Only after confirming that Xiuqu’s breathing had stabilized did Jinchao finally step outside. As soon as she emerged, Xue Sixteen knelt beneath the covered walkway, his voice filled with guilt as he said, “Young Miss, this was my failure. She did a great service for you and Madam, yet I let her suffer so terribly. Had I arrived earlier, perhaps she wouldn’t have had to endure such pain…”
Jinchao quickly stepped forward to help him up. Martial men like him could be incredibly stubborn once they set their mind to something. She tried to console him. “How could this be your fault? Song Yiniang intended for her to die from the start. Even if you had come earlier, it wouldn’t have changed much. And if not for you, that girl might not have survived at all.”
Xue Sixteen shook his head firmly in denial. With his dignified features, he exuded a natural air of integrity. Now, as he looked at Jinchao, there was a newfound respect in his eyes. “She survived thanks to you, Young Miss.” He recalled what he’d overheard outside the door—how calmly she’d instructed the maids and matrons to clean Xiuqu’s wounds, bandage her, and feed her sugar water. Any ordinary young lady would have fainted at the sight of such brutality, yet she remained composed throughout.
And this level of care was extended to a mere maidservant. Truthfully, even if the girl had died in some obscure corner of the residence, it would have had little consequence for Gu Jinchao. She had chosen to save Xiuqu purely out of loyalty and compassion.
Xue Sixteen found himself admiring her all the more.
“I dare not take credit,” Jinchao replied. “Let’s not speak of that for now. May I ask—did you notice anything else in that place?”
Xue Sixteen looked puzzled. “The side rooms at Bitao Pavilion were filled with old, moldy furnishings… I’m not sure what Young Miss is searching for.”
If there were truly something there, Qingpu would surely have noticed. Jinchao sighed. “If we want to hold Song Yiniang accountable, she’ll never admit to it. But if we found something left behind at Bitao Pavilion, we might have some leverage.” She paused, realizing she was perhaps overthinking. Even if she could prove Song Yiniang’s guilt, what would it change? Xiuqu was just a servant. At most, Song Yiniang would gain a reputation for cruelty among the staff.
Just like when Liuxiang went mad and was expelled from the household—people gossiped, but no one truly blamed her.
Xue Sixteen hesitated before asking, “…Shall I go back and check Bitao Pavilion once more?”
Jinchao shook her head. “That won’t be necessary. You’ve done more than enough tonight—get some rest.”
It was already the third quarter past midnight.
Feeling ashamed for having let her down, Xue Sixteen cupped his fists in silent acknowledgment and took his leave.
At two marks past the mao hour the next morning, Song Yiniang rose from bed. Qiaowei opened the lattice window; the sky outside still held a deep indigo hue, and faint chirps of insects could be heard in the distance. As she combed Song Yiniang’s hair, she presented two pairs of earrings for her to choose from—one of white jade in the shape of ruyi scepters, the other a pair of green sapphires.
Song Yiniang recalled her recent visit to Juyliu Pavilion to greet Gu Deshao. Standing nearby was Luo Yiniang, who had worn the white jade ruyi earrings. Young and delicate, her snow-white skin made the jade shimmer with warmth. Every man would be drawn to such gentle beauty…
She stared into the bronze mirror. She was nearing thirty. Though still beautiful, she was no longer youthful. If she didn’t find a way to keep Gu Deshao close, her chances of bearing a son would only diminish with time.
She chose the green sapphires.
Just then, a matron entered, hair in tight coils and clad in plain blue linen. Before even speaking, she dropped to her knees beside the screen with an audible thud. Her voice trembled. “Yiniang… Xiuqu is gone…”
Song Yiniang turned slightly to glance at the stout, broad-shouldered woman. The gleam from the green sapphire cast a chill across her profile.
Slowly, she asked, “What happened? Wasn’t she supposed to be beaten to death and dumped?”
The matron grew flustered. “The usual method doesn’t kill them in one go. We typically beat them until they’re covered in blood, then leave them locked inside to die on their own. It’s how we disgrace girls who’ve made mistakes. That’s what I did—along with Chen Popo1. We stuffed her in a sack and took her to Bitao Pavilion in the dead of night, gave her a beating, and left her there to die over the next few days. But… this morning when I went to check, she was gone!”
Song Yiniang stood up, her gaze icily fixed on the matron. “I said to beat her to death and throw her out. Who told you to wait several days?”
She paced a few steps before asking, “Did you leave anything behind at Bitao Pavilion?”
The matron quickly shook her head. “We were very careful—nothing was left behind. But Xiuqu was badly hurt, unable to move. Someone must have rescued her!”
Song Yiniang’s expression darkened. She recalled how, just that morning, one of the little maids had mentioned that Tong Mama from Qingtong Courtyard had left the estate in the middle of the night to fetch Doctor Liu. Gu Jinchao had been summoning Doctor Liu frequently of late, and she hadn’t thought much of it.
But now that she reconsidered it, summoning a physician in the dead of night—wasn’t that suspicious?
Why would Gu Jinchao go out of her way to save Xiuqu? Song Yiniang refused to believe she was that kind-hearted, especially toward a lowly servant girl. And even if she did want to save her, how would she have known that the girl was at Bitao Pavilion?
Her fingers tapped lightly against the dark lacquered vanity, her gaze suddenly falling upon the colorful marble screen in the inner room.
Just yesterday, Gu Jinchao had brought her that screen as a gift. She had insisted on placing it not in the side room, but had made a whole fuss about inspecting the unused west wing before finally setting it there. Could it be… that she had suspected someone was hidden within and had devised a pretext to investigate?
She really is clever!
Song Yiniang let out a cold snort.
The matron who had come to report the news asked cautiously, “Yiniang, what should we do about this? Should we try to retrieve Xiuqu?”
Song Yiniang glanced at her. These matrons had strength, yes—but were utterly lacking in brains!
“In the past few days, has anyone come asking about Xiuqu?”
The matron thought for a moment. “Only a little maid named Yuzhu from Qingtong Courtyard asked. I followed your instructions and told her that Xiuqu had gone home to visit her family. Xiuqu didn’t have any close friends, and even Qiuhua, who shared a room with her, hasn’t asked…”
Song Yiniang let out a breath of relief. As long as no one was looking for her, that was good. She said, “We’re openly at odds with Gu Jinchao these days—everyone knows our relationship is strained. If the maids from her courtyard speak ill of us, we can just say it’s slander out of malice. If anyone asks about Xiuqu again, just say the girl went missing, no one’s seen her. Make sure Linyan Pavilion is completely distanced from this matter, understand?”
The matron nodded hastily. Song Yiniang then punished her and Chen Popo by docking three months of their stipend as retribution, and considered the matter settled.
After all, even though Xiuqu belonged to her courtyard and disappeared from there, who could say it was her fault? If Gu Jinchao wanted to save a lowly servant girl just to make things difficult for her—that was simply laughable.
Song Yiniang returned to her vanity, and Qiaowei pinned her hair with a gold-plated plum blossom hairpin.
Looking at the hairpin, Song Yiniang asked, “How is that matter coming along?”
Qiaowei answered respectfully, “Rest assured, Yiniang. I’ve arranged everything perfectly—nothing went wrong.”
Song Yiniang replied coolly, “We must tread carefully when dealing with the Young Miss. Her mother is a gourd with a sawed-off mouth—never one to speak or fight. Though she’s competent in many things, she’s not to be feared. But the Young Miss… she has a ruthless streak and is far too clever. She’s no easy opponent…”
Qiaowei said, “No matter how difficult, haven’t you always found a way to handle her?”
Meanwhile, over at Qingtong Courtyard, Jinchao had not slept a wink the entire night. With a life at stake, Doctor Liu didn’t hesitate. He packed his medicine chest and followed Tong Mama to the Gu household, arriving before the third night watch. He dressed Xiuqu’s wounds, brewed her medicine, and fed it to her himself. At last, color returned to Xiuqu’s face.
Tong Mama, having stayed up and rushed about all night, was utterly exhausted—understandable at her age. Jinchao urged her to rest and personally escorted Doctor Liu out through the hanging-flower gate, giving him one hundred taels of silver.
Doctor Liu waved it away, saying, “Those few jars of Qiulu Bai (Autumn Dew White Wine) you gave me are worth several hundred taels already…”
Jinchao did not insist, but she instructed the kitchen steward to send some fattened goose and braised chicken to Doctor Liu’s residence.
She then had Caifu prepare a side room specifically for Xiuqu, and Qingpu personally carried her in. Several maids took turns keeping watch through the night, and Xiuqu didn’t awaken until the hour of chen.
When she did wake, the first person she saw was Yuzhu. She stared blankly for a moment before bursting into tears. Qingpu, already prepared, fed her warm white porridge. After days without food—only some pear-syrup water earlier—Xiuqu devoured the porridge with ravenous urgency.
Seeing her eat so heartily, Jinchao finally felt a measure of relief. A healthy appetite meant her internal injuries weren’t too dire.
After finishing the porridge, Xiuqu seemed to realize how many people were around her. Nervously, she clutched the edge of her quilt.
Yuzhu took her hand and said gently, “Don’t be afraid. This is Miss’s Qingtong Courtyard. No one will hurt you here! It was Qingpu Gugu who rescued you from Bitao Pavilion last night. You were badly hurt—how are you feeling now?”
Xiuqu looked stunned. She saw the Young Miss, and her personal maid standing nearby. In a small, hoarse voice, she asked, “…Was it the Young Miss who saved me?”
Yuzhu’s heart ached. “Yes, the Young Miss saved you. This is also my fault—if not for me… you wouldn’t have been beaten by Song Yiniang…”
Xiuqu still spoke with difficulty, but tears welled in her eyes again. As she cried, she said, “They stuffed me in a sack, threw me down, and beat me—kicked me, whipped me. I kept crying that it hurt, so they stuffed my mouth with socks. They even stabbed me with scissors… I don’t know what I did wrong. I begged for mercy, begged Yiniang to forgive me, but she… she never showed her face…”
“I was so scared, and it hurt so much. I thought I’d die there…” Her eyes were filled with the terror of one who had barely escaped death.
Yuzhu quickly reassured her, “It’s over now. No one will beat you again. They wouldn’t dare touch you in the Young Miss’s courtyard!”
Xiuqu wiped her tears. “Yuzhu… can you help me sit up… I want to kowtow to the Young Miss.”
But Jinchao stepped forward and gently held her down. “There’s no need to kneel. Saving you was the right thing to do. You’re badly injured—let’s talk about anything else after you’ve recovered.” She then instructed Yuzhu and Yutong to look after her closely.
Xiuqu was also implicated by her affairs. Since she had the power to save her, then saving her was only right. Once Xiuqu recovered, whether she wished to leave the household or find another position within, Jinchao would not stand in her way.
- Popo (婆子): A term for older female servants, generally of lower status than a Mama. Often coarse, less refined, and assigned to rough or punitive tasks. ↩︎