The ninth day after the Beginning of Spring was New Year’s Day, and the servants in the Earl’s Manor had already started preparing to bid farewell to the old year and welcome the new one.
First, all the lanterns collected last year had to be taken out for dusting and washing so they could be hung on New Year’s Eve. Bedding also needed to be taken out, washed, and dried. Pots, bowls, dishes, cups, tables, and chairs—everything had to be brought out, so everyone was incredibly busy.
Song Chuyi sat on the kang, staring blankly at the pile of items before her.
Nanny Xu had brought them out and handed them to her. At the very front was a small, gold-decorated wooden box containing an entire box of black pearls, each one round and large. One could tell at a glance that they were worth a fortune.
Behind it was a red lacquered wooden chest. When opened, it revealed neatly stacked silks and satins, along with several large piles of already-wound thread balls. Further back, hidden by boxes, was a chest made of huanghuali wood containing stacks of books and texts. It was said these were all pastry recipes, medicinal formulas, and precious texts that Cui Shi had brought as part of her dowry.
Placed on top were copies of the Diamond Sutra and Heart Sutra that Cui Shi had transcribed by hand. Opening them revealed neat and elegant characters written word by word, showing how much care Cui Shi had put into them at the time.
As Song Chuyi looked at them, her eyes couldn’t help but fill with tears. Just as she was about to look more closely, the curtain was suddenly lifted.
A whoosh of wind rushed in as the curtain was raised, making Song Chuyi shiver involuntarily.
Nanny Xu quickly moved to stand in front of the pile of items, her expression stern as she scolded the grinning Huang Yao: “I just gave orders not to come in, and you treat it like it went in one ear and out the other!”
Everyone said that Song Yi’s new wife, Li Shi, was very kind with a compassionate heart, treating her predecessor’s children even better than her own daughter. But Nanny Xu, who had been steeped in the Cui family for half a lifetime, didn’t buy into Li Shi’s act at all.
She had been brought over by Cui Shi, and her eyes were sharper than anyone’s, so naturally she saw many things more clearly than others.
In this world, apart from in plays, one had never heard of any stepmother having genuine affection for stepchildren. Although she had coldly watched Li Shi treat Song Chuyi with utmost kindness these past few years, in her heart she always kept them at arm’s length. The reason was simple—it wasn’t that she had truly detected any malicious intent from Li Shi, but rather that she found it strange. Li Shi was far too good to Song Chuyi, good to the point of excess.
When something is abnormal, there must be a demon behind it. The better Li Shi was to Song Chuyi, the more frightened and anxious Nanny Xu became, and consequently she was very guarded against people Li Shi had later sent, like Huang Yao and Qing Tao.
This time, when she heard Song Chuyi’s words asking her to count and organize the things Cui Shi had left behind, she had already instructed the senior maids to all wait outside and not enter without permission. Who knew Huang Yao would still barge in so recklessly? She couldn’t help but feel angry.
Hearing Nanny Xu’s scolding, Huang Yao wasn’t annoyed at all. Instead, she craned her neck to look behind Nanny Xu, her face full of coquettish innocence: “What good things is Nanny hiding?”
So tactless and presumptuous—how dare she pry into the young miss’s belongings! This was simply outrageous!
Nanny Xu grew even angrier. Seeing that Huang Yao had already grabbed her arm trying to look toward Song Chuyi’s kang, she couldn’t help but swing her hand, nearly causing Huang Yao to lose her balance and fall against the table.
“Nanny!” Huang Yao hadn’t expected Nanny Xu to show her such disrespect. Her face flushed purple with anger, her eyes reddening: “You—”
“Enough!” Song Chuyi got down from the kang herself, put on her shoes, lifted the beaded curtain with one hand, and without even glancing at Huang Yao, called out: “Hong Yu! Luyi!”
Hong Yu and Luyi immediately lifted the curtain and entered. Seeing Nanny Xu’s displeased expression and Huang Yao standing to the side sobbing, they couldn’t help but exchange bewildered glances.
Song Chuyi silently glanced at the pitifully crying Huang Yao and said with a cold laugh: “Where were you two just now?”
Luyi and Hong Yu were even more confused, but still answered honestly: “We were embroidering on the veranda.”
“Since you were on the veranda, and I just gave orders that no one was to enter, why did you still let Huang Yao come in?!” Song Chuyi’s expression turned cold as she said with a sneer: “I suppose after I was ill for a while, none of you take me seriously anymore.”
These words cut deep. Luyi and Hong Yu’s knees went weak and they knelt on the floor, heads bowed, repeatedly saying they wouldn’t dare.
Song Chuyi knew these two maids were loyal, but their loyalty wasn’t enough—far from enough. In her previous life, Hong Yu was easily sold off to a distant place on some trumped-up charge, and Luyi was excluded and ostracized from beginning to end. This showed both were naive and didn’t know how to guard against others.
Right now, the only people she could trust around her were Nanny Xu, Luyi, and Hong Yu—just these three. Of course she had to cultivate them properly.
Seeing Song Chuyi first reprimand Luyi and Hong Yu, Huang Yao was also startled. Her heart was filled with anger, anxiety, and worry—angry that both Nanny Xu and Song Chuyi treated her like air and humiliated her, anxious because she didn’t know what Song Chuyi intended to do.
“If you truly didn’t dare, how could you disobey my orders and let someone in without permission?!” Song Chuyi spoke harshly and severely, extremely angry, and scolded: “As for this incident, I don’t need to tell you where you went wrong. Go find Sister-in-law Liu and receive twenty strikes on the palms. If this happens again, you’ll both leave my service and find other positions elsewhere!”
Song Chuyi truly wasn’t the best mistress, but she had never spoken so harshly and severely to her maids. She had always been extremely lenient with her personal senior maids, never putting on airs as a mistress. Now that she suddenly flew into such a rage, needless to say, Luyi and Hong Yu were frightened out of their wits. Even Huang Yao was stunned speechless, her heart pounding.
Before Huang Yao could react, Song Chuyi had already turned to look at her, saying in a deep voice: “Just now I gave you the same instructions. Do you remember?”
Though Song Chuyi’s face showed no particular expression, and her words were much gentler than what she’d said to Hong Yu and Luyi, Huang Yao felt even more terrified. She couldn’t help but fall to her knees with a thud, crying: “This servant… this servant heard news that Second Master has already reached Cangzhou with Fourth Young Master, so for a moment I forgot—”
That’s right—Song Yi had set off for Jinzhong some time ago to fetch Song Yan, who had been staying with his maternal family. Counting the days, he should return within the next couple of days, just in time before New Year’s Eve.
“No matter how urgent the reason, you shouldn’t have barged in without permission.” Song Chuyi said, then suddenly smiled: “You wouldn’t rush into Grandmother’s or Madam’s quarters without regard for anything just because you had some news, would you?”
Hearing her say this, Huang Yao became even more frightened and kowtowed repeatedly. She understood very clearly in her heart—setting aside the fact that Li Shi was still maintaining the reputation of a kind mother and would certainly grant Song Chuyi’s every request, just the crime of disobeying her mistress’s orders and breaking into her bedchamber was enough to doom her.
After all, she was still just an eight or nine year old child, completely lacking the cunning shrewdness she would develop later.
Nanny Xu stared at Huang Yao, then looked back at the kang full of items behind her. Her heart immediately sank. If the one who had barged in this time had been Qing Tao, she might have felt somewhat reassured. After all, although Qing Tao had also been selected by Li Shi, she was taciturn, and from watching coldly these past years, she wasn’t someone with many schemes. But Huang Yao clearly harbored evil intent…