Mo Zi’s favorite position lately was leaning against the carriage shaft.
Horse-drawn carriages were the most common means of transportation in this era. Boarding one meant leaving behind the suffocating inner quarters, leaving behind a bunch of idle women who never tired of their open and covert struggles.
Never mind that strong-willed Qiu Sanniang cried her heart out under the bright red bridal veil when performing the daughter’s farewell bows to Master Qiu upon her marriage. Never mind that Bai He and her godmother also shed streams of tears, sighing about not knowing what year or month they’d meet again. Never mind that Zhang Shi led the daughters with reluctance on their faces while each harbored their own thoughts, resulting in insincere words that failed to express their true meanings. Never mind Fourth Master Qiu and Fifth Master Qiu, who’d been sent away early by Zhang Shi—their two wives, with Fourth Madam’s rouge unable to hide the palm print beneath the powder that sharp-eyed Mo Zi spotted, and Fifth Madam glaring coldly at Bai He with an expression that couldn’t wait for them to leave sooner rather than later. Because explaining all the details would be too laborious and had already become utterly uninteresting.
In short, from the moment Qiu Sanniang lifted her swallow-through-clouds red wedding dress and bent to enter the bridal sedan, she became a member of the Xiao family. Everything at the Qiu Mansion would have little to do with her anymore.
“Mo Zi, get in the carriage.” Lu Ju tugged at her and climbed into the vehicle first.
The two of them were still second-rank maids. Whether they could be promoted to first rank would only be known after comparing against the rules at Prince Jing’s mansion. Lu Ju was quite keen on it. First-rank maids received more monthly wages than second-rank ones, could order around maids and servant women, and could accompany their mistress everywhere. Mo Zi believed that whether first or second rank, they were all maids—the essence was the same. Serving one’s lord was like serving a tiger—this applied equally to the relationship between young ladies and their head maids. The closer you stayed, the easier it was to be pushed out as a scapegoat when the young lady fell on hard times. Moreover, Qiu Sanniang needed her to move around outside and wasn’t too willing to let her attract attention.
Since they were traveling a long distance, the carriage body was large enough to lie down in. However, half the space in their carriage was occupied by Qiu Sanniang’s dowry chests. For Qiu Sanniang’s marriage, apart from the Governor’s wife and cousin Qiu Xin who served as wedding escorts and brought their own maids and page boys, she only had four maids and eighty carrying-poles worth of dowry. Zhang Shi had wanted to plant her confidants among them, but after Qiu Sanniang openly mocked and subtly ridiculed her, she became so angry she never mentioned it again—which conveniently became another excuse for not giving estates or shops.
When Mo Zi entered the carriage, she saw Lu Ju tapping on the chests and couldn’t help but laugh. “What are you doing?”
“Listen.” Lu Ju pouted. “The sound is so hollow and empty—could Madam have given our young lady empty chests?”
“Empty chests she wouldn’t do, but most likely they’re filled with worthless things that don’t even fill them up.” The dowry chests had to be opened for the husband’s family to inspect. Such a childish revenge tactic as empty chests wouldn’t be so stupid for Zhang Shi to use. At least she’d make some show of it.
“Our young lady is too easy to bully—she didn’t say a word.” Lu Ju and Bai He were Qiu Sanniang’s good helpers at home. Although they knew Qiu Sanniang had business dealings outside, they only understood the general picture. When it came to specific income, expenses, and operations, they were completely in the dark.
Mo Zi pulled Lu Ju, who wanted to continue tapping, to sit on the cushion. “Enough. Our young lady didn’t say anything while in the mansion, but once we’re out this gate, everything will be decided by her. You shouldn’t worry needlessly.”
“I can’t help worrying. I’m the young lady’s maid—of course I should think more on her behalf.” Lu Ju was frankly adorable. “In the two years before the young lady bought you back, Mo Zi, I was already embroidering her dowry, using rare materials the young lady brought back from various places—things like ivory beads, agate stones, golden fragrant silk, and such. When Fourth Madam brought the dowry list for the young lady to see and left, I asked the young lady if my prepared items were on it. After laughing, the young lady held up three fingers and said the eighty carrying-poles worth was at most three thousand taels of silver. No matter how I thought about it, something wasn’t right. Those materials alone were worth over ten thousand taels. Madam is so calculating toward the young lady—she probably swapped out all the good things and replaced them with inferior ones. Now after tapping the chests, I realize they’re not even filled. The young lady is marrying into a prince’s mansion, not into a common household—a three-thousand-tael dowry will invite ridicule. Just thinking about this makes my heart burn with anger. If it weren’t the young lady’s joyous day, I’d really want to open the chests one by one to check. If Madam really withheld things privately, I’d… I’d…”
Hearing her impassioned speech, Mo Zi asked with a smile, “You’d what?”
“I’d demand them back from Madam.” Though Lu Ju was usually quite timid, now she clenched her fists and stiffened her neck as if ready to fight someone to the death.
Though from a modern perspective this was the tragic servility of slavery, from another angle, it was also a kind of bond between master and servant. Since getting along well with these maids, Mo Zi was slowly coming to understand them. They were all orphans without fathers or mothers, and young women at that. If they didn’t band together, how could they survive?
Mo Zi had originally wanted to continue joking with Lu Ju, but seeing her become so righteously indignant, she worried that Lu Ju might actually run off to confront Zhang Shi, so she stopped teasing her. “Lu Ju, don’t underestimate our young lady. The dowry you prepared for her—she was reluctant to hand it over to Madam.” Even without considering the effort Lu Ju had put in, just looking at the materials worth over ten thousand taels, profit-minded Qiu Sanniang would definitely have already packed it up herself.
“But I didn’t see the young lady with any luggage, and that’s several large chests worth. Every time I handed them to the young lady, she just said she’d put them away.” Lu Ju still didn’t know Qiu Sanniang’s plan at this point.
“If she said she put them away, she must have put them somewhere safe.” Mo Zi wasn’t good at explaining things to people. Anyway, when events naturally unfolded, Lu Ju would understand.
Lu Ju remained half-believing and half-doubting, but the carriage procession had already departed from the Qiu Mansion, and anything she did would be too late. As the procession advanced, the bustling streets gradually appeared before her eyes. Having not left the mansion gates for half a year, she was dazzled by the sights, and that bit of worry gradually settled down, not to be remembered for quite some time.
Mo Zi laid out the bedding, turned over and curled up on it, closing her eyes for a nap. From the time she’d been busy with the last batch of private goods until today, she hadn’t had a single good night’s sleep. At first, there were the horns and drums and gongs thundering ahead, people’s laughter, exclamations, and envious voices rising and falling, and Lu Ju constantly pushing her to point out novel sights. Very soon, these sounds became blurred and unclear, her consciousness drifting hazily, unable to grasp a single thread.
“Mo Zi, stop sleeping.” Someone pushed her forcefully. “Xiao Yi is calling us over.”
Rubbing her eyes with both hands and stretching lazily, Mo Zi climbed up half-awake. “How long did I sleep?”
“An hour.” The one pushing Mo Zi was of course Lu Ju. “With the carriage jolting so much, you could still sleep so soundly—I’m truly impressed.”
During her soldier days, Mo Zi had slept in tunnels, grasslands, and forests—where couldn’t she sleep? Therefore, adapting to life on ships had also been quick.
“The carriage stopped?” She only felt slight swaying. Lifting the curtain to look, it was the official road outside Luo Zhou’s north gate. “So we’ve arrived at the place.”
“What place?” Lu Ju didn’t understand what Mo Zi meant. “Xiao Yi said that Aunt Wei said to rest at the pavilion ahead and have some tea, then we’ll be traveling a long distance with little chance to relax.”
Mo Zi shielded her eyes as she got out of the carriage—the light was so bright.