Cheng Jin immediately closed her eyes after opening them. She opened her eyes again, before closing them again. After doing so twice, Cheng Jin believed that she was not lying on her own bed at home but was in a completely unfamiliar place.
She moved her limbs slightly. Feeling that all four limbs were still intact, she sat up. Nothing seemed to be wrong with her. Cheng Jin wondered who would move her quietly from her house to this strange place in the middle of the night without even waking her up.
Cheng Jin had always been easily woken, especially when her parents were away on a business trip and she was all alone at home. Her hearing was also astonishing. A rat climbed onto the trash bin in the kitchen and placed its paws on the lid. Immediately, Cheng Jin jumped from her bed and ran into the kitchen with a racket. The rat, who was a long time guest in the Cheng family’s kitchen, was startled. It quickly scurried away to the entrance of its hole and stopped before turning its head back. Its tiny eyes glared at Cheng Jin hatefully, almost as if it were cursing her. Do you really have to go so far as to chase me away? I was only going to pick from the trash bin! Not that I can open the refrigerator!
Cheng Jin quickly chased away the rat before climbing onto her bed to sleep. There was no longer any noise to disturb her sleep and she slept soundly without dreaming. The next moment when she opened her eyes, she was in this place.
The room was not huge. The walls were white and there was a landscape painting hung on the wall. The ceiling was stacked with an array of wooden planks and there was a long table with decorative carved flower patterns in front of the window. On top of the table was a pot of orchid. The decorations in the room were simple and elegant. She suddenly felt a little sore all over her body and realized that she had been lying on a hard wooden bed. Being used to the soft and comfortable bed she had, it was only natural for her to feel sore lying down on this hard bed.
The ancient bed seemed to belong in the Ming to Qing Dynasty, with yellow curtains and side frames engraved with depictions of four famous masters. The engravings were done skillfully and meticulously. Cheng Jin thought that this must be an imitation, and a really well-made one too. It was fine in quality and must be worth a lot! The long pillow was draped with embroidery, and she ran her fingers across it before giving it a pinch and she smiled.
Her surroundings were strangely quiet. Now that she was awake, she no longer planned to lie back down again. She wanted to have a look around. Where exactly was she, and who was it that brought her here?
Cheng Jin composed herself. Firstly, she had never done any bad deeds and was a good student in her school. Her relationship with her classmates was well too. Secondly, she was not in debt and never owed any favors. Lastly, she had parents. At the thought of her parents, she was a little taken aback. Could her parents, who were public servants, have provoked someone out there? Cheng Jin felt unsettled in her heart.
She stretched out her feet to wear her shoes, but was met with a shock instead. She stretched her hands into view and was stunned again. Looking down, she roughly felt herself and her mind went blank. All she could hear was her chaotic heartbeat as tears flowed from her eyes. This, this wasn’t her own body! The clothes she was wearing weren’t from the modern era as well!
Cheng Jin gasped for air before shouting, “Mother!…”
She could hear the door being pushed before a lady in her twenties rushed in, “San’er, Mother’s here, did you have a nightmare?”
Cheng Jin was once again taken aback. “Mother?”’
That woman walked towards her and embraced her gently, “San’er, be good, Mother’s here so there is no need to be scared. Did you have a nightmare? Oh look at you, sweating all over!” While coaxing Cheng Jin, that woman used her handkerchief to wipe the sweat away. Cheng Jin could smell a faint fragrance from her. This really isn’t a dream! Cheng Jin was so scared that she trembled all over. That woman seemed to have felt it and she carried Cheng Jin gently onto her lap before patting her on the back. “Mother is here, San’er, be good, there’s no need to be scared.”
At this moment, Cheng Jin remained scared stiff and she could not utter a word. The woman realized that something was not right and shook her gently, “San’er, what’s wrong? Is there anyone outside? Come in!”
Two servants hurried into the room. One was a maidservant and the other was a nanny. They asked anxiously, “Seventh Mistress, is there something wrong with Missy?”
The woman spoke with a hint of anger, “Your missy has always been afraid to sleep alone. Are the both of you looking down on us? What’s with this negligence?”
The two servants immediately kneeled on the floor, their faces turned a shade paler. The nanny, who had more experience and was much courageous, was the first to answer, “Seventh Mistress, this old servant saw that the sky had brightened up and it was no longer early, so I went to prepare Missy’s clothes for her to wear for the test later. This old servant did not expect Missy to have another nightmare!” The young maidservant cried and answered soon after, “Missy overslept today. Xiao Yu called her a few times and she responded, so I went to prepare some hot water as I thought Missy was awake. Mistress, please forgive Xiao Yu. Xiao Yu promises never to leave Missy by herself again until she’s awake!”
The Seventh Mistress let out a soft sigh and said, “Quickly go and prepare what you have to. I will not accept any carelessness today!”
Nanny Zhang and Xiao Yu looked at The Seventh Mistress gratefully and kowtowed before leaving in a hurry.
The Seventh Mistress coaxed Cheng Jin gently, “San’er, Nanny Zhang and Xiao Yu are servants who Mother has carefully chosen. They’ll always treat you well.”
Cheng Jin’s teeth were still trembling, and she nodded involuntarily before she understood what was going on. A mosquito-like sound came out of her mouth and she replied a yes.
The Seventh Mistress spoke with a gentle voice, “San’er, Mother knows you are afraid of today’s exam, but Mother only has you as a daughter. If you were to get angry and fail the exam this round, our life in the Li family will be tough after this.” The Seventh Mistress frowned.
Meanwhile, Nanny Zhang was bringing in a stack of clothes while Xiao Yu came with a copper basin.
The Seventh Mistress was holding Cheng Jin’s hand and she said, “Mother will help you comb your hair today.
Nanny Zhang showed a green skirt and tied it around Cheng Jin’s waist, then covered with a short mauve outer coat and fastened it with a belt. Cheng Jin was completely manipulated by her, like a puppet.
After dressing, the Seventh Mistress led Cheng Jin to the dressing table. Cheng Jin suddenly saw an unfamiliar face in the bronze mirror and she covered her face with both hands while exclaiming again: “Ah!”
The Seventh Mistress looked at the sky and started to worry: “San’er, it is late and we must hurry up, or else your father, hai, what should we do!”
Exam? My father? Cheng Jin slowly lowered her hands and opened her eyes. She was surprised when she saw the image in the mirror. Who was this? She couldn’t believe the image in the mirror was herself. Staring blankly at her red eyes in the mirror, she was pale and thin; and she looked just like a child who was at most six years old.
Cheng Jin was sitting obediently in front of the mirror. The Seventh Mistress, together with Nanny Zhang and Xiao Yu, stepped up to dress her. After a while, a little beauty with big eyes, a delicate peach-hearted face, and a bun on her hair appeared in the mirror. The Seventh Mistress pinned a flower jade hairpin to Cheng Jin’s bun, satisfied. She smiled while looking at her lovely daughter.
Nanny Zhang said happily: “The young girl is exceedingly like Mistress. She will become a beauty when she grows up.
The Seventh Mistress held Cheng Jin’s hand and walked out. Cheng Jin walked out of the house and saw that it was a courtyard with a patio in the middle, and two large stone fish tanks were placed. There were begonia in full bloom in the middle. This might be because of the morning rain, but begonia flowers were beautiful, but now was not the time to appreciate the view. The Seventh Mistress’ footsteps were a bit rushed, for fear of being late.
Cheng Jin suddenly thought to herself. She was going to participate in the exam, and it sounded important. Just now, her mother mentioned that this had to do with their lives in the Li family. Cheng Jin’s heart palpitated again. The Seventh Mistress was at most twenty-three or four years old, and she had to call her ‘Mother’?
Cheng Jin strove to calm herself. She wanted to know what the upcoming exam was, and think about this weird change later on. Cheng Jin pulled the hand of the Seventh Mistress and asked her, “What should I pay attention to during the exam?”
This was the first time since morning that the Seventh Mistress heard Cheng Jin asking questions related to the exam. She stopped and touch her head softly, “San’er, Mother knows that you have done your best in learning calligraphy and painting, as well as poetry, but since you don’t like them, naturally you won’t learn it well, but, San’er, you must promise me that no matter how good or bad the results, don’t cry or feel shame!” Speaking up to this point, there was a hint of hatred in the eyes of the Seventh Mistress, “No matter they torment us, we will never shed a tear! Remember that, San’er?”
Cheng Jin looked at the earnestness in her eyes and nodded. However, she sighed. What was this situation? She felt disappointed with this father who had married at least seven wives.
The Seventh Mistress held Cheng Jin’s hand and walked into the hall. The hall immediately quietened. There were five ladies with jewellery sitting on a row of chairs with two empty seat chairs in the middle. It seemed to be the seat of the head of the family and his principal wife. The Seventh Mistress smiled slightly and called to the ladies on the left, “Younger Sister is late, I beg all sisters for your forgiveness.” She did the same to those on the right. Both sides declined to comment and just nodded. The Seventh Mistress seemed used to the indifference and didn’t wait for a reply before she brought Cheng Jin to the last seat on the right and sat down. Cheng Jin stood beside her and only then did she finally let go of Cheng Jin’s hand.
Cheng Jin looked to the left. The three women were most probably the three wives of her father. There were two girls standing next to them, the older ones were ten-years-old, and the younger ones were seven to eight-years-old. Cheng Jin thought that since the Seventh Mistress called her San’er, it seemed that those two were her big sisters. There were no children with the two ladies sitting higher up on the right.
Cheng Jin secretly compared the ladies with the Seventh Mistress. She felt that each had their own charm and beauty. The Seventh Mistress had a heart-shaped face, pointed chin, a pair of glistening eyes and a delicate petite figure. When Cheng Jin grew up, she would probably have a resemblance to her.
Just as Cheng Jin glanced around, she saw the two girls opposite her curl their lips at her before disdainfully turning their heads away. They looked arrogant to the extreme. Inwardly, she felt it was ridiculous. Brats! But after thinking of how she was not any younger than them, she felt extremely uncomfortable and unconsciously lowered her head. .
At this moment, there was the sound of pendants clinking. All the ladies stood up and said crisply, “Greetings to Lord, and Older Sister.”
Then, she heard a man’s voice: “Please seat. Are Ah Lei, Ah Fei, and Ah Luo ready for today’s exam? In this quarterly exam, I hope to see an improvement!”
