Chapter 44: Zither, Chess, Calligraphy and Painting

“Now that you’ve entered the Jiang manor, there are some things I need to make clear to you in advance.” Inside the Jiang manor of Changning County, the housekeeper’s demeanor was full of arrogance as she glanced dismissively at the newest batch of selected servants.

With her hands behind her back, holding a disciplinary whip, she slowly paced among the servants kneeling on the ground. Though her footsteps weren’t particularly heavy, they were enough to keep these servants from lifting their heads, not even daring to breathe loudly. After all, this was the Jiang family, a powerful presence in Lingnan with astonishing wealth and influence.

Being able to serve in the Jiang manor meant a monthly salary equivalent to half a year’s expenses for an ordinary family outside. If one was fortunate enough to be chosen as an attendant by the Jiang family masters, they could completely escape their previous impoverished life. Therefore, every year when the Jiang manor recruited servants, countless men would do anything to get in, which was why the male servants in the Jiang family’s inner courtyard were all exceptionally handsome and delicate.

Looking at the cowering figures of these men at her feet, Housekeeper Zou Da felt proud and smug. She raised the corner of her mouth and said, “All of you, raise your heads.”

These people had been selected by the outer courtyard housekeeper, who was mainly responsible for choosing based on appearance and temperament, checking for any defects. Those who could be selected were naturally all beautiful young men, but exactly which room these beauties would be assigned to still depended on her arrangements as the inner courtyard housekeeper.

Hearing Zou Da’s words, the male servants one by one raised their delicate faces. They were all young, with the youngest being only 13 years old. Knowing that their placement depended on Zou Da’s arrangement, their faces were full of ingratiating smiles, hoping she would assign them to the masters’ quarters, preferably to the two legitimate daughters’ courtyards, with the legitimate young master’s courtyard as second best. At worst, they hoped for the courtyard of a concubine-born young master, but definitely not to be assigned as a menial servant.

Zou Da scanned the group and nodded dully, thinking to herself: They’re all beautiful, but not exceptionally so.

Although she was also borrowing the tiger’s might, after years of working for the Jiang family and seeing so many beauties, she couldn’t help but feel weary.

Suddenly, Zou Da’s eyes lit up, and she excitedly pointed to the farthest corner: “You! Come forward!”

The male servants all looked towards the corner, and when the person there stood up, revealing his face, their expressions became subtle, with a mix of complexity and jealousy.

“What’s your name?” Zou Da’s eyes nearly popped out. She thought she had seen countless peerless beauties, but a man with such ethereal beauty, unlike any mortal being, whose every brow and eye movement was exquisitely beautiful – it was a pity he seemed a bit cold. However, after being accustomed to seeing the vulgar beauty of faces full of ingratiating smiles, a cold and aloof beauty like an unapproachable flower had its own appeal.

“Chi Mei.” Chi Mei spoke indifferently. He had traveled a long way, finally arriving in Changning County. He had thought he could easily see Jiang Yang, but he discovered that human customs were unusually complex.

He had once begged a servant at the Jiang manor gate to announce his presence, but was mocked and ridiculed by the servant, who laughed at him for being shameless and delusional about turning from a sparrow into a phoenix.

Chi Mei then realized that seeing Jiang Yang even once was incredibly difficult. Their initial encounter at sea had truly been a gift from heaven.

He had lived rough in an abandoned temple in Jiangning County for two months, waiting for the day when the Jiang manor would recruit male attendants. As long as he could enter the Jiang manor, he would be able to see Jiang Yang. With this hope, he stepped into the Jiang manor.

“Chi Mei, Chi Mei, what a good name.” Zou Da’s eyes were practically glued to Chi Mei’s face, her gaze so thick with lust it made him press his thin lips tightly together.

Zou Da’s grip on the whip tightened. By rights, she should present such an exquisite beauty to her masters. But now the family head was aspiring to immortality, and the eldest young lady was devoted to her noble husband-to-be, their love well-known throughout Changning County.

If she were to send such a beauty to Jiang Qingzhou’s quarters, Jiang Qingzhou might not be displeased with her, but her husband would surely make things difficult for her in the future.

That left only sending him to the second young lady’s rooms. But Jiang Yang had no shortage of romantic interests, with beauties in Changning County coming in waves like early spring flowers, their tender buds plucked as soon as they appeared. If she were to send Chi Mei to Jiang Yang’s quarters as well…

It truly was a case of some drowning in excess while others died of thirst. Zou Da was extremely envious of Jiang Yang’s good fortune. Thinking of her own husband who was like a fierce tiger, she reasoned that since Jiang Yang already had such good luck in love, surely she wouldn’t miss one Chi Mei?

A hint of an indecent idea sprouted in Zou Da’s mind. Placing such a beauty in the young masters’ quarters risked those men mistreating him out of jealousy for his looks. These men raised in inner chambers were quite skilled at scheming and infighting. It would be better to place him in quarters closer to her own, where she could look after him more.

With this idea in mind, Zou Da smiled slightly and said, “From now on, you will serve as a book attendant in the Fuchen Pavilion. You few, go serve in the eldest young lady’s Hangyue Courtyard. You few, go serve in the second young lady’s Huixue Residence…”

Zou Da assigned each male servant their place one by one. Those assigned to Jiang Qingzhou and Jiang Yang’s quarters could hardly hide their joy as they thanked Zou Da. Chi Mei looked at these men, whose appearance, voice, and demeanor were all inferior to his own, wondering why they could go to Ah Yang’s residence while he could not.

“Chi Mei, why aren’t you leaving?” With the other servants who had received their assignments departing, only Chi Mei remained kneeling in place, standing out conspicuously. Zou Da couldn’t help but ask.

“This servant will leave now.” In these few months on land, Chi Mei’s initial impulsiveness had been thoroughly worn away. He knew now was not the time to question Zou Da. After all, he had already entered the Jiang manor. He could find opportunities later to get close to Jiang Yang. As long as Ah Yang saw him, she would surely recognize him.

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The Fuchen Pavilion was the Jiang family’s library. For a great clan like this, the amount of books in their collection was astounding. Chi Mei’s task was to regularly take out old books to air them, preventing them from becoming moldy and decrepit.

However, the Fuchen Pavilion was quite far from Jiang Yang’s Huixue Residence, and the attendants in Jiang Yang’s courtyard absolutely did not allow an outsider like him to approach. His face had aroused a strong sense of crisis in those attendants, making it impossible for him to enter the Huixue Residence.

But Chi Mei was unwilling to give up just like that. Whenever he had free time, he would sneak around near the Huixue Residence, waiting for the day when Jiang Yang might be in a good mood and come out, allowing him to encounter her.

However, such behavior was too conspicuous, and those sharp-eyed attendants in the Huixue Residence had said no end of acid and cutting remarks to mock him.

“That guy from the Fuchen Pavilion is still hanging around outside our Huixue Residence?” asked Shu Qin, who had recently been assigned to serve in the Huixue Residence.

Wen Hua, with his overly alluring red lips, gritted his teeth and said, “Indeed he is. What a shameless, lowborn wretch. Not content with being assigned to the quiet Fuchen Pavilion, he’s envious of our second young lady’s high status and favor, thinking of climbing to a higher branch. He’s lost all sense of face!”

Rou Shu said, “To speak of climbing to a higher branch, it’s not incomprehensible. After all, who wants to go back to a life of hardship? The harvest was poor this year, and many people in the countryside don’t even have enough to eat, forced to sell their children. But in the Jiang manor, even we servants can eat fine rice. If we hadn’t been fortunate enough to be selected to serve the second young lady in the Jiang manor, who knows what kind of life we’d be living now.”

“That may be so, but that Chi Mei is just too shameless. He guards outside the Huixue Residence all day, and no amount of our chasing or mocking can drive him away. Even the notorious Er Laizi from outside the city doesn’t have such thick skin,” said Wen Hua.

Shu Qin sneered, “It’s all because he relies on his good looks, convinced that as soon as our second young lady sees him, she’ll be captivated. Then he’ll be taken into her quarters, become a master, and hold his head high. Bah! He doesn’t know his place. Without a noble background, even if the second young lady takes a fancy to him, at most he’d be a bed-warming attendant, just a level above us servants. When our second young lady tires of him, he’ll surely be sold off.”

Rou Shu thought for a moment and said, “Although the second young lady has a beautiful face, her personality is truly flirtatious, a romantic at heart. But the second young lady has a gentle nature and doesn’t mistreat her servants. She probably wouldn’t mistreat her attendants in the future either, right?”

“Oh my, what’s gotten into our Rou Shu? Could it be you also want to climb into the second young lady’s bed and become a little master?” Wen Hua teased in a coquettish voice, though the smile didn’t reach his eyes.

Rou Shu’s face reddened. “I’m just discussing the matter objectively. I don’t have any other meaning.”

Shu Qin chuckled, “Even if you did, so what? Not to mention anything else, our second young lady is so beautiful, far surpassing the fairy-like beauties in storybooks. What does it matter if she’s romantic? Which woman isn’t romantic? The important thing is that the second young lady is both gentle and romantic. Having such a wife-master, isn’t that better than finding some uncouth woman?”

Rou Shu was naturally tempted and couldn’t help saying, “But these days, the second young lady only stays overnight with courtesans outside and doesn’t touch us inner attendants.”

“Heh heh heh.” Wen Hua pinched his embroidered handkerchief and said unhurriedly, “I rather think that being a small attendant is still just a servant in the end, spending a lifetime watching the face of the principal wife. It’s better to be the principal husband, even if it’s as the principal husband of a farm woman. That’s better than being pointed at and cursed as being of lowly status.”

Rou Shu and Shu Qin’s faces changed slightly, both ashamed and angry, as if they had been slapped. They dared to be angry but not to speak.

Finally, Rou Shu spoke up, “Brother Wen Hua is right. We were just talking. As servants, we naturally don’t want to be servants all our lives.”

Wen Hua smiled slightly, “That’s right. If Chi Mei, that shameless wretch, wants to climb to a higher branch, let him. We’ll see how miserable his end is when he’s old and his looks have faded. Alright, the second young lady is probably about to wake up. I’ll go to the kitchen to bring her a bowl of filtered pear juice and a stack of jade-like pastry leaves.”

Rou Shu hurriedly said, “Brother Wen Hua, it’s a bit too cool for filtered pear juice this season. The second young lady drank all night at the gentlemen’s club yesterday. It’s not suitable to drink such cool beverages now. Why not bring a bowl of earthly immortal decoction instead? It nourishes the blood, moistens the lungs, and generates fluids.”

Wen Hua glanced at him, the corner of his mouth curling into a faint smile. “Brother Rou Shu is so attentive. No wonder the second young lady favors you the most.”

Rou Shu covered his slightly reddened cheeks and said, “Not at all. Brother Wen Hua, don’t talk nonsense.”

“Alright, I’m just teasing you. I’ll go first. This tea has gone cold too. I’ll go change it for fresh tea.” Wen Hua said with a smile. As soon as he turned his head, the smile disappeared. Leaving the Huixue Residence, he saw Chi Mei crouching in the corner. Without hesitation, Wen Hua lifted the teapot lid and splashed the tea inside, along with the tea leaves, onto Chi Mei’s face.

It was nearly deep winter. Chi Mei’s clothes were soaked by the ice-cold tea, which slid down his chest from his collar, making him shudder. His face, beautiful beyond compare, looked even more pitiful with tea leaves clinging to it, yet somehow even more delicate and lovely.

The corners of Wen Hua’s eyes flashed with cold jealousy. Gritting his teeth, he cursed, “Hanging around the Huixue Residence gate all day, even brothel whores aren’t as eager as you. Why don’t you just go sell yourself at a brothel! You lowborn wretch! Get out of here now!”