As the first hint of dawn appeared on the horizon, Shuaishuai let out a hoarse cry: “Kuan’er!” It then flapped its wings and squawked: “Wake up! Wake up! Get out! Get out!”
Kuan’er sighed, and quickly got up to dress and comb her hair. Without time to wash her face, she first took the impatient Shuaishuai out of the room and hung it in the corridor, adding water and rice to it before tending to herself.
Kuan’er washed her face at the well. By then, Shu’er had already retrieved water buckets and food boxes from the storage room, preparing to fetch hot water and breakfast from the kitchen. Mudan’s courtyard was quite remote, far from everything. To avoid the rush hour for water and food, which would result in cold meals, they had to go as early as possible.
As usual, Kuan’er quietly opened the courtyard gate, picked up the heaviest water bucket, and called to Shu’er: “Let’s go early and see what breakfast they’ve prepared. Keep an eye on them; they can’t have anything to complain about now, right?”
Shu’er, with a cold face, picked up the food box. Suddenly, she stamped her foot, shoved the food box into Kuan’er’s hands, and rolled up her sleeves, heading towards the right wing where Mama Li and Lanchi lived. She sneered, “Why should we two serve those two newcomers? It seems the madam sent them here not to serve the young mistress, but as two Buddhas for us to worship!”
Seeing Shu’er’s expression, Kuan’er knew what she was about to do. She hurriedly put down the bucket and food box, grabbing Shu’er to persuade her: “What are you going to do now? You never listen to the young mistress. Not to mention, if they argue back, it’ll disturb the young mistress and make us a laughingstock.”
Shu’er scoffed, “So according to you, we should just swallow this insult? Look at how they schemed last night. Let go of me! If you’re scared, I don’t blame you, but don’t interfere!”
Unable to persuade her, Kuan’er held onto Shu’er desperately, neither giving way as they stood in the courtyard like a tug-of-war.
The door of the left-wing creaked open, and Mama Lin emerged, neat. She swept a stern gaze over the two, who immediately let go and stood straight, softly calling out, “Mama, why didn’t you sleep longer?”
Mama Lin said, “It’s not early. Why haven’t you two gone to fetch food and water yet?”
Shu’er jutted her chin towards the right wing: “That two only scheme and don’t work…”
Mama Lin smiled faintly: “Are you saying you’re too small to carry much? Then just carry what you can.” Previously, for Mudan’s sake of spending a lifetime in the Liu family, she had endured silently and kept a low profile to avoid making enemies. Now that her perspective had changed, she naturally couldn’t continue as before, letting others push them around.
Shu’er’s eyes lit up, and she beamed: “Understood!” Her strength was now up to her discretion. She could choose whose share to carry and whose to leave behind, without worrying about the consequences!
After watching Kuan’er and Shu’er leave the courtyard hand in hand, Mama Lin stood in the corridor, squinting at the morning glow on the horizon. She said softly, “Morning glow at the door means rain, evening glow means a thousand miles of fair weather. It seems we’ll have rain today. We should set up a canopy for these flowers.”
Just as she finished speaking, the door of the main room opened silently, and Yuhe tiptoed out, smiling, “Mama, you’re up so early.”
Shuaishuai, eating rice halfway through, looked up and saw Yuhe. It immediately screeched, “Dead lotus, go water the flowers!”
Yuhe glared at Shuaishuai, spat “Pah!” and said, “Keep eating. No one will think you’re mute if you don’t speak!”
Shuaishuai flapped its wings, cackled twice, and buried its head to continue eating diligently.
Yuhe found it amusing and said, “It’s quite good at reading people. It stays quiet when it sees the madam and young master, fawns over the young mistress calling her ‘lovely peony,’ doesn’t dare to chatter in front of you, pretends not to see Shu’er, but loves to bully me and Kuan’er.”
“This feathered beast is just like people, bullying the weak and fearing the strong. Don’t be fooled by its size; it understands everything clearly. With all that commotion last night, it just stretched its neck to watch without making a sound.” Mama Lin pointed at the main room’s door, “Did the young mistress sleep well last night? Is she not awake yet?”
Yuhe nodded, “She slept well. I just checked on her, and she’s still sound asleep.”
Mama Lin beckoned her over and said in a low, serious tone, “I reckon that this morning, or by afternoon at the latest, someone from her family will come to visit the young mistress. The madam and young master will surely not allow the young mistress to speak with her family alone, and they’ll keep a close eye on us, forbidding us from mentioning last night’s events. We must coordinate well and find a way to inform her family about what happened yesterday.”
“Perhaps Mama Li and Lanchi received instructions last night to keep an eye on us.” Yuhe nodded repeatedly. The two discussed in hushed tones about possible scenarios. Just as they were about to part ways, the door of the right-wing opened silently, and Mama Li stood in the doorway with a curious expression, smiling, “Oh, Elder Sister and Miss Yuhe, what secrets are you whispering about?”
Yuhe said nothing, turning to the courtyard. She took a gourd ladle, scooped overnight water from the large vat, and carefully watered the dozen or so peony plants. She then checked if the paper bags Mudan had put on yesterday were still secure.
Mama Lin said with a stern face, “What were we talking about? Just that the young mistress had an uneasy sleep last night, with nightmares and a fever. I was about to go to the main house to ask the madam to send for a doctor. Also, it looks like it might rain today, so we need to set up a canopy for these flowers. Otherwise, after a downpour, they won’t be worth looking at.”
Mama Li frowned, feigning concern: “Oh my, the young mistress is so frail.” But she didn’t mention going to see Madam Qi to request a doctor.
Mama Lin ignored her and instructed Yuhe: “I’m going to the main house now. When Kuan’er and the others bring back breakfast, you must persuade the young mistress to eat something no matter what.”
Yuhe said worriedly, “Mama, please come back soon. I’m afraid I can’t manage everything alone.”
Lanchi poked her head out from behind Mama Li, smiling, “Don’t worry, Yuhe. Aren’t Mama Li and I here? You go about your business; I’ll go in to attend to the young mistress now.” She then walked towards the main room’s door.
Yuhe stepped forward to block her, coldly mocking, “I wonder where you learned your manners, Sister. Last night, before the young mistress had even gone to sleep, you quietly went to bed. When we needed someone to do something, we couldn’t find you. Now that the young mistress has finally fallen asleep after a sleepless night, you want to go in and attend to her?”
Lanchi’s face immediately darkened, but unable to refute, she defended herself: “Last night, I went with the madam to get ginseng slices. When I returned, the young mistress was already asleep, so I didn’t dare go in. I didn’t know she was still asleep now. We’re all here to serve; couldn’t you just have said so nicely?”
Yuhe gave a cold laugh and held out her hand to Lanchi: “Where are the ginseng slices you brought, Sister? Hand them over! I was just about to brew ginseng tea for the young mistress.”
Seeing Yuhe’s change from her usual simpering smile to this confrontational attitude, Lanchi felt anger rising in her heart. She turned to attack: “Yuhe! Don’t think too highly of yourself! The madam assigned Mama Li and me to serve the young mistress, not to be decorations. You’re keeping all the duties in this room to yourself, not letting us serve the young mistress. What’s your intention? Are you afraid we’ll gain favor with the young mistress and outshine you?”
“Who am I afraid of outshining me? I’m not after anything,” Yuhe sneered. “If Sister Lanchi wants to prove she’s not just a decoration, then please bring out the ginseng slices. After I brew the ginseng tea, I can put in a good word for you with the young mistress.”
Lanchi had only been making excuses; where would she get ginseng slices from? Seeing the situation, Mama Li hurried to smooth things over: “Aren’t the ginseng slices kept in the tea room? Both of you, say less. Arguing will only disturb the young mistress.”
“Who wants to argue with her?” Lanchi said hatefully. “Mama, you’ve seen it too. She’s been provocative since early morning, deliberately picking a fight.”
So what if it’s deliberate provocation? The worst is yet to come. Yuhe slammed the gourd ladle on the ground, splashing water all over Lanchi and Mama Li’s skirts. She then turned to glare at Shuaishuai, indirectly scolding: “Dead bird! You’re just a feathered beast, yet you try to talk like humans early in the morning. Even if you learn, you can’t learn it well. You’re nothing but a beast after all!”
Shuaishuai was startled, its feathers ruffling. Then, enraged, it shot back: “Beast! Beast!”
Lanchi, distressed about her skirt, angrily said: “Who are you cursing at!”
Yuhe smiled: “Cursing at beasts, of course! Does Sister have any objections? Am I not allowed to curse beasts?”
Lanchi wanted to argue, but doing so would be tantamount to admitting she was a beast. Not arguing felt like swallowing this insult. She picked up the gourd ladle from the ground and strode towards the water vat, intending to scoop water to pour on Yuhe.
Seeing this, Yuhe shouted: “Lanchi! That water is specially reserved by the young mistress for watering the flowers. If anything goes wrong, ten of you couldn’t make up for it!”
Lanchi scoffed: “Who are you trying to fool? It’s just a ladle of water. Isn’t there water everywhere in this mansion? Forget one ladle, I could replace ten vats if needed.”
Yuhe smirked: “Well then, why don’t you try and see?”
Mudan had been awake for a while, listening intently to the commotion outside. Hearing it escalate, she started coughing. Yuhe hurriedly abandoned Lanchi and entered the room, pouring half a cup of warm water and offering it to Mudan: “Young Mistress, did you catch a cold last night?”
Mudan shook her head slightly and said softly: “It’s good to let them stew in their anger, but be careful not to put yourself at a disadvantage at this time.”
Yuhe smiled: “Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing. Young Mistress, when the food arrives later, I’ll let them come in to serve you. You must eat something, no matter what.”
Mudan said: “I can’t eat a bite this morning.”
Yuhe frowned: “How can that be? You didn’t eat last night either.”
Mudan smiled: “Come closer, let me whisper to you.”
Before they could exchange a word, they heard Mama Lin exclaim joyfully from outside: “Young Mistress, Madam has come to see you!”
“So early?” Mudan knew that this “Madam” couldn’t be Madam Qi, but rather He Mudan’s mother, Madam Cen.