The Little Bedmaid Just Wants to Get By - Chapter 1
It was midsummer. After being scorched by the sun for an entire day, the servants’ quarters felt like a steamer by the evening. It was so hot that it was impossible to sleep well. Thankfully, it rained at midnight. As the heat dissipated, they could finally get some rest.
At 3 am, Mu Hui returned to the servants quarters after her night shift. She gently nudged the blissfully snoring Guan Yuan. “Wake up, lazyhead! Second Master said, since it rained half the night, the entire pond of new lotuses has been washed clean. He told you to hurry and gather the dew.”
Guan Yuan, who had slept for less than four hours, was in the middle of a sweet dream. This soft nudge was nothing more than a gentle rocking, lulling her into an even deeper sleep.
Mu Hui had no choice but to pinch her leg hard. “Guan Yuan!”
“No! Don’t steal my pancake!” Guan Yuan mumbled as she shot upright.
Looking at the drool at the corner of her mouth and the pillow imprint on half her face, Mu Hui didn’t know whether to laugh or get angry. “You even dream of eating. Hurry and wake up.”
All this noise awoke Shui Ling, who was sleeping in the opposite bed. She rolled over, muttering angrily, “Some of us can still sleep a little more, keep it down.”
Mu Hui could only poke at the spaced out Guan Yuan. “Don’t let Second Master get angry.”
Once she heard the words ‘Second Master’ and ‘angry’, Guan Yuan awoke with a thump. She immediately jumped out of bed. “Got it, I’m on my way.”
She cleaned herself up, then went to the yard to retrieve two jade bottles. The Second Master had high standards. The dew on the lotus flowers and leaves had different fragrances, and had to be stored separately. They could not be mixed together.
It was the coolest time of the day. The sky hadn’t brightened yet, and the last vestiges of moonlight could still be seen at the edge of the clouds. Everything had a dream-like quality. In front of her, the lotus flowers and leaves swayed gently in the tranquil darkness, adding another layer of mysterious beauty.
Looking at the cool, beautiful scene, the irritation that Guan Yuan felt from being woken up so early melted away.
By the time she had retrieved half of the dew, the sky had already brightened. Warmth hung in the air. The entire Dou manor, which had slumbered through the night, awoke with the first ray of sun. Guan Yuan heard the scullery maids gossipping excitedly.
“The Lord had a huge fit because of this, and the Lady couldn’t sleep for an entire night! I heard that they’re already picking people to send over.”
“It’s such a good opportunity. Those few in our court who think they’ve got the looks would be tripping over themselves to be chosen.”
“That goes without saying. Who is he? If he takes a fancy to you and shows your face, you can lie down and enjoy the rest of your life.”
The other maid laughed delicately, then said in a flirtatious tone, “I say, you should give it a try too. Although Jiejie’s* appearance can’t beat those in our court, compared to those hags in Chang Zhi Court, you look way better.”
Guan Yuan was listening disinterestedly, but once she heard the words ‘Chang Zhi Court’, she realised with a start that they were talking about them.
What did they mean?
Who was a hag?
The sisters in Chang Zhi court were just sturdier than others. What, did they offend someone just by eating a few more bowls of rice?
Guan Yuan was a bit angry. As she was contemplating whether or not to make a jab in return, she heard a strict but authoritative voice reprimand them. “Why are you out here wagging your tongues? Have you scrubbed all the flower pots in the yard?”
The two maids hurriedly bowed and left.
Guan Yuan stood on tiptoes, just happening to meet the bewildered eyes of the person who reprimanded them. It was the new first class maid that the Lady had brought from her maiden home, Bi Xin.
Having chased the two gossip mongers away, Bi Xin was about to pluck a few lotus flowers. She heard that that person in Chang Zhi Court loved lotus flowers. She had to make preparations.
As she approached the lotus pond, the foliage in the pond swayed. A lotus boat** appeared before her eyes. A maid sat on the boat, staring at her.
The maid had her hair up in twin buns. She wore the pea green uniform of a second class maid. Although her figure was slightly plump, her features were extremely delicate. Her almond-shaped eyes were dark and clear, as if they were brimming with spring water. They were even clearer than the beads of dew on the lotus leaves, contrasting starkly with the jade bottle in her hands.
Fortunately, her skin had been tanned to a tawny color. Added to that, she was voluptuous, diverging greatly from the current fair and frail standard of beauty. Although she looked alluring, she would only attract shallow men. She was really tacky.
On one hand, Bi Xin felt insanely jealous that such a face hadn’t grown on her own body. On the other hand, she was relieved that the owner of this face was too stupid to appreciate it. If she was just a little whiter and a little thinner, nobody in the manor could hold a candle to her. It was a good thing she was so ignorant.
Thus, she chided, “Where did you come from? Is this lotus pond somewhere you can enter as you’d like? If you damage any of the leaves or flowers, you’ll definitely be thrown out!”
Guan Yuan hurriedly explained, “I’m careful not to damage anything. It’s the Second Master who told me to collect dew here.”
Hearing that she was from the Second Master’s court, Bi Xin looked at her for a while. Seeing her disheveled appearance, her voice took on a mocking edge. “I was wondering who you were, so you’re from there. I advise you to hurry back, the Lady is heading there as we speak. You probably won’t have to do this from now on.”
No wonder they said Chang Zhi Court was full of hags. A second class maid could still be considered the cream of the crop. If the cream of the crop was this tacky thing, the others must be even more dowdy.
Bi Xin was immediately filled with confidence. As long as that Second Master didn’t have a preference for men, with her beauty, it would be difficult for him not to notice her amongst those unappealing hags. As they spent more time together, along with a few of her tricks, the position of bedmaid would naturally fall to her. If she managed to have a son or a daughter, she could even become a concubine.
The more she thought about it, the more Bi Xin felt that her future was bright. She turned to the confused Guan Yuan and smiled. “I’m kindly reminding you, the earlier you return, the more likely it is that you can be assigned somewhere good. Don’t just stand there!”
Guan Yuan tilted her head as she watched Bi Xin leave in a seemingly good mood.
Why did she say she wouldn’t have to do this anymore? And being assigned somewhere good?
Ah! That’s right!
Was it because the Lady had finally come to the realisation that she had to fill the Second Master’s room with beauties, so they were all being replaced?
Guan Yuan couldn’t contain her excitement.
It was widely known that the second young master of Prime Minister Dou’s family, Dou Zhao, was famous for being picky and hard to please. He was merciless when a servant didn’t meet his expectations. Excluding those who were expelled for their mistakes, Guan Yuan was the one who had been punished the most in his court. Kneeling and hand caning were a common occurrence, to the extent that she didn’t even dare to look properly at him in recent years, as if she were a mouse who had seen a cat.
Guan Yuan didn’t have any lofty aspirations. She just wanted to have enough to eat and drink every day. The only thing which could be considered a dream would be to leave the Second Master as soon as possible, so that she could stop living her days in fear. She was glad for the change in staff that was happening. It was a blessing from the heavens!
She quickly set down the bottle in her hands, intending to return to shore at once. As she lifted up the oar, she paused. If she didn’t collect a full bottle of dew, wouldn’t it be a disaster if the Second Master seized the opportunity to punish her with a beating, and even laundry duty? It was better to obediently finish her task, then quietly get assigned to some other place.
With that, she gathered her energy and continued retrieving the dew.
Over at Chang Zhi Court, the servants had just gotten ready for the morning when Lord Dou stormed in angrily, Butler Feng in tow.
First, he gathered all the maids and reprimanded them harshly, accusing them of being half hearted in their duties, yet diligent when spreading rumours. He asserted that he would find the culprit and give them a thorough beating, then drag them out and sell them. As for the rest, they would be demoted and re-assigned elsewhere. After the reprimand, he entered the house, accompanied by loud crashes. He started throwing things around and arguing with Dou Zhao before even saying anything.
When Guan Yuan cautiously returned to Chang Zhi court, the servants were already neatly lined up in the yard, awaiting the Butler’s questioning.
She had wanted to hide in an unassuming spot in the back, but was caught by Butler Feng’s sharp eyes. He pointed to the front. “Senior maids in front. I’ll question you first.”
There was no option but to shuffle up to stand beside Mu Hui. When nobody was paying attention, she asked, “Where’s the Lady?”
Mu Hui’s long, thin brows sagged, her expression unpleasant. “The Lady hasn’t arrived yet. The Lord is throwing a tantrum inside!”
Guan Yuan immediately noticed the sound of the table being slapped, followed by the Lord’s enraged shout, “There is no room for discussion. You have to take them in whether you are willing or not, or you can take it up with the Grand Lady.”
Since he brought up the Grand Lady, then it was set in stone, whatever it was. This Second Master didn’t hold anybody in regard. It was only for the Grand Lady that he had the utmost respect and love.
Indeed, Dou Zhao’s low, cold voice held a hint of laughter. “Mind your health, Father. If you told me from the start that grandmother had agreed, you wouldn’t have to waste this much breath.”
“Pfft-”
Guan Yuan quickly suppressed her laugh. She asked Mu Hui quietly, “What happened, why is he so angry?”
Mu Hui shook her head silently. On the other side, Shui Ling smiled coldly. “What else could it be, it’s just the rumour spreading in the streets that our Second Master is a cutsleeve. It’s blown up so much that even the emperor is showing concern, specifically calling out the Lord to mock him. The Lord got angry, so we have to be the scapegoats.”
“Cutsleeve…what does that mean?” It was the first time that Guan Yuan had heard this term.
Shui Ling rolled her eyes. “It means a man who likes other men.”
“Ah?!” Guan Yuan was stunned. “It couldn’t be. Although the Second Master doesn’t seem to have any reaction to women, he doesn’t seem to have any special thoughts for men either!”
Shui Ling replied, “Why not? Think about how Wang Li didn’t succeed even when she lay on his bed like that, as well as the uncountable number of noble ladies who wanted to marry him. Which one did he fancy?”
Uh…if you put it that way, it seemed to make sense.
Guan Yuan wanted to say something, but Mu Hui interrupted, “Sh, the Lady is here.”
They lowered their heads and stood at attention, peeking out of the corner of their eyes at Lady Zhen, who had just swept in with a bunch of frail and beautiful maids.
One, two, three…Guan Yuan counted 8 of them.
Hm…so they were selecting consorts!
The Lady entered the house promptly. Outside, Butler Feng matched the manor’s exit and entry records to each of the maids one by one. Thankfully, there weren’t many servants in the court, and the records clearly marked down where they went and what they did.
Dou Zhao’s personal servant, Guan Hai, assisted Butler Feng in the questioning. It didn’t take long to figure out what happened, and they pulled out the two maids who had left the manor recently.
Knowing they wouldn’t be able to hide the truth, the two maids fell to their knees and kowtowed repeatedly. “We’re sorry, we didn’t do it on purpose. We were tricked! Please forgive us!”
It turned out that the two of them had left the manor that day to buy bird feed for a particularly picky sparrow. On the way, they accidentally stepped on someone’s feet. That person accused them of dirtying his shoes, and demanded ten taels of silver as compensation.
How could two maids have that much silver? They could only cry in desperation.
That person evaluated them, and recognised them as maids from the Dou Manor. Seeing this, he asked whether they knew who Dou Zhao was.
The two maids thought they had a chance, and quickly admitted that they were from Dou Zhao’s court. That person smiled, “I heard that your master is already twenty years old, but he still doesn’t have anybody at his side. Does he not like women?”
Not understanding what he meant, the two maids stammered, “There is indeed nobody by the Second Master’s side, but we don’t know if he likes women or not.”
That person chortled. “At this age, he doesn’t have even a bedmaid, how could you say that he likes women? How about this, if the both of you admit that he doesn’t like women, I can forget about these ten taels of silver. Otherwise, heh heh…”
As he spoke, two huge burly men emerged from behind him, glowering menacingly.
The two maids were so afraid that they could even feel their souls leave their body, how could they not obey? They could only tremble as they stuttered, “That…that’s right, our Second Master, he…he doesn’t like women.”
Hearing this, that person raised his voice and shouted shrilly, “Look here, look here, Prime Minister Dou’s second son doesn’t like women! He’s a cutsleeve, even his own maids admit it, hahaha!”
His shout reverberated throughout the street. The two maids were so frightened that they turned tail and ran. When they returned, they dared not report the matter, and it remained hidden until today.
Guan Hai was so enraged that his face turned bright red. “What gave you the courage, how dare you slander the Second Master in broad daylight!”
One of the two maids replied, “His face is fair and hairless, and his voice is thin and sharp, so I thought…I thought…”
—
* Jiejie = older sister. Not only used for blood siblings, also used to refer endearingly to an older female, for both male and female speakers.
** Literally a boat for picking lotus
T/N I always love knowing what the character’s names mean, so I thought I would share! My understanding of Chinese isn’t perfect, so do let me know if you think I’ve translated their names wrongly!
Mu Hui: Wood orchid
Guan Yuan: Watching the Yuan river
Shui Ling: Water caltrop
Bi Xin: Jade heart
Dou Zhao: This one confounds me. Together with his family name (Dou) I think it means clearly corrupt, lol… But Dou could also just be a surname without meaning, and ‘Zhao’ by itself (his first name) would mean luminous or illustrious.
Wang Li: Looking at the Li river
Guan Hai: Watching the sea