September 17th, 9th year of the Daye reign, Great Sui Dynasty, Honghua Prefecture

On this day, the new Governor Li Yuan of Honghua Prefecture was selecting servants. Because the monthly wages were generous and they could return home to visit on the first and fifteenth of each month, even before dawn broke, a long line had already formed outside the Governor’s mansion. The queue consisted of both young men and women as well as older people, all hoping to be selected by the Governor’s mansion staff. Since they were all from the same prefecture and county, many of them knew each other and were conversing in low voices in small groups of three or four, waiting for the Governor’s mansion to open its doors.

Just as the first glimmer of dawn appeared at the horizon, a woman came running hurriedly while lifting her skirt, looking around frantically in the long queue as if searching for someone.

A woman standing near the front of the line waved at her, “Chunxiu, come quickly, I’m here.”

The woman called Chunxiu showed a delighted expression and immediately rushed over, standing behind her. Pressing her hand to her heaving chest as she caught her breath, she gasped, “That nearly ran me to death.”

The woman spoke with some reproach, “Didn’t I tell you last night that you must come early? How could you still be so late? By now there are at least two hundred people in line. If you had to queue at the very back, I’m afraid the Governor’s mansion would have already filled all positions before your turn came. What would you do then?”

Chunxiu raised her slender willow-like eyebrows, “How was I to know there would be so many people? After all, they’re just selecting servants, not choosing imperial consorts.” As she spoke, she laughingly took the woman’s arm, “Besides, don’t I have Sister Jirong helping me? I’m not worried at all.”

“You!” Jirong was amused by her words and pinched her nose, “Alright, stand properly. In a little while, they should be opening the doors.”

Just as Chunxiu was about to respond, a soft, gentle voice came from behind her, “All of us here are queuing in order. Since you came late, you should go to the back of the line. How can you cut in line like this?”

Hearing these words, Chunxiu’s expression immediately darkened. After turning around to see who was speaking, she sneered with complete disdain, “I wondered who it was – turns out it’s the wild girl picked up from a tiger’s den. What right do you have to lecture me?”

The woman standing behind Chunxiu was petite with remarkably beautiful features, though her complexion was somewhat pale and seemed to lack color. She shrank back slightly under Chunxiu’s glare, then gathered her courage and said, “I’m not a wild girl, and besides… you’re truly in the wrong. I didn’t say anything incorrect.”

“You dare keep talking!” Chunxiu glared fiercely at her, placing her hands on her hips, “I’m standing right here – what can you do about it, wild girl!” She deliberately emphasized the last three words, making them sound particularly grating.

“You… how can you be so unreasonable?” Faced with the woman’s words, Chunxiu snorted coldly and said dismissively, “I need to be reasonable with others, but what reason do I need to show you, a wild girl? You’d better shut up quickly, or don’t blame me for not being polite with you.”

Jirong also spoke up, “Meixue, it’s just one person cutting in line – it won’t take away your chance. Why must you be so particular about it? After all, we’ve known each other since childhood and grew up together. Don’t we have even this little bit of friendship?”

All three of them were from the same village. Jirong’s family had previously been physicians. When it came to her father’s generation, because his aptitude was ordinary, he had only learned two or three parts of the medical skills and could only treat minor ailments. The money earned was nowhere near enough for expenses, so he had to open a teahouse to supplement the family income. Chunxiu’s father was a butcher who was quite domineering in the village, and Chunxiu had been influenced by him since childhood, developing a similar temperament.

As for Meixue, her father made a living by farming the few acres of inherited barren fields, living extremely frugally. Because of poverty, he remained unmarried until his thirties. Once, when he went up the mountain to hunt small animals to exchange for money, he accidentally discovered newborn Meixue in a tiger’s den. He brought her home, going everywhere to beg for milk to feed her. When he really couldn’t get any milk, he would cook rice porridge to fill her stomach, barely managing to raise her.

Because her family was poor and she was picked up from a tiger’s den, many people in the village looked down on Meixue and often called her “wild girl” behind her back. Chunxiu was one of them.

Meixue bit her lip and said quietly, “In any case… what she’s doing is wrong!”

Seeing that she kept harping on her business, Chunxiu’s temper flared and she scolded, “Everyone else said nothing, yet you keep nagging endlessly. Do you really think I’m easy to bully?” As she spoke, she raised her hand to slap Meixue across the face.

Meixue hadn’t expected her to strike without warning and couldn’t dodge in time. Just as she was about to be humiliated, a figure quickly stepped forward and firmly grasped Chunxiu’s arm, preventing her from delivering the slap.

Chunxiu glared angrily at the woman who had blocked her. This person had an unfamiliar face – she had never seen her before and assumed she must be from a neighboring village. After forcefully breaking free from her grip, she shouted, “Who are you? Why are you interfering in our business?”

The woman raised her eyebrows, “No particular reason – I just can’t stand seeing someone who’s clearly in the wrong acting like a shrew and causing a scene in the street!”

Chunxiu stared at this plain-looking woman and said angrily, “I’m wrong? Ridiculous! I had Jirong come early to save me a spot – what’s wrong with that? It’s this wild girl who’s looking for trouble. I was going to hit her to teach her a lesson so she won’t be so meddlesome in the future.”

“So she should thank you for it?” Before Chunxiu could respond, the woman continued, “If that’s the case, then go ahead and hit her. But I advise you to think carefully – if you deliver that slap, you’ll be guilty of brawling in the street. Whether it’s reported to the County Magistrate, Prefecture Magistrate, or even the Governor himself, you won’t get off lightly!”

“That’s right.” Following her words, a rather handsome young man stepped forward from behind and said, “Those who brawl in the street receive ten strokes of the rod. If the circumstances are serious, it’s fifty strokes!”

Chunxiu’s heart trembled at their words, but she said with false bravado, “You… you’re just trying to scare me!”

The woman smiled slightly, “Whether we’re scaring you or not, you’ll know if you try.”

Seeing the situation, Jirong quickly stepped forward to mediate, “Alright, alright, Chunxiu was just joking. She and Meixue are from the same village – how could she really hit her? Please don’t take it seriously.” As she spoke, she secretly tugged at Chunxiu’s sleeve, and the latter said somewhat stiffly, “That’s right, just fooling around.”

After she finished speaking, Jirong took Meixue’s hand and said with a sincere expression, “We’re all here hoping to get good positions at the Governor’s mansion to help support our families. Chunxiu didn’t mean to be late. I’ll apologize to you on her behalf. Meixue, you’re magnanimous – please don’t hold it against her.”

Although Jirong didn’t usually treat her very well, Meixue wasn’t someone with a strong personality. Seeing her speak so gently now, she couldn’t bear to refuse and nodded, “Alright then.”