Embroidered Phoenix Chronicle

Ruihong didn't take Fengxian's words to heart. Just a little beggar; even if he gave her food and coins every time, it wouldn't be a big deal—it wasn't like he couldn't afford it. Liulian, however, took her words to heart. Liulian herself was an orphan who grew up in a children's welfare home, so she naturally felt great sympathy for the little beggar. The next time she went to visit the grave, she specially prepared a bag of homemade snacks, and even chatted with the little beggar from behind the carriage curtain, asking what she needed. She was surprised to find that the little beggar was actually a girl, almost dropping her jaw in astonishment. The next time, she packed some old cotton clothes and offered them to the little beggar, but the little beggar refused, saying shyly, "Who would give me anything if I wore these clothes?"

"But winter has already begun, aren't you afraid of freezing to death?" Liu Lian asked her anxiously. "If you dress warmly, I'll give you another string of cash. You can sell some food at the dock and earn enough to eat and wear. Wouldn't that be more respectable than this?"

The little beggar gave an awkward laugh, fidgeted with the cart shaft, but ultimately said nothing, didn't take the bundle from Liu Lian's hand, and walked away with his head down. Liu Lian sighed as he watched the little beggar's retreating figure, and Feng Xian sighed as he watched Liu Ye'er's retreating figure.

Seven days had passed in the blink of an eye, and it was already the time of Minor Snow. The weather was truly cold, and Liulian no longer walked down that road, but her mind was still on the little beggar. The day was overcast, and the wind was howling. Liulian suddenly had a craving for bone broth, so she dressed warmly, put on a cotton cloak, and went out. The meat stall wasn't far, so she didn't ask anyone to follow her—Fengxian usually sent an old woman with her when she went out. Suddenly, she heard someone call "Sister" behind her, but she didn't pay any attention—because she had never been a sister, so she had no feeling for the word "sister"—until the person calling her "Sister" came running up to her and stopped her, she realized with a start that it was the little beggar calling her. The little beggar's face was washed clean, her tattered clothes were washed clean, her hair was neatly combed and tied in two small buns, her face was pale from the cold, and she was shivering all over. Liu Lian quickly took off her cloak and wrapped it around the little beggar. The cloak was so small that it almost dragged on the ground. She hugged the cloak tightly, her eyes wide open, looking up at Liu Lian, and said urgently, "Sister, please buy me! I promise to serve you faithfully. I'm twelve years old, I won't be idle. I'm very cheap, please buy me!"

Liu Lian bent down and said helplessly, "Sister, I'm still living in someone else's house. I can barely take care of myself, how can I afford to buy someone? Why don't I give you some money to find a way to make a living? Why do you have to become a slave!"

"Sister, you can afford me, I'm very cheap. I've been waiting for you for days, and it's so rare for you to come out alone like this. Please, you're a kind person, I'm willing to be your maid, please buy me!"

Liu Lian couldn't bring himself to refuse the girl, so he nodded. The girl wiped away her tears with her sleeve and returned the cloak to Liu Lian.

"You should wear it, it's so cold!"

"No, if I go back, that old hag will know you're soft-hearted and will definitely take the opportunity to make exorbitant demands."

Liu quickly took out a few copper coins from his purse and put them in her hand. "Then go and eat a bowl of wontons. It's so cold!"

The girl held the money in her palm, smiled brightly, gave a curtsy, and ran away. Liu Lian stared blankly at her departing figure for a while before putting on his cloak, suddenly losing interest in drinking his soup.

She bought pork bones and tofu, but Liulian had no enthusiasm to cook. She sat there blankly for a long time, the fire almost dying down, before finally letting out a long sigh and adding charcoal, listlessly starting to stew the bones. Liulian refused to light a brazier inside the house, only wanting to heat the kang (heated brick bed). The stove for the kang was in the outer room, used only for boiling water and stewing soup; cooking was done in the kitchen, so there was hardly any cooking smoke in the house. Once the kang was warm, she pulled up the curtain and sat comfortably on the heated kang. Liulian sat on the kang, staring blankly out the window; the sky had grown even more overcast.

Fengxian sat down on the kang opposite her and laughed, "Why don't you make some meatballs? What's the fun in just eating tofu? Or how about adding some Chinese cabbage leaves?" As he spoke, he patted her head, "What's wrong? You look like a wilted eggplant, are you feeling unwell?"

“Elder sister, that little beggar begged me to buy her,” she said, lingering and lowering her head, “and in this cold weather, she doesn’t even have a cotton coat…”

Fengxian said, "Her family committed a crime. The men were exiled, and the women were sold off. She's the only one left who can't be sold. If she's sold to one family, she'll pretend to be crazy, wet the bed, and steal food. If she's sold to another family, she'll make a scene, smashing plates and bowls. If she's sold to yet another family, she still won't behave and will never be a servant. There's no other way, so the matchmaker has to keep her for free. How did this feisty woman end up with you? Fine, you need a maid to serve you, as long as you don't mind her being lazy. Buy her and train her properly, and she can be useful. Otherwise, I'm afraid she'll be sold to a brothel in two years. Wouldn't that be doing a good deed?"

The next day, Fengxian sent for a matchmaker, saying he wanted to buy a maid for his younger sister. He wanted someone young so she could be trained, clever, and most importantly, skilled in needlework. The matchmaker, hearing "young," knew it meant she wanted a cheap maid. She also knew about Fengxian's sister's background and understood that Fengxian only wanted a nice-sounding name and didn't intend to spend much. Her eyes darted around, and she lavishly praised the unsold maid she had on her, persuading Fengxian to bring her to see him. The matchmaker, steeling her heart, boiled a pot of water, thoroughly washed the maid, changed her into a worn blue silk robe and red silk trousers, combed her hair neatly, gave her a stern lecture, and brought her to the Liu residence. Fengxian didn't mind her small stature. They started negotiating the price, one side asking high, the other offering low, finally settling on 3.2 taels of silver. The matchmaker, while lamenting the loss, happily exchanged the deed, secretly relieved to have finally gotten rid of this unsold item; profit or loss didn't matter. With a smile, she asked, "What about your young lady? Shouldn't you buy a few maids to take care of her in the future? It's time to prepare!" Fengxian flatly refused, "My mother-in-law will take care of these things! It's not my place to interfere!"

"Alright, if you need anyone in the future, just come to me. I'll make sure you're satisfied!"

"Of course, I'll have to trouble you again in the future, Mother! Take care, Xiangmei, see Mother out!" A pretty maidservant came up and saw the matchmaker out.

After lingering and scrutinizing the newcomer, she was almost unrecognizable; aside from being a bit short, she was undeniably beautiful. "What's your name?"

The little girl moved her big feet back a little, a little embarrassed, "Since Miss bought me, naturally Miss will name me."

"Just tell me your name. I don't have a hobby of naming people!"

The girl glanced at her, then mustered her courage and said, "My name is Cuicui, and my surname is Wu."

"Okay, let's call her Cui Cui. It sounds nice, no need to change it."

"Thank you, Miss!" Cui Cui was extremely excited. It was unbelievable that she had obtained the name she had always dreamed of so easily.