Eileenburg (28)
noob
Summer, with its unpredictable weather, passed quickly, and autumn arrived at Ailian Castle. The green castle was now adorned with golden leaves, bathed in a golden glow, dazzling under the sun. A few mimosa blossoms still bloomed on the tree; the summer downpours hadn't knocked them down. Ailian stood by the window, gently counting: "One, two..." As long as there were mimosa blossoms on the tree, there was hope.
The next morning, Ailian returned home, rubbing her almost frozen arms and clutching her pillow. Xiaowei had already warmed Ailian's bed with the heater. Ailian snuggled into the bed, peeked in comfortably, closed her eyes, and said, "Xiaowei, Mi likes the smell of blankets dried in the sun. Let's air Mi's blankets out today."
"Understood, Miss." Xiao Wei tucked in the blanket and went out. Today was a very nice day. The sky was as blue as an uncut gem, without a single cloud. The sun hung high in the pure sky, a rare good day for autumn.
Xiao Wei brought out all the bedding from the rice room to air it out, and the gardener had already cleared away the weeds in the garden. Ai Lian walked through the garden to the woods behind it; the pine needles rustled in the breeze, and the autumn wind sometimes howled and sometimes swirled, leaving a thick layer of pine needles on the ground. Ai Lian reached the lakeside, where the withered lotus leaves hadn't been cleared away yet. Xiao Wei saw this and quickly said, "Miss, please go back today. We can go boating tomorrow."
“No need,” Ailian said, sitting down in the pavilion. “Xiaowei, you sit down too.”
Ailian looked quietly at the lake: "Mi said that 'keeping the withered lotus to listen to the sound of rain' is a tradition in their area. Let it be like this. It would be nice if it rained."
"Miss Mi's quilt is still drying in the garden." Xiao Wei couldn't help but feel sorry for Ai Lian as she looked at her sad face.
"Oh dear, I forgot. Let it rain tomorrow then, and we can listen together when it rains." Ailian blinked with amusement, then thought for a moment and added, "Oh, right, Xiaowei, put a heater in Mi's bed too. Mi is very afraid of the cold, so make sure it's warm before she goes to sleep."
"Yes, miss."
That evening, Ailian went to Mi's room again. This time, the bed was warm and cozy. Ailian buried her face in the covers, puzzled for a moment, then lifted the covers. Mi always gave Ailian this feeling—warm yet slightly cool, like a warm bed being exposed to the air. Ailian stretched her hand above the covers, feeling the alternating warmth and coolness, just like the air now. Ailian stared blankly into the air: "Mi, is that you back?" This time, Ailian didn't sit on the floor all night; she just hugged the corner of the blanket, feeling the warmth slipping away from the bed. After a long while, Ailian crawled into bed: "Mi, you're so afraid of the cold, you always have to hug me to sleep. Do you have anyone to hug now?"
After much hesitation, the plump cook finally found a moment to tell Ailian about Xiaobai's ordeal. Xiaobai had been raped by the lord on her wedding day. Her husband, a cowardly shepherd, could only watch helplessly as Xiaobai cried and struggled, before completing their wedding ceremony under the watchful eyes of the lord's guards. Xiaobai soon became pregnant, but no one knew the father's child. Her husband grew increasingly silent and died less than six months later. Two months later, Xiaobai prematurely gave birth to a stillborn infant, its body covered in bruises.
"Xiaowei, go ask Xiaobai if she wants to come back?" Ailian said softly. "If she is willing to come back, let her take care of Mi's room. She knows Mi's needs best."
"OK."
Xiao Bai returned, thin and pale, like someone who had just recovered from a serious illness. Her eyes were downcast, staring at her feet, and she kept saying softly, "Yes, sir." "Yes, sir." "Yes, father." She was like a lifeless ghost. The plump cook served her hot soup, gave her a hot bath, and even washed her hair. After cleaning her up inside and out, she brought Xiao Bai to Ai Lian.
Xiao Bai was frighteningly thin; her face was almost entirely devoid of flesh, with large eyes set squarely in her cheeks, pale and bloodless. Xiao Bai mechanically bowed to Xiao Wei, saying, "Good day, my lord."
Xiao Wei nudged her: "Call me Miss."
"Good day, Miss." Xiaobai glanced at Ailian, her eyes quickly filling with tears. She lowered her head, clutching the hem of her dress tightly with both hands, and repeated, "Good day, Miss."
"Xiaobai, do you still remember Mi?" Ailian thought that Xiaobai wouldn't want to talk much about her married life.
"Miss Mi?" Xiaobai looked up blankly, vaguely seeing the woman who almost always wore a black shirt, her face always bearing an indifferent expression, showing no respect for Miss Mi, even when she smiled, there was a mocking glint in her lips. Xiaobai even slightly tugged at the corners of her mouth, imitating Mi's mask-like smile, which would vanish without a trace the moment she turned away, as if she had never smiled at all.
"Miss Mi disappeared, didn't she?" Little White blinked her big eyes, wondering why her master asked such a question. Miss Mi had disappeared before Ellen's wedding, on the morning before the wedding—or perhaps at night—simply vanished from Ellen's Castle. Strangely, no one mentioned it, and no one seemed to care about Miss Mi's whereabouts. Oh, right, at that time, the most important thing was Miss's wedding. Miss was married, to the royal Grand Duke Sway.
Xiao Bai's long-dormant mind seemed to come alive: "Miss, oh, Madam, oh, Princess..." Xiao Bai stammered, unsure how to address its former master, Ai Lian.
"Call her 'Miss'," Xiao Wei gently reminded her again.
"Oh, okay, Master Xiaowei." Xiaobai finally stopped stiffening her body and gently squatted down to perform a half-squatting bow.
"Xiaobai, can you clean Mi's room?" Ailian looked at Xiaobai gently. This girl had been saved by Mi once before. This time, it was her turn to try and save her.
"Okay, okay, Miss," Xiaobai mechanically squatted down, curtsying as she did so. But Xiaobai was confused. How was Miss Mi's room cleaned? Who used to be in charge of Miss Mi's room? Xiaobai couldn't remember at all. Beads of sweat appeared on her forehead; she didn't know what to do.
"Come on, let's go check on Mi's room." Ailian ignored Xiaobai's trembling body and started walking upstairs. After passing Ailian's master bedroom, Ailian stopped: "You can check on my room while you're at it."
“Yes, Miss.” Xiaobai answered subconsciously, as if she had given this answer countless times before.
“Look,” Ailian walked to the window and pushed it open, “Mi likes to have the windows open for ventilation. As long as it’s not raining, the windows in Mi’s room should be open, you know?”
"Yes, Miss."
“This candlestick,” Ailian said, looking at the candlestick by the window, “let’s put it away.” Ailian walked to the bookshelf at the far end of the room, where Mi’s books from the past two years and some manuscripts were scattered about, as if their owner might return at any moment. The ink in the quill pen had dried and lay on the shelf. Ailian touched her hand, which was covered in dust, and couldn’t help but smile: “We haven’t been back for so long.”
"Miss, I'll clean it up right away." Xiaobai nervously clutched the hem of her clothes. "I was wrong, I'll clean it up right away." Xiaobai staggered out and found a rag and a basin of water from her memory. She stood in the corridor, wondering why no one had come to hit her.
"Xiaowei, please keep an eye on Xiaobai." Ailian looked at Xiaobai's back, her body trembling.
Eileen resumed the routine she had when she first arrived at Eileen Castle. After drinking milk in the morning, she would practice singing. Iris had written many songs that year, all in the middle register, without elaborate high notes, making them easy to sing. The bagpiper Bardolph had already learned these songs and accompanied Eileen on the instrument repeatedly.
"Now that Miss is a duchess, it's not appropriate for these songs to be published." The plump cook really liked these new songs.
"Bardov, you sing these songs." Bardolph had a very deep bass voice and was the leading vocalist in the Ellen Harmony Ensemble. Mr. Mi always said that Bardolph was the kind of person whose voice was naturally filled with emotion.
"Miss, where do you find men singing?" Xiaowei gently advised.
"Bardolph sings very well!" the plump cook exclaimed. "Miss, this is such a wonderful idea! Miss, let me tell you, Mrs. Oni's maid, Yaya, has been secretly inquiring about Bardolph several times. Miss, why don't you go and ask Mrs. Oni if she'd be willing to let Yaya marry into the family?"
Bardolph muttered, "Oh dear, oh dear, don't disturb the young lady's singing practice."
“Yes, I’m also in charge of your engagement,” Ailian said, her interest piqued. “Come on, tell me, do you both have partners?” Partners—this was what Mi told Ailian, referring to two people who look like one person when they’re together.
In Sun City, nobles mostly gather groups of men and women together and arbitrarily arrange marriages. The master gets to enjoy the most beautiful women first, and even if a woman isn't beautiful, the master still gets to enjoy her on their wedding night before her husband. Like the Rose Duchy, the nobles of Flower Kingdom have the right of first night. Where is the Rose Duchy? Ailian was confused; she couldn't remember where she'd heard of it.
The plump cook shuffled forward, her youngest daughter having taken a liking to the gardener, Anglu. Anglu, who had grown much taller, now had a fuller beard, his fuzz on his lip replaced by a mature man's black mustache. His voice was rough like a duck's. He mumbled to the plump cook, "I don't want a wife this fat."
Everyone laughed, and the old butler slapped Angru on the head: "You little rascal, you don't know the advantages of a fat woman." Angru dodged the old butler, his eyes constantly glancing at Little White, whose thin frame was particularly pitiful. She remained silent, and several young men in the castle kept their eyes on her. Whatever she needed, someone would quickly provide it for her. Such a maid would quickly arouse jealousy and bullying from the other maids, but Little White was so pitiful that even the women couldn't help but feel sorry for her. Little White became the object of affection for the entire Ellen Castle.
Ailian watched the commotion with a smile. Before Mi arrived, everyone had been dutiful, each doing their own work with a blank expression. They were all very grateful to Ailian, because the servants of Ailian Castle lived much better lives than those in other noble families, yet they remained obedient and never complained. When did this change? It was when Mi came. She would thank Angru, and from then on, Angru would change the flowers in Ailian and Mi's room every day. From the moment Mi supported the plump cook in taking over the kitchen, everyone in Ailian Castle would greet her from afar: "Miss Mi, good day."
The plump cook especially loved braised pork, so she even fenced off a corner of the oak forest in Ellen's Castle to raise two wild boars. However, wild boars were just too smelly, so Mi taught her to use young, immature wild boars; the meat was tender and didn't have that gamey taste. Ellen could now distinguish some flavors. Since her heart started beating on its own, the world in Ellen's eyes had gradually changed. Everyone in Ellen's Castle had color, and Ellen no longer only listened to Xiao Wei.
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