The Little Bedmaid Just Wants to Get By - Chapter 6

Ever since Cai Ju took over Xiang Xin’s duties, she was a bit flustered. When she worked for the Grand Lady, her duties were things like waving a fan or giving leg massages. She had never really handled tea. 

Dou Zhao knew that she was unfamiliar with the art of tea, and gave her some consideration. But that consideration had its limits. If she failed to meet his standards multiple times in a day, his face would grow cold. 

Fortunately, Cai Ju was quite clever and knew how to use the resources around her. Most of the time, she left tasks like boiling water, choosing teaware, heating the cup, pouring tea leaves and brewing tea to Guan Yuan. She merely handled the final step of pouring the tea and presenting it to Dou Zhao. 

Even so, she lacked the skill to handle even this last step. Sometimes, she was too slow. Sometimes, she was too fast. Sometimes, she poured too much and sometimes she poured too little. This made the tea taste different, and she was made to brew it once again. Yet she did not want to listen to Guan Yuan’s orders, and she was afraid that Dou Zhao would realize if she got Guan Yuan to handle this final step too, so she could only bear with it. 

That day, Dou Zhao suddenly came to the realization that he had not had tea brewed with the water from the sealed springs of Mount Li in a long time. Thus, he told Cai Ju to prepare it by the time he returned in the afternoon. 

Cai Ju thought that the Mount Li sealed spring water was another type of spring water that they kept in the manor, and told Guan Yuan, “We need the Mount Li sealed spring water today. Go to the ice storage and retrieve it for me.”

Guan Yuan said, “We don’t have the Mount Li sealed spring water in the manor. Usually, someone brings it in from the sealed spring in Mount Li a few hundred li away, and sells it in the market outside.”

Cai Ju was frustrated. “Then why are you standing here? Go and get it.”

Guan Yuan happened to be deliberating over a matter of concern, and wanted to go out to consult her brother, thus she replied eagerly. After retrieving the shopping money from Bi Xin, she reported to the guard at the gate and left the manor. 

Her brother’s name was Lu Cun Zhou, and he was her senior by five years. He wasn’t her biological brother. They had met when she was homeless as a young child. The two of them begged all the way to the capital. When Lu Cun Zhou fell sick, Guan Yuan sold herself into the Dou Manor, using the money she earned to treat her brother’s illness. 

Afterwards, Lu Cun Zhou was hired as an assistant to the medicine shop because of his ability to read. Ten years later, he gained some recognition in medicine, so Guan Yuan gave him the money she had saved over almost ten years so that he could open a tiny clinic of his own. 

Her brother said that after he earned enough money, he would buy her early freedom. 

Guan Yuan didn’t think much of it. After all, she only had four years left until she left the manor, so she didn’t see the need to spend such a huge sum of money. Furthermore, her brother was already twenty-one years old and still unmarried. It was more important for him to save some money to marry a wife as soon as he could. 

As for her own future, she would get through it one day at a time. She didn’t mind helping her brother and sister-in-law at the clinic or something. If she met someone suitable, she didn’t mind marrying them and spending the days together. Of course, the most important thing was that she could eat her fill, and not have to be criticised all day. She had enough of that over the years from the Second Master. 

Guan Yuan familiarly turned left on Deng Ning street, crossing Xing Shui bridge into the market to buy the spring water that the Second Master wanted. Then she used her own money to buy two bags of filling snacks, before going to his clinic in Tong Qi alley. 

This clinic had just opened for little more than half a year. At that time, the money they had was barely enough to rent a small shop front in this alley. Thankfully, Lu Cun Zhou’s medical skills were decent, so at the moment there was still some business. 

When Guan Yuan arrived at the clinic, Lu Cun Zhou was still taking the pulse of a madam. 

“It’s nothing serious, just the heat of high summer making one crave the cold a bit too much, and the external cold led to internal dampness. I will prescribe you a dose of elsholtzia powder. It will reduce the external heat, while reducing dampness and regulating your body, thus resolving both internal and external symptoms.”

After he finished speaking, he wrote a prescription and handed it over to the madam. The madam was reluctant to leave even after receiving the prescription, asking him questions about completely unrelated matters, trying to find reasons to continue chatting. 

Guan Yuan had seen this situation many times. Her brother was good looking with an even temper, and was also unmarried. There were bound to be many bold maidens and madams who would want to tease him. Thankfully, her brother was a gentleman. He never held it against them, and always answered patiently and warmly. As a result, most of his customers were married women. 

She intended to wait outside, but Lu Cun Zhou happened to see her. After a brief pause, he jumped to his feet, a smile on his face. “Why didn’t you tell me you had returned? Quick, come in!” 

Guan Yuan smiled. “You looked busy, so I didn’t want to disturb you.”

Lu Cun Zhou shook his head lightly. “Why are you being polite with me? Put down your things and come out for some tea.”

Seeing the situation, the madam could only get up to leave. “Since Doctor Lu’s sister has arrived, I will leave first. If the medicine you prescribed is ineffective, I’ll have to come back and find you.” 

Lu Cun Zhou answered in a gentle voice. “Don’t worry, Madam Wang. Just take the medicine as prescribed three times a day, and you will be able to recover completely. Otherwise, feel free to come back and ask for a complete refund.” 

The madam raised an eyebrow and laughed. “Of course. If I don’t get better, I’ll have to come back and settle the score with you.” 

The madam bade a flirtatious farewell and left. Guan Yuan handed over the snacks she had just bought. “I passed by the market. The almond snacks looked good, so I got some for you to try.”

Lu Cun Zhou received the snacks, failing to conceal his surprise. “After not seeing you for a few months, you’ve gotten fairer and prettier, Xiao Jiu! Are you just passing by today, or are you on leave? Then you could have a meal before you go?”

Guan Yuan’s original name was Li Jiu Ci. Lu Cun Zhou had always called her Xiao Jiu.

Guan Yuan replied hesitantly, “I’m just passing by. I have to leave soon.” 

Lu Cun Zhou nodded, then turned to enter the house. He emerged with a small clay jar. “Perfect timing. The tea I prescribed for Second Master Dou’s sleep issues should be running out. I’ve got some more here, you can bring it over. He should be better by the time he’s taken this for about half a year. Then we will be better off.”

At the mention of this, Guan Yuan was too embarrassed to look at him. “But, he…the Second Master doesn’t like the flavor. He won’t drink it. About that…let’s just forget about it.”

Lu Cun Zhou was momentarily stunned, then he said with a smile, “This tea is for curing illness, of course it wouldn’t taste as good as the usual kind, but it would greatly benefit his insomnia. You don’t have to mention it to him, just put one or two leaves into his tea everyday. It’s mostly flavorless, so he shouldn’t be able to taste it. Xiao Jiu, you must know that it’s 300 taels of silver. We really need it desperately. Business has been quiet lately. The money that we borrowed is due soon. After we return that, we may not even have enough to afford the rent. Do you want us to go back to begging like the old days?” 

What her brother was asking for was indeed not difficult. 

Ever since Dou Zhao’s mother passed away, he frequently woke up from nightmares and couldn’t sleep soundly. Grand Lady Dou and Prime Minister Dou had hired every famous doctor they could find to no avail, yet they dared not trust the obscure remedies of travelling doctors. On top of that, Dou Zhao was especially sensitive to medicinal herbs. It took a herculean effort to get him to take a single sip of the famous doctors’ medicines, and he wouldn’t consume the others at all. 

In recent years, Dou Zhao constantly looked gaunt and haggard. Grand Lady Dou loved her grandson dearly, hence she commanded the servants in the manor to seek whatever remedies they could. If anybody managed to cure Dou Zhao in a way that he could accept, then they could receive 300 taels of silver. 

With such a generous reward, it was no surprise that an unending stream of medical practitioners surged forward. The challenge was that Dou Zhao was completely disobliging. Whether it was medicine or witchcraft, he rejected them all. There were even wise men who invited gods or called spirits when he was absent, but sadly it was ineffective. 

After a long time, everybody’s passion towards the matter cooled, and gradually there was nobody stepping forward. 

Lu Cun Zhou, however, felt that this was a good opportunity. He was sure that this nightmare disorder could be cured quickly as long as the right medicine was prescribed. The main problem was getting Dou Zhou to finish the dose. At first, he told Guan Yuan to secretly put herbs into Dou Zhao’s tea. Dou Zhao didn’t even have to taste the tea to know that it was different from the smell alone. He wanted to resolve it with a round of hand caning, yet who knew that Wang Hui would escalate the matter to the Grand Lady. 

As a result, Guan Yuan cruelly received twenty strokes of the paddle from the Grand Lady, and couldn’t get out of bed for three days. And that was after she had explained that the herbs were added to give the tea an extra aroma, and Dou Zhao assured that he didn’t detect anything bad. Otherwise, she would have been beaten to death by the Grand Lady. 

After that, Lu Cun Zhou also realised that secretly adding herbs wouldn’t work. He painstakingly researched every method until he found those tea leaves. They were colorless and flavourless, and consuming them for a long period of time could completely eradicate the nightmare disorder. 

Guan Yuan tried them after she received them. Indeed, they did not have much of a flavour, just that the original flavour of the tea became slightly milder. She gathered her courage to try again. 

Who could have guessed that Dou Zhao had an inhuman sense of taste? Although he couldn’t tell what had been added, he could clearly tell that it was different from usual, and called Guan Yuan in for questioning. 

Guan Yuan could only say that she had reduced the amount of tea leaves, which was why the flavour was milder, yet Dou Zhao shook his head. “It’s not the lack of tea leaves. It doesn’t feel fresh.” 

Guan Yuan was afraid that he would discover that she had added something into his tea again. She could only go with the flow and say that she had used the old tea leaves which were due to be thrown out by mistake. Thus her punishment was to run ten rounds under the hot sun, and she didn’t dare to use the box of tea leaves that her brother gave her again. 

Recently, she was distracted because of this matter. Back when she still served Dou Zhao personally, perhaps she could think of some way to get it done. But now that she couldn’t even see him, it would be difficult to find a chance. 

This time, she wanted to convince her brother to let the matter go, since they could get by if they ran the clinic well. They didn’t really need to bet on that 300 taels of silver.

But hearing her brother’s words, how could she bear to convince him? 

After some thought, she hesitantly received the clay pot from her brother. “You’re right, Gege. I’ll try again.” 

Lu Cun Zhou nodded, then gently rubbed Guan Yuan’s head. “You have always been so thin-skinned. I’m only asking this for our benefit. With those 300 silver taels, not only can we keep the clinic, we can even have our own little courtyard! Then, I would feel at ease to take you out of the manor to enjoy life.”

Guan Yuan really wanted to say that she didn’t care about enjoying life that way, but she recalled that her brother was still unwed. She may not care about enjoying her life, but she didn’t want to make her brother suffer together with her. If it wasn’t for him, he would have starved in the streets long ago. She owed it to him. 

Seeing that she was silent, Lu Cun Zhou smiled again. “Besides, you’ve been with your Second Master for ten years, don’t you hope for him to get better soon? Treating him is a good deed, I hope that Xiao Jiu won’t disappoint this older brother!”

Guan Yuan forced a smile and nodded. “You’re right, Gege. I definitely won’t disappoint you this time.”

Her steps were heavy on the way back. 

How on earth was she supposed to feed these tea leaves to the Second Master without anyone noticing? Things were different now that she was no longer serving him personally. Although she still helped out with things like boiling water, there was no way she could secretly sneak these leaves in unless she wanted to risk her life. 

Guan Yuan returned to Dou manor as she deliberated over this manor. At the gate, she handed back the exit token, then returned to Chang Zhi Court to give the spring water that she had purchased to Cai Ju. 

Cai Ju hurriedly received the water, her thin brows arched as she chided, “Why are you so late? The Second Master will be returning soon. Even if I brew the tea now, it will still be scalding hot by the time I pass it to him. Were you taking your own sweet time walking around to mess with me?” 

Guan Yuan didn’t expect that she would be in such a hurry, but she didn’t dare to say that she had visited her brother, so she apologised instead. “I’m sorry. I saw a circus troupe along the way and watched for a while. Just a while, it wasn’t even five minutes. There are still two hours until Second Master gets back, we can still make it if we prepare the tea right now.” 

“Bullshit!” Cai Ju yelled at her. “Who’s in charge of the tea here? You or me? Second Master doesn’t like to drink hot tea when the weather is warm. How dare you talk back when it’s your own fault that you’re late? You think I don’t dare to punish you?” 

Guan Yuan tried to come up with a solution. “Or we could wrap it in some ice, then it would cool down faster.” 

“Shut up, how dare you continue spouting nonsense?” 

Yesterday, Dou Zhao spent the whole day nitpicking on Cai Ju’s tea, saying it was too cold or two hot. She was even angrier now that a third class maid was talking back to her, and couldn’t hold back from shouting, “Bi Xin jiejie, you can be the judge of this!” 

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* 1 Li = 500metres = approx 546 yards

Another name!

• • Lu Cun Zhou (陆存舟): Lu is his last name, but also means land. Cun – keep or exist/survive, Zhou – boat.
    I don’t really know what to make of his name, keeping boats on land?

• • Li Jiu Ci (黎九慈）: Li is a fairly common last name. Jiu – Nine. Ci – kind/benovelent