Cold Notes in the Little Tower - Chapter 3

Xue Keji’s brow creased slightly.

Then he let me go and pushed me behind him.

His broad back blocked the cold wind pouring in through the doorway.

I was as much of a mess as the crumbs scattered over the floor. My heart was so high in my throat it felt ready to leap out.

“Then it would be ungracious of me to refuse. Thank you for parting with her, Young Master Wang.”

The moment Xue Keji agreed, my life took a turn.

When I returned to our room that evening, I was so happy I picked Sushui up and spun her around several times.

“Sister! Sister! Once I’ve made something of myself in the Xue household and saved up some money, I’ll come and buy your freedom. We’ll be together for the rest of our lives!”

Who could have known that, the very night I followed Xue Keji away, Wang Wenfu would summon Sushui as soon as I was gone?

My mother told me later that Young Master Fu had made a public show of generosity by giving me away, but was seething inside.

Voices carried over the high walls. Many people heard him bellowing through Sushui’s piercing cries that night. “I fed that girl for years! Hadn’t even had a taste, and he carried her off first!”

To him, I was that plate of honey cakes, meant to be devoured by the powerful until not a crumb remained.

The next day, Sushui was found in a well.

Her body was hastily buried on a desolate hillside. When I went looking for her later, it took me more than half a day of climbing to find the grave.

“Sister, you didn’t jump into that well yourself…” I wept before her grave until I could scarcely breathe.

If she had taken her own life, why would Wang Wenfu have disposed of her so furtively, in such haste?

He must have beaten Sushui to death…

I cried all the way back, the scent of burning incense clinging to me. By the time I reached the Xue residence, my eyes were red and swollen.

And of all people, I ran into Xu Daiyan.

She called to me. “Fuyuan, mind your feet.”

The covered walkway in the garden was being repaired. An inconspicuous length of wood lay in my path. Rubbing my eyes, I had nearly stepped on it.

I came to my senses and saw Xu Daiyan’s gentle face.

She beckoned, and I had no choice but to go over and answer her.

She was, after all, the mistress of this household. Xue Keji’s only wife.

She stood beneath the eaves, the fine rain weaving past the walkway, watching a young maid fold handkerchiefs.

When I reached her, she had someone bring a basin of hot water.

Her slender, pale hands took a cloth, soaked it, and folded it into a long strip.

She offered me the steaming cloth with a soft smile. “Sit down properly, then hold this over your eyes.”

I obeyed, sitting at the edge of the covered walkway against a vermilion pillar. With both hands, I pressed the cloth over my aching eyes.

Xu Daiyan’s unhurried voice reached me. “The day my husband brought you here, he said you need only tell us if you’re in any difficulty.

“Why ruin your health crying, swallowing every hurt in silence?”

It had been very late at night when I first entered this household.

There had been a faint scent of wine on Xue Keji. Since my master had given me to him as a servant-concubine, I had assumed my proper place: I stepped down from the carriage first, then turned to help him out.

The instant my hand touched his wrist, he recoiled as though struck by lightning.

Even a little drunk, he calmly called the steward to help him instead. “Give me a hand down. Has my wife gone to bed?”

“Her cough has flared up, my lord,” the steward replied. “Xuechun has just taken her a bowl of medicine. I expect she’s still awake.”

Xue Keji had been walking with the steward’s support. At these words, he shook off the helping arm with a sweep of his sleeve and strode into the residence.

I followed. I did not need to see his face. That anxious figure hurrying ahead told me how deeply he cared for his wife.

The steward told me to go after him. That night, I brought medicine and water at Xu Daiyan’s sickbed.

She rested in Xue Keji’s arms the whole time. It was very late before she noticed me.

He explained what had happened, emphasizing again and again, “Now that she’s here, she will serve in my mother’s rooms, just as Xuechun serves as your senior maid.”

He kissed her hair at the temple.

“Yan’er, I have no intention of taking a concubine.”