Chapter 2: The Courtyard of the High Gate
The ox cart swayed for two days, with a few more girls added along the way, and finally arrived at a large courtyard in Tongyu Alley in the western suburbs of Kyoto.
As soon as I opened the door, I saw all kinds of people everywhere in the spacious yard. What's worse, some were locked in cages.
Although there were many people, no one dared to speak.
Chen Shiyi lowered his head, not daring to look around, and obediently followed the steward in.
All seven girls were pushed into a dark woodshed. Mats woven from wheat straw were casually laid on the ground on both sides of the wall, leaving a gap in the middle for walking. The withered and yellow wheat straw was in disarray. On the wall, there was a tiny window, emitting a cold light.
There were still many people in the woodshed, and everyone looked very numb. They were not surprised by the arrival of Chen Shiyi and his group. They all raised their eyes slightly, then turned around and lay down again.
Chen Shiyi stayed in this room for three days.
In three days, many people left and many people came in.
A girl who had been there longer than she had been whispered to her.
"If there is a chance, you must sell it during this period. Otherwise, if it exceeds eight days, the place you go will be no different from being dead."
"How do you know all this?"
"Oh, I've been betrayed twice, so I understand."
On the fourth day, Chen Shiyi and four other girls were called out.
Inside the courtyard, Aunt Cai was looking fawning. Next to her was an old man with a goatee, who looked shrewd and very stylish.
"Butler Xu, how dare I trouble you to come here in person? If you need someone, just send someone to call them."
Butler Xu seemed to sneer at Cai Ya's flattery, and his eyes were full of disdain.
"Only these?"
Mrs. Cai immediately stepped forward to explain.
"These guys all come from simple farm families. I promise they'll be obedient and well behaved."
She pointed at the person and introduced him.
"This girl is beautiful, the one wearing blue clothes is amazing, she can read, the one next to her is good at embroidery, the one with fair skin has a lively brain..."
When it was Chen Shiyi's turn, Mrs. Cai paused for a while, and tried to speak several times, but she didn't know what to say.
"Well, honestly..."
Butler Xu glanced at these people and shook his head slowly.
"You don't even think highly of it? Wait a moment, I'll send someone else here right away."
Upon seeing this, Chen Shiyi put aside his fear and quickly knelt down and kowtowed several times to Butler Xu.
"Uncle Xu, please buy me! I can work and do any dirty or strenuous work. I also eat little, I only need one meal a day..."
Mrs. Cai was shocked by Chen Shiyi's action and hurriedly laughed it off with Butler Xu.
"Another group will be here soon."
After saying this, he glared at Chen Shiyi with a fierce look, motioning her to get up and shut up, then go back to the woodshed. He then winked at the burly security guards beside him, asking them to take Chen Shiyi away.
No one knew what touched Butler Xu. He looked at Chen Shiyi carefully again, his shrewd eyes rippling with other unknown emotions, and the corners of his mouth raised.
He then raised his hands to pry open Chen Shiyi's jaw and checked her teeth.
"Well, her bone structure is OK, but she needs to eat and drink less for a long time. Okay, let's go with her."
Mrs. Cai was stunned for a while, then a smile quickly appeared on her face.
"Okay, Butler Xu has good eyesight and a kind heart..."
Chen Shiyi sat sideways on the rafters of the carriage and followed Butler Xu from the western suburbs of Kyoto into the inner city of Kyoto.
Chen Shiyi has lived in Xiangyang Village since he was a child. The farthest place he has been to is Qingliu Town. At that time, he still carried two loads of firewood to sell.
At this moment, shops with carved beams and painted buildings lined the streets. On the busy roads, horse-drawn carriages kept coming and going, each more luxurious than the last. On the eaves of the carriages, bells jumped and made pleasant jingling sounds...
The extreme prosperity at the foot of the imperial city dazzled her eyes.
She lowered her head and found that her clothes were patched with many patches, and her excited thoughts were suppressed.
Prosperity has nothing to do with her.
The carriage turned many corners and finally stopped in a deep alley behind high walls.
The wall was so high that the sun could not be seen, but a ray of light from the sky seeped through. At the base of the wall was fresh green moss. At the end of the moss, on the blue brick pier, stood an old woman in a newly-dressed green dress, whispering with housekeeper Xu.
After a while, the old woman waved to Chen Shiyi and glanced at him with a stern look, seeming very dissatisfied.
"Butler Xu's eyesight is getting worse every year. He brings all kinds of things into the mansion..."
Although he was nagging, his movements were very efficient.
A very narrow door was opened, and inside the door, there were seven or eight people standing quietly on both sides. Two of the maids felt around Chen Shiyi's body, nodded, and handed him over to another maid to take him in.
Chen Shiyi followed the old woman with his head lowered and his eyes obediently. He didn't know how long he walked before he finally stopped.
"He's new here. Butler Xu said the kitchen was short of staff, so he found someone who was capable and reliable to come here."
A pair of warm hands took Chen Shiyi's hands.
"He has cobs in his hands. He is a capable man."
"Okay, I've brought the person here, I'm leaving..."
"Child, lift your head."
Chen Shiyi raised his head and saw a smiling face in front of him.
The woman was very kind and patted Chen Shiyi on the shoulder.
"Come on, I'll take you to resettle first, and then I'll assign you a job after that."
In a square room, many beds were lined up side by side, and opposite the beds, many ink-colored boxes were piled up.
The windows in the room were bright and a faint fragrance was wafting in the air.
"Will I live here from now on?"
The woman looked at Chen Shiyi's surprised expression and smiled.
She pointed to the bed against the wall.
"You sleep there. The light green box is empty. You can keep it for yourself later. Put your clothes and shoes in it. Put on this set of clothes, put your hair into a bun and tie it with a blue ribbon. This way it will be easy to identify which courtyard it belongs to. Don't lose it."
Chen Shiyi felt a little dizzy.
At that moment, she lived in a big tiled house with green bricks, had a box and cage like a bride when she got married, wore new clothes, and put on silk hair accessories...
For so many years, she begged her father to buy her a hair tie, but he died and it never happened. But now, these dream things are available in an instant.
It's like a dream.
"What is your name?"
"Chen Shiyi."
"You are a bought maid, you cannot have a surname. From now on, you will be called Eleven. I am the manager of the kitchen, and everyone calls me Aunt Shi."
Under Aunt Shi's arrangement, Chen Shiyi worked as a stove maid in the kitchen.
This job was extremely easy for Chen Shiyi.
And the people here were very kind to her.
Mrs. Lin, who was responsible for making soup for her masters, called Chen Shiyi to help her take the clay pot off the charcoal fire. However, Chen Shiyi couldn't find a wet cloth, so he burned his left hand when he took it off.
Mrs. Lin hurriedly chanted Amitabha, soaked Chen Shiyi's left hand in cool water for a long time, applied cool ointment, and then wrapped her hand with white gauze.
"What a silly girl, she doesn't even know how to cry out in pain."
The lunch was very rich, with white rice, juicy vegetables, and golden poached eggs covered with a layer of rich soup. Mrs. Lin also secretly buried a piece of braised pork at the bottom of the bowl for her.
How many years has it been since she last ate meat?
She nibbled the meat in small bites, afraid that she would finish it all at once. Her mouth was watering and the aftertaste was lingering. Later, she licked the bottom of the bowl clean.
She never thought that one day she would be able to live a fairy-like life.
Not long after the meal, a woman came into the kitchen.
Mrs. Lin told Chen Shiyi that this was the head maid in the Second Young Master's wife's courtyard.
"Is the Second Young Master's wife's beauty soup ready?"
"It's all right."
The head maid pulled the handkerchief from her bosom and waved it, then spoke to Chen Shiyi.
"You, hold it and follow me."
Chen Shiyi originally thought that she lived in the heavenly palace, but when he arrived at the inner courtyard, he realized what a fairy residence that fell into the human world was.
The exquisitely carved hills pour out crystal clear water, the mist rises and flows into the creek, the covered bridge is built over the creek, the gentle footsteps make a noise of ding-dong, hurried and impertinent, on both sides of the corridor, there are purple hanging flowers swaying in the wind, flowing ears of cornflowers dancing, the white pear petals in the courtyard are swaying, the fragrance is everywhere, the spring breeze blows up, and the white is broken into pieces on the ground.
Living here should help me live a few more years.
Chen Shiyi lowered his eyes and held the soup and meal respectfully, not daring to slack off.
At the Moon Gate, someone took the soup and meal from Chen Shiyi and told him to leave quickly.
Before I even reached the corridor, the quiet courtyard was suddenly filled with the sounds of people crying, begging for mercy, and hurried footsteps. It was quite chaotic...
What happened?