowly and clearly, “There are countless officials in the empire. They can’t all be relatives of the Chen family. I’ll ask you one last time: according to the contract, we’re redeeming her for ten taels. Are you going to honor the agreement or not?”
For a brief moment, the stewardess was startled by the piercing look in Xu Mingzhu’s eyes, as though nothing could escape her scrutiny. Then she let out an even more disdainful laugh.
“Honor it? You’re dreaming in broad daylight!”
“Forget ten taels. Even if you brought forty taels today, I still wouldn’t release her. A poor country girl like you dares act tough in front of me?”
“Impudence!” A clear, authoritative voice instantly cut through all the noise at the gate.
A woman in an elegant yet understated silk dress slowly emerged from the corridor inside the residence. Her features were gentle and dignified. Though her clothing was simple, she carried the composed bearing of a noble matriarch. Xu Mingzhu found her vaguely familiar, yet couldn’t remember where she had seen her before.
Madam Chen’s gaze settled on Xu Mingzhu. The coldness on her face immediately melted away, replaced by warmth.
The stewardess’s arrogance vanished at once. Rushing forward, she twisted the facts: “Madam, it’s these country people. They’ve come to redeem the maid Xu Daya. According to the agreement, the redemption fee is ten taels, but the girl is young and hasn’t been able to do much work. Our household has fed and housed her for more than two years. I was merely discussing some additional compensation for those expenses, yet they became unreasonable and even threatened to report our Chen household to the authorities…”
Madam Chen spoke calmly. Her voice was not loud, but it carried unquestionable authority. “Stewardess Chen, I may not personally oversee household affairs, but that does not mean I am deaf. You’ve been using the family’s name to bully others in public, and now you dare to distort the truth before me. Have I been too lenient with you, making you forget the rules of this household?”
Xu Mingzhu could tell that this was a sensible woman. Just as she was about to step forward and explain, Madam Chen spoke first. “Miss En.”
That exceptionally respectful form of address struck the stewardess and gatekeeper like a bolt of thunder.
The stewardess had served in the Chen household for many years and understood Madam Chen’s temperament well. The mistress of the house rarely lowered herself to apologize to anyone. Yet today she was addressing a country girl with such respect, even calling her “Miss En” (“Benefactor Miss”).
Thinking back on everything she had just said and done, the stewardess instantly broke out in a cold sweat. Her legs gave way beneath her, and she collapsed to the ground.
Mother Xu and Xu Ming’an, who had been standing nearby, anxious and full of grievances, were completely stunned. Both wore bewildered expressions, unable to make sense of what was happening.
A flash of realization suddenly struck Xu Mingzhu. She finally remembered where she had seen this woman before. Wasn’t this the madam whose child she had saved the other day? The very same woman who had wanted to reward her with money? She had never expected her to be the mistress of the Chen household.
Madam Chen continued: “Today, it was my servants who acted with prejudice and inappropriate arrogance, making things difficult for my benefactor for no reason. You have been wronged, and I offer you my apologies.”
Xu Mingzhu shook her head, her tone softening. “You’re too kind, Madam. Their ignorance has nothing to do with you. I came today for only one reason: to redeem my niece, Xu Daya, according to the contract. I hope you’ll grant us this favor.”
“Of course.” Madam Chen turned toward the stewardess, who was already trembling with fear. “Why are you still standing there? Bring the girl out immediately.”
With a thud, the stewardess dropped to her knees. “Madam, it wasn’t intentional. A few days ago, Xu Daya made a mistake, so this old servant disciplined her. Right now, she’s unable to get out of bed.”
Xu Mingzhu’s heart immediately sank. “No wonder you kept trying to stop us from redeeming her and refused to let us see her. You were afraid we’d discover that she’d been severely beaten.” As she spoke, she took out ten taels of silver and respectfully offered it to Madam Chen.
“Madam, when I saved your child, you wanted to reward me, but I refused. Today, I hope to count that favor against this debt and ask only that you allow me to take my niece home.”
Madam Chen did not take the silver. Instead, she turned sharply toward the stewardess. “Go and bring out both the girl and her contract. If she can’t walk, then carry her out.”
The stewardess’s legs nearly gave out. She did not dare disobey. “Yes, Madam. I’ll do it immediately.”
Not long after, two servants carried a frail little girl with a pale complexion and eyes filled with fear and timidity out through a wooden door panel.
“Grandma… Uncle…” Xu Daya called weakly. When her gaze fell upon Xu Mingzhu, however, she began trembling even more violently. The words “Little Aunt” stuck in her throat, and no matter how hard she tried, she could not bring herself to say them.