Early summer passed in the blink of an eye, and high summer arrived in a hurry. It came with overwhelming force, drying up all the ponds, streams, and canals on the ground. The cicadas in the trees sang louder and louder.
Lanqin then sent someone with a long pole and sun hats (Lanqin had arranged this for her servants) to catch cicadas under the tree. Only in this way could she take a peaceful afternoon nap. Although Song and Wu were now helping to manage the affairs of the mansion, Lanqin dared not be careless, because the Fourth Prince was now completely focused on the imperial court, and no mistakes could be tolerated in the inner quarters, otherwise it would give those with ulterior motives an opportunity to take advantage.
Shui Ling had "bumped into" the Fourth Master once in the plum grove behind the front yard when she was a child, but she never had the chance to see him again. She thought that the Fourth Master would at least pay some attention to her, but time passed silently. Now, half a year had passed, and she was like a drifting duckweed, abandoned here and ignored by everyone.
The Fujin (principal wife) had sent someone to tell her that she should whisper something in the Third Princess's ear, suggesting that the matter of the Third Princess's mother, Yan Yu, was attributed to the South Courtyard. Shui Ling didn't know Yan Yu at all; when Yan Yu died, she hadn't even been chosen to be Lan Qin's maid! How could she possibly fabricate such a story?
The room was as hot as a steamer, so Shui Ling had to repeatedly fetch cold water to take cold baths herself. She had no one to serve her; she had to do everything herself. Now, Zhang Mama and Qiu Mama, seeing that she still received no favor, barely paid her any attention. Her neighbor, Yun Shi, was like a shadow now; she would occasionally catch a glimpse of her, but never came to greet her.
Life here is far harder than when she was a first-class maidservant to Lanqin. Back then, Lanqin even had Niu Baoquan personally prepare their meals; they could order whatever they wanted, and Lanqin never skimped on anything. More often than not, these maidservants who served her personally used leftovers from Lanqin's meals, which were always of good quality. So, the first thing Shuiling found difficult to adjust to after moving here was the food. A concubine's ration consisted of three dishes and a soup, basically two vegetarian dishes with a bit of oil, and one chicken or duck dish, considered a major meat dish. The soup was also a very light vegetarian broth, quite meager. In the kitchen of the South Courtyard, Shuiling ate all sorts of fine food, even trying abalone and bird's nest. She almost never touched chicken or duck, eating mostly pigeon and the like. Now, she could only eat these leftovers—it was a world of difference. Sometimes, when the kitchen staff saw that there was no oil or broth for them, they would even deliberately give them cold or chilled food. When Shui Ling went to get her own food, she was often harassed by them.
As for the clothes, although she was wearing a qipao, the fabric wasn't even as good as the fabric she wore when she was a first-class maidservant by Lanqin's side. Truly, a shameless concubine is even worse off than a maidservant by the side of a secondary consort.
Furthermore, during the sweltering summer, when I was serving Lanqin in her room, I had never experienced such heat. That room had three or four basins of ice, making it very cool.
Thinking about all this, Shui Ling wondered if she had really made a mistake. She heard that Si Hua had married a sixth-rank official and was treated as the adopted sister of a concubine. She was married off in a grand manner and went to be someone's proper wife.
Why? I'm clearly prettier than Si Hua, so why can she be an official's wife while I'm stuck here suffering like this?
Shui Ling held a gauze fan and fanned herself repeatedly, growing angrier the more she thought about it. She hated that Si Hua was clearly inferior to her in every way, yet she was able to get married in such a grand manner; she hated that she was young and beautiful, yet she was forgotten here by the Fourth Master; she hated that everyone could ride on her head and order her around at will.
Bang!
She swept the copper basin off the table and knocked it to the ground with a loud crash. After a burst of loud gongs and drums, everything returned to calm.
Shui Ling glanced at the sliver of light streaming in from outside, fearing the outside world was already like an oven. She began scanning her room, searching for an oil-paper umbrella.
As Shui Ling walked out of the door holding her oil-paper umbrella, the blazing sunlight immediately cast a faint shadow of the umbrella on the ground.
When she reached the door, she saw that the bolts were all locked. Shui Ling went back into the gatehouse to call for someone to open the door, but there was no response.
Ms. Zhang and Ms. Qiu were probably taking a nap, because no one came out to open the door even after she called for a long time. Left with no other option, Shui Ling had to go open the door herself.
As soon as I touched it, my hands were burned and I pulled them back.
"Aunt Qiu!"
Shui Ling stood impatiently at the gatehouse and called out once, but there was no response, so she had to call out several more times.
A moment later, a voice rang out: "What are you yelling about? It's so hot, why are you going out in the sun!"
Shui Ling suppressed her anger and shouted, "Open the door, I want to get out."
A moment later, Zhang's mother came out grumbling. Seeing Shui Ling standing outside with an oil-paper umbrella, she said even more impatiently, "Madam, are you going out? This blazing sun is practically baking people."
"What do I do that I have to report to you?" Shui Ling scolded, glaring at her.
Dissatisfied, Zhang's mother walked to the door, pulled the bolt open with her large hand a few times.
Shui Ling went out with her umbrella. Zhang's mother stood in the doorway, spat at her back, and muttered: "You little slut, you just love to cause trouble for people."
Shui Ling walked into the shade of the trees with her umbrella, but the afternoon sun was scorching, and soon she was covered in sweat. Her undergarments were completely soaked and clung to her body, making her very uncomfortable.
However, Shui Ling disregarded all of this and continued walking until she reached a side gate in the main courtyard. This was where she usually met with Ling Xiu, the aunt who served the Fujin (princess's wife).
Shui Ling hesitated for a moment, then went up the steps, knocked lightly on the door a few times, and stood there motionless.
After a short while, a creaking sound came from the side gate, and an old woman came out. When she saw that it was Shui Ling, she understood. She did not dare to let her in without permission, and said, "Madam, please wait here for a moment while I go and call Aunt Lingxiu."
Shui Ling didn't dare to take the risk, so she nodded and stood on the steps waiting with her umbrella. Fortunately, this side gate was hidden in the shade of the trees, keeping the sweltering heat out of the shade.
The cicadas chirped louder and louder, their calls never ceasing.
Shui Ling stood on the steps, waiting quietly. She knew she had no other choice but to rely on the Fujin (the wife's husband) for support.
"Madam Ji, it's hot outside. Come in and escape the heat!" Lingxiu said as she walked to the door and saw only a small section of her clothes peeking out.
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