The Young Lady's Nanny - Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Once we had made up our minds, we each set to work.

The master changed completely from his old ways. At court, he began speaking up eagerly, helping His Majesty resolve his worries. Bit by bit, he went from an invisible nobody to a man in the emperor’s favor.

He was bold yet meticulous. When assassins appeared, he even let out a roar and charged forward, blocking the sharp blade aimed at the Son of Heaven.

The day the master was carried back home, his face was deathly pale, and he clutched a gilded Death-Exemption Gold Plaque tightly in his hand.

He spent three full days recuperating before finally opening his eyes. With red-rimmed eyes, the madam pounded on him. “Have you lost your mind? Those were assassins! If something had happened to you, how would Yun’er and I go on living?”

The master gently wiped away the madam’s tears and held her as they watched the young miss picking fruit in the courtyard. “Don’t cry.”

“One stab in exchange for such a great safeguard for our Ye Family? If you do the math, I came out ahead.”

“Our Little Yun’er can finally grow up safe and sound.”

The madam refused to fall behind. She had been clever and perceptive since childhood, and now that she put real effort into socializing, she quickly became close with the other madams.

Through them, she received guidance as well, and selected a group of loyal, strong young women to train as the young miss’s personal maids.

They never left her side.

In my room sat a thick stack of plans.

From the day she was born, the first opera the young miss watched was The Case of Executing Chen Shimei. The first book she read was the laws of our dynasty. The first bedtime story she heard was The Ungrateful Wretch Found by the Roadside, which I had someone adapt.

Every night, after I finished reading her bedtime story, I would give her a second summary.

“Young Miss, you must remember this: a life-saving favor does not need to be repaid with your body. A fortune in gold, an official promotion, a noble title-which of those isn’t better? And if the man has nothing at all, you must keep even farther away. When that sort of man offers himself in return, it isn’t gratitude. It’s a grudge!”

At first, the young miss listened in hazy confusion. Later, as she learned more characters, she began asking questions.

“Nanny, what is a phoenix man?”

“Has Little Yun’er ever seen a leech? A phoenix man is much like that creature. He clings to someone else and sucks their blood, and once he’s full, he kicks them away. People like that have the blackest, wickedest hearts.”

The little girl widened her eyes and thought for a moment, then suddenly understood. “Then he shouldn’t be called a phoenix man. He should be called an ungrateful wretch. A phoenix is an auspicious creature. We can’t sully the word.”

Rather gratified, I patted her on the head. “Little Yun’er is so clever. Ungrateful wretch is a marvelous correction!”

Chapter 4

The young miss memorized her lessons well and had beautiful handwriting too, so everyone at the private school liked her.

Everyone except the younger son of Tang Mansion.

He seemed to have been born with a grudge against the young miss. Every word he said belittled her, without the slightest mercy.

I half crouched and looked at her little face, wrinkled up like a steamed bun. “Why don’t I report this to the master and madam? Tomorrow, we can all go to the private school and have a look.”

“You shouldn’t have to suffer grievances for nothing.”

The little girl rubbed her own cheeks and shook her head at me. “It’s nothing. There’s no need to trouble Father and Mother. I’ve already thought of a solution.”

Over the years, I had read the young miss an adapted bedtime story every night. Some of them had been told over and over no fewer than fifty times; she had heard them so often she could recite them herself.

Looking at the storybooks worn ragged all over the room, I thought for a while and decided to weave my own past into a story for her.

This book was called Harsh Words.

When I was young, I had once been married. The man was honest enough and could be considered hardworking, but when it came to his mouth, he showed no mercy at all.

If I broke a bowl, he could unleash a whole basketful of cruel words.

If I added too much salt, he could remember it for a lifetime.

The last time was when I used my own savings to buy a piece of pastry, and he chased me down the street, cursing me until I was drenched in shame.

The pitying gazes of passersby fell upon me, and even the half-eaten pastry in my hand lost all flavor.

After our divorce, I returned to Song Mansion, looked after the current madam, and accompanied her when she married.

That man came to find me several times. He spoke of his feelings and promised he would never be harsh with me again.

But looking at that trembling mouth of his, I no longer dared to believe him.

From under her quilt, the young miss asked in puzzlement, “Nanny, they’re so strange. If they love each other, why do they always say such awful things? Tang Zhengxuan too. He likes someone, but chooses to belittle her. The person being liked wouldn’t feel happy at all.”

I stroked her head and explained patiently, “Because their love is too shallow and too cheap. It matters less to them than their so-called male pride.”

“Little Yun’er, you must remember: in the eyes of those who truly love you, you outshine the brightest pearl. You are dazzling.”

“Those who belittle you to raise themselves up only do so because they can never reach such heights. So they use filthy methods like that to drag you down into the mud.”

The tiny little girl nodded, crawled out from under the quilt, covered my ears, and planted a loud kiss on my cheek.

“Nanny truly loves me, and I truly love Nanny too. We won’t pay attention to bad people’s nonsense.”

I touched my cheek. That spot still held a little lingering warmth, so hot it burned all the way into my heart.