"Absolutely unacceptable," a livid woman in her late 40s bellowed into Wan Xin's face. She had a rather mean expression formed with her chubby cheeks. Her eyes rolled up and down judging the guilty-looking newcomer. This woman was called Madam Xiong, the head maid in charge of Ping Tian Palace and Wan Xin's new boss. "It's your first day here and you're already late. That means I can't be expecting good things from you."
"I'm extremely sorry," Wan Xin bowed her head apologetically, "There really is no excuse. I will work hard to prove myself. Please give me a chance Madam Xiong."
Somewhat satisfied with Wan Xin's apology, Madam Xiong took a step back. "Leave your luggage here. This is the bedroom for common maids in the palace. Since you're a newcomer, you'll be stationed here."
Wan Xin immediately placed her luggage on top of an empty bed.
"Follow me," Madam Xiong instructed, marching out the bedroom towards the inner parts of the palace. "I'll only say things once so pay attention."
Wan Xin nodded, staying close to Madam Xiong and trying her best to listen, but she soon lost concentration admiring Ping Tian Palace. It was purely majestic. Each step was a delightful sight of an elegant structure, which left it's viewers in awe. Even the stone bridges that connected the blooming gardens was designed with smoothly chiselled images. [Incredible], was the only word Wan Xin could think of as she wondered within this luxurious palaces' walls.
"Were you paying attention?" an irritated Madam Xiong questioned.
"Yes Madam Xiong," Wan Xin lied. A year ago she wouldn't be so accustomed to lying with a natural face. However, after living with Meng Su for such a long time, it was inevitable that she had picked up some bad habits. [That woman is just an immoral influence], Wan Xin frowned, mentally seeing an image of Meng Su, [though it can't be helped considering her position in the underworld]. Wan Xin begins to recollect her time with Meng Su, particularly their latest conversation regarding Liu Ding Yiu.
"The reason Ding Yiu gets involved in the underworld business is to uncover the truth behind her mother's death," Meng Su tells, "her interference and rising reputation earned her the alias identity 'Mi Hou'." Meng Su paused a few seconds so Wan Xin could take this in. "Mi Hou is an underworld information broker. Her main business is in the trade of knowledge. The range of people she deals with isn't limited to only those who operate in the underworld. You really do need to be alert around Ding Yiu when she's striking deals."
"I understand," Wan Xin voiced. "I wasn't expecting Mi Hou… I mean Liu Ding Yiu to be a simple person."
"Indeed she isn't," Meng Su agreed, "I haven't even started on her personality yet. She-"
"Has Xiaojie found out any clues to her mother's death yet?" Wan Xin directly asked.
[You're already calling Ding Yiu your Xiaojie], Meng Su noticed [so eager]. "Unfortunately not," Meng Su confessed, "her mother's death is shrouded in mystery. The only clue we know is the murderer's identity." Meng Su twirled her umbrella, "an assassin from an annihilated clan that once thrived in the underworld."
Wan Xin remained silent, deep in thought. [An assassin. Then someone hired to kill Xiaojie's mother], Wan Xin tried to think, [but what's the reason and motive? This must be why Xiaojie is trying to find answers in the underworld].
"That's all you need to know about Ding Yiu as Mi Hou in the underworld," Meng Su went on, "her real identity is the eldest daughter of Merchant Liu. The Liu family is surprisingly wealthy and influential to a degree." Meng Su sighed, "but Ding Yiu's upbringing hasn't been the smoothest. Stepmothers can be evil."
"So I'll be entering the Liu mansion as a new maid to find Xiaojie," Wan Xin confirmed. "I guess I'll just naturally become Xiaojie's personal maid."
Meng Su started twirling her umbrella again. She was suddenly fidgety. "It's not the Liu mansion you need to enter."
"It's not?" Wan Xin repeated, "oh, is Xiaojie doing some business in the underworld then?"
"Nope," Meng Su shook her head. "Mi Hou hasn't really been active recently. It was a couple of months ago that I last saw her." Meng Su started to fidget again, "you see…well the other version of Ding Yiu…" She paused for a bit, "the other Ding Yiu has got herself a new life now so..."
Wan Xin frowns at Meng Su, aggravated by her ambiguity and confusing words. "Where is my Xiaojie now?"
"Ping Tian Palace," Meng Su informed, "residence of Prince Ping."
"Why would Xiaojie be there?"
A mischievous smile spread on Meng Su's face, "Ding Yiu married Prince Ping. She's now 2nd Princess Consort Liu."
"WHAT?" Wan Xin couldn't stop herself from yelling in shock.
Meng Su had a smirk on her face seeing Wan Xin's reaction to the news. "Honestly, I don't know the details either but that's not important right now." Meng Su switched to her serious tone, "listen Wan Xin, when you first meet Ding Yiu in Ping Tian Palace, stay calm and do not be shocked or confused if Ding Yiu doesn't seem like herself."
Wan Xin blinked at Meng Su, not really engaged with what she was saying or about to say. The sudden news that Ding Yiu had married the second prince of the kingdom was already too much.
Meng Su kept speaking, "Liu Ding Yiu may not remember who you are. She may act differently and behave strangely. There's a chance her looks and style is also weird. But don't worry. That's because the person you are meeting is Xiao Yiu." Meng Su quickly nudged a small red pouch into Wan Xin's hand, "if you get stuck, open this pouch. I've written the best method to get into contact with our version of Ding Yiu."
Wan Xin stared at the mini red pouch in her hands. She was lost for words and thought.
"Some things are just harder to explain than for you to see yourself," Meng Su stated, "just remember, there is more than one Liu Ding Yiu, but both are Liu Ding Yiu."
[And what the hell does that mean], Wan Xin frowned remembering Meng Su's final words of importance before they parted ways this morning. [Meng Su didn't sound like she was joking when she said all those confusing things. What did she mean by there is more than one of Xiaojie?] Anyway, Wan Xin exhaled, shaking those memories from her head as she focussed back on the present. This was the reason why she's currently a new maid in Ping Tian Palace, dealing with a not so friendly Madam Xiong.
When they arrived at their destination, Wan Xin immediately felt disappointed. It was the laundry house.
"Work diligently," Madam Xiong ordered, "I shall check your progress this evening."
"I'm working here?" Wan Xin spoke up, "But I was hoping to serve consort-"
"You, serving one of the consorts' of this palace?" Madam Xiong briskly closed in on Wan Xin cutting her off. She snorted, "in your dreams. I get your dirty thinking." Using her short, chubby finger, Madam Xiong jabbed Wan Xin's forehead, "you want to butter up to Consort Zhou and then get exclusive treatment as her maid. Not happening." Madam Xiong pointed at the piles of washing, bellowing, "now get to work."
Wan Xin rubbed her forehead, watching an angry Madam Xiong stomp her way out of the laundry house. [Who cares about serving Consort Z... whatever the name was], Wan Xin sulked, [how am I ever going to meet my Xiaojie, Ding Yiu like this].
"Hey newcomer," a nearby maid called out, "you're pretty ambitious, requesting to serve a consort on your first day here."
Wan Xin looked at the young maid who merrily skipped over.
The maid put out her hand, a smile on her face, "my name is Yuyu. What's yours?"
"Wan Xin," Wan Xin answered taking Yuyu's hand for a brief shake. At least she is friendly, unlike grumpy Madam Xiong. [Time to get some useful information], Wan Xin now smiled. "I was quite silly to have asked. I'm clearly not experienced. Yuyu, please give me more guidance in future."
Yuyu was flattered by Wan Xin's comment. "I will do my best to tell you everything I know. But I'm not too skilled myself either." Yuyu's cheeks turned a light shade of pink saying, "I've been working in Ping Tian Palace for three years now and I'm still based in the laundry house."
"Yuyu, would you tell me more about the master and mistresses of Ping Tian Palace?" Wan Xin quickly changed the topic. "Relationships here are just so complicated."
Yuyu let out a laugh, "I'm not surprised. Prince Ping does have a few consorts so it can get difficult for us servants at times. I'll start with Prince Ping since he's the master and owner of Ping Tian Palace."
"Ah, he's probably less difficult to serve than some of the consorts," Wan Xin quickly interrupted, "tell me about the consorts first." [If only I can directly ask about Liu Ding Yiu without sounding suspicious], Wan Xin pondered, [then I won't have to waste time listening to all this crap].
"Sure," Yuyu agreed, thinking Wan Xin kind of had a point. "I'll start with Consort Zhou because she's the most important one."
Wan Xin held back a frown, [no. She is really not important].
"Consort Zhou married Prince Ping not so long ago," Yuyu began, "although she doesn't hold the highest title or rank out of all the Prince's wives, she is his most beloved and favoured. She lives in the second biggest, most luxurious Lihua palace residence, close to the Prince's Zheng residence. Consort Zhou is also-"
"Who are the other consorts?" Wan Xin interrupted again, having heard enough trivia already.
"There's also Consort Tong and Consort Mu," Yuyu moved on. "They get on well with the Prince but clearly not as favoured as Consort Zhou."
"Is that all?" Wan Xin urged. [Stop telling me irrelevant facts].
"There's also the Second Princess Consort," Yuyu slowly said, "in theory she's supposed to be the Prince's main wife, holding this highest title and rank over the other consorts…" Yuyu went quiet.
"Is she called Liu Ding Yiu?" Wan Xin directly asked. Her patience clearly used up.
Yuyu nodded, "you're well informed."
Wan Xin's attention was switched on, "so what is the Second Princess Consort like? Where is her residence?"
"Wan Xin, if you're thinking of trying to earn favour with the Second Princess Consort, I suggest you give up now," Yuyu advised, "she's the most hated person in Ping Tian Palace."
"Oh," Wan Xin uttered. [How unexpected. What has Xiaojie done? Is she planning something?]
"It's no secret the prince despises her. He even wants to take the 'Second Princess Consort' title and bestow it upon Consort Zhou instead," Yuyu went on, "that's why even we servants don't consider her as a true Second Princess Consort. We call her Consort Liu to put her on the same level as the others."
"Surely she wouldn't allow such treatment from us servants?" Wan Xin queried.
"Consort Liu has no real authority here," Yuyu tells, "she doesn't even have her own palace residence. She lives in a small garden hut somewhere to the side. No servants serve her either."
"What?" Wan Xin exclaimed. [This is outrageous. How can she be treated this way?] "The Prince would allow such treatment of her?"
"Prince Ping hates her," Yuyu confirmed, "I heard there was an incident involving Consort Zhou. But even without any incident, Consort Liu…" Yuyu dropped her voice into a whisper, "she has such an unpleasant appearance, and everyone just ignores her and sometimes pretends she doesn't exist."
"That's going too far," Wan Xin expressed.
Yuyu whispered again, "it really isn't. She does look rather ugly. You'll know what I mean when you see her."
[This is ridiculous], Wan Xin thought, turning her back towards Yuyu. She breathed quickly and heavily, trying hard to restrain her anger from bursting out. [My Xiaojie Liu Ding Yiu may not be a classic beauty, but her looks are definitely charming and above average. How can these people think she is ugly? I'm not going to even start on the heinous way they treat her]. Wan Xin closed her eyes for a few seconds, composing herself. The more she thought through Yuyu's words, the more lost she was. It made no sense. For a character like Liu Ding Yiu who manages to prevail in the underworld, how can she end up in such a pathetic and pitiful state here? [Something isn't right], Wan Xin concluded, [the only way for me to understand anything is to see Xiaojie]. Wan Xin turned to face Yuyu again, forcing a polite smile, "thank you for all this Yuyu. You've been a great help. I'll see you around."
"You're welcome," Yuyu said before her eyes went wide. "Wan Xin, what are you doing?"
Wan Xin was dashing out the laundry house. "There's something I need to do," Wan Xin shouted back, running off as fast as she could.
"Wait," a concerned Yuyu called out, but it was too late. Wan Xin had disappeared. "Oh no. Wan Xin, you'll get into trouble with Madam Xiong. What should I do?"
And Yuyu was correct. In the early evening when Madam Xiong revisited the laundry house to find Wan Xin missing, she was raging to the point where she could start a fire with her breath. "Wan Xin, you disrespectful, ungrateful, incompetent brat," Madam Xiong thundered, "I will have you punished severely."
"Achoo," Wan Xin sneezed, feeling a strange shiver down her back. Someone must be talking about her. Though, the sudden chill she felt could also be from her nightmarish surroundings. She was so upset, angry and confused by what Yuyu had told her, she forgot to ask for directions to Consort Liu's hut. She spent most of the day wandering through the gardens, searching until she ended up here. "Hmm," Wan Xin inhaled as she stood before what she believes is her destination, but hopes isn't. She was staring at a garden hut, a good distance away from the main palace and other residences, which was shrouded by overgrown grass and some old wrinkly trees. The hut itself looked abandoned. There were broken windows hung slanted, decorated with spider webs and thick dust. "Surely, she can't be here," Wan Xin muttered. But she saw no other garden huts or building around. "Might as well take a look," Wan Xin decided. She didn't bother knocking, not expecting anyone to be inside anyway. The door creaked open. There was faint light coming from a hole on the roof above so Wan Xin could faintly make out some basic furniture inside. It looked less dusty than outside. Wan Xin took a few more steps into the hut. CREAK. Wan Xin turned around.
"AHHHHH!" Wan Xin screamed, falling onto her butt. The queer looking girl who was standing right behind her gave her a fright. Most importantly, this girl's appearance was so unique, it caught Wan Xin off guard.
"Are you alright?" the girl asked, moving forwards to help Wan Xin.
[This girl's face really does look queer], Wan Xin swallowed, gawking at the girl. She had very thick, bushy eyebrows that appeared wonky and asymmetrical at a glance. Her cheeks were bright red like a baboon's bottom, whilst her lips were a peculiar orangey shade. She also had a strikingly big mole in the middle of her forehead, between her nose and left eye, and another mole bottom right of her lips. All this was accompanied by her messy twin tail hair. [Wow], Wan Xin just couldn't say anything.
"Are you hurt?" the girl softly asked.
Wan Xin felt embarrassed and quickly got up. "I'm fine. I'm sorry. I didn't know there was someone in here."
"Don't worry," the girl smiled, "Are you lost? Judging from your clothes, you seem like a maid. But if you've wandered all the way here, you must be a newcomer."
[This girl is surprisingly perceptive], Wan Xin noted. "Yes, well," Wan Xin began, "I was looking for Consort Liu."
The girl's eyes widened, surprised, "you were looking for me?"
Wan Xin paused, staring hard at the girl. She must've misheard. "I said I was looking for Liu Ding Yiu, the Second Princess Consort."
The girl pointed to herself, "I am Liu Ding Yiu."
Wan Xin felt herself stop breathing, her mind stopped functioning and her world paused. [What? This is.... impossible]. Wan Xin looked away from the girl. [Calm down and think], Wan Xin told herself as she started pacing up and down the small cramped hut. She sneaked a glance at the girl claiming to be Liu Ding Yiu. She was just nervously standing there like a rock, watching Wan Xin. [Impossible], Wan Xin thought. No way was this girl the same Liu Ding Yiu she was searching for. This was not 'Mi Hou'. Wan Xin has seen Mi Hou's real face and it was nothing like this. [Then what's going on?]
"Have you heard of the name 'Mi Hou'?" Wan Xin questioned.
The girl shook her head, "I'm afraid not. Is she a character from a play?"
Wan Xin rolled her eyes. [She can't be Liu Ding Yiu. There must be a mistake]. "So the most plausible conclusion is either one, they have the same name," Wan Xin started to talk out loud. "Meng Su messed up and Xiaojie was never in Ping Tian Palace to begin with. Second plausible conclusion, Meng Su lied to me. But there's no reason for her to do that. Third plausible conclusion, I should get out of here and look for answers."
"Excuse me," the girl timidly voiced, catching Wan Xin's attention. "I'm not sure what's going on, but it's late into the day and..." she raised her voice slightly, "you're welcome to stay with me."
Wan Xin took a peek outside and indeed it got darker since the sun had set for the day. Wan Xin nodded, feeling this girl wasn't too bad. "I'm Wan Xin," she introduced. "You are-"
"You can call me Consort Liu," Consort Liu replied.
"Thank you Consort Liu," Wan Xin thanked. [Though you really don't look like a Consort at all. Your clothes are of a fine quality but very plain].
Consort Liu couldn't help but smile. It had been a while since someone had properly interacted with her. She didn't know who Wan Xin was but she was happy Wan Xin seemed like a nice person. [She appears to be a maid], Consort Liu thought, [I'm surprised she ended up here. No one ever comes by this place anymore. I'm glad she's staying. At least tonight I won't be alone].
Wan Xin held onto her growling stomach. She hadn't eaten since morning and the hunger had finally hit her. "Consort Liu," Wan Xin said, "you wouldn't happen to have some food?"
Consort Liu let out a giggle, "of course I do."
Half an hour later, Wan Xin was biting into some roasted sweet potatoes that Consort Liu had cooked herself. She also got them some apples to crunch on. All the time Consort Liu had a smile on her face.
"I'm sorry this is all I can offer you," Consort Liu apologized, "I hope it's at least filling."
"Don't worry. These are just fine," Wan Xin honestly said. She was born in a small village and led quite a commoner's life until she met Liu Ding Yiu and Meng Su. Sweet potatoes was actually one of her regular meals back in the day. Wan Xin obviously didn't mind eating this.
"I'm really happy today," Consort Liu stated, "I didn't think I'd get to eat sweet potatoes with someone like this."
Wan Xin sneaked a glance at Consort Liu. Remembering what Yuyu had told her, she did feel sympathy for her. [It's true her looks are quite... different, but she seems like a kind person], Wan Xin judged, [shame no one gives her a chance]. "Oh, Consort Liu," Wan Xin said, her fingers reaching for Consort Liu's forehead, "you've got some dirt here."
"Thank you Wan Xin," Consort Liu smiled, letting Wan Xin wipe away the dirt.
Wan Xin froze. "Err," she quickly looked at her fingers and back at Consort Liu's forehead. Her mole was gone.