Chapter Seven: Stirring Up Trouble

Axia looked around and her eyes brightened when she spotted Mama Qian in the crowd. “Grandmother, save me!”

When Axia was first locked away, she was completely unafraid, believing that once the young master’s anger cooled, she’d be let out. She even incited the others to gang up on Hongxing, that wretched girl. The others all echoed her, condemning Hongxing as the most vicious creature under the heavens. Though they were in the woodshed for their own misdeeds, it felt more like a cult’s headquarters, with everyone feverishly plotting Hongxing’s grim fate.

Mama Qian, worried her granddaughter would suffer, pulled some strings so someone would bring Axia food every day. Axia was generous, always saving a chicken drumstick for the others after eating her fill. Harmony flourished in the woodshed.

But good times didn’t last. Someone reported this to Zhuzi, and the steward who brought the food lost his job. The new steward didn’t care about Mama Qian’s influence; now, each day brought only a bowl of water and two rock-hard steamed buns.

Though it was early spring, the cold lingered. The buns were as hard as iron lumps—if you threw one at the floor, the floor would dent before the bun cracked. No one could eat them, and even keeping one in your pocket was uncomfortable.

Axia wept, cursed, threatened, and even went on a hunger strike. The steward remained unmoved, had her mouth gagged, and cut her ration to a single bun.

Eat or don’t, it was all the same.

The others in the woodshed resented her arrogance and the trouble she’d brought them. Fear of Mama Qian kept them silent, but their warmth toward Axia cooled. Axia remained oblivious to the change in their attitude.

Days of hunger wore her down. Desperate, she begged the others for food, but no one responded. She searched for the bun she’d discarded earlier, but it was gone. At last, her temper exploded—she accused them of theft, called them heartless and ungrateful.

They were all cold and starving; no one could stand her anymore. Someone shoved her from behind, and then fists and feet rained down on her...

Seeing her granddaughter’s miserable state, Mama Qian wanted to rush forward, but with the Second Madam not yet present, she restrained herself. But when Axia cried out for help, Mama Qian could no longer hold back.

She pushed through the crowd, wailing, and embraced Axia, examining her injuries. The bruises on the arms she had cherished so dearly made her weep in earnest, her feigned tears turning real.

The open space filled with the sounds of crying and lamentation, voices piercing the air and grating on the nerves.

It was then that the Second Madam arrived.

“Oh my, what’s all this? Are you mourning the dead? Where are your manners? Don’t you know that crying is forbidden in the Lu household? Or do you want additional punishment?”

She wore a radiant peony qipao of vivid red, her graceful figure undiminished even by the thick winter garments. As she walked by, a fragrant breeze followed, and the crowd parted before her. Her voice was soft, nearly drowned by the sobbing, yet as she finished speaking, the noise subsided into silence.

Lu Yabai patted Lu Yalan’s arm in reassurance, and the two of them rose to greet the Second Madam.

“Please, sit. I do so love a bit of excitement—surely the young master and second miss won’t mind?” The Second Madam smiled brilliantly and, without waiting for Lu Yabai’s reply, ordered another chair to be brought.

Lu Yabai worried that with the Second Madam’s arrival, the day’s business would end with more bluster than effect. He tried to cite Yilan Garden’s internal affairs as a reason for her to leave, but she cut him off. “Before I came down, the old lady herself told me she was worried about your inexperience and asked me to keep an eye on things. When the elders say a word, we younger folk run ourselves ragged, don’t we?”

Lu Yabai was left speechless.

A servant brought over a chair, laid thick felt on it, then added a cushion. Only then did the Second Madam sit.

Now, in the open space, three chairs stood side by side—two plain, one ornate. Seated beside the Second Madam, the others seemed to be perched on her footrest, utterly diminished. The Second Madam seemed not to notice, and Lu Yabai and his sister could hardly object.

“I’ve heard the servants of Yilan Garden overstepped their bounds and delayed the second miss’s treatment. Young master, how do you intend to deal with such unruly servants?”

“The affairs of Yilan Garden naturally fall to my sister.”

“Oh? Then how does the second miss wish to handle these... servants?” The Second Madam’s eyes bore into Lu Yalan with full force, but as she turned, she saw Lu Yalan gazing at her with shining eyes and hesitated for a moment.

If she were from modern times, the phrase “eyes full of stars” would have fit perfectly.

Lu Yalan knew well that the Second Madam was no friend to her; many of her troubles traced back to this woman. Yet admiration for strength is human nature. Though she disliked the Second Madam, she yearned to be as capable and adept at navigating the world as she was.

As her heart opened, Lu Yalan’s emotions became more transparent. When the Second Madam called her, she was jolted back to herself, and realizing the others were watching, her ears flushed with embarrassment.

The Second Madam did not pursue the point, but gently repeated, “Second miss, how do you think we should deal with these servants who have forgotten their place?”

Lu Yabai frowned—“forgotten their place” could be interpreted harshly or leniently. If the punishment was too severe, rumors would spread that the second miss was heartless and cruel to her servants.

Lu Yalan understood perfectly, and a wave of frustration rose within her. It was always like this—whenever she tried to do something, someone would find an excuse to force her to back down. Time after time, she had retreated, grown timid, and allowed these people to take advantage. But now, she no longer cared.

She gripped the hem of her garment, looked at no one, and said calmly, “Let each offense be investigated and verified in turn. We’ll handle it according to the rules.”

In the past, that would have meant a flogging followed by being sold to a broker. Now, without a deed of indenture, expulsion would suffice.

The world outside was far less safe than the Lu household, and those expelled for wrongdoing would find no one willing to hire them. It was, in effect, a death sentence.

Cries broke out anew.

Mama Qian, having relied on Lu Yalan’s gentle nature to act without restraint, had lately realized that the second miss no longer favored her and had tried to keep a low profile, hoping past misdeeds wouldn’t come to mind and affect her granddaughter. But now, she could no longer restrain herself.

A post in the Lu household could not be lost!

“Miss, these girls are still young and foolish—they made a mistake out of mischief. I’ll make sure to discipline them well. Please, Miss, show mercy!”

“There’s only one mistress in Yilan Garden—me. If they were so busy, why was I, a sick girl, left to drink cold water? If the work here is too much, then please, seek another position. My little temple can’t accommodate such great Buddhas.” The words she’d rehearsed countless times finally left her lips. Lu Yalan let out a breath, but an ache lingered in her heart.

Mama Qian threw herself at Lu Yalan’s feet, weeping copiously, her sobs weaker than before. “Miss, have pity on your old nurse. I raised you with such hardship. You once held my hand and promised to care for me when you grew up. I don’t deserve your gratitude, only ask that you spare my granddaughter this once for my sake.”

That day, Mama Qian wore not a single piece of jewelry, dressed in coarse cloth now caked in dust. Her pitiful pleas moved the onlookers; several older women, thinking of their own children, felt sympathy swell within them.

Lu Yalan clenched her fists as a familiar sense of helplessness spread through her. She watched Mama Qian’s performance with a blank face—unmoved, unspeaking, unresponsive—like a statue.

Seeing his sister retreating into herself again, Lu Yabai’s voice chilled. “Mama Qian, you’ve cared for my sister for over a decade, and she’s given you honor and status in return. Look around—what other nurse has managed the affairs of an entire courtyard, lived like a grand madam, and dressed her granddaughter in gold and jade finer than the young mistress herself?”

His words flowed like a warm current into Lu Yalan’s heart, and she remembered that dazzling woman in her memories. What was her hardship compared to that? With her brother’s support, there was nothing to fear.

Lu Yalan squeezed her fists, palms slick with sweat. She said hoarsely, “Mama Qian, if you truly care for me, then follow the rules. Don’t humiliate me here.”

Mama Qian, stymied, darted a glance at the Second Madam.

The Second Madam raised her handkerchief to her lips. “Everyone knows our second miss is the most principled. It’s good to follow the rules—but managing the household means considering all sides. If all those kneeling here are dismissed, who will handle the work of Yilan Garden? What if word gets out that the Lu household dismissed so many at once?”

She paused, and her maid immediately offered her tea. Sipping delicately, she continued, “Second miss is nearly of marriageable age. If people hear that even a little garden under her care fell into chaos, who would want her as their mistress?”

The place fell silent; one could hear a pin drop.

Everyone knew the cause of Lu Yalan’s illness, but out of fear, no one dared speak of it before her. Now the Second Madam not only brought it up, but twisted the knife. How could Hongxing, who adored her mistress, tolerate this?

“Second Madam, our Yilan Garden’s affairs are our own concern. No need for your trouble.”

The Second Madam’s eyelids flickered. “Is it Yilan Garden’s rule for servants to interrupt their mistress? If we’re to follow the rules, then this girl should be punished as well, or how can the others be convinced? Don’t you agree, second miss?”

Mama Qian realized this was her opening.

She stood and dusted herself off, sidling up to Lu Yalan with a show of concern. “Miss, you’re only just recovering. Don’t get upset. It’s these unruly girls who lack discipline—I’ll speak to them. Give me three days, and I’ll have them trained to your satisfaction.”

Her manner suggested she intended to smooth everything over.

Lu Yalan held back as long as she could, but tears welled up, threatening to spill. Ever since she’d cried once before, her tears had become uncontrollable.

She pulled Hongxing behind her, ignored the Second Madam, and fixed her gaze on Mama Qian. “You said the household had no coal, and I believed you. When my room was freezing, I thought to share what little we had with you. But your granddaughter opened the windows to vent heat in the dead of winter—I endured it. You said girls shouldn’t meet men outside the family, that my brother, not being a blood relation, shouldn’t visit. I listened. But then you kept the gifts he sent for yourself and gave them to your granddaughter—I let it go. You said my mother’s belongings should be kept by you for safekeeping until my marriage—I was grateful. But then Father came, waving Mother’s hairpin, and accused me of pawning her relics. I took the blame for you.”

As she recalled the past, Lu Yalan’s heart churned. In this moment, surrounded by unfamiliar and even hostile faces, she suddenly felt the need to speak out. Only by voicing these things would she no longer be crushed beneath their weight.