A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

It was already night when Gui'er woke up. A maid from the eldest young master's courtyard was sitting by her bed. Seeing her awake, she hurriedly said to her, "Don't move. This is the hospital. You fainted because you were beaten, so the eldest young master sent you here. The doctor at the hospital said that you need treatment for an old head injury, so you're staying in the hospital for a few days. The eldest young master asked me to take care of you here. My name is Ah Xiang. I used to work in the kitchen, but later I was assigned to the eldest young master's courtyard."

Guier looked at Ah Xiang. She was thick-limbed and plump, about fourteen or fifteen years old. Her appearance was the kind that you wouldn't recognize in a crowd. She struggled to stand up and said politely to Ah Xiang, "Thank you, Sister Ah Xiang."

Ah Xiang said happily, "Don't be so polite. Just lie down and rest. The doctor said that the wound on your forehead has become quite serious because it has not been treated. It's a good thing it was discovered this time. If it had been delayed any longer, you would have had headaches in the future."

Ah Xiang took out another box and opened it to reveal two egg cakes. She said, "When the eldest young master sent you here, he also bought some cakes on the way and told you to eat them later."

Gui'er was a little hungry, so she took the cake and started eating. Gui'er thought that Ah Xiang had been here longer than her, so she could use her to find out other things about the Song family. Maybe there was something that Zhang Ma didn't tell her.

So she handed Ah Xiang an egg cake and said, "Sister Ah Xiang, you can have some too."

Ah Xiang was flattered and said, "That was bought for you by the young master. I can't eat it."

Gui Er smiled and said, "From now on, you will take care of me. This is my thank you gift. As long as I don't tell you, how will the young master know that you ate it?"

Ah Xiang hesitated for a moment, then looked at the fragrant egg cake. In the end, she couldn't help but take one. As she ate it, she said with great satisfaction, "This is my first time eating cake, and it tastes like this. It smells so good and tastes so good."

Gui Er smiled and said, "Young Master is so kind, wouldn't he usually treat you guys to egg cakes?"

Ah Xiang smacked her lips, licking the cake crumbs that had stuck to her lips. She then said, "How is that possible? We're just ordinary servants. Besides, I never had the chance to see the masters like the master and mistress in the kitchen before. I heard that the servants in the master and mistress's rooms occasionally get some delicious food, and the mistresses and young ladies also give their old clothes to the servants. So this time, I was assigned to the eldest young master's courtyard, and everyone said I was lucky. I won't have to do heavy work like chopping wood and fetching water anymore."

Seeing that Ah Xiang spoke without reservation, Gui Er knew that she was probably not a very cunning person, so she asked with confidence, "Sister Ah Xiang, how long have you been in the Song Mansion?"

Ah Xiang said, "I've been here for about four or five years. I came here when I was 10 years old. Since then, I've been working in the kitchen for Zhang Ma. One advantage of working in the kitchen is that you won't go hungry." As she said this, she smiled innocently.

Gui'er also laughed, and then asked, "Are you a local?"

Ah Xiang said, "Yes, my home is just outside the city's east suburbs. We have eight brothers and sisters, and we couldn't afford to feed them all, so we sent me, the one who loves eating the most, to the Song family."

Gui'er said sincerely, "It's great that your home is so close. I can go back and visit you occasionally. When you get older, it will be convenient for your family to help arrange your marriage."

Who knew Ah Xiang would blush after hearing this? She covered her mouth and looked around nervously before she said, "Guier, you shouldn't say that, girl. Besides, I've already been sold to the Song family. How can my family arrange a marriage for me? If there's something important at home, you can ask for a day off. It's allowed. Last time, another maid under Zhang Ma's care, Qiumei, did that. Her mother died, and Zhang Ma asked Ma'am Zhou to intercede for her and she agreed to let her go home for two days to attend the funeral. Madam even gave her 30 copper coins, which was quite good."

After hearing this, Gui'er probably had a certain understanding of the servant system in this world, but she still had some doubts and asked, "Where are the men of people like Madam Zhou, Madam Wu, and Madam Zhang from?"

Ah Xiang thought for a moment and said, "Madame Zhou's husband is Steward Zhang. Steward Zhang was originally the master's personal servant, and Madame Zhou was the mistress's personal maid. After the mistress married, Madame Zhou was originally intended to be the master's maidservant. But because Madame Zhou was older and not very good-looking, Grandpa fell in love with another of the mistress's maids, now the Third Madam, Chunhong. So, Madame Zhou was married to Steward Zhang at the discretion of the master and the mistress."

When the Third Madam was mentioned, Gui'er was a little puzzled and said, "As for this Third Madam, I saw the other day that the Master said that the Madam and the Young Lady of the Zhou family were her relatives. Since their family is in business, why would they sell their own daughter to someone else as a servant?"

Ah Xiang smiled gossipyly and said, "You don't know this. The Zhou family's silk shop was actually opened by the Third Wife using her own private money. She wants to flatter herself. After all, she has the lowest social status among the three wives. But don't tell her about this in front of her, or she'll hit you."

Guier nodded and said, "No wonder, are the men of Wu Ma and Zhang Ma also servants of the Song family?"

Ah Xiang said casually, "Yes, both of their husbands are managers of our Song Mansion's farms in the surrounding countryside."

Gui Er suddenly realized and said, "So that's how it is. Maids here have to find a servant to marry when they reach the age. No wonder Aunt Wu said the other day that she wanted to marry me off to that Ah Hu."

Ah Xiang covered Gui'er's mouth and said, "Don't say that again, because the eldest young master ran to the kitchen and had a huge tantrum over this. He said that Wu Ma had taken someone from his room and married them off without his permission. He said that if it happened again, everyone involved would be kicked out."

Gui'er didn't expect this to happen. She was very grateful to Song Xichen for venting her anger. She chatted with A Xiang for a long time, and gradually felt tired, so she fell asleep.

The next day, when the doctor came to change the dressing, Guier finally knew the reason why she stayed in the hospital. It turned out that because Guier had always told others that she could not remember what happened before, the doctor suspected that she had signs of concussion. Guier thought: That's good, I can stay in the hospital for a few days.

Ah Xiang accompanied Gui'er for two or three days in the hospital. It was really boring that day, so Gui'er wandered around the hospital. This hospital was very similar to the old-fashioned hospitals in the past. All the walls were painted white. There was a round wooden board hanging on a conspicuous wall with the word "Quiet" written in red pen. It was hung there by the corridor. In the corner of the corridor, there were some long wooden benches with backrests for people to rest, and there was a shelf next to it with some newspapers on it.

Gui'er was really bored, so she picked up the newspaper and started reading. Before she had turned two pages, she suddenly found someone standing in front of her. When she looked up, it was Song Xichen.

Guier quickly stood up and said respectfully, "Hello, Young Master."

Song Xichen glanced at the newspaper in his hand and said, "Can you read?"

Gui'er thought to herself that this was not a good idea, because she didn't know if the real Gui'er could read. But now that Song Xichen had seen her, she had no choice but to bite the bullet and say, "I can recognize a few words, but not many."

Song Xichen looked at her with scrutiny, took the newspaper from her hand, turned a page, pointed to an article at random and said to her, "Read this paragraph to me."

Gui'er frowned, glanced briefly, then read aloud, "There is a painter named Li Hongzhao who has studied art abroad for many years, deeply influenced by famous Chinese and foreign masters. His landscapes, charcoal figures, and water figures are extremely magical and exquisite. He currently lives at No. 7 Sanlianzhi Street, Xiguan, this city, and has run an art research society. I would like to hear from those who are interested in aesthetic education."

Song Xichen suddenly smiled and said, "How rare! Nowadays, many ladies from wealthy families believe that a woman's virtue lies in her lack of talent. Your family actually taught you to read."

Gui'er really didn't know what to say, so she could only say, "Thank you for the compliment, young master. I don't know how I learned to read, but I probably haven't been to school." She was sure of this. It was impossible for a small mountain village where people couldn't even get enough food to eat to have a school or something like that.

Song Xichen also sat down on the bench, took her hand and put it in his big palm to play with it, and suddenly asked her: "Do you want to go to school?"

Gui'er almost blurted out, "I want to," but then she changed her mind and thought that as a servant, it would be best not to express her thoughts too directly. So she said, "I'm not sure. If the young master wants me to learn to read so that I can read books and newspapers for him in the future, then I'm willing to do that."

Song Xichen smiled and said, "Okay, it's settled."

Then I went to complete the discharge procedures for Guier.