“We have the most famous fish here in Jiang-zhou. When the water levels were high in the past, you could easily catch them right outside our door,” the abbess remarked with a smile, warmly pointing to the freshly cooked fish just brought to the table.
The maid let out a polite chuckle.
“Is your mistress having her meal?” the abbess asked.
“Yes, she’s eating right now,” the maid replied, starting to step away. “If you don’t have anything to say, I should go back to attend to her.”
“Ah, since she can eat on her own, let her be. Come, sit down and have a meal here with me,” the abbess insisted with a smile, offering chopsticks. “It’s pitiful always eating leftovers from others.”
“No, no,” the maid declined, “Thank you for your kindness, but I must refuse.”
As the two were pulling and tugging, voices of young novices outside the door could be heard.
“Hey, where’s the firewood?”
“Didn’t the man go to get it?”
“Oh, did he? I saw him heading towards Ban Qin’s place…”
“He probably took it to Ban Qin’s first. Let’s wait a bit.”
Upon hearing this, the people in the room froze, their faces turning pale in an instant.
The maid was the first to rush out, panicked and fearful, stumbling so badly she nearly fell. Tears streamed down her face before she even reached the doorway, her mind reeling.
The abbess quickly followed her out, raising her hand to smack a young novice standing dumbfounded in the courtyard.
“You little brat, why didn’t you stop him!” she shouted.
After scolding, she hurriedly dashed outside as well.
This rascal, he’s gonna get her killed!
“Young lady… would you like to play with me? Catch… catch butterflies?” The man approached the room step by step.
From here, he could see the girl sitting and eating, dressed simply in a plain wide robe, her hair neatly draped behind her, and her black hair spread out on the ground. She calmly looked over with chopsticks in hand.
“She’s like a fool, just like those mindless children,” he muttered to himself. He had seen such fools in the village before, knowing nothing but eating, playing, and silly laughter. You could give them a stone and they’d gnaw on it as if it were candy, cracking their teeth in the process.
“…I will give you candy to eat. Do you… want candy?” he asked in a trembling voice, finally approaching the corridor and getting a clearer view of the girl’s appearance. He couldn’t contain himself anymore, leaning against the wooden railing and sitting down crookedly, randomly picking up a stone from the ground and holding it up.
The girl in front of him curved her lips slightly, as if she was smiling.
Was she smiling? Did it work after all!
The man felt his throat go dry. This girl, so fair-skinned, was nothing like those other fools who made people sick just by looking at them. He couldn’t stand it, just looking at her. If…
The man licked his lips.
“Young lady, I have a good candy here. Would you like to eat it?” he asked in a trembling voice, unable to restrain himself any longer. He felt a rush of heat between his legs, scratching and easing with one hand while gripping the steps with the other to leap up.
Inside the room, Cheng Jiao-niang slowly took the chopsticks from her mouth and held them quietly in her hand, watching him silently.
Outside, there were chaotic footsteps, but the man didn’t hear them until the door slammed open with a bang.
The maid, seeing the man already climbing onto the veranda, let out a sharp scream, grabbed the nearby door latch, and lunged forward. She said nothing, only screaming louder than the last, attacking the man with blows all over his head and face.
The man jolted awake, taking two hits. Though the girl wasn’t very strong, her frenzy was terrifying.
The man hurriedly dodged.
“It’s a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding! I came to deliver firewood… It was this fool who called me… I just came in to see if there were any orders…” he said in a panic.
The maid continued her frenzy, hearing nothing, with only one thought in mind: to beat this man to death, this audacious man.
The man also became angry. A little maid like her would eventually be his plaything under him, so what was she being so defiant for!
He dodged the door latch with a chop of his hand.
“You little brat, do you want me to beat you…” he cursed.
Before the words could settle, another woman’s sharp voice came from the door.
“Huang Er-lang, what are you trying to do?” she shouted, while gesturing to a young novice, “Quick, go tell Master Cheng that someone is causing trouble here!”
The man suddenly became alert.
Right, this was Cheng’s place! This girl was the mistress of the Cheng family! Not just any maid or servant! Not those impoverished relatives in the side branches! She was the blood relative of the main family of Cheng!
If this got out, he would be immediately beaten to death.
“It’s a misunderstanding, I’ve already explained! I was passing by here, and this person called out to me. I was worried something might be wrong, so I came in to check!” The man angrily threw down the door latch he had snatched, feigning grievance as he spoke.
The maid, deprived of the door latch, sobbed and threw herself at the man, hitting and scratching him.
The abbess hurried over and stopped her.
“Huang Er-lang, from now on, we don’t need your firewood here anymore. Get out!” she shouted, while comforting the maid. “Don’t be afraid, I’m here.”
It’s because you’re here that this happened! The maid struggled to reach the woman, scratching and clawing.
The abbess was startled, catching blows to her face and hair unexpectedly.
“She’s gone mad, she’s gone mad! Quickly, come hold her down!” she shouted.
The man had already fled, and the young children hesitated to enter, alarmed. The abbess struggled as the maid clung to her, taking considerable effort to break free. She looked at the maid, now in a frenzied state, and realized it was pointless to stay.
“Watch her, comfort her. I’ll go see if that man is gone and call for help,” she said.
She ran off, and the two children dared not stay, quickly fleeing as well.
The maid wanted to chase after them, but she had exhausted herself and stumbled after a few steps, collapsing to the ground in tears.
Cheng Jiao-niang, as things heated up, ignored everything and continued eating leisurely.
She was picky, not eating what she didn’t like, but when a dish she fancied was placed in front of her, she ate it clean.
As she picked up the last grain of rice, the maid came stumbling over in tears.
“Miss, are you alright?” she cried, instantly regretting her words. Being treated like this was a huge humiliation for a lady in her position. Did something have to happen for her to say that she wasn’t alright?
The maid took a few steps back and knocked her head on the ground.
“It’s my fault,” she cried.
“Ban Qin,” Cheng Jiao-niang called out.
The maid lifted her tear-streaked face and looked at Cheng Jiao-niang.
“Miss, what do… you want to say?” she sobbed.
“Serve more rice,” Cheng Jiao-niang said, setting down her chopsticks.
The bowls and plates were empty, and the maid reached to remove them one by one, replacing them with a bowl of soup.
“Miss, pear syrup,” she said hoarsely.
Cheng Jiao-niang reached out and slowly scooped some with a spoon to eat.
The maid began sobbing again beside her.
“Miss, let’s go back,” she cried, “let’s go back and tell Master and Madam, they won’t refuse to let us return.”
“Nonsense,” Cheng Jiao-niang said.
It was hard enough to get out, why go back.
“That man and that woman are despicable,” the maid cried, “They’re so despicable!”
Watching the maid with swollen eyes, Cheng Jiao-niang remained composed. The pear juice made from a stone grinder was clear and rich, reflecting half of her face when she lowered her head. Below her hair curtain, her long eyebrows were dark like ink, enhancing the deep gaze of her eyes.
“When people commit sins, they cannot live,” she said.
After speaking, she raised her head to look at the maid.
“Ban Qin, I want you to do something. Will you dare?” she asked.
The maid nodded through tears.
“Miss, even if it means death, I dare to do it,” she said.
Cheng Jiao-niang pursed her lips and smiled faintly.
“Why would you die?” she asked. “It’s not you who should die.”
