☆ Not Leaving
Xiao Banli stood at the corner, holding a bowl of mung bean soup, her eyes fixed on the two people near the door down the hallway. Yuan Muxiao had most of her body leaning against Ouyang Que, her small mouth weakly crying out in pain, “Young Master, I twisted my foot. It hurts so much.”
Xiao Banli narrowed her eyes and turned around, quickly walking toward the living room. A few drops of soup splashed out from the bowl in her hand. In the living room, Teiris was smiling brightly, happily chatting with Xiao Fen and gesturing as she spoke.
“Miss, the Young Master likes mung bean soup,” Xiao Banli bent down and placed the bowl of soup in front of Teiris, interrupting their conversation with a lowered head.
Teiris, with her deep blue eyes, looked at Xiao Banli in confusion before exclaiming, “Que likes this?” She curiously pointed at the soup on the table, like a child.
“Yes,” Xiao Banli lowered her head even more, feeling the sharp gaze from Xiao Fen.
“Then I’ll take it to him.” Teiris joyfully picked up the bowl of mung bean soup from the table, stood up, and said to Xiao Fen, “I’ll take this to him.”
Xiao Fen smiled lightly and waved her hand, “Go ahead, go ahead.”
Teiris’ luxurious dress swept through the air in a graceful arc as she disappeared through the door of the living room.
“Is your hand feeling better?” After a brief silence, Xiao Fen lazily spoke.
Xiao Banli didn’t dare raise her head and quietly responded, “Thank you for your concern, Madam. It’s much better now.”
“Good. Once your hand heals, go help Yuanbin. He gave Xiao’er to me as a source of amusement, and since there’s no one else to help him, it would be good if you could assist him.”
Xiao Banli felt a daze in her mind as she looked up at Xiao Fen. Xiao Fen seemed to avoid looking at her face, immediately turning her eyes away as soon as Xiao Banli raised her head, her expression full of disdain. “Our family is no longer the same as before. Keeping you here will only make us the subject of ridicule. The other masters definitely won’t want you. For someone like you, a servant that no one dares to want, we would usually send straight to the warehouse. But since you’ve worked diligently here, and Yuanbin seems to like you, I’ll have you help him. Don’t worry, your salary and benefits won’t change, and Yuanbin can also offer you some additional allowances.”
Xiao Banli opened her mouth, as if wanting to say something.
Just then, there was a commotion at the door of the living room, and both she and Xiao Fen turned their heads. Teiris was dragging Yuan Muxiao in, scolding her, and then shoved Yuan Muxiao forcefully in front of Xiao Fen.
Under Xiao Fen’s puzzled gaze, Teiris pointed a slender finger at Yuan Muxiao, “She seduced Que.”
Yuan Muxiao hurriedly moved in front of Xiao Fen, crying out, “Madam, it’s not like that. Miss Teiris misunderstood. I just accidentally twisted my foot and fell onto Young Master.”
Xiao Fen’s eyes narrowed. Over the past few days, her complexion had improved a lot, and her spirit had returned. The air of authority as the mistress of the house became sharper, and when her eyes narrowed, everyone present instinctively shrank back.
“Twisted your foot? You should have fallen to the ground then. Was it my son you bumped into?”
Yuan Muxiao quickly fell to the ground and kowtowed to Xiao Fen. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have touched the Young Master. It’s all my fault. It’s all my fault.”
“Pah, you did it on purpose.” Teiris angrily pushed Yuan Muxiao’s head. Yuan Muxiao didn’t dare to move, allowing her to push her. Her delicate face was tear-streaked, beautiful yet sorrowful. Teiris, seeing this, became even more jealous and said to Xiao Fen, “You can’t let her off.”
Naturally, Xiao Fen had to listen to Teiris. She was a princess from a royal family, and the woman who helped her son. Without hesitation, Xiao Fen said to Xiao Banli, “Go call Housekeeper Liu.”
Xiao Banli lowered her head. “Yes.” After speaking, she turned around, but as she looked up, she saw Ouyang Que lazily leaning against the doorway of the hall, watching the kneeling Yuan Muxiao with an indifferent expression.
“Young Master.”
“I’ll go with you.” Ouyang Que followed Xiao Banli’s steps. Xiao Banli’s heart tightened, and she glanced sideways at Ouyang Que’s black leather shoes.
“Young Master, there’s no need. I can go alone.”
“No, no, no, I’ll still go with you. I don’t know how you’ll explain things to Housekeeper Liu later.” Ouyang Que said the word “no” three times in a row, and Xiao Banli’s heart fluttered, especially after his last sentence.
It felt as though he had seen through her scheme, and she was left with no way to escape.
“Xiao Banli, you’re not good-looking, but that’s not your fault. However, if you can’t stand others being good-looking, then that’s your fault.” Ouyang Que suddenly said this just before they reached the corridor leading to Housekeeper Liu’s yard.
Xiao Banli’s heart skipped a beat.
“Young Master, sorry, I don’t understand what you’re saying.”
“Don’t pretend with me, Xiao Banli. You were at the corner when Yuan Muxiao twisted her ankle, bringing me green bean soup. But when you saw her fall onto me, you turned and ran off. You knew Teiris was here today, so you had her deliver the soup to me, and that’s when Teiris saw Yuan Muxiao on me, which made her angry. You’re really scheming, huh? I thought you were a little different from others, but it turns out, ugly face, ugly heart.”
Xiao Banli stopped, looking up at Ouyang Que with his arrogant phoenix eyes. “Young Master, good luck.”
She then ignored the mildly surprised look in Ouyang Que’s eyes and turned to walk towards Housekeeper Liu’s door. She knocked lightly, and after a moment, the door opened. Xiao Banli repeated Xiao Fen’s words, and Housekeeper Liu turned around, grabbed his coat, and followed her to the front hall.
As for Ouyang Que, he was nowhere to be seen.
Yuan Muxiao had only been at the Third Master’s house for less than a week when she offended the royal princess and was sent to clean the swimming pool. This news spread quickly throughout the Ouyang family, much like the scandal when the Third Master had an ugly maid. It was clear that the royal princess shouldn’t be offended casually, and the Third Master’s house certainly couldn’t afford to be so careless.
“What is she doing?” Xiao Fen opened the door, glanced at the person kneeling in front of it, and then slammed the door shut. She turned to Housekeeper Liu, who was standing with his head lowered in the room, and asked angrily.
Housekeeper Liu whispered, “It’s clearly written on the board she’s holding.”
Xiao Fen seethed, “Of course, I saw what was written on the board, but we don’t need such an ugly maid in our house. She’s a joke and still dares to stay here.”
Housekeeper Liu lowered his head and remained silent.
“Call Yuanbin to take her away! This is outrageous. Does she think I’ll keep her just because she’s kneeling? If I were Yi Lan, I would have crippled her by now.”
“Third Master’s wife is known to be the kindest lady of the Ouyang family, as everyone knows. Besides, Yuanbin has already tried to take her, but she refuses to leave. Now the Young Master is upset about it.” Housekeeper Liu poured a glass of water and handed it to Xiao Fen. “Please don’t be angry. Maybe you should wait and see what the Young Master has to say.”
“Though, this girl is quite loyal, which is rare.”
Xiao Fen paused in her drinking, glanced sideways at the one who spoke, and scoffed, “Hmph, loyalty. Hearing it from you makes it sound a bit ridiculous.”
Housekeeper Liu’s expression changed slightly, and he lowered his head, not daring to speak further.
Outside the room, Xiao Banli was half-kneeling on the ground, holding the sign she wished to leave behind. Having been kneeling since the morning, her legs were starting to tremble. As soon as she woke up that morning and left the house, she saw Zhu Yuanbin with a cold smile on his face, saying he had come to pick her up. When she refused to nod, he tried to forcibly pull her away. In her panic, she could only think of this method.
“Why are you kneeling here?” Suddenly, a pair of pink high heels appeared in front of her. Teiris, dressed in a strap dress, bent down with her handbag in hand, curiously looking at the sign in Xiao Banli’s hand.
She murmured as she read aloud, “I, I, want to stay?”
With her deep blue eyes, Teiris looked at Xiao Banli curiously and pointed to the board, asking, “This says you want to stay, right? Where do you want to go? Why are you kneeling here?”
Xiao Banli stared straight at Teiris. After a few seconds, tears started to fall from her eyes. Teiris gasped and hurriedly pulled out a tissue from her bag.
“Here, don’t cry. Why are you crying?”
Xiao Banli sniffled, choking on her words. “Miss, I… I don’t want to leave the Third Master’s house. I want to serve the madam. The madam is very kind. I want to stay at the Third Master’s house.”
Teiris shook her head, trying to digest Xiao Banli’s words. Struggling with the Chinese, she asked, “Leave? If you leave, where will you go?”
Xiao Banli continued to cry, not responding. Her pockmarked face, stained with tears, along with her disheveled hair, made her look even more pathetic.
“Miss, I don’t want to leave the madam. I will serve her well,” Xiao Banli said emotionally, grabbing Teiris’ arm. Teiris let out an “eh?” and pulled her arm away. “If you don’t want to leave, then don’t. You’re not a bad person. I’ll go talk to her.”
After saying that, Teiris turned and opened the door to Xiao Fen’s room.
Xiao Banli, hidden behind her hair, watched the door close, and her body relaxed a little.
Before long, the door to Xiao Fen’s room opened again. Xiao Banli didn’t have time to call out to the madam before she was slapped hard across the face, and her body hit the hard floor with a loud thud.
“You’ve really learned some tricks, having Teiris speak for you, huh?”
Xiao Banli lay on the floor without saying a word. Compared to the anticipated torment from Zhu Yuanbin, this slap was nothing.
“Ah, how did you fall to the ground? Get up, get up!” Teiris, upon exiting the room, saw Xiao Banli sprawled on the floor. She hurriedly bent down to help her up, but her arm was pulled back. The person who had grabbed her was none other than Ouyang Que, who had returned at some point.
Xiao Banli lay on the floor, tears streaming down her face, but her eyes remained clear as she stared at the leather shoes stepping right in front of her.
After a long time, Xiao Banli heard Ouyang Que’s voice from above her head.
“If you want to stay, then stay. But if you try any tricks, don’t blame me for personally sending you away.”
Xiao Fen snorted coldly. “Stay quietly in the backyard. If you cause any trouble, you’d better tighten your skin.”
Xiao Banli was allowed to stay in the Third Master’s house.
—
Six months later
Ouyang Que graduated from university and officially joined Ouyang Group. That evening, Ouyang Honghui held a family banquet, and Xiao Banli and the others were all asked to help at the banquet.
Because of her unattractive appearance, Xiao Banli was assigned to the kitchen to help chop vegetables. The same fat, boisterous chef from seven months ago was still there, talking with a lot of saliva. The kitchen staff couldn’t avoid gossiping about the master.
“Look at that, just half a year, and now this young master has managed to get the master to obediently let him into the group. Relying on women, to be honest, it really works well.”
“Right? Before, this young master was completely ignored by the master. They say ¹thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river, and this young master has surpassed him several times now.”
“But I can tell that the master is very unwilling. His own son, Young Master Yuanqin, hasn’t even entered the group yet, but Young Master Que has, so of course he won’t be happy. But the British royal princess isn’t an easy person either. It’s said that her family is cooperating with our group more and more, all thanks to Young Master Que.”
The conversation continued as the dishes were being prepared in the kitchen, each dish more fragrant and colorful than the last, carefully served one after another. Xiao Banli hadn’t touched the chopping board or knife for half a year, so when she picked them up, she felt somewhat clumsy.
During these six months, Ouyang Que didn’t allow her to step outside the courtyard, even taking away her four days of vacation each month. However, her salary remained unchanged.
She was naturally content with that. According to Yu Yan, Zhu Yuanbin had come a few times afterward, but he couldn’t get through the back gate, and he couldn’t see Xiao Banli. He left every time after not finding her.
Each time, Xiao Banli would breathe a sigh of relief.
Though staying in the backyard for so long made her feel a bit dazed, everything else was fine. She was asked to come out tonight to help because Yu Yan took a leave, and another maid had fallen ill, so there was a shortage of hands. It was only then that Housekeeper Liu came to the backyard to call her out.
“Is anyone still in the kitchen? Come help.” The kitchen door was suddenly pushed open with a loud bang under the noise of the range hood.
“Yes.” The plump chef waved his oily hand, pointing at Xiao Banli. “She can go.”
Liu Qin rushed in, not even glancing at Xiao Banli, grabbing her hand and pulling her outside. Xiao Banli had no choice but to follow her, taking off her apron as she walked.
The family banquet hall was golden and resplendent, filled with people. The six masters of the Ouyang family each had at least one son and one daughter, and the family was prosperous. When there was a family banquet, it was like a party, with no fewer than eight tables.
“You need to go to the Sixth Master’s side… Ah, why do you look like that?” Liu Qin said as she turned around, and upon seeing Xiao Banli’s face, she let out a small, frightened scream.
Xiao Banli pressed her lips together and remained silent, only looking at her.
Liu Qin gave Xiao Banli a disgusted look, scanning her up and down, and shook her head. “Forget it, just go back to the kitchen. I’ll go find the one who’s cleaning the swimming pool.”
Xiao Banli was more than happy to do so. She quickly nodded and responded, “Alright.”
“Hey, wait a minute. Over there, Liu Qin…” As Xiao Banli was about to walk away, she heard someone calling for Liu Qin. She paused for a moment, then continued walking forward without turning back.
“Hey, don’t go. Miss Hui is calling for you.” Her arm was suddenly grabbed, and Liu Qin, pointing toward the girl who was looking over this way, spoke.
Xiao Banli squinted at Ouyang Huihui, whom she had met only once half a year ago. The men in the Ouyang family were charming and handsome, while the women were undoubtedly beautiful as well.
Lowering her head, Xiao Banli walked toward the table where Ouyang Huihui was sitting, hoping that Ouyang Huihui would forget about her. However, that fleeting thought was immediately dismissed as Ouyang Huihui coldly sneered, “I was wondering where such an ugly maid came from. Turns out, she’s from Ouyang Que’s room. It’s been half a year, and she’s still so ugly.”
The people sitting at the table burst into loud laughter.
Xiao Banli pressed her lips tighter and stayed silent. She knew that when Ouyang Huihui called her over, it wasn’t to ask her to do something, but rather to say something to her.
After all, Ouyang Huihui’s brother, Ouyang Yuanqin, still couldn’t get into the company.
Yet, Ouyang Que had already made it in.
“Clink…” A bowl filled with soup was “accidentally” dropped to the floor. Ouyang Huihui cried out, “It’s so hot, it almost burned me! You, hurry up and clean it up.”
Xiao Banli knew exactly who she was referring to with her “you.”
Without looking up, she grabbed a cloth from the table and bent down to clean up the spill. A pale hand suddenly reached out in front of her. Xiao Banli paused, and then heard Ouyang Huihui say, “Use your clothes to wipe it. My clothes are cleaner than your clothes.”
Xiao Banli gritted her teeth, holding back her anger, and placed the cloth back on the table. She then lowered her head once again, half-knelt on the ground, and used her sleeve to wipe up the soup that had been absorbed by the carpet.
It had been half a year, and in the backyard, she had exhausted all the little temper she had left.
She knew she was walking down the path of a truly submissive maid.
The people at the dinner table were laughing and joking, while she futilely wiped up the spilled soup.
“What are you doing?!”
—
¹”thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river” (三十年河东，三十年河西) is a Chinese saying that reflects the idea of changing fortunes over time. It suggests that life’s circumstances are unpredictable and can shift dramatically — what was once prosperous or favorable may eventually decline, and what was once looked down upon or weak may rise to prominence.