Huan'er, why don't you ever act spoiled with your mother? Are you still treating me as an outsider? With that, Madam Pei rolled up the handkerchief in her hand and began wiping her tears.
"Act… act spoiled?" Lin Zhihuang, one-time strong-willed career woman, felt this was truly. asking for the impossible.
What was the whole point of all this faking and making a show of being spoiled? Locked-up contracts? Expansion in business? Laying down a firm hand on subordinates? Beheading of rivals? No! Lin Zhihuang had never mastered such gimmicks to play around with people. Never had, and she wasn't going to begin now.
Madam Pei looked at the open mouth and paralyzing stare of Lin Zhihuang and found it so funny that she laugh her way straight from tears to laughter in one eye-glance. Huan'er, behaving spoiled merely refers to whining to your mother. You don't even know how to do such a simple thing as a daughter? What kind of life were you living in Shengjing? Did you bear all your hardships by yourself? That vile woman, Madam Zhong, must have tormented you terribly. Oh, poor daughter, wuwuwu…
As Madam Pei spoke, once again, she let go of laughter to shed tears, hugged Lin Zhihuang tightly, and began crying again.
"…" The swiftness by which this mother could shift moods was indeed stunning. From laughing one moment to crying the next, Lin Zhihuang was completely lost for words.
Her "cheap mother" really did transition between emotions nicely, leaving Lin Zhihuang speechless.
Poor Madam Pei had thought too much of it. Lin Zhihuang always attacked a problem head on and then thought of its solution. She was too proud to tolerate passive endurance, to say nothing of setting hopes on others. Self-reliance has been her guiding principle—calmly analyze the problem, concoct a plan, and execute it; the difficulty would naturally solve itself.
"I want to replace my two maids," Lin Zhihuang finally said. Asking for something? Easy.
Just as she spoke, the two young maids serving her turned pale and immediately knelt on the ground, kowtowing to Madam Pei and begging for forgiveness.
Madam Pei stopped crying all of a sudden. Her face changed again. She glared at the kneeling maids and gritted her teeth. "Did these two little brats dare to disrespect you?"
Lin Zhihuang saw how her mother was deceived. "They are competent; I just prefer older maids. They are too young, and many of the job tasks inconvenience them.".
Madam Pei relaxed her glare and sent Lin Zhihuang a sullen look. "What do you know? Older maids don't serve long; just when they're skilled, they're married off. These young ones, on the other hand, can serve for many years. When you marry, you can take them with you as trusted aides.".
She smiled teasingly, covering her mouth with it for a moment. Winking at Lin Zhihuang, she said, "If your future husband's heart is ever captured by some vixen, you can assign these maids to him and let them handle those troublemakers for you."
What? These were to be concubines for her future husband?
Assigning other women to her man? The mere thought of the scene made Lin Zhihuang's blood boil in anger.
But Madam Pei thought her daughter was shy of her future husband and smiled indulgently. She patted Lin Zhihuang's hand and continued, "Don't be shy. You'll have to marry eventually. It's okay if no one taught you these things before; you were still young. Now that you're with me, you must start learning. I'll teach you everything so that you can navigate life in the inner court with ease and deal with those 'troubles' effortlessly."
No, no, absolutely not!
Lin Zhihuang quickly inserted herself in front of her mother, simulating a petulant tone. "I just want to change to older maids. Mother, can't you even agree to such a small request?"
"They're just servants! If Elder Sister wants to change them, then change them. Back in Shengjing, that despicable Madam Zhong must have intimidated her. Look at how feeble she is! Mother, just let her do as she likes this time," interrupted Lin Zhihui, who had only just returned, having finished his "press matters", now smelling fresh with perfume.
"Alright, alright!" Madam Pei backed down right away, noticing that both her son and daughter agreed with her on the issue.
Luo Po, call out all the house-born maids between 14 and 20 in the estate. Bring them to Huán'er's courtyard tomorrow morning so that she may pick," Madam Pei directed one of the elder servants by her side.
The servant agreed at once.
Glancing toward Lin Zhihui, Lin Zhihuang nodded in satisfaction. An honest, straightforward younger brother wasn't bad. They could be good friends. Allies needed to look out for each other.
Lin Zhihui thought his elder sister was delicate and fragile, like a willow branch. She looked as if it might break with just a slight touch. He swore to look after her and see to it that no one humiliated her again.
Just when the atmosphere in the courtyard had warmed up and was becoming harmonious, a blood-curdling cry for mercy came from outside.
"Madam! Madam! Mercy! I only stole because I couldn't survive. Please spare me!"
Madam Pei's smile disappeared as she raised her voice toward the source of the commotion. "Who is making such a fuss outside?"
The sudden change in her expression left Lin Zhihuang marveling once again. Was this ability to switch faces instantly a prerequisite for being the lady of the house?
"Lady, we have just caught in the kitchen this maid, Wang Po, stealing provisions from the estate. How do you wish her to be treated?" There appeared on the scene two brawny servants who dragged in a ragged and dirty woman and flung her on the floor.
Wang Po, covered with grime, swiftly crawled forward on all fours and took the position of a supplicant, whimpering pitifully.
"I stole only because I had no choice! The grain outside nowadays costs two taels of silver per liter. My husband is in bed and my family can only survive with my wage. But with it, not even ten litres of grain can be bought! Please, Madam, show mercy just this once. I will never do it again!"
Two taels per liter? Lin Zhihuang furrowed his brows deeply. Such grain prices could easily incite a rebellion.
She started to really think about her current situation. What era was this? The script on that document earlier wasn't any Chinese characters from any known historical period. She had transmigrated into an entirely foreign dynasty? In that case, her knowledge of history would be of little use.
And with grain prices this outrageous, wasn't that in itself clear indication this dynasty might reach twilight of its eclipse?
A sense of crisis gripped Lin Zhihuang. If this were twilight of a royal dynasty, how long could her wealth and power as a noble truly last?
"Stealing is stealing! Luo Po, take her to the magistrate. Whatever the laws of Daji dictate for theft, let her be judged accordingly. Take her away!"
"Understood!" The two strong servants bowed and grabbed Wang Po, one covering her mouth and the other pulling her by the hair, dragging her out of the courtyard.
"Wait!" Lin Zhihuang suddenly spoke up.
The servants halted and addressed Madam Pei, who, taken aback by the interruption, nodded. They released Wang Po.
"You said the grain outside is two taels per liter? Then why not go out of the city and return to the countryside? At least you will eat something."
Wang Po, her face running with tears and mucus, wept, "Go back to the country? There are tens of thousands of refugees outside the city! Everybody is trying to get in; who would leave? Outside the city, there really is no way to survive!"
What? Tens of thousands of refugees outside the gates of Kui County? Lin Zhihuang felt as if she had plunged into icy water.
How many soldiers, stationed within the city for imposing order, would stand a chance against the refugees in case they stormed the city? Even if the refugees remained peaceful, wouldn't the exorbitant prices of grain turn the starving citizens into rioters? It were going to continue like this, chaos within the city was inevitable.
This thought only furrowed Lin Zhihuang's brow even further. What kind of administration had her "father" provided when acting as magistrate of the county? How could he allow all of these refugees to gather outside the city without making proper provisions? Feeding them porridge to preserve their lives was benevolent; but as county magistrate, it was his task to resettle those refugees. Now, with such a huge number amassed, it was too late.
Inner turmoil and outer threat—she was now a member of the class that was destined to be overthrown. Death may not be so far off.
She had been mistaken. This wasn't some game of courtly intrigue—it was a survival game in hell mode.
The horror of a rabble of refugees storming the city would be close to that of a zombie apocalypse in a movie. Choked lanes and gates of an ancient city would only add to the chaos. Killed by mobs or crushed in a stampede-it's the same difference.
"What's wrong, Huán'er? Why has your face turned so pale?" Madam Pei asked, stroking her daughter's cheek with concern.
"Did that wretched maid frighten you? I'll deal with her right away!"
Lin Zhihui, ever direct, stepped forward and kicked Wang