Chapter 108 A Day in the Life of a White-Haired Maid
Wei Lai liked it when Ouyang Rong touched her hair.
This gave her a surprising sense of security.
She nestled in his arms, just like she had returned to the little cage in the backyard of Jinxiaokou Horse Stable.
Yes.
The small cage is not a form of confinement.
It's about the small family.
Because she wasn't a canary, but an ugly duckling.
Once she's out of the cage, everyone outside will bully her.
Everything despised her.
Therefore, Wei Lai never envied the outside sky, but instead relied on her birdcage-like little home.
Although the rainwater from the eaves often soaked her, and the ants on the bluestone steps under her feet often bullied her.
Until it met its owner.
Wei Lai then realized that there were things outside that were warmer and more radiant than the blue and white sky, the starry night sky, the distant green mountains, and the flowers blooming in the corner.
Like a black and white world suddenly filled with color, how could it not attract her attention?
Although I was a little afraid of his outstretched hand when we first met.
And so Wei Lai emerged.
We arrived at the Sika Deer Park.
We arrived at this quiet little courtyard next to the plum grove.
Although I still feel a bit dazed along the way.
But Wei Lai got a new little cage.
She locked her heart away; this time, she never wanted to leave again.
Wei Lai is actually very easy to satisfy.
Just like now.
Although the owner is busy most of the time, spending almost all his days running around outside.
When I came back for dinner, I mainly spent time with Madam Zhen. Only in the corridor after dinner could I have a few moments to chat with her about everyday things.
After returning to his room, he would sit at his desk reading and deep in thought. Only when she went to serve him tea or water would he look up at her, smile, and say thank you or thank you for your hard work. Just that one sentence was enough to make Wei Lai happy for days.
But Wei Lai was her personal maid, and she could sleep in her master's arms every night.
I could smell his scent everywhere, and sometimes I could taste his flavor in my mouth. When I woke up from a peaceful dream, all I could see was him.
What more could you want?
Although in the Meilu Garden, Madam Zhen and her companions, including Banxi, did not treat her very well.
Wei Lai has already gotten used to her current life.
Every day during the day, when he was not around, besides learning various maid skills under the disapproving eyes of her companions, she would sit silently in the room, staring blankly at the sky above the eaves outside the door, waiting for nightfall.
At night, while her master read by lamplight, she would quietly serve him tea and water, fold his clothes and blankets, or move an embroidery stool to his desk. Like a kitten, she would squint her eyes and, by the warm, yellow firelight that shared his presence, clumsily practice her needlework, sewing spring clothes.
Occasionally, when her index fingertip hurts and tiny beads of blood slowly grow larger, her owner will take her little hand, frown, examine it closely, and bandage it.
At these times, Wei Lai couldn't help but steal glances at his focused profile.
The owner has a very disciplined daily routine.
Every night at the hour of Hai (9-11 PM), I would leave my desk, brush my teeth, get into bed, and close my eyes to sleep.
Wei Lai would always prepare willow twigs and mouthwash for him in advance.
Then she would go to bed fifteen minutes early, first undoing the hair that had been tied up all day, then casually bundling her waist-length silver hair into a ball that would be easy for him to stroke, letting it fall in front of her right shoulder. Then she would take off her inner garment, leaving her only in a pink little bellyband and underpants, and like a little snake, she would slip into the quilt to warm her master's bed.
After a quarter of an hour, he would go to bed to rest, and his body would quickly warm up. He would gently stroke her silver hair and fall into a deep sleep.
Before her master closes his eyes and falls asleep, Wei Lai will not reach out her little hands to hug him, let alone press her legs against him like an octopus that night.
I did this because I was worried about disturbing his sleep.
Actually, the owner allows her to hug him when he is awake and does not object.
However, Wei Lai noticed that every time she held him close to sleep beforehand, it would take him a while for his breathing to become regular in the darkness before he could fall asleep.
If you don't hold him before bed, the owner, who is tired after a long day, will fall asleep almost as soon as his head hits the pillow, and may even snore slightly.
Wei Lai felt sorry for her master, who was yawning early in the morning and hadn't slept well. So she restrained herself and waited until he was sound asleep every night before quietly reaching out her little hand and silently snuggling into her master's arms.
Enveloped in darkness and her master's warm presence, she felt as if she had returned to the small cage in the backyard of the Jinxiaokou horse stable.
Her little face gradually rose to a contented and peaceful sleeping expression.
This is a typical day in the life of her personal maid.
In fact, Wei Lai heard from the other sisters in Meilu Garden that after the master went to bed with her, the personal maid should have another duty to do. They even mocked her, saying that the master didn't like her and that's why he didn't touch her.
But Wei Lai knew that her master was not quite the same as the men they were talking about.
Wei Lai could tell that he seemed to be busy with something very important, putting all his energy into it. He spent his days wandering between two places: Di Gongzha and Luming Street. He was different from the maids who lived in the deep courtyards and schemed against each other every day.
However, there was also tenderness between her and her master.
But most nights are just like the ones above, ordinary and uneventful, with warmth and ambiguity only existing occasionally.
In fact, this is the normal life in this plum grove courtyard.
Wei Lai felt exceptionally at ease.
As for those private and shameful matters of the bedroom.
Only occasionally, in the pitch-black bed and among the blankets, in the midst of a somewhat joyful and noisy night, did I perform some natural and graceful tea ceremonies, and the simple yet memorable Butterfly Creek's effective water management.
The master never completely deflowered her.
She was a little confused and only vaguely understood it. All she knew was that she didn't always hug him tightly, and she obeyed his soft instructions, but her little face was always buried in his chest...
Sometimes, in the darkness and quiet, her little face, damp with sweat and hair, would lift up from under the covers and whisper a question to her owner. He would close his eyes and pretend not to understand. Sometimes, when he was tired of being pestered, he would softly explain with a lame excuse, saying that he was afraid her little body couldn't take it.
Wei Lai didn't really understand.
She was a year or two older than that girl, Aqing, who was already of marriageable age in the Great Zhou Dynasty, and was even considered late.
As for Miss Xie from the Su family next door, who is only a few years younger than her master, she would be considered an old maid in the countryside of Longcheng County. However, Miss Xie comes from a noble family and is not worried about marriage. She just doesn't want to get married, which is different from the poor servants like them.
Perhaps due to her bloodline, Wei Lai discovered that as long as she got enough nutrition and ate more eggs and meat, her body became much fuller than that of girls her age.
Therefore, Wei Lai felt that her hot-blooded master was giving a very lame reason.
If she were bolder and more frivolous, she would reply, "How will you know if you don't try? Doesn't Master often say something like, 'You must know that you must do things yourself'?"
But Wei Lai couldn't bear to expose her master. Even seeing his face as he racked his brains to find an excuse, she felt guilty and heartbroken.
Moreover, whenever they finished their business at midnight and the master and servant were resting together, the master would always ask her some strange questions.
The most frequently asked question was whether she missed her hometown.
Actually, no, but Wei Lai, who was lying on his chest, would still nod gently and say, "A little."
But she had no idea what her hometown looked like, so how could she possibly miss it?
And at these times, the owner would fall into an unusual silence.
Wei Lai knew that her master was homesick.
He never says it.
Instead, they asked her if she would go back to her hometown if she had the chance.
Wei Lai shook her head vigorously, her silver hair swaying adorably in the darkness.
At this point, the master would always chuckle and say, "You reply with support, I reply with no reply, right?" and reach out to pinch her still flushed, hot cheeks.
There was another one.
The master also asked her to change her address to Tanlang, but Weilai only agreed to call him that in public. When the two of them were alone, she still insisted on calling him master.
Aside from habit, it was mainly due to Wei Lai's keen observation...
The master actually liked her calling him that; at least when Wei Lai hugged him and called him master, his body reacted with enthusiasm and pleasure.
You can't be wrong.
Wei Lai, who was exceptionally sensitive to her master's subtle reactions and emotions, nodded quietly. It turned out that her master could also say one thing and mean another...
These events that happened late at night were just minor episodes in life at the Deer Park.
Most of the time, I actually spend it in the long wait inside the house, which is empty during the day, gazing longingly at the blue sky outside.
Oh, and besides that, there's another unavoidable thing about living in Meiluyuan.
The younger sisters were increasingly fond of "crashing" into her and their master's yard.
...
"Madam asked us to deliver some mung bean cakes to Tanlang. Please move aside and don't block the way."
It was late at night.
The entrance to the plum grove courtyard, adorned with two vermilion lanterns.
The double-leaf courtyard gate, which had only been slightly opened by the white-haired maid inside, revealing her peering eyes, was now being forcefully pushed open from the outside with a clang.
Wei Lai, dressed in a sky-blue maid's dress and with her hair styled in pretty double sideburns, staggered back a few steps and almost fell down the steps.
Banxi, accompanied by four maids, walked straight into the courtyard. She looked around at the empty courtyard but didn't look at the white-haired maid behind her.
The Silla maid placed her hands in front of her, holding a rosewood pastry box. When she saw the light in the study, her eyes lit up, and she walked over.
Who's here?
Seemingly hearing the commotion in the courtyard, Ouyang Rong closed his book and asked curiously.
"My lord, Madam sent me to bring you some good food," Banxi Rourou said.
"Then come in."
Ouyang Rong didn't pay much attention and continued reading.
Banxi entered the study with four maids.
In the courtyard, through the silhouette of the window, Wei Lai saw Ban Xi and the others gathered around the desk, obediently and diligently trying to please the master. She remained silent.
Wei Lai turned around, went to the west wing to boil water, and brewed a pot of tea.
The room was pitch black; she hadn't turned on the lights.
Only after hearing the sounds of Banxi and the others leaving the study in the courtyard did the white-haired maid breathe a sigh of relief, then carried the tea to the study.
In the courtyard, Banxi brushed past four head maids and Weilai, who was serving tea.
He glanced at Wei Lai more closely.
The white-haired maid lowered her eyes, obediently stopped, held the plate in her hand, and curtsied: "Sister Banxi."
Just then, a maid who was closest to Wei Lai seemed to lose her balance and leaned lightly towards Wei Lai, giving her a push in the process.
A loud crash echoed in the quiet courtyard.
Wei Lai jumped back two steps after being burned.
"Oh, I'm so sorry, Wei Lai, I slipped just now. Are you alright?"
The head maid apologized and took out a handkerchief to symbolically wipe her face from a distance.
"I...I'm fine."
Wei Lai looked down and hurriedly wiped the fabric of her dress, which had been soaked with tea, from her chest and abdomen.
The heat is secondary.
This is a new dress that her owner ordered for her from a tailor shop in the East Market when he happened to pass by on his way there last time.
He said he saw that the maids in the junior sister's courtyard in the Su family were all wearing such beautiful maid dresses, and he thought she might look even better in them, so he casually asked a clothing store and bought one for her too.
Banxi turned her head and scolded the head maid: "Didn't you eat? You can't even stand up straight, really."
Wei Lai carefully wiped it, then lowered her head and bit her lip: "It's alright, Sister Banxi, I'll go change."
Banxi nodded and glanced at the white-haired maid's retreating figure as she entered the room.
Half an hour later.
Wei Lai changed into another dress, left the room, and went to the study.
She suddenly stopped in the long corridor outside the study.
Inside the study, the owner put down his books, sat by the window to rest, and held a steaming teacup in his hand.
Meanwhile, the older sisters, including Banxi, did not leave. Sometime earlier, they had brewed a pot of tea and were standing by, serving their master tea and occasionally saying witty and charming things to make the master of the house laugh.
Wei Lai stood quietly on the veranda for a while.
Before long, in the study, Ouyang Rong, whose mind was not on drinking tea, put down his cup and continued writing at his desk. Halfway through, the head maid tactfully took her leave and left the study.
The two groups met again in the corridor.
Banxi remained nonchalant, smiled gently at Wei Lai, and left with the four maids behind her who were giving her a teasing look.
As they passed by, the head maid who had accidentally "stumbled" and bumped into Wei Lai turned around and complimented her, saying, "Wei Lai's dress is quite pretty."
I don't know which item it's praising.
Wei Lai lowered her head and stood still, waiting.
Only after hearing the sound of the courtyard gate closing behind her did she move her feet and silently walk to the study.
The white-haired maidservant remained calm, as if she had long been accustomed to it.
In wealthy households, serving tea and water to the master was a task that many maids vied for.
In a wealthy family's mansion, there are hundreds of maids, but only a few can appear in front of the master. Sometimes the master doesn't even remember that you exist in the family, so you can only spend your whole life doing dirty and tiring work in the laundry room.
Ouyang Rong, the magistrate of Longcheng County, lived a very simple life. There were not many maids in Meilu Garden, only about ten people, but he was only familiar with Wei Lai and Ban Xi. There were a few other familiar ones who were his aunt's personal maids.
Ouyang Rong didn't pay much attention to these things and didn't think he was anything special. His daily life was taken care of by Wei Lai and his aunt, and he was happy to be idle. He was already very grateful and satisfied with life in the Deer Garden. He had a feeling of being served steadily and focused on studying before the big exam in his previous life.
What Ouyang Rong didn't know was that every day when he returned home, all the maids in the Meilu Garden who had even a little ambition were openly or secretly watching this master, wishing they could work for him and show their faces in front of him. With just a word from him, they could rise in status under Zhen Shi.
As a result, Wei Lai's position as a personal maid in the Plum Grove Courtyard became extremely sought after in the Plum Deer Garden.
If Ouyang Rong and Zhen Shi had brought back an expensive maid with both beauty and talent from the horse market, the other maids, including Banxi, wouldn't have had much desire to compete for her; instead, they would have tried to curry favor with her.
Unfortunately, what they brought back was a little white-haired girl.
Lady Zhen didn't like it, and the young master didn't seem to have lost his virginity...
Wei Lai was perfectly aware that she was blocking her sisters' way.
At least that's how she appears.
In the long corridor, the white-haired maid, who longed to hold onto a warm and peaceful life, had an increasingly calm look in her beautiful gray-blue eyes.
I wanted to write some everyday scenes in these two chapters to flesh out the characters, although the writing might not be very good... so it's a bit padded, sorry guys.
(End of this chapter)
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