Wen Lin observed Bai Ling's expression and saw nothing but confusion. "Why do you look so lost? Did you come from a village is that why you know nothing about your country?" This was meant to be a dig at her intelligence, but Bai Ling didn't realize.
"Yes, I did." Bai Ling's absentminded response made Wen Lin laugh.
"Don't worry; I will teach all you need to know." Bai Ling was too stunned to respond, but Wen Lin took that as her being embarrassed. With a puffed up, chest Wen Lin began the informal educating of Bai Ling while showing her around the manor where she was allowed and where she wasn't.
Bai Ling came to understand that she was not in China. In fact, when she asked Wen Lin about it, Wen Lin asked if it was her village's name. Panic filled Bai Ling now that she truly knew how far from home she was.
Along with the panic, fear and anger rose within her. Bai Ling panicked since she might never see her grandmother again. She hated Gao Mei even more now that she knew she was the start of all of this.
"Come on, let's get you to your station." Wen Lin pulled Bai Ling along and brought her to the kitchen.
When the two arrived at the kitchen, a flurry of servants was before their eyes. Some were carrying pots of ingredients while others were sending out plate after plate of food. Bai Ling suspected that whoever was the boss here requested so much food.
Due to how hectic the kitchen was, no one paid attention to Bai Ling. Wen Lin brought Bai Ling before the head cook.
"This is Bai Ling; she is going to be placed here to work." The head cook did not care for Bai Ling.
"So what? Get her covering, wash her hands and put her to work. General Zheng's breakfast is being prepared." With that, Bai Ling began her work in the kitchen. The atmosphere was hectic, but it made Bai Ling feel comfortable. Everyone was wrapped up in their work, and no one judged, mocked or questioned Bai Ling.
Since she was preparing food non-stop, Bai Ling had no time to ponder her position.
By the end of the day, Bai Ling was drained. She went back to her room, ready to freshen up. Seeing the other girls heading to the bathing house Bai Ling quietly followed them.
She quickly found a deserted spot after catching her bathing water and began to scrub. Bai Ling started feeling cleaner after scrubbing the grime and dirt off her body.
Little to her knowledge, the other girls were eyeing her with envy on their faces. When they saw her pale skin, slim figure and beautiful hair, hatred welled up in them.
To them, Bai Ling was a threat. Although they were maids, they still could become concubines if they pleased their Lord well. So girls would often compete to be the one serving dishes to the General.
Seeing a rare beauty like Bai Ling, the competition became stiff. The truth was that they were thinking too hard into it. Bai Ling just wanted to understand what was happening, and the last thing on her mind was how to seduce a man.
Bai Ling was too busy being shocked at her appearance. In the clear bucket at her feet, another type of beauty emerged. This was not her original face. Her face in the past, was rounder, a lot tanner and bigger. She had a wider nose, and she had fuller lips.
Now her face was whiter, slimmer, and the full lips she loved about herself was gone. The tan that protected her from the sun was gone. Her sturdy body that was meant for labour was gone. Anything that made her, her, was gone. The only thing she was okay with was her eyes. They were just as big as the past and just as clear. The longer she looked, the more they looked like her original eyes.
After her shower, Bai Ling left the supplies where she found them and left the bathhouse. Another wave of girls went into the bathhouse after Bai Ling left with a group.
Now that she could finally breathe, Bai Ling thought back to what Wen Lin was telling her today. Apparently, she was no longer in China. She was in a country called the Long Kingdom.
Another astonishing fact was the time period she was in. Bai Ling was no longer in the twenty-first century. She was somewhere in the past. This fact alone was surreal to Bai Ling but made her accept some things.
She was not going to get back to her grandmother. She also had to adapt to the new life here.
In this kingdom, an emperor ruled above everything. The royal family ruled over the lands, and they had absolute power. According to Wen Lin, if you look at them or even hum out of turn, you could die.
You could even die if you disagreed with their way of ruling out loud. You could get locked up for anything and everything involving them. This gave Bai Ling a bad impression of the royal family.
Wen Lin also mentions the nearby towns, the capital and various important ministers who ruled over them.
Now that Bai Ling understood this place a little better, she felt the fatigue of the day was over her. When she arrived at her room, the laughter of the girls welcomed her.
They saw Bai Ling enter but did not stop the conversation. Bai Ling sat on her beddings, ready to call in for the night.
"Bai Ling?" Wen Lin called out to Bai Ling.
"I didn't know you were our roommate?" Bai Ling nodded at her then went back to fixing her bedding.
"Don't mind her Wen Lin, she is the new girl, she is a bit arrogant." Wen Lin did not think so, but she didn't know Bai Ling well enough to stand up for her either. So Wen Lin went to the group and asked what they were talking about.