"Xiao Tai! Xiao Tai, where are you wandering, you little rascal?!" Auntie Cho was truly in her element today, her booming voice echoing across the property, startling the chickens and making the household jump in alarm. She planted her hands on her hips and scanned the yard. That devil's spawn, that troublesome girl—gone again! Auntie Cho absolutely refused to understand the logic of Master Baoshu. Not only had he rescued some little thief and troublemaker from the cangue, but he hadn't even put her to work in the house! He'd nursed her back to health himself, no less. Sure, Elder Baoshu of the Wen Mi family could afford to pay the fine for a petty criminal girl and do whatever he pleased with her, but the elder himself would never have done it. Not for forbidden pleasure, nor just to gain another servant for the house. Wen Mi family servants weren't just anyone. They were all loyal, proven by generations. And this one—not only a newcomer, but also rude, talking nonsense, staring boldly right into your eyes, dashing around the yard and the house like a whirlwind, with her skirts flying behind. And now, Auntie Cho had to teach her how to behave "like a proper young lady." Imagine! And how exactly was she supposed to do that, when the brat was always off somewhere again?
Auntie Cho spun around and deftly grabbed the ear of a passing kitchen boy.
"Ow!" he squealed. "Mistress Cho! Let go!"
"Where's that wretched Xiao Tai hiding?!" Auntie Cho demanded, eyebrows furrowed ferociously. "Speak up!"
"How should I know?!" the kid's eyes darted around anxiously. "I'm just going to the kitchen! They're making duck giblet soup, and Master Cook Ling said if I don't bring him the herbs, he'll kick me later! Mistress Cho!"
"If you don't know, then you don't know," Auntie Cho sighed with feigned indifference and released his ear. The kitchen boy darted off, rubbing his assaulted ear. Auntie Cho waited a couple of seconds, then followed at a leisurely pace, smiling to herself. No brat had ever been born who could hide from her on the Wen Mi estate. The boy's dark brown shirt flashed ahead and vanished by the stables. A-ha, Auntie Cho thought, that's my answer. Lately that little rascal's taken to napping in the hay, hasn't she. She'd show her now! Lifting her skirt, Auntie Cho hurried to catch that little criminal in the act—the hay would spoil, the horses wouldn't eat it, and the clothes the girl wore belonged to the Wen Mi family, not that she ever showed any gratitude. Truly, as the folk saying went—a wolf cub has a wild heart, no matter how much you try to tame it, it'll always gnaw a hole in your own side. No point trying to domesticate a wolf cub—it would never understand or appreciate what an honor it was to serve in the Wen Mi household. Like playing the zither for cows, like the musician Gong Min who played the seven-string zither so beautifully. The cow wasn't unimpressed because Gong Min played poorly, but because a cow simply doesn't understand music.
She crept quietly into the stable and tiptoed toward the corner where the fresh hay was kept in a wooden stall. She listened.
"Auntie Cho is looking for you!" came an anxious whisper—the kitchen boy. Auntie Cho grinned; she'd calculated everything perfectly. Xiao Tai, that little wolf, for all her boldness and unsuitability for normal life, quickly figured out that all the estate's best things came from the kitchen, and so she made a habit of helping out there. She even befriended Master Cook Ling, and he wasn't the sort to befriend just anyone. Just three nights ago, Auntie Cho had seen with her own eyes how they played xiangqi together in the kitchen, and old Cook Ling tugged his beard like he did when a dish was burning. Auntie Cho never cared for the kitchen staff—she firmly believed Lady Mei spoiled and overvalued them, when all they needed was a cuff every other day, not a salary. But the kitchen was not her domain, so she had let such chumminess slide. But right now? This little minx was skipping her lessons!
Auntie Cho listened again.
"Thanks, Little Ba," came the voice of that troublesome girl. "I'll come down in a moment and—"
"Aha!" Auntie Cho pounced, grabbing the brat by the ear. "Got you!"
"Ow-ow-ow! Dear Auntie Cho!"
"Skipping chores again, aren't you?! Disgracing the family and household! Off to lessons, now! Master Wen Zhu sets aside time for you, and this is how you repay him?!"
"Kind Auntie Cho! I was just on my way to my lessons!"
"I can see how eager you were! If Elder Wen hadn't forbidden it, I'd give you a good beating right now!"
"My ear! My ear! You'll pull it off, kind Auntie Cho! What will Master Wen Mi say if I'm left with only one ear?!"
"I won't tear it off," Auntie Cho muttered, but loosened her grip. Elder Wen had been strict: no physical punishment beyond a scolding, and absolutely no marks on the face—or the body. Treating her like fine porcelain, rather than a servant. Rumor had it that this brat was being groomed to become personal maid to Lady Liling, the Elder's youngest and most beloved daughter, but Auntie Cho didn't believe such talk. Lady Liling was not easy to serve—her personal maids never lasted long. A prestigious post, sure, but a dangerous one. The second maid, after a beating in the stables, screamed so much you had to cover your ears. They said she was sold off afterward. Better that than Lady Liling driving her to an early grave, as had happened to the first, who'd tried to drown herself in the pond.
Lady Liling didn't need a maid—she needed perfection itself, cast in living silver, as folks said: the robes of a celestial maiden have no seams. And this… however much you brush her hair, she was always a mess. Auntie Cho released Xiao Tai's ear and looked the willful girl over. She stood obediently enough, though her dress was covered in bits of straw and her hair was a disaster. And what a name they'd given her—Little Moon.
"Come here." Auntie Cho quickly spun the nuisance around and dusted off the straw from her back, making sure to smack her on the butt in the process ("Ow!"). She spun her to face her, brushed her off in front, and tidied up her hair with two deft strokes. Jabbing the brat in the back to make her stand straight, she lifted her chin. There. Now this pushy Xiao Tai looked at least a bit more like a decent girl.
"Madam Cho is a wizard! Little Tai almost looks like a real girl now!" exclaimed the kitchen boy nearby, gazing with awe at Xiao Tai's transformation.
"No one asked you!" Auntie Cho boxed his ears, making sure he remembered his place—and for trying to hide where the troublesome Tai had gone to nap after lunch.
"All right, let's go." Auntie Cho shoved the runaway ahead and shook her head as she watched the girl's back. Everything about her was wrong. She didn't move like a proper girl from a good family—gliding softly above the ground, like lotus petals on a pearl pond—but stomped about like a bandit from Mount Tian, conquering the earth with every stride. Oh, Teacher Wen Zhu would have his work cut out for him with this one, mark her words.
"Many thanks to the kind Auntie Cho!" chirped the cheeky Tai. "Without you, I'd have missed my lessons. How wonderful that you care so much for this pitiful—"
"Get going," Auntie Cho pushed her, though she felt a little warmth inside. Wild as she was, perhaps she was learning something. That Teacher Wen Zhu really was a marvel, she thought.
So out of the stable they went—this incorrigible Little Tai leading, Auntie Cho behind, and the kitchen boy somewhere at the rear. They had nearly reached the main house when suddenly—
"Servant Cho!" No one had ever called Auntie Cho "servant" of the Wen Mi house. Even the Master himself addressed her as Auntie Cho—that was her title. She was family, not just a servant, and everyone knew it. Everyone except…
"Yes, Lady Liling." Auntie Cho turned and bowed deeply so that the master's youngest daughter couldn't see her face. She had no right to judge Lady Liling, nor to contradict her; she was obliged to obey any command. But still...but still...
"Tomorrow, Wenling and Dandan will visit me. We will have an absolutely wonderful time," Lady Liling declared, tapping her fan restlessly against her palm. "I want the jewels from the red box cleaned, especially those with the phoenix feather. And the clothes in matching colors prepared. Three—no, nine outfits. Each better than the last. The theme is 'A Young Maiden and a Knight Find Love Amidst a Bloody Battlefield.' Have the beds and screens moved, and have a pavilion set up on the hill near the river—from red cedar, not plain wood."
"As you command, young lady," Auntie Cho replied, bowing deeply before straightening up—and realizing catastrophe had struck. That foolish Xiao Tai had forgotten to bow! She was just standing there, staring at Lady Liling as if they were equals! Auntie Cho quickly grabbed her by the neck, hoping to make her bow in time, but—
"And what is this?" The tone of Lady Liling's voice changed, and Auntie Cho's heart sank. The Master had explicitly told her to keep these two from ever crossing paths—at least until this exasperating Tai finished her training!
"This… is the new girl," Auntie Cho said, forcefully pushing down the impertinent girl's head so she bowed. "Her name is Xiao Tai, she's only just joined us. The Master ordered her to be trained in everything necessary."
"So rude. Looks me straight in the eye. Hey, you!" Lady Liling snapped her fan shut and lifted Xiao Tai's chin with it. "Do you have something to say to me?"
"Nothing to say, Bright Mistress," the cheeky girl immediately bowed, clearly realizing things would not end well. But too late—it's at times like these you need to bend deeper and never, ever look Lady Liling in the eye.
"Take this impudent girl to Old Weidun. Have him give her twenty lashes in the stable." Lady Liling snapped, lowering her fan. "Then bring her to me. I want to look into those insolent eyes after the beating."
"Young mistress!" Auntie Cho gasped, while the foolish Xiao Tai just blinked in confusion. "But twenty lashes! She'll be bedridden for a week!"
"There are plenty of servants in the Wen Mi house," Liling threw coldly over her shoulder, "and don't forget about the pavilion. Red cedar." She floated away in perfect style, gliding like a proper lady from a noble family. Auntie Cho could only clutch her head. She was truly caught between a tiger and a dragon! The Master himself had said no whippings or any punishments that would leave marks on the new girl's body! But she couldn't disobey the young mistress either! She'd never dare bother the Master over something so trivial, so she'd have to decide on her own. And twenty lashes... Old Weidun, the butcher and odd-job man, and part-time executioner for family discipline, never held back. Auntie Cho had seen strong young men faint after five lashes. This one—she was so scrawny, a breeze could snap her. What if she died from the flogging? Then Auntie Cho herself would be done for!
"And what am I to get twenty lashes for?!" that idiot Xiao Tai protested. "I bowed! I didn't even object!"
"Oh, hush," Auntie Cho replied with a sigh. Then she thought perhaps it was better to explain; otherwise, the fool would stay a fool. Besides, she felt sorry for the girl—she'd be sent to the whipping post instead of lessons with Teacher Zhu.
"You can't look Lady Liling in the eye, not so boldly," she said. "Oh, what trouble."
"I didn't look at her boldly!" protested the stubborn girl. "I just looked, that's all!"
"Peh…" Auntie Cho drawled, just like her own granny used to when the youngest wet the bed. "With you, any look at all comes out impertinent. Don't look people in the eyes—proper girls never do. And your eyes…" She fell silent. What could she do about those eyes? So sharp and blue, like ice from a mountain lake. No matter how she looked at someone, it'd always seem brazen, with eyes like those.
"Cangue one day, lashes the next..." the girl grumbled, shivering. "Your world is so hospitable, I see. Time to take control myself. So Old Weidun—is he the local butcher? Where will he strike—back or butt? No way I can sit after that, what kind of lessons?"
"I don't know where Weidun will strike, but it's usually the back." Auntie Cho sighed. "No lessons after that, I suppose. Come, we need to change your clothes and prepare oil for your back afterward."
"Thank you for looking after me, Auntie Cho," the girl bowed. "I know it's difficult for you. Your orders are contradictory, you're between Scylla and Charybdis."
"What?" Auntie Cho understood what she meant, but the names sounded so strange.
"Between a rock and a hard place. The Master ordered me not to be flogged, and the young mistress ordered the opposite—so what now? What if I die under the whip—how would you answer for it?"
"I don't want this either," Auntie Cho admitted. "But what can I do? I can't disobey the young mistress! And I can't go against her openly. The Master said not to tell anyone about the special orders for you. Now if anything happens, it's all on me—and all because of you, you dumb girl! If you'd just been in the right place at the right time, none of this would've happened!"
"You're right, Auntie Cho. It's my fault," the girl drooped, and then perked up. "But I have an idea! There must be some way to fulfill both orders, so you won't get in trouble with anyone."
"And how exactly do you propose that? One says I can't whip you, the other says I must."
"I was there during the conversation. Master Wen Mi said, 'no marks on the body,'" the impish Xiao Tai lifted a finger. "And the young mistress—may she come to nothing—said 'twenty lashes.' So if honorable Old Wei gives me lashes with no marks left, both orders are followed."
"How's that possible, lashes without marks? Might as well stroke you with the whip."
"I'm sure Master Weidun—or Old Wei, as his friends call him—knows how it's done. And the young mistress only wants to show her dominance over the servants—she just wants me to come crawling like a whipped dog and grovel at her feet this evening. Well..." Here the little imp uttered a short word in a strange language, obviously a curse by her tone.
"Well," she repeated, "I'll act the part. It won't hurt me. The master's raising himself a fine little girl, mm. So sweet and kind."
"You know what, Xiao Tai, don't try to trick me. I'm not like those kitchen maids who eat right out of your hand. I'm the elder of this house!" Auntie Cho put her hands on her hips. "It's my decision!"
"That's what I mean—Auntie Cho always finds a solution." The imp nodded energetically. "You're decisive. You can fulfill everyone's orders. Anyone else would do one thing and not the other. That's how most servants would act. But you, Auntie Cho, you're above all the rest of us in the Wen Mi household, you're sure to find a way!"
"Oh, you fox…" Auntie Cho's eyes narrowed. "Oh, you fox…"
"Shall I speak to Old Wei myself?" suggested Xiao Tai. "I'll explain it all to him. And then I'll talk to young mistress Liling in the evening."
"And if she finds out that I—"
"She won't find out. Besides, you won't know about it either. You just took me, gave the order. If anyone complains, let them take it up with Old Wei. I'll talk to him myself."
"Sometimes, Xiao Tai, I really wonder where you hide your bushy fox tail," Auntie Cho said. "All right, let's go. Time to talk to Old Weidun."