Maidservants (10)
All the food prepared by Mi was sold out, and only stew broth remained in the kitchen. Doug To generously took out fifty copper coins and asked Philip to go to Old Depp's Bakery to buy a basket of bread.
Doug Tor counted the copper coins he had received that day—a total of 786 copper coins, more than he usually earned in a week. Doug Tor took three silver dollars from under the cupboard and gave them to Mi, then counted out twenty copper coins for Fried, before saying to his nephew Philip, "Tomorrow you will go grocery shopping with Fried. How can Fried carry all the vegetables by himself?"
Mi led Fried toward Earl Aldrich's mansion, handing him three silver dollars: "Can you buy medicine for your wounds?"
"What kind of medicine does the master need?" Fried asked in a low voice, looking around at the noble castles all around.
"It's for treating external injuries, like festering and inflamed wounds." Mi wasn't familiar with the medical standards of Sun City, but she tried to explain as clearly as possible to Fried. Mi led Fried to a small alley opposite Earl Aldrich's mansion. This was a workshop area where artisans gathered; many people worked here during the day, and at night the artisans went home, leaving the entire area dark. Mi observed the alley and pointed to a corner, saying, "Tonight at ten o'clock, come here with your handcart and wait for me."
"My lord!" Fried was somewhat excited. Across from them was a noble castle. Was this adventurer going to take a risk in Sun City? But the laws of Sun City were very strict. He was also a little nervous: "My lord, you can't commit crimes in Sun City, or you'll be exiled."
“What are you thinking about?” Mi looked at the adventurous young man. “We’re here to rescue Anna’s daughter.”
“Oh, okay.” Fried’s shoulders slumped, but then he looked up, his voice high-pitched and thin, and he stammered, “What did you say?” He glanced around at the deserted alley and lowered his voice again, asking, “You’re going to Earl Aldrich’s mansion to rescue someone?”
Mi nodded: "What, can't the people in Earl Aldrich's mansion be saved?"
“No,” Fried shook his head. “Mrs. Aldrich is very domineering. If she finds out, these people will be exiled immediately. Even if you rescue them, she won’t be able to live in Sun City.”
"I see. I'll ask Anna how to handle things. Let's get them out of here first."
That evening, Mi brought Petrus some lotus leaf cakes and watched her eat them before falling asleep again. She then went to the place she had arranged to meet Fried, who was dozing against a handcart. Mi woke him up, gave him a few instructions, and walked alone toward Count Aldrich's mansion. Fried peeked out from the alley and watched Mi walk further and further away, feeling both nervous and excited.
Mi returned to the small hole in the corner, this time blocked by stacked stones. She moved the stones aside, cleared away the overgrown flagstones and withered bushes, and quietly climbed inside. She felt around on the ground for a moment, then spread her cloak on the ground, making sure she left no trace. She proceeded along the city wall to the northeast corner tower's guard post. The Earl's mansion was brightly lit, and the occasional giggles of women drifted from within. Through the window, she could see the obese figure of a man—it was the banquet hall of Earl Aldrich's mansion. Mi stared at the banquet hall. Finally, she saw a servant carrying a tray enter the hall from the kitchen. Two men on the guard post were also looking at the hall with envy. One man said, "Keep an eye on things; I'll go get some drinks."
"Go to the kitchen and get another chicken; we have plenty of good dishes today."
"Understood. If anyone comes, give them cover." The man put down his spear and walked into a dark corner. Mi followed the guard toward the kitchen, which was also brightly lit and steaming. The man went to the wine cellar first, where there were large, round wooden barrels. He took off his wine sack, filled it with wine, and then swaggered into the kitchen. He reached for a tray, took a chicken from a large basin, and slipped out through the back door of the kitchen.
As Mi watched the man disappear into the darkness, she carefully searched along the left side of the kitchen. A plump woman emerged and followed a vague path into a half-open woodshed, carrying out a large bundle of wood. She walked to the door, put down the wood, then went back and took two slices of bread from her pocket, handing them to the woman: "You'd better leave quickly. The Countess has long forgotten about you. If you don't escape, you'll die here."
Sobbing and the sound of swallowing food came from the woodshed. A little girl groaned in pain, "Where can we go? Even if we recover, we'll just have to be sent back here. It's better to just die."
"It's better to be alive than to be good-looking," the fat woman said, hoisting her firewood and leaving. Mi quietly crept into the woodshed. A streetlamp in the distance cast a dim light through the doorway. In the darkness, two little girls huddled together. The air smelled of rotting flesh and blood, and the wounds were indistinguishable in the darkness.
"Hua Lin?" Mi called Anna's daughter's name softly.
"Who are you?" A girl propped herself up and sat up.
"Are you still able to walk? I'll take you away."
“Leave? Where to? I can’t go home.” Hua Lin shrank back.
"Leave here, leave Sun City, go somewhere no one can find you, somewhere where you can live safely."
"Who are you?"
“I’m here to rescue you at Anna’s request, you know that, right?” Mi waited quietly in the shadows behind the door.
"Can you take me with you?" the little girl lying on the ground asked softly. "I want to live too. I want to leave Sun City."
Mi took off her cloak and helped Hua Lin to her feet, wrapping the cloak around her. The little girl next to Hua Lin was more seriously injured, and she struggled to her feet, pleading, "Please, take me with you."
Hua Lin pulled open her cloak and wrapped it around the little girl: "Let's go, let's go together and leave this place." Mi watched the two staggering steps and found two tree branches about half a person's height in the woodshed to use as walking sticks for them.
"Let's walk slowly, without making a sound, and without disturbing anyone." Mi picked up a large bundle of long, messy branches and firewood. She thought for a moment, put down the branches, picked up another bundle, and put the two bundles together. This bundle of branches was so big that it almost blocked the entire gate.
Mi carried the tree branches out of the house; her figure appeared particularly bulky and enormous in the darkness. Mi moved two steps to the side of the road, clearing half of the path for her: "Follow me, and walk slowly."
Mi hunched over and slowly moved forward. The guard who had just gone to the kitchen to get wine was drinking and eating meat with his companions. He saw Mi and laughed, "Look at that old woman, she's incredibly stupid."
“Let me see. She can’t even see where she’s going. She won’t even know she’s walked past the kitchen. She’s definitely going to get a beating tomorrow.”
"Give her a shout and tell her to stop going any further."
"Hey, old woman, the kitchen is in the back. You've gone too far. This isn't a place for you." A guard's voice came from above. Mi put down the branch, looked around in a panic, then picked up the firewood again and headed back to the kitchen.
"This old woman is surprisingly obedient. Hey, old woman, leave us some hot soup."
Mi stopped, nodded and bowed to the guards' platform, but neither of the two guards noticed that two little girls were squatting at the base of the wall.
Mi carried the firewood into the kitchen, but no one paid her any attention as they were busy. The plump woman grabbed the firewood, turned around, and Mi disappeared. She muttered, "Today's been strangely nice." The firelight illuminated the plump woman's face.
Mi stood in the shadows of the kitchen. She felt the guard turn his gaze and quietly approached the corner of the wall. Mi climbed out first. She then took out a cloak and spread it outside. The two little girls scrambled out on their hands and feet. Mi squatted down, took the cloak back in, and gently restored the grass and bushes to their original state. She resealed the hole with stones, and the wall was once again intact.
"Can you smell anything?" came the muttering of a guard from inside the wall. One guard was urinating along the base of the wall. "Why does it smell like blood?"
"It smells like your urine, doesn't it? Come up here and take a look, I need to go relieve myself too."
"Oh, they're here." The guard shuddered and moved away from the wall. Mi lifted his cloak, revealing two little girls inside: "Are you still able to walk?"
The two little girls lay on the ground, unable to get up, tears welling in their eyes. Mi covered them with her cloak again, waiting for the guards to finish relieving themselves and return to the city wall. She helped each girl to her feet and walked into the alley. Fried, seeing a large, dark figure, was too frightened to make a sound until Mi put the little girl down and softly called his name: "Fried, is there room for two people in the carriage?"
The two little girls were thin and weak. They were huddled together and tied to a wheelbarrow with a cloak. Fried pushed the wheelbarrow all the way to his room in the west of the city. Only then did Mi see the two girls clearly. They were covered in whip marks, festering wounds and pus from their backs, thighs to their arms. Their faces were also covered with horrific scars, with patches of red flesh bulging out, like two terrifying demons.
"I'll go fetch some water." Fried left. His family was already asleep, and the entire western town was quiet.
Fried brought over the medicine he had bought, then went out and brought in an empty bucket, placing it by the bed before saying, "I'll keep watch at the door. Tell them to keep quiet. My family won't come into my room."
Mi spread the cloak on the bed, and the two girls sat close together on the edge of the bed. Mi took out a dagger: "I'm going to treat your wounds. Don't make a sound." The two girls looked at each other, lifted a corner of the cloak and bit it in their mouths, and nodded gently.
Mi took out a dagger, heated it over the lamp, and then cut away the rotting flesh from the two girls' bodies. He sprinkled medicinal powder on them, bandaged them up completely, and the two girls were wrapped up like mummies, with only their eyes showing. The two girls trembled all over, and they only fainted after Mi put away his knife and nodded to them.
Mi put their tattered clothes into the bucket, covered them with the cloak, tidied up the room, and then carried the murky bucket out. Fried had already gotten up to go shopping; his family was still fast asleep. Mi watched as Fried locked the door from the inside, then climbed out of the window and pushed hard against the doorman to make sure it was closed.
“They need to stay here with you for a couple of days to recover from their injuries. After you finish shopping for groceries, please also buy some medicine. I’m worried they might develop a fever.” Mi hesitated for a moment. The two girls’ injuries were too severe; she couldn’t leave them. “I’ll stay here with them and wait for you to come back so I can take over.”
Fried climbed back into the room and opened the door. He whispered, "Close the door and don't answer anyone who knocks. I'll climb through the window when I get back." Fried looked at Mi and nodded before pushing the cart away.
In the Flower Fate Inn, Anna sat in the lobby waiting for Mi to return. She had arrived at the inn at sunset. As night deepened, porters returned, their breaths reeking of alcohol, and the nightclub girls, exhausted, returned to the inn. Their makeup was faded, their camouflage worn, and they hurried back to the inn, yawning, and climbing into bed. The Flower Fate Inn went from noisy to quiet. Sheila left a candle for her, unfolded the folding bed behind the counter, and lay down. The door to the Flower Fate Inn was left ajar, and the night wind blew in through the crack. With each flicker of the light, Anna nervously stared at the door, hoping to see the figure who would bring her good news.
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