Eileenburg (8)
A deep blue moon hung in the dark night sky, surrounded by twinkling stars. In the quiet manor, only candlelight shone through the window of the master's room on the second floor. A beautiful woman, removing her makeup, looked in the mirror at the woman in black standing behind her, holding a silver wine glass: "Mi, did I perform well today?"
"Very good, especially the last tear, which was perfectly controlled, ending just as it was about to spill from her eye." Mi wore a slightly loose black shirt, and the matching black trousers made her appear particularly unapproachable. Mi raised her glass and finished the wine in it. A maid quickly brought a wine pot to refill the glass: "That's enough, Xiao Wei, that's enough." Mi sat down on the edge of the bed, resting her other hand on her forehead against the bed railing.
This is a typical aristocratic master bedroom. The large bed is a full two meters wide, with a carved screen at the head and a railing at the foot, also decorated with lotus flowers. The large lotus flowers are intricately carved. White gauze curtains are drawn and tied to the four bedposts. The bed is covered with fluffy down comforters and scattered cushions. Beside the bed is a dressing table also carved with lotus patterns, and the polished mirror is inlaid with silver lotus flowers at both ends. On the stands on either side of the dressing table are two three-stick candlesticks, and the six candles illuminate the beauty before the dressing table with perfect clarity. Her bright, round eyes gleam with a green light, like an adorable kitten. Her glowing red hair has a slight curl, and the small curls on both sides of her cheeks playfully bounce with her movements. The beauty has fair skin, and her small nose twitches slightly when she speaks, making her face even more like an overly lively kitten.
Two water jugs sat on the floor to the right of the dressing table. The earthenware jugs were simple and rustic, with subtle patterns on their surfaces. Just then, the door opened, and a girl of about ten years old entered carrying a basin of water: "Master, hot water is here." The hot water was placed on the table by the door, next to which sat several silver basins, also carved with a circle of lotus flowers. Beyond the basins was a wardrobe against the wall, its doors half-open, revealing a wardrobe full of clothes, skirts, and trousers. Next to the wardrobe was a wall-to-wall mirror facing the dressing table, tall and neatly arranged. The entire room could be seen in this mirror. Mi raised her cup, smiled at her reflection, and drank the wine. Xiao Wei, carrying a similarly lotus-patterned silver wine pot, quickly refilled Mi's cup before turning away.
"Xiao Bai," Xiao Wei put down the wine pot, added hot water, took a towel from the tray and soaked it in the basin, and said, "A young lady is a young lady, don't call me 'master' anymore." Xiao Wei was around fifty years old, with her brown hair tied up in a tight bun at the back of her head, not a single stray hair showing, and her broad forehead made her look very serious.
"Yes, Master Xiaowei." The girl, who was about ten years old, squatted down, her eyes lowered and looking directly at the floor, and answered softly.
"Lord Xiaowei?" Xiaowei was wiping the face of the girl in front of the dressing table with a hot towel. She looked up and looked at the woman who had been following her, and giggled: "Lord Xiaowei, what a grand official's presence!"
Xiao Wei put down the towel, took a small jar from the dressing table, poured out two drops of emerald green water into her palm, gently rubbed her palms together to warm them, and then slowly applied it to her mistress's face. "Hmm, that's enough, I won't apply it today." The mistress turned away the moment Xiao Wei's hand touched her face, "Wash Mi's face."
"Yes, Miss." Xiao Wei quickly withdrew her hand, poured another basin of water from the jar, mixed it with hot water, and brought it to Mi. Xiao Bai took the basin of water out, poured the water into the bucket by the door, put the basin aside, and stood quietly to one side.
"I'll go back and freshen up later," Mi said, staring at the basin of water in front of her and swirling the wine glass in her hand.
The young lady in front of the dressing table took two steps over and snatched the wine glass from Mi's hand, saying, "Wash now, and then sleep here. I think you're exhausted and about to collapse." After saying that, she took the wine glass from Mi's hand and drank the wine in one gulp. She handed the glass to Xiaobai, who was standing to the side, and reached for a towel to wash Mi's face, saying, "I've already used this towel, hehe, I'll get you a new one tomorrow."
Xiao Wei quietly watched her mistress serve Mi as she washed her face, holding a basin of water. Xiao Bai hurriedly put down her wine glass and took two steps forward: "Mistress, please let me do it. Please don't do this kind of servant's work."
"Stop!" Xiaowei whispered, stopping Xiaobai, ignoring the water dripping everywhere as the young lady washed her face. "Go get a dry cloth to wipe the floor." A moment later, Xiaobai wiped the floor clean and tidied up. Xiaowei, with Xiaobai in tow, knelt slightly at the door. "Miss, Miss Mi, please rest well." She then closed the door.
"Master Xiaowei, how can you make your master do servant work?" Xiaobai's slightly angry and reproachful voice came from the corridor.
"Be quiet. You have no right to interfere with what Miss does." Xiao Wei picked up the bucket by the door and took Xiao Bai, who was carrying a basin, downstairs. "At any time, you just need to listen to Miss's orders. Don't make a sound unless she calls you. Be a quiet mute."
The woman in black reclining at the foot of the bed was Mi. Three years ago, Mi left the Misty Forest and came to the Flower Kingdom. Now, she was a music instructor for Miss Ellen, the mistress of Ellen Castle. Compared to three years ago, Mi was no longer as thin and dark-skinned as when she first left the Misty Forest. She had become slightly plumper and fairer. Her black hair was braided and hung down her chest. Looking at her hairstyle, which was the same as El's, except for the hair color, Mi felt that she now understood El's state of mind a little better.
"Mi, go to sleep." Ailian reached out and unbuttoned her black shirt one button at a time. Mi took Ailian's slightly trembling hand and stroked it for a while before looking up. "Ailian," Mi turned to look out the window, the heavy night light filtering in. "Oh, it's late, I need to go back to sleep." Mi touched her forehead, stood up, and took a step forward. Three buttons on her shirt were undone, revealing a patch of fair skin in the night. Mi gently shook her head. "Tonight's drinks—well, I drank a bit too much, I'm dizzy."
“Mi,” Ailian opened her arms to stop Mi from leaving, hugged her waist, and gently pushed her back to the bedside, pressing her down onto the couch. “You’re drunk, just sleep here.” She then turned and went to the wardrobe, taking out two white nightgowns embroidered with lotus flowers. Mi propped her head up on her hand, half-lying on the bed, squinting as small Ailian brought the nightgowns to the bedside. Ailian wasn’t small at all; she was a full head taller than Mi, with round, green eyes like a kitten, often looking at Mi with a mix of wary, charming, and expectant expressions. Sometimes Mi felt like she had a pet, only this pet was a noble cat.
Mi thought that Ailian had already won the crown of the Flower Nightingale, and it was time to fulfill her promise. What were long-lived species like? Those long-lived species with eternal life must have seen many things she didn't know. Mi began to look forward to it. Maybe this time she could uncover the mystery. What exactly is life? What is she in her current state?
Ailian placed her robe on the chair beside the bed, knelt down to take off Mi's shoes, and moved Mi's legs onto the bed. Mi bent her legs, rested her head on her hands, and stared blankly at the ceiling. Ailian turned and moved a candlestick from the dressing table to the candlestick holder by the window, then drew the curtains. The other side of the room became brighter, while the side by the bed was much darker because of the missing candlestick. Ailian returned to the bedside and lowered the curtains, leaving only Mi, dressed in black, lying down, and Ailian standing beside the bed in the small, private space.
When Ailian climbed into bed, Mi was already dozing off. Ailian knelt beside Mi, leaned down, and gently kissed the corner of Mi's mouth, making Mi feel ticklish. Mi shook her head, raised her hand to touch her face, and tucked a stray hair behind her ear. Ailian smiled at Mi's little gesture, put her arm around Mi, and continued to undress her. The black shirt was quickly taken off, and Mi's arms were draped over Ailian's arms, mumbling indistinctly. Ailian continued to take off Mi's trousers. After taking off her clothes, Mi felt a slight chill, turned around, grabbed a pillow on the bed, hugged it to her chest, curled up into a ball, and mumbled, "Xiaowei, give me a blanket."
Ailian removed her own clothes and gently covered Mi with them, whispering in Mi's ear, "Mi, I'll make you a blanket." After saying that, she gently kissed the top of Mi's black hair, then reached out and turned Mi to lie flat. One kiss after another landed on Mi's brows and face, from her forehead to her lips, from the tip of her nose to behind her ears. Mi was finally awakened by the series of kisses.
"Ailian? Ailian?" Mi paused briefly, taken aback by their interaction, and asked, "What trick are you up to now, little kid?"
“You said I performed well, so you should reward me,” Ailian said, avoiding Mi’s gaze, and continued to shower him with kisses, one after another, urgent and frequent.
"So, am I your reward?" Mi was still dizzy from the alcohol and asked in a low voice, "You're using me as a companion maid?" Mi propped herself up halfway, the dizziness getting worse. She finally realized something was wrong: "What did Xiao Wei give me to drink just now?"
"No, no." Ailian reached out and pressed Mi back down, showering her with rapid kisses. Ailian leaned over Mi, burying her face in the crook of Mi's neck. "It's me, Mi, I'm here to be your companion. You just need to lie down, please." Ailian's warm breath hit Mi's earlobe, her hurried lips brushing against Mi's neck, causing Mi to momentarily lose her senses. Ailian, in her haste, frantically showered kisses everywhere, covering Mi's mouth with her hand, giving her no chance to refuse. Watching Ailian kiss her haphazardly like a headless fly, Mi relaxed back onto the bed. The soft feather blanket lay beneath her, covered by Ailian's hurried kisses and the cool breath in the air. For a moment, Mi felt as if she were in a world of extremes. Lying on the soft bed, a bitter smile rose in her heart. Was this deception? A body made of water—Ailian always said she smelled sweet, as soft as water. At that time, Mi was still hesitant. She felt that the noble lady had seen through her disguise, so she carefully shut down all her senses and worked hard to act more like a real person.
After a while, she stopped moving. Lian's face was slightly flushed, like a proud little hen that had just laid an egg. She looked at Mi with shining eyes: "Mi, did I serve you well?" Her exposed skin was covered with small goosebumps, whether from the cold or excitement.
"You—" Mi looked at the excited and proud face in front of her, waiting for praise, and didn't know what to say. Mi pulled back the covers and wrapped her in them: "Hmm, it's cold. Let's go to sleep now." As she spoke, she rubbed Ailian's back with her warm palms to help Ailian warm up quickly.
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