cold clothes

Zhuoyu Pavilion has three floors. The first floor has a classroom in the middle, an art studio on the left, and a music room on the right. The second floor has dormitories, a library, and rooms for learning etiquette. The third floor is a dance studio. Granny Qin led Lengyi on a tour of the first floor, stopping at a spot to explain things to her. Lengyi already knew some of it, and she retorted to Granny Qin that she was being long-winded, which annoyed Granny Qin even more.

Passing by the school, I saw four girls having class. The female teacher was instructing them in classical Chinese. Lengyi vaguely heard a few lines, "A tiger or rhinoceros escapes from its cage, a tortoise or jade is destroyed in its box," which gave her a headache. The girls inside didn't understand either. Weifeng was somewhat absentmindedly admiring the embroidery on her clothes, Wuxue seemed to be in a daze, and only Xiahua and Nongyue were listening attentively. The difference between a slacker and a top student was evident.

Breeze noticed Leng Yi and the others, and quickly nudged Xia Hua next to her. Xia Hua was about to get angry when she saw Leng Yi outside the door, and her eyes were immediately filled with disgust.

Leng Yi naturally retorted without backing down; would she be afraid of a little girl?

"Let's go, don't disturb the young ladies' studies," Qin Mama said to Leng Yi, and then led Leng Yi upstairs to the second floor.

I was stunned when I saw the bedroom. It was huge! There was a table and chairs in front of the door, and behind the screen were five double beds, each with a wardrobe next to it. This five-person dormitory would be considered a three-bedroom apartment by modern standards. The layout clearly showed signs of being rearranged, and the bed closest to the screen looked the newest.

Even without being told, Granny Qin knew which bed was hers. She walked towards the nearest bed, but dared not sit down, as she hadn't bathed for over half a month. Fortunately, it was late autumn and she wasn't sweating. She opened the wardrobe and found it stuffed full of clothes, far more exquisite than the third-class maid's dress she was wearing.

The superior learning and living resources opened Leng Yi's eyes. Were the conditions for courtesans in ancient times really this good? Isn't this some kind of aristocratic girls' academy? But even Confucian classics are used as textbooks... However, it seems that the Eight Beauties of Qinhuai in history were all exceptionally talented and learned, which, although absurd, is also reasonable.

Seeing Leng Yi's stunned expression, Granny Qin felt a sense of triumph. Thinking to herself, "A commoner is a commoner, so shallow-minded," she added with a hint of disdain, "You're such a naive little girl. Now you know how lucky you are! Humph, this is nothing. You'll see plenty of good things to come."

"I've seen a lot of things!" Leng Yi thought to herself, but held back her sharp tongue. Granny Qin continued, "Take a bath and change your clothes first. You'll have your music lesson with the girls this afternoon."

Leng Yi's lips pressed into a thin line. "You should know that I have never learned a musical instrument."

"So you must learn as soon as possible. You have three years less time than the four young ladies. If you don't learn now, how will you become the most beautiful courtesan? Just with your eyes?" Actually, Granny Qin particularly disliked Leng Yi's eyes. They looked like monsters and made people uncomfortable. She couldn't see what was so beautiful about them.

Dislike is contagious. While Granny Qin was annoyed by Leng Yi's blue eyes, Leng Yi also found her small eyes covered with wrinkles disgusting.

Leng Yi wanted to scold her, but she knew she couldn't afford to be verbally abusive anymore; she had to hold back.

"What my nanny said is true. I must work twice as hard to catch up with my four older sisters."

"You do have some self-awareness." Granny Qin was somewhat surprised to see Leng Yi give in so quickly, then laughed disdainfully. This girl is nothing special; the madam overestimated her.

Granny Qin took Lengyi to the bathhouse and then left. Lengyi took off her clothes and soaked in the bathtub. While feeling relaxed, she couldn't help but swear out of anger.

"Grass!"

"Ning... Ningbi? What's wrong?" Lingcao's timid and panicked voice rang out from outside the bathroom.

"..." Unexpectedly, Leng Yi was so embarrassed that she shrank back underwater, leaving only half of her head above water.

"I'm coming in..." Suzuka asked cautiously.

"come in."

Lingcao came in with a set of clothes, and Lengyi then remembered that she had forgotten to bring her clothes after taking a bath.

"Thank you, Sister Bellflower. By the way, what are you doing at the Jade Carving Pavilion?"

Bellflower smiled and said, "From now on, I will be Miss Ningbi's personal maid."

Leng Yi was somewhat stunned and speechless for a moment, but she quickly accepted reality and said, "It's good, at least I still have someone familiar like you by my side."

“…I will always stay with Miss Ningbi from now on.” Lingcao went behind Lengyi so that she could not see her sigh.

A cool, damp touch suddenly landed on Leng Yi's shoulder. Leng Yi trembled and realized that it was Ling Cao's hand, which had been covered in some kind of ointment, touching her back.

She immediately realized that this was a personal maid providing service to her master. She relaxed her body and let Bellflower massage her, asking, "What are you applying? I smell flowers."

"It's rose essential oil, which can moisturize the skin."

Leng Yi nodded. The pressure of Lingcao's massage was just right, very comfortable, and after massaging her shoulders and neck, it gradually moved downwards... Leng Yi felt a little uncomfortable, feeling that Lingcao's massage technique was somewhat ambiguous.

“Miss, you are completely different now than you were two months ago. When I first saw you, you were dirty, thin and small, and your skin was very rough.”

Leng Yi suddenly laughed: "Doesn't it look like a stray cat?"

"That's right. Speaking of which, Miss's eyes are different from ordinary people's. They look as if a cat has come to life."

Are you saying I'm a monster?

"How dare I?"

Lengyi joked with Lingcao, and felt genuinely happy to see that Lingcao had regained some of her talkative and lively side.

After taking a bath, Lingcao dressed Lengyi neatly and even braided her hair into an exquisite braid. After fussing for an hour, Lengyi transformed from a messy little beauty with split ends into a fairy.

It was already noon. Leng Yi, dressed in new clothes, went downstairs and saw familiar faces like Aunt Chu and Sister Xiangyu in the kitchen. She felt a sense of nostalgia for the past. Most of the people who saw her showed amazement, but Xia Hua's displeasure became more and more obvious. Nong Yue noticed Xia Hua's hostility towards Leng Yi and felt somewhat helpless.

The four courtesans were already seated properly at the dining table. One seat was empty, clearly for Leng Yi. Wei Feng, who was the most impatient, called out loudly as soon as she saw Leng Yi, "Come on, come on, we've been waiting for you!"

"Can you please stop being so noisy?" Xia Hua immediately turned to stare at her.

Feeling extremely wronged by the sudden scolding, Breeze dared not utter another word.

Leng Yi paused in her steps, but still walked forward calmly, sat down, and said with a smile, "Sorry I'm late."

I can't get angry, I can't get angry...

After Leng Yi took her seat, Aunt Chu and Xiang Yu began setting the table, and the maids also served the young ladies. This is feudalism! Even when Leng Yi was the eldest daughter in her adoptive father's family, she wasn't treated like this, as a cripple.

The atmosphere at the dinner table was extremely tense. Xia Hua had a sour face, Wei Feng was speechless after being teased, Nong Yue looked helpless but didn't say anything, and Wu Xue was naturally taciturn. So for a moment, only Leng Yi had a smile on her face, although it was a forced smile.

Leng Yi smiled on the surface but cursed under her breath. However, Xia Hua seemed even less composed than her. Halfway through the meal, she slammed her chopsticks on the table and stormed off. Xia Hua's personal maid hurriedly chased after her.

The people present looked at each other in bewilderment. The headmistress did not reprimand them, while Aunt Chu and Xiangyu, who were waiting on the side, looked at Leng Yi with concern. They could see that Xia Hua was dissatisfied with Leng Yi.

"Hey, this is all your fault." After Xia Hua left, Wei Feng dared to speak up, blaming all the anger Xia Hua had vented on her on Leng Yi, the "culprit."