Chapter 24: Bully me and I will Take your Meals

Hugging her knees, she curled up on her bed. She recalled that night in the mountains when she met that man with a purple lotus between his eyebrows. She reconfirmed that when she left, both legs were properly mended. Not only were they mended, but she had given him anti-inflammatory medicines. She had seen him eat them herself.

Feng Yu Heng was a little regretful. She could only blame the fact that she only just arrived in this world that day. She was busy wondering what sort of changes had occurred with her body, but doing so caused her to slip up on things she should have watched out for.

That person was hiding in the mountains with heavy injuries, so he was clearly being hunted by enemies. On his side, however, was a single servant. No matter how she thought about it, the situation was extremely dangerous, yet she had stopped feeling concerned after his legs were mended; furthermore, she carried away all the money he had on his person.

"Damn!" She subconsciously cursed then immediately felt depressed again.

Didn't leave? What reason did they have for remaining there? Even if they remained, when met with the enemy, what could he possibly do to help? Is it possible that she had to throw him in to her pharmacy?

Feng Yu Heng shook her head, this was a bad idea. Things that aren't common could be said to be evil. She could not allow herself to be seen as some sort of evil spirit. In this era, once deemed a monster, she could be burned to death or stuck in a bamboo cage.

The more she thought, the more upset she became. She decided to enter her space. From the first floor to the second, she ceaselessly searched.

Broken legs and a ruined face, she searched for a long time, but she could not find any medications that could treat these two things.

Sitting on the ground in frustration, she felt a wave of cold air wash over her despite the pharmacy maintaining a constant temperature.

Feng Yu Heng remembered that night from beginning to end. That man's body was quite haggard, but he never gave off an air of being in trouble. She also remembered that upon meeting him, her face had made a foolish look.

But now that she had heard the news, that man's face was ruined!

No wonder she had seen him wearing a mask at the entrance to the capital. No wonder the great army did not display even a glimpse of celebration despite being victorious.

The war was won, but the leader was so severely injured, he could no longer have children.

How could a man continue to live!

Feng Yu Heng felt that this piece of shit world was testing her patience, again and again. The man that she cared for was ruined in an unclear manner. She, of course, had no idea who the enemy was.

Bullying her in to an unknown place with unknown people? Bullying her to change in to a twelve year old child?

It's fine. Spending time in unfamiliar circumstances will eventually lead to them becoming familiar, and she will continue to grow older every day.

If they've ruined her things, regardless the perpetrator, they would always need to pay the price.

It was a sleepless night. Only when light reached the horizon, did she return to her bed and get some sleep.

In the morning, Feng Yu Heng was awoken by Feng Zi Rui calling her. The little guy had run all the way to her bed, while grabbing at her neck and calling, "Big sister, big sister, quickly get up."

Feng Yu Heng sat up and drowsily looked at the child. Her mind immediately cleared up.

"Come." She reached out and brought Zi Rui close, "Take these clothes off, we won't wear them."

She would not forget about her dress that felt like sandpaper. The clothes she received were of absurdly low quality, how could Yao shi and Zi Rui have received any better.

Shortly afterwards, granny Sun also entered the room. Following behind her was Man Xi, who was carrying a wooden basin.

"Young miss, there's a problem with madam's clothes." Granny Sun walked forward and whispered to Feng Yu Heng: "The material was quite good, but as she wore it, the dye bled on to her skin somehow. Now, the dye is all over her body."

Granny Sun spoke while watching Feng Yu Heng remove Zi Rui's clothes. Slightly startled, she said: "Is the second young master's clothes bleeding dye too?"

Feng Yu Heng shook her head, "The dye is not bleeding." She raised the clothes up and inspected them for a while, then she flipped the collar for granny Sun to see, "Granny, look here."

Granny Sun shuffled forward, only then did she notice that the collar of Zi Rui's clothes were lined with countless small needle tips.

"Young miss! You must report this to the master!" Granny Sun became angry, "The master absolutely must know that someone wants to harm the second young master. This is not a small matter!"

Feng Yu Heng shrugged and laughed sarcastically, "Report what! It was most likely him that did it."

"Second young miss!" Granny Sun raised her index finger to make a silencing gesture then pointed towards Man Xi, who was still in the room.

Feng Yu Heng spoke freely, "It's fine." Then advised granny Sun: "Change Zi Rui and mother in to the clothes from yesterday. Just make do with them for one more day. Bring the clothes that bled dye, this young miss will go take a stroll around the manor."

Granny Sun was shocked, "Where does second young miss want to visit? According to the rules, this morning we must go pay respects to the matriarch."

"Rules?" Feng Yu Heng picked at her lip, "Feng manor really does not want to have any face, yet they speak of rules? Very well, then I will go greet the matriarch."

This morning's breakfast was made by granny Sun because Feng Yu Heng was late to rise.

Though, it did not matter if she rose early or rose late. She could not make anything drastically different due to the lack of ingredients. She couldn't make something out of nothing. She did, however, take some wolfberries from her pharmacy and hand them to granny Sun, continuing to tell her that they were bought en route. Granny Sun did not inquire further, as Feng Yu Heng was the one that held on to the silver; furthermore, she was in charge of buying food and necessities. After receiving the wolfberries, she took Zi Rui and went out.

After they left, Man Xi went to the bed with some difficulty and quietly asked: "Second young miss, do you want to wear last night's dress?"

Feng Yu Heng shook her head, "Don't we have the clothes Fen Dai gave us? Just randomly pick one for me to wear. It will be fine. Pack up that sandpaper dress for me, I will be taking it later." While speaking, she glanced at the clothes Zi Rui had just taken off. She pondered a while, "Man Xi, you will need to help me act out a play."

Man Xi obediently nodded her head: "Everything will go as second young miss orders."

Not long after, granny Sun brought breakfast in to the room. Seeing that man Xi was still in the room, she discontentedly said: "Man Xi girl, you don't need to attend to this room. I saw granny Li and Bao Tang about to go over to the kitchen for breakfast. Will you not go together?"

This was not responded to by Man Xi, as Feng Yu Heng responded first: "Who allowed them to go eat breakfast at the kitchen?"

As she spoke, she got up and left the room. Sure enough, there were granny Li and Bao Tang waiting in the yard for Man Xi.

Seeing her come out, granny Li quickly came over to greet her: "Greetings to the second young miss! This old servant saw granny Sun had already made breakfast in the small kitchen, so this old servant will bring Man Xi and Bao Tang to the main kitchen to eat breakfast with the other servants."

Man Xi was very intelligent. She understood how she must act in front of granny Li and Bao Tang, thus she had already begun to act. Hearing granny Li's words, she advanced a few steps then pretended to act disrespectfully towards Feng Yu Heng. Merely going through the motions, she bowed a little and rigidly said: "Then this servant will be going with granny Li."

"Wait a moment." She parted her lips and laughed, then affixed a cold smile to her face, "I may have just returned to the manor for just one day, but thanks to granny Li and the two girls for your attentive lectures I have understood some of the manor's rules. A concubine who has given birth to a daughter can only count on eating scraps from the kitchen for the rest of her days. Then what do the servants eat? Granny is someone mother lent to A-Heng, so how could A-Heng allow granny to eat a servant's meal? It would be better to eat with us."

Having finished speaking, she did not wait for a reaction and went back inside her room. On her way back inside, she gave some orders: "Granny Sun, bring some gruel and sides over to granny Li1 and the two girls. If there isn't enough, then give them some of mine and concubine mother's share. Though our gruel may be somewhat lacking in substance, it must be better than a servant's meal. Since you have entered our Willow courtyard, I, as your master, can not allow my servants to be bullied. In the future, nobody is allowed to go eat in the main kitchen."

Having heard this, how could granny Sun not understand. This was telling her to purposefully give more soup to the three. Additionally, if the three were to stay in Willow courtyard, they could only eat in Willow courtyard, and they could only sleep in Willow courtyard.

Granny Li and the two girls made bitter expressions. An endless stream of abuse coursed through their hearts. In the end, they served a different master, but they could continue to act underhandedly in secret. They just had to keep up appearances.

Granny Sun brought the gruel and side dishes over to the wing room. She also remained to eat with them. The difference was that she had already, under Feng Yu Heng's orders, eaten her fill. The meal before her was merely to keep up appearances. She would accompany them in drinking the soup that had naught a single grain of rice. While she was at it, she could enjoy watching the three make bitter expressions. Granny Sun felt that she had not enjoyed herself this much in many years.

Finally finishing the gruel, Bao Tang let out a long sigh. She felt as though she had just finished fighting a battle. She rubbed her bloated belly and wanted to let out a few words of complain, but the second young miss came in to view. Holding a dress, she walked towards their wing room.

She prodded at Man Xi and whispered: "Who knows what weird ideas the second young miss has now."

Man Xi pretended to be confused as well, "Who knows. It shouldn't be that she'll make us do hard labor again right?" In reality, she understood the situation. Earlier, the second young miss had told her to act according to the play, and she was 80 percent certain the play was about to begin.

In the time that they talked, Feng Yu Heng entered the wing room. All the servants rose at once.

Granny Li immediately saw the dress she carried and, for some reason, began to feel anxious. She began to feel a faint feeling of regret. The second young miss' temperament was completely different from the information provided by the head wife. Had she known earlier, she would have spent more time observing her before deciding how to deal with her.

Unfortunately, no matter what was said, it was clearly too late. Feng Yu Heng's face had a smile that was hard to decipher, her eyes looked towards Man Xi: "In a while, I will need to pay my respects to the matriarch. Let's have Man Xi accompany me for the visit. These are the clothes that were given to my concubine mother last night. Quickly put it on. A concubine mother's clothes should be a bit more dignified than a servant's. We won't allow others to look down upon Willow courtyard."

Man Xi made a bitter face and made a final request: "This servant cannot wear madam's clothes. It would be following the rules."

As she spoke, she turned her eyes towards granny Li, hoping that she would put in a few words. Since the second young miss wanted to put on a play, she would act it out perfectly.

Granny Li, as expected, opened her mouth in an attempt at persuasion: "Second young miss, this is not allowed. Concubine mother Yao is the master. How can a servant wear the master's clothes? Furthermore, it is to go pay respects to the matriarch. It will be a big problem if the matriarch finds out."

"Secretly wearing it is not against the rules. Since the master is giving it as a reward, receiving it is giving face." Feng Yu Heng did not buy what she had said. The things she herself had said were logical and hard to refuse. "I am a poor master with no ability to give my servants nice things. I can only gift things that have been given to me. It's a pity this body is so small; otherwise, I would give my clothes to elder sister Bao Tang."

Hearing this, Bao Tang quickly shook her hands: "This servant does not dare ask for second young miss' things. Second young miss keeping them would be best."

She nodded, "Un, but good things should not be enjoyed alone. Let me carefully think about who I can gift it to." After she said this, she turned abruptly and left the room. As she left, she left another order: "Man Xi, quickly change your clothes. I'm in a rush to pay respects to the matriarch."

Glossary:

1: Raws say granny Sun, but that doesn't make much sense. I'm assuming it's a typo by the author.