The maid stepped through the doorway, pulling her cloak tighter as she walked against the wind.
Along the way, she encountered various servants and maids, all of whom politely made way for her.
“Miss Ban Qin,” someone greeted her with a smile.
A maid walking with her head lowered suddenly heard the name and instinctively looked up. She saw a graceful and pretty maid approaching at a leisurely pace and momentarily froze in place.
“Miss Ban Qin, have you been out?” another older maid asked, chiming in.
The maid answered with a gentle smile. “Yes,” she replied, glancing at the older maid. “It’s so cold, and yet you’re still busy?”
“Oh, not too busy,” the older maid said with a laugh, then quickly corrected herself, “Actually, yes, very busy—with the New Year coming, of course.”
“Thank you for your hard work,” the maid said with a smile.
The older maid beamed with joy, watching as the maid turned the corner and walked away.
“Oh dear, this young lady is so kind and approachable, truly delightful,” she remarked to the person beside her. “Where is that bad temper everyone talks about?”
“Indeed,” another maid agreed, her gaze following the figure of the departing maid. “I heard she even dares to talk back to Madam and the Seventh Lady. But seeing her now, she doesn’t seem so strange or rude.”
The maid suddenly stopped in her tracks and sharply turned her head to look back.
On the road, a few maids walked here and there, scattered at various distances.
Her eyes shifted, landing on a girl not far away, walking with her head down, arms wrapped tightly around herself.
She appeared to be shivering from the cold, her body hunched and trembling.
“Excuse me…” the maid called out to her with a slight smile, her voice gentle.
Before she could finish her sentence, the girl quickened her pace, brushing past her without stopping.
The maid shook her head and chuckled softly. Pulling her cloak tighter, she dismissed the matter and stepped through the courtyard gate.
Ban Qin walked on with her head down for a while before cautiously looking back. The area by the gate was already empty.
In the past, she had only caught glimpses of a figure in the darkness. So, this was the new Ban Qin serving the mistress.
How fortunate—beautiful and eloquent…
Ban Qin stared blankly for a moment, then raised a hand to wipe away her tears. Hugging her shoulders, she lowered her head and slowly walked away.
A few maids stood under the veranda in the courtyard, all bowing respectfully when they saw the maid approaching.
These were the maids newly sent by Madam Zhou. As a gift from an elder, she couldn’t be declined, so Cheng Jiao-niang accepted them all—whether they were put to use, however, was another matter.
The maid greeted them with a smile, and two of the maids hurried to open the door for her.
Once she stepped inside, there was no need to say anything; someone closed the door behind her.
In front of the screen, Cheng Jiao-niang reclined against a small table, reading a book.
“Miss, everything has been handled,” the maid reported. “The doctor examined him and confirmed there’s no danger to his life. I also gave some money. The doctor mentioned that his ailment is of the heart, and Young Master Han offered him a few words of comfort, which seemed to lift his spirits significantly.”
Cheng Jiao-niang nodded and set her book down.
“Did they take note of you?” she asked.
The maid nodded.
“I spoke at length with the woman; she must have remembered me,” she said. “I followed Young Master Han closely, and she had no reason to doubt me. She trusts me completely.”
“That will suffice,” Cheng Jiao-niang replied with a nod.
“And so, Miss, what will you do next?” the maid asked curiously.
Cheng Jiao-niang glanced at her.
“Do? Nothing,” she replied. “Isn’t it all done already?”
The maid was startled, then broke into a laugh.
“Miss, that’s all?” she asked.
“That’s all,” Cheng Jiao-niang affirmed with a nod. “What else?”
The maid had no response to offer. Indeed, what else? She pressed her lips together and smiled.
“I want to hear a story,” Cheng Jiao-niang said.
The maid answered in acknowledgment and fetched a scroll.
“We left off last time at…” She began flipping through the pages, murmuring to herself.
“Around the Cold Food Festival, the lake was filled with decorated boats,” Cheng Jiao-niang interjected.
The maid nodded.
“You have such a good memory,” she said with a smile, finding the page and beginning to read aloud in a clear voice:
“…connected end to end, resembling a floating bridge. The first boat, the second boat, the third boat, the fourth boat, the fifth boat…”
On the thirtieth day of the month, every household entered the most crucial phase of festival preparations.
The men busied themselves ensuring that everything for the ancestral rituals was in place. The women checked their children’s attire and reviewed the guest lists for the upcoming days of banquets and visits.
The young sons and daughters waited leisurely yet excitedly for the arrival of the New Year.
Only Cheng Jiao-niang, neither leisurely nor excited, had already stepped outside with her maid.
“Why are you heading out at this time?” Madam Zhou hurried over upon hearing the news. Her expression, no longer the gentle and kind demeanor of the past days, betrayed her impatience. “Today is the thirtieth, Jiao Jiao. Why are you leaving the house again?”
Cheng Jiao-niang turned to look at her but said nothing.
“Madam, it’s precisely because today is the thirtieth that our mistress must go out,” the maid said, a hint of surprise in her voice. “Madam, have you forgotten? My mistress’s surname is not Zhou. On the thirtieth, the New Year’s Eve, how can she spend it at her maternal family’s home?”
There was indeed a custom that daughters who married out should not spend the thirtieth day with their natal family, but did that also apply to granddaughters?
Madam Zhou was taken aback.
“Although she is away from home, my mistress still needs to honor her ancestors during the New Year,” the maid continued. “We have a residence in the capital, and we must go there, to avoid causing confusion with the ancestral offerings from both families.”
“But… is that really appropriate?” Madam Zhou said, her uncertainty evident.
Zhou Liu-lang had already received the news and was striding over. Without saying a word, he took the horsewhip from the young servant’s hand.
“Mother, you go ahead and attend to your matters. I’ll take her there,” he said.
“Fine, go if you want. There’s nothing but trouble at home anyway,” Madam Zhou said with a dismissive wave of her hand, her tone not very pleasant.
“Be careful while you’re out. If you need anything, just say so,” she added.
The noisy market streets were already nearly empty, with only a few hurried pedestrians passing by, carrying New Year’s goods.
Zhou Liu-lang reined in his horse and watched as the young servant ran out after hearing the commotion.
“Miss has returned,” he called out loudly.
The door was left open, and the sounds of laughter and chatter from within spilled out.
“Sister has returned.” Two more men came out, rubbing their hands and laughing heartily. “We’re stewing a pig’s head right now.”
“Fourth Young Master, Fifth Young Master, you actually know how to stew a pig’s head?” the maid asked in surprise, helping Cheng Jiao-niang down from the carriage.
“Of course we do,” the two men said, nodding and smiling. “Sister, please hurry inside, it’s cold out here.”
Zhou Liu-lang stood to the side, seemingly invisible to everyone, like a mere coachman.
Upon hearing the news, more people came rushing out from inside, calling out “sister” in a constant stream.
Sister, brother, their calls were warm and affectionate…
Zhou Liu-lang looked at the men and ladies talking and laughing in front of him and sneered coldly. He tossed the horsewhip in his hand aside.
One man, quick-eyed and quick-handed, caught it.
The laughter momentarily stopped as everyone turned to look. The young man had already turned around and was striding back along the way he came.
Cheng Jiao-niang seemed not to notice and entered the door with her maid.
The men snapped back to their senses.
“I wonder what kind of family Sister comes from; even a coachman looks so handsome and strong…”
“Yes, he’s young, but his strength is no small matter. That throw just now—if it had been a long spear, he could have pierced someone through.”
They whispered as they drove the carriage through the gate, and a firecracker went off inside.
“Jin Ge’er! Stop being naughty!”
A lady’s sharp cry rang out, adding a lively energy to the noisy courtyard.
The men exchanged a glance and laughed heartily before closing the door.
The door was already adorned with peach wood charms featuring the gods Shen Tu and Yu Lei, and a large red lantern swayed in the wind beneath the gate, all signaling festive cheer.
