Xiao Yue stopped in her track and glared at the young man, who came up to her all smiling. The white jade flute swung in his hand playfully.
"Big Sister, are you not cold? You are not even wearing any shoes. And you forgot to put on your cloak."
'Ah, so this kid is not as bad as he seems.'
"Not at all. This little bit of snow is nothing. If you pamper your body too much, you will not grow strong!"
"Is that so."
The young man looked her up and down again, the creepy smile still laced his lips. Xiao Yue started to shiver, not sure if it was because of the cold weather or the cold smile. When she sneezed, she decided that it was due to the cold weather.
"Alright then, it is getting cold now. See you around."
"Mm."
The young man watched Xiao Yue leave with much interest. There had not been precedence in which a high-born lady would deign to run around with only a sleeping robe, no shoes, and hair messy from waking up. Apparently, what the servants whispered behind his back was true. The Third Madam really had lost her mind from the attempted suicide.
Xiao Yue ran all the way back, but she forgot where her bed-chamber was. Back at home, they all lived in tents. Xiao Yue was not used to these many buildings. All rooms looked the same to her. In fact, all the maids looked the same to her. The same hairstyle, the same uniform, the same speech… heck, they even walked in the perfectly similar manner!
Luckily, while Xiao Yue stood around like a lunatic in the middle of the corridor, her maid found her first.
"Young Lady!!!!"
Xiao Yue was dragged back into her bed-chamber and quickly seated on a chair while the maid fussed around her.
"Young Lady, aiyah, how could you walk around without properly getting dressed? Where are your shoes? Why are they wet? Oh heavens, where did you run off to???"
The maid quickly took off Xiao Yue's wet shoes and called for a warm water basin to be brought to the room to warm Xiao Yue's feet up. Xiao Yue was not interested to give the maid any explanation. She did not understand why the maid was so panicked. After all she only took a walk for a little bit. Surely that was allowed? Xiao Yue had one thing to say after the little walk to the lake, "I am hungry."
Breakfast was quickly brought into the room, but all of the dishes were not to her liking. There was a bowl of congee with egg and scallion, then a few tiny plates with tofu and some steamed vegetables and beans that she did not recognize. Xiao Yue wrinkled her nose. What kind of food was this?
"What is this?"
"Young Lady, all of these are your favorite."
"…"
'Third Madam, your taste is horrible.'
"I no longer like these. Give me some roast meat. Preferably beef."
"…"
"This… this servant will do as Young Lady requests. But since it will take some time, why not Young Lady try some of the food…?"
Xiao Yue settled for the bowl of congee for the sake of her throat. Seeing Xiao Yue eat, the maid looked elated.
"Young Lady has not eaten for a whole day. Surely you are very hungry. This servant will bring some snacks later. After eating, Young Lady should take a bath. You were outside for so long in such thin clothes. If you do not take a bath, you will get sick…"
The maid went on and on about a few things. Xiao Yue stopped paying attention in the middle of it. The maid looked upset. She grabbed Xiao Yue's hands and said in a low voice, "Young Lady, why are you doing this? This is not you."
Xiao Yue froze.
'This won't do,' she thought.
In order to carry out her mission successfully, she could not afford not to be the Third Madam. She might have been acting out of tune these few days, but she could attribute it to the failed suicide attempt. After she 'recovered', she had to convince everyone around her that she was truly the Third Madam. First of all, she had to convince this maid in front of her, who knew her since infancy. If she could not convince the maid, then she could forget about convincing the others.
Xiao Yue took a deep breath and forced herself to smile elegantly.
"I am fine, you don't have to worry. I just felt a little warm so I went outside for a bit."
The maid quickly felt her forehead for any sign of fever. Her forehead was now rather cold after the trip outside.
"Aiyah, Yu Fen is so dumb. So sorry Young Lady, I forgot that you had some fever. Thank heavens it is gone!"
'Yu Fen.'
'Her name is Yu Fen.'
Xiao Yue swallowed. She could not be more thankful for any extra information. Now what was the best way to learn about the Third Madam without asking direct questions such as "Who am I?" and "What am I like?"?
"Then, Yu Fen, what happened after I, um, hung myself?"
Yu Fen burst into tears.
"Oh, Young Lady it was most horrible. Yu Fen knew that you were very unhappy. You threw a tantrum up until the last day, but after the ceremony ended, you were all silent. This servant thought that you finally accepted it, so we all went out obediently when you said you were going to prepare for your esteemed husband's arrival, but who would have guessed! Who would have guessed!"
Xiao Yue swallowed hard.
"So, uh, the one who found me was… Long Zhao Xue?"
Yu Fen sobbed hard.
"Yes, it was the general himself. And if he had been late by just one second, Young Lady, you won't be here talking to me!"
'Yeah. Wow. Great. Of all people, it had to be him.'
"What happened then?"
The maid's face turned dark.
"Young Lady, I know that you were desperate, but did you not spare a thought for your family? Master was so pale when he heard the news. He was still attending the banquet when you decided to end your life…"
Yu Fen slapped her mouth in horror.
"This servant talked too much. Please forgive this servant."
Xiao Yue had no idea what she was rambling about, but she decided to play along.
"So what. Father forced me to marry that monstrosity. Other than death, did I have any other choice???"
Yu Fen gaped at her.
"Young Lady, what are you talking about? You were the one who wanted to marry the general!"
"…"
Things were getting better and better.