Chapter 38 Soaring to the Sky

On a fine day, the sky was blue and the clouds were white, bright and dazzling. A strong wind was blowing, surging and turbulent. The leaves rustled and tumbled, splashing out countless dazzling, bright silver lights.

The scenery is so beautiful...

Liu Min felt extremely uncomfortable, as if ants were crawling all over him. It was because of that hand.

A woman's hand, with slender, long fingers, as white as onions, veins greenish-blue, each one clearly visible, soft, delicate, like ointment, a jade ring on her middle finger, a light green jadeite ring on her ring finger, two green glass bracelets on her wrist, all green, but her nails painted red.

I don't like it because it's my stepmother's hand, but I can't bear to let go.

This is the first time.

But she wasn't the one he wanted.

He thought this person was his mother, but his mother had long since died, now just a skeleton buried alone underground... He had never held her hand, never even seen her face, never had the chance, she died the moment he was born...

He suddenly became clear-headed, his eyes fixed, and a buzzing sound echoed in his ears, relentlessly assaulting and shaking him.

She abruptly pulled her hand back and took a step back, stunned.

"What's wrong?"

The young woman turned around and asked, her face lowered, half puzzled and half worried.

Liu Min dropped his guarded expression, glanced at her, then lowered his head without saying a word.

Madam Yue was never one to overthink things; if he didn't say something was wrong, then nothing was wrong, so she eagerly reached out her hand again.

Liu Min did not dodge; his hand once again sank into the young woman's soft palm, but he no longer felt uncomfortable.

Because the heart has become cold, hard, and resolute.

Green Bamboo Hall, no, Guangyi Hall, is not far from Yihe Hall; it's just a few steps away. However, Madam Yue walked for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

They talked the whole way, nonstop, from the flowers in their hands to the furnishings in Guangyitang, all of which were fine things from all over the country. Of course, Liansi, if you don't like them, we'll change them. Whatever you like, we'll change it.

Liu Min remained silent, his head bowed.

Madam Yue thought that he was tired and that was why he didn't want to speak, so she also kept quiet and quickened her pace.

The maids and servants, having received the news, gathered in the courtyard early in the morning to wait. Now that they had seen their master, they all knelt down and greeted him in unison.

Madam Yue glanced at him, waved her hand casually, and without saying a word, led Liu Min into the house.

The maids and servants got up and, since their tasks had already been assigned, they got busy with their own tasks.

The young maids stood guard under the eaves, while the older maids and matrons went inside to await orders.

The tea had been prepared long ago, as we didn't know exactly when the person would arrive. We brewed a new pot of tea every now and then. Today was an auspicious day, and everything was going smoothly. We had just brewed a pot of tea when the person arrived. It was the perfect time to enjoy the tea.

Ziyu carried the tray to her master and offered him tea.

There were four maids: Ziyu, Lüyang, Chengfeng, and Bitao. They were all around fourteen years old. Some were born into the household, while others were bought from outside.

Ziyu was the only one born into the household among the four, having previously served as a maid to Madam Yue.

Ziyu's parents were servants of Madam Yue. The family of four—the parents and their two children—came from the Yue residence to the Liu residence with Madam Yue.

The Liu family had no real roots in the capital. When Liu Shen went to the capital to take the imperial examination, he bought the house on the spot. It wasn't big, but it was exquisite and elegant. It was an old courtyard with two sections, with stacked stones and water features, and vines and creepers, which had a bit of the charm of Jiangnan. It was spacious enough for only him and two servants, but it was not enough for a wedding.

They needed to buy another house and add more people, but Old Madam Qin was angry and wanted to make things difficult for them, so she decided to ignore it and just sent someone to deliver the money. But for this kind of thing, money is not enough.

Fortunately, Liu Shen married the pampered daughter of a wealthy family. They doted on their daughter, and given the incident, her parents naturally took full responsibility and handled everything perfectly. Liu Shen was happy to have an easy time and didn't utter a single word of complaint from beginning to end.

Currently, the people moving around in the Liu residence, apart from a few elderly people who accompanied Liu Shen to the capital back then, are almost all of Lady Yue's dowry maids.

Ziyu's parents were both mild-mannered and good-natured, which prevented them from getting ahead. They not only faced discrimination everywhere, but also dragged their children down with them.

When Ziyu was with Madam Le, everyone called her by her real name, Tuan'er, which sounded like the name of an unlucky little girl. Tuan'er came to serve in the mansion when she was seven years old, doing sweeping work. She was covered in dust all day long, and she couldn't stand it. She went home and made a scene several times, which made her father spend money to help her get a place in Madam Le's courtyard. Although she was still doing odd jobs, she was much more respectable, but it was still not enough.

Tuan'er worked at the Yihe Courtyard until she was fourteen, still doing odd jobs. Those people were very strict and colluded with her, so she had no chance to get a better job.

I'm so unwilling to accept this!

They're all servants, so who's more noble than whom? Why do they get to step on her head?

She was always looking for an opportunity to soar to great heights, but fate had other plans.

She was almost resigned to her fate, destined to live a mediocre life, forever trampled underfoot, unable to rise above others, and there was nothing she could do no matter how unwilling she was.

But the young master is coming.

The young master is the master's son, but he has no blood relation to the madam. The madam is intolerant of others.

Throughout history, virtuous wives often allow their husbands to take concubines, but this lady did not. She firmly held onto her husband, not allowing anyone to covet even a fraction of his possession. Years ago, someone presented a woman to the master at a banquet, but he refused to accept her. However, the lady still found out. Later, the horse pulling the carriage went berserk in the street, causing the carriage to overturn in the bustling marketplace. The man fell and was badly injured, bleeding profusely. Everyone thought it was an accident and nothing serious, and they watched the spectacle and moved on. But the servants of the Liu household knew that it was the maternal uncle who was responsible. The lady sent someone to tell the maternal uncle to avenge her.

The lady was also a ruthless person. Of her three maternal uncles, the eldest and second maternal uncles were scholars with refined manners, while the third maternal uncle was a martial artist with a ruthless nature. He was always shouting for violence and had actually killed people, more than one. However, because the people he killed were his own servants, not a word of it got out. Who would dare to do that? But she couldn't hide it from the people in the mansion. She secretly told the family members to be careful around the third maternal uncle and not to offend him, or they would suffer the consequences.

The lady had three older brothers, but she specifically sought out the third brother to vent her anger, which shows how deep her hatred ran.

If women are like this, what about their children?

The Liu family in the capital didn't have many servants. The front and back courtyards combined had no more than a hundred people, but there were only three masters, so they had plenty of staff. However, if they suddenly had to add another person, they would be in a bit of a bind.

There are many young wives in the Liu family, but the young master naturally has maids and old women at his side. There is no shortage of old women or maids. Even if there is a shortage, it is easy to buy more. However, there are no maids who are teenagers and capable of doing things. It is also not easy to buy them.

Of course, I'll buy the best, regardless of price, but because I need it so urgently and have high standards, I can't find it right away. If I want it, I have to wait. Wait a month or two? How can I afford to wait?

Madam Le was both angry and anxious. She thought of going back to her parents' home to ask for people. Her parents' home had many people, so she could surely pick a few that she liked!

There are certainly good people out there, but who would be willing to go? Who knows what the young master's future holds? Going there might just be throwing him into a fire pit! He's a perfectly good kid, a teenager, all grown up. If he really has any ambitions, he has young men at home. Why send him to someone else's house? If he goes there and gets hurt, it's just too much of a loss.

So they all made excuses and refused to take any risks.

Dissatisfied, Madam Le vented her anger on her sisters-in-law, complaining that they hadn't been diligent in serving her. How could her sisters-in-law dare to offend her? They said, "Everyone knows which family has a good maid. Sister, take her back and use her. Who cares if she's betrothed or not? A maid, let alone breaking off an engagement, even if you told her to die, would she dare disobey?"

Upon hearing this, Madam Le thought, "Is my family really so lowly? It wasn't like we were exiled back then. We have to coerce and bribe them to find a maid! They've even said things that could kill someone!" She sneered at them, glanced over, and left without saying a word, without missing a single one of her three sisters-in-law. This left the three sisters-in-law feeling uneasy.

Madam Yue made a mental note of this. Later, when the Yue family sent people over, they were all delivered to her courtyard, but she didn't even glance at them before sending them all back.

After driving her away, she threw a tantrum, cursing her three sisters-in-law to her confidante, and even cursing her three brothers in the process. She said that since they had forgotten their mother after getting married, their sister was nothing! All her grievances from the past suddenly found an outlet.

It was at this moment that Tuan'er kowtowed to Madam Le.

She was fourteen years old, with a beautiful face and quite intelligent, but usually she was just sweeping the floor and watering the flowers, which didn't really show her talent. But this time was different.

She said that it was heartbreaking to see the lady so angry, a person of such good nature as her. Although she was a useless person, she still wanted to share the lady's burdens and would never disobey her.

She was taking a gamble; she'd rather be a big fish in a small pond than a small fish in a big pond. She really didn't want to sweep the floor anymore. But she also didn't want her master to think she was disloyal, so she said she would never disobey, meaning she was willing to go and act as an informant, obeying all kinds of orders.

Madam Yue was overjoyed, her face full of approval.

She hadn't thought that far ahead; she was just annoyed by a series of setbacks, so of course she was happy to finally have something to cheer her up.

She looked the girl over carefully, and finding her face familiar, asked her name and whose family she belonged to. Knowing this, she was even more pleased. She needed someone like this, someone she could keep close to her family, not someone bought from outside. Otherwise, people would think she wasn't doing her job properly, just randomly buying someone from outside to send to her stepson, and that she was bullying others. They said outsiders had no connections and weren't as successful as her own servants. With this girl, there would be no such talk. She wasn't worried about what outsiders would say about her, but rather about what her husband would think.

Now things are much better! Madam Le was so happy that she immediately changed Tuan'er's name, naming her Ziyu after Bai Zhi, the head maid of Liu Qi.

That's considered soaring to great heights.

With this opening, good things came one after another. The slave trader brought over a group of beautiful young women, all of whom met Madam Yue's requirements: clean backgrounds, upright demeanor, and dignified beauty. They were all selected overnight from nearby prefectures to please Madam Yue.

Madam Yue was naturally satisfied and gave a generous reward. She kept three of them and, following the example of Ziyu, bestowed names upon them in turn.

Ziyu naturally became the leader of this group, and no one dared to challenge her. In terms of how she was performing in front of her master, no one dared to compete with her, and she was quite pleased with herself.

Madam Le accepted the tea with a smile, took a sip, and put it down to give Ziyu face. She then smiled and said to Liu Min, "This is Ziyu. She grew up in our mansion and knows everything. You can take her with you wherever you go."

Ziyu was even more smug, almost unable to hide her pride. She went up to Liu Min and gave him a deep bow with a smile. She wanted Liu Min to remember her; she had to be the number one person in this courtyard.

However, the next moment, Madam Yue took a little girl's hand and said to her, "This is Shanlai. She serves the young master closely and understands his heart best. You must listen to her instructions and learn from her."

Ziyu heard every word Madam Yue uttered, but she felt like a child who couldn't understand what she was saying. She tried to recall the words again and again, struggling to decipher them, but ultimately she couldn't understand their meaning.