A Maid Dressed As A Cannon Fodder Female Supporting Role (Transmigration) - Chapter 9

The next morning, A’Zhi and Cui Cui were up early.

“I’ll go back and check,” Cui Cui said to A’Zhi as she folded the blankets and put them away in the cabinet. “We can’t let Xiao Yan get away with any more mischief before she leaves.”

The maids who did laundry and other hard labor in the back courtyard didn’t live with them. So Xiao Yan and Xiao Que would be moving out that morning. After what happened last night, they probably wouldn’t dare to live in the same room as A’Zhi anymore. Cui Cui wanted to make sure they didn’t get up to any more trouble before they left. She opened the door and looked outside. “The weather looks nice today. I’ll take your wet bedding out to dry in the sun.”

“Okay,” A’Zhi nodded.

Although she would be serving in the county princess’s room from now on, she would still have a bed in the back courtyard. If no new maid was transferred to their room, it would likely become Cui Cui’s own for a while. Cui Cui had obviously thought of this, and her face lit up. She was full of energy, like a vibrant blade of grass.

A’Zhi looked at her and sighed with a touch of melancholy. “Youth. That’s what youth is all about.” She remembered being just as motivated in her “younger days.” Now, she was “older” and only wanted to live a quiet life, tending to flowers.

Step one of her quiet life: survive. She needed to escape the Qi manor to live peacefully.

A’Zhi stood at the doorway, taking a deep breath of the crisp, fresh morning air. She straightened her back and put on a perfectly professional smile, holding her hands neatly as she walked toward the main house. The servants sweeping the stone path stopped and stood to the side, nodding slightly as A’Zhi passed. This was one of the perks of being a head maid. A’Zhi returned a faint smile and continued to the county princess’s chamber.

As she rounded a corner, a subtle, cool fragrance wafted past her nose, but A’Zhi didn’t pay it any mind. She was arriving just in time to relieve the maid who had been on night duty.

“Has the county princess woken up yet?” A’Zhi asked softly at the door.

Before the night maid could answer, a voice came from behind the peony screen that separated the room. “Yes, I’m up.” It was the soft, slow, sweet voice of the little sweet bun.

A’Zhi nodded to the night maid and walked behind the screen herself. Chao Mu was already fully dressed, sitting in front of her red-wood dressing table. Her long, black hair was as smooth as silk, flowing obediently down her back. She tilted her head to look at A’Zhi, her soft almond eyes curved into a smile. She gestured for A’Zhi. “A’Zhi, will you please comb my hair for me?”

A’Zhi washed her hands, took the jade comb, and gently held a lock of the county princess’s long hair, combing it smooth. The little county princess must have been pampered while growing up in her hometown in Jiangnan, as her hair was incredibly soft and well-cared for, feeling even smoother than silk. The Qi manor in Jiangnan was General Qi’s hometown. If the little county princess grew up pampered there, it showed that the entire family doted on her. The attitude of the old manor, to some extent, represented General Qi’s attitude.

If that was the case, why did the novel vaguely state that the county princess was not well-liked by General Qi? A’Zhi was puzzled, looking down at Chao Mu.

Chao Mu sat on the embroidered stool, her head tilted back slightly, letting A’Zhi hold her hair. Her almond eyes were half-closed, her pink lips pursed, and her fair face looked relaxed and comfortable, like a sleepy cat, on the verge of dozing off. A’Zhi glanced up at the bronze mirror and saw the little sweet bun practically melting in a daze. She couldn’t help but ask, “Why did you wake up so early, county princess?” The manor had no elders for Chao Mu to greet, and she didn’t have to go to the palace every day. She could have slept in until noon if she wanted to. There was no need for her to struggle to get up so early.

“I didn’t want to either,” Chao Mu’s voice was soft and weak, sounding like a slow, nasal whine. “But Grandmother once said that the mind is clearest in the morning, which is best for memorizing books.” This was the second time she had mentioned memorizing.

A’Zhi looked down at the county princess. “Memorizing books?”

Chao Mu held up a book from her lap, hidden under her sleeve. “Here.”

“To become the Sixth Prince’s consort, I can’t be ‘illiterate.’ My behavior and manners can’t be crude or ungraceful, and I must know all the proper etiquette and rules.” Chao Mu placed the book back on her lap, her brows furrowed in what looked like genuine frustration. “But I didn’t grow up in the palace and never learned these things.” Now that she was back in the capital, she had to start from scratch.

A’Zhi was literate and looked down at the title: Admonitions for Women. It was hardly a surprise.

A’Zhi divided Chao Mu’s long hair into two parts and braided them into cute, girlish buns. “So, where are you in your memorization, county princess?”

Chao Mu slowly opened her eyes and blinked them guiltily. She was silent for a moment, and when she saw that A’Zhi was still waiting for her answer, she slumped her shoulders and said softly, “‘I am foolish and dull, and my nature is not very quick.'”

A’Zhi smiled, looking at her in the bronze mirror with encouragement. “And after that?”

Chao Mu was also looking at A’Zhi in the mirror, but her gaze quickly darted away, avoiding eye contact. “…”

A’Zhi. “…”

Seriously, you only memorized the first sentence?

Chao Mu pursed her lips, running her fingers over the cover of the book on her lap. She looked listless. “I also think I’m ‘foolish’ and not a quick learner.”

A’Zhi held the comb, thinking, You are not foolish at all. You are very quick on the uptake. Chao Mu, in her frustration, tilted her head to one side. A’Zhi’s eyelid twitched. Thank goodness she reacted quickly and didn’t pull on Chao Mu’s hair!

Chao Mu pouted. “But I have to enter the Imperial Academy, and the entrance exam is in nine days. If I don’t do well, it will be a bad look for both the royal family and the Qi manor.”

Noble sons entered the Imperial Academy to secure a good future, while noble daughters entered it to become future consorts for the royal family. For Chao Mu, the “future Sixth Prince’s consort,” entering the Imperial Academy was purely for the purpose of getting close to the Sixth Prince and fostering a relationship.

Hearing her mention this, A’Zhi remembered the so-called “plot” of the novel. The woman the Sixth Prince loved was also at the Imperial Academy. The little county princess was getting up early and staying up late to memorize books just to get into the academy and be with the Sixth Prince. Meanwhile, the Sixth Prince was probably already at the academy, flirting with the woman he truly loved. When the little county princess got in, what a sight that would be.

A’Zhi looked down at Chao Mu with “pity.” The poor girl. At this moment, she wished Chao Mu was a “foolish,” black-hearted little sweet bun who couldn’t remember anything from the Four Books for Women. That way, she might not have ended her life over her “reputation” later on.

A’Zhi lowered her eyes, her hands still working deftly as her mind wandered. She quickly finished Chao Mu’s hair, then added a red agate hairpin. It matched the pomegranate-colored jacket and skirt Chao Mu was wearing, making her lips and teeth look redder, her complexion brighter, and giving her a healthier appearance.

Chao Mu turned her head from side to side in the bronze mirror, her eyes filled with pleasant surprise. “It’s so pretty.” A’Zhi just smiled faintly, unfazed by the praise.

“A’Zhi,” Chao Mu said, looking up, her eyes sparkling. She beckoned A’Zhi to lean closer. A’Zhi was a little confused but obediently did as she was told.

Chao Mu reached for a small box on the table, opened the lid, and, shielding it with her sleeve, took something out. A’Zhi lowered her head and couldn’t see what it was. She only felt the county princess place something in her hair, near her ear.

The subtle, cool fragrance she had smelled earlier by the wall came to her again.

“All done,” Chao Mu said, angling the mirror toward A’Zhi.

A’Zhi straightened up and looked in the mirror, meeting her own gaze. The first thing she saw wasn’t her face, but a small red plum blossom pinned in her hair. It looked as if it had just been plucked from the branch that morning, with dew still clinging to the petals, vibrant and fresh. Perhaps because she had hit her head or was still not used to her new life, A’Zhi’s face was pale, her lips were colorless, and the white bandage on her head combined with her light green maid uniform made her look washed out and lifeless. Now, with the red plum blossom as an accent, a splash of brilliant color was added, giving her a touch of vitality and vibrancy.

A’Zhi looked at herself in the mirror, feeling as if she had gone from a two-dimensional figure to a three-dimensional one. It was like a flat, washed-out painting that had been touched with a bright stroke of color, making her look different and worthy of a second glance.

“Where did you get the plum blossoms, county princess?” A’Zhi asked, lightly touching the flower. She didn’t remember seeing a plum tree.

Chao Mu closed the empty box and blinked. “Didn’t you notice it when you came from the side room? The tree by the wall is a plum tree.” She continued, “It’s blooming the best this year. I saw it when I went out to memorize in the morning, so I plucked one for you.” She had gone out to clear her head to help with memorization, but after plucking the plum blossom, she completely forgot what she was doing and simply went back inside.

A’Zhi looked at the red plum blossom. She really hadn’t noticed. She hadn’t noticed the scenery around her, her own pale complexion, or the way the county princess’s dimples deepened when she smiled, looking so vibrant and alive that she truly deserved the description: “a smile as beautiful as a flower.”

A’Zhi lowered her eyes, deliberately trying not to think about the county princess’s fate or deepen her connection to the Qi manor.

But Chao Mu had already washed her hands, dabbed her index finger into her rouge box, and held her hand behind her back. Her eyes were clear and bright. “A’Zhi.”

A’Zhi instinctively looked up.

With a mischievous smile, Chao Mu lightly touched her rouged finger to A’Zhi’s pale lips.

The little sweet bun said, “Now you look much more lively.”