A Maid Dressed As A Cannon Fodder Female Supporting Role (Transmigration) - Chapter 29

A’Zhi pursed her lips and thought carefully, but her eyes couldn’t help but dart toward Chao Mu. The answer was right there, separated by only a layer of cloth, but she couldn’t see it. It was incredibly frustrating.

Winter clothes were different from summer clothes. In the summer, the fabric was mostly thin and sheer silk, which allowed the color of the undershirt to show through. But winter clothes were made of thick cotton, so there was no way to tell the color of the undershirt.

Chao Mu looked at her calmly, sitting cross-legged, allowing A’Zhi to hold her hand and guess the answer to her question with a straight face. When she saw A’Zhi glance her way, Chao Mu cooperatively tilted her head, exposing her fair, delicate neck. “I can only help you this much,” she said.

The little princess was truly fair, her skin as white as sugar frosting. Her neck was slender and beautiful. When she tilted her head, her collar shifted, and a small gap appeared in the folds. A’Zhi felt a strange sense of shame about looking into the little princess’s collar. She felt like a pervert! But she couldn’t let go of all those gold melon seeds.

With her face red, A’Zhi quickly glanced into the little princess’s collar. The undershirt had a strap that went around her neck, which could be seen from there. But Chao Mu’s undershirt was tied tightly. It didn’t hang loosely at all, so even when she tilted her head, A’Zhi couldn’t see.

Chao Mu looked tired. She slowly blinked and asked softly, “A’Zhi, did you see it?”

Yes, she had seen it. She had seen the beautiful curve of the little princess’s collarbone and her snow-pink skin. A’Zhi’s face grew hot. She finally understood the meaning of the words “glorious spring.” She had heard the phrase before but never experienced it firsthand. Now she knew. What lay beneath the little princess’s collar was a sight to behold. Even though they were both women, A’Zhi’s ears turned red, and she looked away. “No,” she said.

A’Zhi felt defeated. She let go of the little princess’s hand and shook her head honestly, admitting defeat. “I can’t guess,” she said weakly.

Her gold. Her gold melon seeds! A’Zhi wasn’t bold enough to pull open the little princess’s collar and look inside. She was greedy, but she wasn’t a pervert! Her life was more valuable to her. As a maid, how could she dare to pull on her master’s clothes, even for a handful of gold melon seeds? If she did that, the princess would never trust her again. She would be just like Steward Qi, selling her master’s trust and her own conscience for money. The gold melon seeds were valuable, but her life and her indenture were just as important.

Chao Mu looked at her. “You’re not guessing anymore?”

“I’m not,” A’Zhi said, shaking her head.

Chao Mu smiled, her dimples appearing. She took A’Zhi’s right wrist and laid her palm flat, her fingers open. A’Zhi looked at her, confused. Chao Mu spoke softly as she took the gold melon seeds she had won and placed them in A’Zhi’s palm.

“A’Zhi, my birthday is November 8th.” The warm gold melon seeds rested gently in A’Zhi’s palm. A’Zhi pursed her lips. Her gaze slowly shifted from Chao Mu’s serious face to her own hand, her eyes trembling as the gold melon seeds were placed in her palm. The light weight of the seeds didn’t feel like it was in her hand. It felt like it was accumulating on her heart.

“My least favorite vegetable is spinach. I’ve hated it since I was a child, but as a princess, I can’t be a picky eater. So I’ve only told two people.” Chao Mu placed another gold melon seed in A’Zhi’s hand. “One is my grandmother, and the other is you.”

Being a princess, and a future prince’s consort, came with many restrictions. Being a picky eater could be a mistake. Chao Mu was sharing her challenges and preferences with A’Zhi, inviting her to get closer and see the real Chao Mu. You might not remember a pastry you glanced at on the street, but you would never forget one you looked at carefully, remembering its shape and taste. A’Zhi felt like she was doing that now, remembering the “appearance” of the little princess.

A’Zhi looked down at her palm, which was full of gold melon seeds. She was starting to regret playing this game. She knew the little princess’s fate. She should have gotten her indenture and run away, not developed a bond with the Qi family or the little princess. That way, whatever their fate was, it wouldn’t have anything to do with her.

But now, the little princess was saying softly, “The person who loves me the most in this world is my grandmother. The people who protect me the most are my father and my aunt. And besides my birth mother, I have another mother who treats me like her own daughter.”

Grand Princess Chao Yun had married into the Qi family as an equal wife, so the Qi family had another main wife besides her. This wife was currently with General Qi at the border and had not been back to the capital. A’Zhi was confused. The current emperor’s own sister, the most honorable grand princess of the Great Chao, had married as an equal wife? Was this why the little princess had taken her own life at the banquet in the book?

Maybe her expression was too serious, because Chao Mu called her name. “A’Zhi.”

“Hmm?” A’Zhi came back to herself.

“A’Zhi,” Chao Mu said, “the Qi family is a special case, and my mother’s situation is also special. If you hear any rumors, don’t believe them.” Many things couldn’t be seen with the naked eye. If you didn’t look into the details, you might be fooled. This was a lesson Chao Mu had learned with her life.

A’Zhi would not believe any of those rumors. What did they have to do with her? The grand princess wasn’t her mother. She looked up at Chao Mu, pursing her lips. You shouldn’t believe them, either, she thought.

“I’m telling you this to get you to let your guard down and not be so distant.” The conversation seemed to have returned to the one from that afternoon. Chao Mu’s eyes curved into a smile, her voice sweet. “A’Zhi doesn’t mind that I’m sweet on the outside and rotten on the inside, and I don’t mind A’Zhi’s strange past.” Chao Mu continued, “We can be friends, not just master and servant.”

A’Zhi was a very cautious person, which could be seen from the way she left no trace of herself. She had been living in her room for a few days, but the moment she packed her bed, there would be no sign that she had ever slept there. She didn’t want to form any attachments or leave any trace of herself. It was a good thing to have a head maid who followed the rules and knew her boundaries, but A’Zhi was also adorable, smart, and had her own principles. Chao Mu hoped she could have a friend like her. She hoped to see a stubborn, vibrant, and lively greenness in these deep walls, a person who would step over the threshold with the sunlight and link her pinky with hers.

Chao Mu looked at A’Zhi with anticipation and silence.

“Friends?” A’Zhi murmured, a hint of surprise in her voice. Her eyelashes fluttered, and she avoided eye contact with Chao Mu. “Doesn’t the princess have friends? Miss Chen is great.” A’Zhi said seriously, “The princess just got to the capital and has already made a friend as pure and enthusiastic as Miss Chen. I’m sure you’ll have more friends in the future!”

Chao Mu blinked slowly. “It’s okay, A’Zhi. You can answer me when you’ve thought about it.” Without giving A’Zhi a chance to speak, Chao Mu happily clapped her hands together, then spread them open like a cat’s paw to show A’Zhi. “It’s all for you.”

The entire jar of gold melon seeds was given to A’Zhi.

Chao Mu handed the jar and the book over. As A’Zhi was getting off the bed with the books and the jar, Chao Mu called out to her, her voice full of surprise. “Oh, A’Zhi! You missed one!”

“Where? Where?” A’Zhi’s eyes lit up, and she looked around. It was a gold melon seed, not a caramelized one. She couldn’t lose a single one.

Chao Mu smiled. She magically produced a gold melon seed from her palm and showed it to A’Zhi. “Right here.” She knelt on the bed, straightened her back, and placed the gold melon seed in the jar in A’Zhi’s arms.

The clink of the gold melon seed was accompanied by Chao Mu’s voice. With a mischievous smile, Chao Mu said, “A’Zhi, the answer to the last question is… yellow.” Then she pulled the bed curtains shut, leaving A’Zhi on the other side.

A’Zhi was dazed for a moment. The answer to the last question? The last question was… the color of the little princess’s undershirt?

Yellow? Yellow!

A’Zhi looked down at the jar full of gold melon seeds. Her face turned red again. She quickly covered the top of the jar with her hand, not wanting to look inside. The little princess was indeed a little golden pastry today.

A’Zhi held the top of the jar with one hand, afraid that another one would fall out. Before the heat on her face could subside, she heard the little princess’s voice from inside the curtains. “A’Zhi, sweet dreams.”

“You, too, Princess,” A’Zhi replied softly.

She poured all the gold melon seeds into her money bag and kept it close to her. After putting the books away, she gently trimmed the lamp wick and then covered the oil lamp with a lampshade. The light in the room dimmed. A’Zhi covered the lamp, and the light became even dimmer. A’Zhi looked toward the bed, wondering if the little princess was asleep. The bed was quiet.

Aside from the nightmare she had had, the little princess was usually a quiet and well-behaved sleeper. A’Zhi thought about what she had said and clenched her fingers. Friends?

A’Zhi had no friends. She had always been alone. Her relationships with others were either master or servant. No one had ever stood beside her on the same level and told her they were friends. That was why A’Zhi didn’t know how to answer and had brought up Chen Yue. But the little princess was so clever; she knew exactly what A’Zhi was thinking. That was why she hadn’t pressed her for an answer.

A’Zhi went back to her own bed and lay down flat, her hands resting obediently on her stomach. She had thought the little princess was being kind to her because she wanted her loyalty, to make her a loyal servant. But now, it was different. A’Zhi realized the little princess wanted much more! She wanted to keep her, all of her, by her side!

This was too much. A jar of gold melon seeds wasn’t enough. The little princess’s identity meant her future would be anything but peaceful. There would be many storms. Even if they managed to avoid the ending in the book, there would be other troubles. All A’Zhi wanted was to live a peaceful life and tend to her flowers. She didn’t want to go back to worrying about everything.

A’Zhi sighed. People really shouldn’t be too good at things! She thought. Look what happens when you’re good at something. She shouldn’t have let the little princess put lip balm on her. She shouldn’t have kept the plum blossom in her hair. She shouldn’t have teased her with the frozen lychees. And most of all, she shouldn’t have held her hand.

Now they had developed feelings! The little princess was attached to her and wanted to be her friend. A’Zhi couldn’t fall asleep. She turned on her side and rested her head on her hand. But when she closed her eyes, all she could think about was the jar of gold melon seeds. And the other thing that was the same color as the seeds… the undershirt.