Chapter 43

Pei Lao Furen: "What's the rush? I originally indeed had the intention to prepare to bring her back into view of these aristocratic families. But now, I feel that if we rush like this, it will instead ruin Luo'er's affairs."

"She herself can now settle her mind; whether it's martial arts or studying, she is full of ambition and confidence—do you know how rare that is?"

"How could I possibly drag her down?"

"Besides, wealth and status can bewitch the eyes, power can bend people's will. I'm afraid that if I let her now go socialize with those ladies' inner quarters, it will take her heart away."

"In another two months, the old lady of the Marquis of Loyalty and Valor will not be."

Zhang Mama nodded in agreement, "Indeed. Although the young lady is becoming fairer and fairer, her appearance is becoming more and more lively. But old servant speaks frankly: compared to those young ladies who have grown up in Jinling City since childhood, her bearing still lacks a bit of polish."

"If we go out now, I still worry that our young lady will be bullied!"

"In another two months, that's just right; by then the young lady will surely astonish the whole Jinling City, letting them see that this is the young lady raised by our old lady."

Regarding this, Pei Lao Furen is also very much looking forward to it.

"By the way, it's been so long already—how is the investigation into Mei Xue's affair going?"

"Later, have Deng Mama come over to give me a reply. This old thing—if you don't ask her, she never takes the initiative!"

Zhang Mama laughed, "Don't be angry, sir. She is wholeheartedly helping the young lady with her affairs, busy every day to the point of not touching the ground. Once she has results, she'll naturally come herself."

Here, the two of them were speaking about this matter.

Meanwhile, at Hongfenguan, Deng Mama was indeed in the process of reporting this matter to Li Qingluo.

"Young lady, old servant has searched for so long and finally found a maid named Mei Shuang. She used to share a room with Mei Xue, and both served in the eldest young master's quarters. Old servant has already quietly brought her into the manor; would you like to question her yourself?"

Li Qingluo was drinking water and wiping sweat; hearing this, she showed no change in expression: "Please have the mama bring her to Que'er's room to wait. I'll go there after I finish my lesson with the master."

Seeing her able to remain so calm, her martial arts female master, Shen He, nodded.

"Come, let's practice once more!"

Shen He is only about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old; her martial arts cannot be said to be absolutely top-notch, but among the young women of Jinling City, she is definitely among the best.

Moreover, if it weren't for the old lady personally taking the initiative, she, who is also the younger sister of a lieutenant, would not readily come to serve as a master for others.

But seeing her disciple possess such talent, she still felt quite satisfied.

"All right, that's enough for today. Luo'er, tomorrow you still rise at the mao hour, first stand in horse stance for half an hour, then practice your fists and archery on your own. Understood?"

Li Qingluo clasped her fists: "Yes, master!"

After seeing Shen He off to rest, Li Qingluo first changed into fresh clothes for herself, then went to Que'er's room.

On the ground knelt a young woman, who appeared to be about seventeen or eighteen years old.

Since Li Qingluo entered, she has kept her head lowered, her whole body trembling, looking extremely frightened.

Li Qingluo sat down and had her lift her head.

That maid, however, said: "I, I dare not..."

Deng Mama gestured at her face, "Young lady, she has a scar on her face; perhaps she's afraid of frightening you."

Li Qingluo: "What haven't I seen? Just lift your head."

That maid then slowly lifted her head, but her gaze kept dodging, not daring to meet Li Qingluo's eyes.

Li Qingluo leaned forward and finally saw clearly: this maid's face bears a long scar running from the brow bone to the cheek, then to the ear root!

The scar is thick and red, like a fierce centipede sprawled across her face.

Even a man's face bearing such a scar would be something ordinary people dare not look at, let alone a young woman's.

Wherever she goes, she is likely to be an object of disgust and fear.

Mei Shuang waited a long time, yet she did not see on Li Qingluo's face the familiar expressions she expected, such as fear, disgust...

Only ordinary scrutiny, and even in the depths of her eyes there was a hint of pity.

Rumor has it that she is actually the true legitimate daughter of the Li family?

Mei Shuang plucked up her courage and glanced at Li Qingluo a few more times, discovering that not only was her attitude affable, but she also gave off a more amiable feeling.

"Young lady, the servant dare not frighten you..."

Mei Shuang covered that scar and lowered her head again.

Li Qingluo did not stop her, having Que'er fetch a cushion for Mei Shuang to sit on.

"Thank you, young lady."

Mei Shuang felt somewhat overwhelmed by the favor, her eyes reddening.

Since her face was ruined, no one has regarded her as a person anymore.

"Young lady, you want to ask about Mei Xue's matter, right? Whatever you want to know, the servant will tell you."

Li Qingluo: "Not urgent. I'll ask you first: how did you get this scar? Also, you are clearly a dead contract, so how did you obtain your free status?"

Mei Shuang lowered her head and wiped her tears: "Don't hide it from you, young lady, this scar... was self-inflicted by me back then."

Li Qingluo: "You yourself? Why did you do that? When did this happen?"

Mei Shuang sighed: "Two years ago, after Mei Xue died. Young lady, you want to investigate Mei Xue's cause of death? I'll start by talking about Mei Xue."

Li Qingluo listened quietly.

Mei Shuang: "I am a dead contract, Mei Xue is a living contract. We were both good-looking and quite honest, so upon entering the manor we were selected to serve in the eldest young master's quarters."

"Young lady, you may not know, but Mei Xue was tall and beautiful. Like a red plum in winter, her skin was fair with a hint of red; every frown and smile, every gesture, was somewhat distinctive."

"She had a quiet disposition, so the young master liked to have her attend him in the study, serving tea for an entire afternoon."

"Mei Xue was also very diligent; whatever work there was, she volunteered to do it. In the whole Lan Cang courtyard, from the head matron down to the little maids and manservants, everyone liked her. Even the young master previously had some special regard for Mei Xue, different from others."

"I and she, having shared a room and slept together since childhood, thus had the best relationship."

"One morning two years ago, Mei Xue suddenly returned to the room in tears. I saw her disheveled and was startled; upon asking, I learned that she had been on night duty the previous evening, but the young master, who usually never even glanced at the maids in the courtyard, suddenly went mad and dragged her onto the bed..."

"Mei Xue cried especially sorrowfully. If another maid were like this, I would surely suspect it was just pretentious affectation—but that was the future master of the Jiangjun Fu, and even becoming a concubine, who would be unwilling?"

"But Mei Xue indeed had often said since childhood that once her living contract expired, she would leave the manor to meet her only surviving brother back home."

"Mei Xue had long awaited the day of her release, having waited a full eight years. Clearly, if she endured just one more year, she could obtain freedom and a good register; given her nature, she really wouldn't be willing to become a concubine."

Moreover, the eldest son didn't even grant her the status of a concubine, merely making her a bed-warming maid.

Meixue was gloomy every day, and the servant also felt sorry for her. Her body is already ruined—can she still think of flying away? The servant also advised her to peacefully attend to the young master; once the mistress enters the manor, she will surely get a status.

But not long after, Meixue was pregnant.