The Wife of a Loyal Servant - Chapter 1

Ling Yu’s nostrils were flooded with the smell of food coming from the restaurant. Her stomach growled even louder as she forced herself to swallow. Unconsciously, her legs moved forward until a drunken man collided with her shoulder. Abruptly realizing what was going on, she bowed her head and stepped aside. Looking at the three copper coins in her palm, she finally sighed.

This can’t go on. Three copper coins can only buy three steamed buns at most. Xiao Shitou* a ten-year-old child, can eat three in one go, not to mention that there is a sick mother-in-law at home. (*TL’s note: 小(xiǎo) meaning little, 石头 (shí tou) meaning stone)

She rubbed her temples and quietly tucked away the three copper coins. She resolved to find a job first, regardless of what it was, at least addressing her needs for food and clothing.

They’re still young, with hands and feet, so they’re unlikely to starve. Furthermore, they’ve survived considerably tougher circumstances in the past, so I’m confident they’ll do it again this time.

“Young lady, would you like a bowl of plain noodles? It’s only three coins a bowl, and you can eat all you want,” a middle-aged woman selling plain noodles on the street greeted with a smile.

Ling Yu stopped in her tracks, hesitated for a moment, but finally decided to ask, “Three coins for a bowl of noodles; if I only want the soup and not the noodles, can you charge me 0 yuan?”

The other person was taken aback by her question, and he looked her up and down for a moment.

After years of struggling to exist with an elderly person and a young child, Ling Yu had long since cast aside matters of self-respect and dignity—things too luxurious for her to bear. As a result, she maintained her composure while meeting the landlady’s gaze.

The proprietress looked at her for a bit before saying helplessly, “No, please sit down!”

Ling Yu had fully prepared herself to be scolded and kicked out, but she had not expected to meet a benefactor today, which left her dumbfounded for a time.

“What’s wrong?  You don’t want it anymore?” the proprietress asked impatiently.

“Yes, yes, definitely!” Ling Yu went quickly, selecting the seat nearest to her and sitting down. Her eyes almost lit up when she saw the other person’s dish of steaming noodle soup.

When the proprietress set the bowl of soup in front of her, she didn’t mind the heat and gulped several mouthfuls from the large bowl. She felt that this bowl of noodle soup was the greatest she had ever tasted.

After finishing most of a bowl of noodle soup, she noticed there were still some noodles in the bowl. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to fill her with gratitude.

Only those on the verge of despair understand how precious even the tiniest act of kindness from others is, especially for someone who has been driven to the brink of despair twice by her own family.

She reluctantly placed down her empty bowl and licked her lips, a rare hint of uneasiness seeping across her face.

“Is this enough? If not, help yourself,” the proprietor remarked nonchalantly after serving another customer.

“No, that’s enough, thank you, big sister!” If she hadn’t had any other plans, Ling Yu would have shamelessly drunk her fill. However, the proprietress looked skeptical, gazing left and right, not believing that this individual could be satiated after only drinking a bowl of noodle soup. Ling Yu cleared her voice, about to speak, when she heard a commotion ahead.

“How outrageous! You ruined my property and want to go without compensation?!”

“Compensate? Do you even recognize the person in front of you? This is Lord Liu’s nephew, who has received praise from the current emperor. Don’t even think about knocking over a few of your pancakes—if he flattened this whole street, no one would dare to say anything!”

Ling Yu looked over and noticed that the stall selling baked flatbreads ahead was completely disorganized. A young man dressed as a servant was stepping on the flatbreads scattered on the ground, crushing them with several forceful steps. Behind him was a man in formal attire with an arrogant face.

“What’s so special about the Liu family that even one of their nephews can be so arrogant?” a guest at the table asked quietly. Ling Yu’s curiosity was stirred, and she pricked up her ears to hear their whispered conversation.

“Are you from out of town? No wonder you don’t know the Liu family, whom the emperor praised. In the end, the Liu family did have some luck, but it was just that they gave the Empress a meal when she was still down on her luck—who would have thought they would receive such a tremendous blessing!”

The owner of the sesame pancake stall was irritated and helpless as he watched the master and servant leave after they had upset his stall. Ling Yu surreptitiously shook her head and averted her sight.

When poor commoners encounter such ‘benefactors,’ all they can do is groan at their misery. The talk around her continued unabated.

“Isn’t that correct? But who could have imagined that a poor girl in the hands of a broker woman would, in the future… tsk tsk, it really is as if smoke is rising* from the old Liu family’s ancestral tomb!” (*TL’s notes: 祖坟冒青烟 (zǔ fén mào qīng yān) the meaning is a Chinese idiom, and the meaning is something incredibly lucky or fortunate has happened.

“With the Liu village producing an empress, the people of the whole village hold their backs straighter than others.”

“Back then, Old Liu was so poor he could barely put food on the table, but now he’s become the emperor’s father-in-law, and his whole family lives in a grand mansion in the capital, eating the finest foods and living in luxury. I wonder if, when he sold his daughter all those years ago, he ever imagined such days would come.”

“Hah! That’s nothing! Nowadays, even the river where Her Majesty the Empress once washed clothes, the bamboo basket she carried, the wooden basin she used, the mountain paths she walked, and the wild fruits she ate—everything’s treated like it’s plated with gold.”

“It’s truly better to have daughters than sons!” Someone sighed, thinking of Liujia Village—where, as the saying goes, ‘when one person gains the Way, even the chickens and dogs ascend to heaven.’* (*TL’s note: 一人得道，鸡犬升天 (yī rén dé dào, jī quǎn shēng tiān lit) When a person attains enlightenment and immortality, even his chickens and dogs will ascend to heaven with him (idiom) / fig. when somebody attains a position of power and influence, their relatives and friends also benefit, meaning When one person rises to power, everyone connected to him benefits.

Born to a poor farming family, she leapt to become the Empress, the very model of womanly virtue, solely favored by the Emperor, and her own son was even made Crown Prince. Such boundless fortune—forget ‘chickens and dogs’; even the cockroaches and ants in that household must carry themselves more proudly than those in anyone else’s home.

“That’s life—same people, different fates!” The proprietress couldn’t help but sigh, then added jokingly to Ling Yu, “If your family had once shown the Empress the same favor that Master Liu did, you wouldn’t be so poor now you can’t even afford a bowl of noodles.”

Ling Yu smiled and said, “Funny you mention it, that dead husband of mine lost his life back then trying to protect Her Majesty.”

“Oh my, that’s a life-saving favor indeed! Little sister, looks like your family’s in for a flood of fortune!” The shopkeeper’s wife laughed heartily.

“When His Majesty was still a prince, he even praised my late husband as a man of loyalty and righteousness,” Ling Yu added with a smile.

“Hahaha, you really know how to joke!” Everyone around burst into laughter; no one took her words seriously. Ling Yu just smiled and gave a small shrug.

Nowadays, no one believes you if you tell the truth. However, she did not feel like saying anything more. Thinking about the elderly woman and young child at home who were still hungry, she mustered the courage to tell the landlady, “A bowl of plain noodles costs three wen and is quite filling. I have three wen here; please offer me a dish large enough to accommodate a large adult.”

In the end, guilt overcame her, and the shame she hadn’t felt for a long time welled up again. Her voice grew softer and softer until it was barely louder than a mosquito’s whisper.

The proprietress blinked in surprise, her mouth slightly agape. After a pause, she sighed once more and said only, “Just wait,” before turning to prepare the noodles.

Seeing that the woman hadn’t even turned down her absurd request, Ling Yu felt an even deeper wave of shame.

If the woman had been a little harsher, she might have felt more at ease; after all, she’d long grown used to scornful looks and cruel words. But not a single unpleasant word was spoken, and despite such an obviously losing bargain, the proprietress still went through with it.

A sudden sting rose in her nose. She turned her head quickly, blinking hard to hide the redness gathering in her eyes.

Suddenly, just ahead, a figure appeared, seeming familiar, yet tinged with strangeness. She froze, then rubbed her eyes in disbelief, staring hard at the silhouette. When the person slowly turned around and that all-too-familiar face came into clear view, she suddenly bellowed,

“Cheng Shaoan! You damned thief! Give this old lady her money back!!”

The man flinched at her roar. When he saw her rushing toward him like a gust of wind, he looked closer, and at the sight of her face, he froze in terror. Then he spun on his heel and ran for his life.

“Cheng Shaoan! You get back here! You damned thief!!”

The man she had cursed with straw dolls for five long years had finally appeared. Ling Yu, her fury blazing, threw herself forward with every ounce of strength she had.

“Hey, little sister, your noodles!!”

The proprietress had just finished preparing the bowl when she turned and saw the woman dart out like a gust of wind. Taking a few hurried steps to call her back, she realized that within moments, the woman had already vanished without a trace.

“What a strange person,” she murmured, shaking her head.

Meanwhile, Ling Yu held her breath and sprinted after him. Years of hardship, struggling to survive while caring for both the old and the young, had trained her legs well. She ran more than half a street without so much as a gasp.

The man ahead panicked and, heedless of where he was going, darted into an alley. Without a second thought, Ling Yu charged in after him.

“Cheng Shaoan! You beast! You even stole the money your own brother gave his life to earn, ignored your mother, and still have the nerve to live—you…ah!”

The man, gasping for breath, was slowing down. She quickened her pace, about to catch him, when suddenly her foot slipped. Before she could react, her body lurched backward and she crashed hard to the ground.

With a muffled thud, a searing pain exploded at the back of her head—as if something sharp had pierced straight into it. The pain was so intense she couldn’t even groan.

My life is over!

Before the last flicker of consciousness faded, she only had time to sigh that single thought in her heart.

***

Ling Yu stirred and slowly opened her eyes to darkness. Beneath her hands was a hard wooden bed. Could it be that some kind soul had brought her home?

After a while, her vision adjusted, and the faint outlines of the room came into view. She couldn’t tell if it was just her imagination, but the furnishings looked strangely like those of her old home in Chengjia Village—a home long since lost to the ravages of war.

Suddenly, the memory of what had happened before she lost consciousness struck her like a jolt. Her hand flew to the back of her head—no wound, not even pain.

Refusing to believe it, she pinched and patted herself all over. Nothing. Not the slightest trace of harm. She frowned. A strange unease coiled in her chest, impossible to name. Just as she was about to rise and light the lamp, a soft patter of footsteps broke the stillness of the night. Then came the slow, creaking sound of a door being gently pushed open.

Her chest tightened, and she instinctively reached under the pillow, only to find it empty. The dagger she had placed there was nowhere to be found.

Unable to locate it, she, who had been fairly calm, suddenly began to panic. Her mother-in-law had been bedridden for days, still too weak to get up, and her son, Shitou, never rose in the middle of the night.

At such an hour, anyone sneaking in could only be someone with ill intentions.

She got out of bed, trembling with fear, too panicked even to put on her shoes, and darted behind the wardrobe. Spotting the stool by the table, she grabbed it without a second thought, her eyes locked on the shadow moving across the room. As it drew closer and closer, she suddenly raised the stool high and brought it crashing down on the figure’s head…