Chapter 4 A Different Soul

Li Meixiu stared at Wei Ruolan open mouthed.

How did she know?

She didn't know what to say.

How could she possibly explain everything that happened to her when she couldn't even understand it herself?

Wei Ruolan's cunning, fox-like eyes were observing her every movement.

"I...I don't know how to explain it.", Li Meixiu whispered.

Wei Ruolan opened the door wider and signaled her to come in.

These walls had ears. Confidential information like this shouldn't be discussed out in the open.

Li Meixiu walked into Lady Wei's chambers. Lu Dongmei and Nanny Han followed but Wei Ruolan told them to stay outside.

She knew that whatever her"daughter" wanted to tell her was best to never reach the ears of Yin Guang.

After closing the door, she pointed to a chair at a round table in the right corner of the room, signaling her to sit down.

After both sat down, Li Meixiu took a deep breath.

"You are right. I am not Xiu'er. I'm from another time and somehow transmigrated into this body."

Spoken out loud it sounded even more harebrained than she had realized. But Lady Wei didn't laugh at her or look at her as if she had turned completely mad. Instead, she just stared at her wide-eyed and then nodded, as if it somehow made sense to her.

"Xiu'er...she came to me in my dreams two nights ago", she aspirated, her eyes glazing over as tears began to fall.

"She said goodbye but then told me to take care of her. I didn't understand the meaning of her words first, but now I do."

Li Meixiu nearly laughed out loud in disbelief. Waking up in a different body and a different time period had already been hard enough, and now she was to believe that the original Li Meixiu had known about her?

Li Meixiu was a realist. Until now, she had never believed in spirits, gods, immortals or any other superstitious nonsense. She didn't even believe in reincarnation but there obviously had to be some truth to it or she wouldn't be here.

"You believe me?" she asked Lady Wei disbelievingly.

Wei Ruolan nodded. She dried her tears with a white cloth and then smiled at Li Meixiu. It was just a small smile but full of warmth.

"Of course. It's the circle of reincarnation. I don't know why the heavens decided to send you here but there has to be a reason for it and my Xiu'er knew it."

She sighed heavily and looked out of the window into the distance.

"I just wished she wouldn't have to go. No mother wants to survive their children."

Li Meixiu felt a pang of jealousy rising inside her.

Why couldn't her mother care as much about her as Lady Wei cared about her daughter?

She quickly brushed the feeling aside. There was nothing to be jealous about.

She didn't need a mother.

Wei Ruolan turned to her and took her hands.

"I will do what she wanted me to do. I will treat you as my own daughter and help you. But you can't let others know about this, not even your maidservant. From now on, you are Li Meixiu, not just a different soul in the same body."

Li Meixiu nodded. She knew that there was no way to return to her old life. She would live this life the best she could.

She smiled at Lady Wei and squeezed her hand in agreement.

"I will. But now on to you, niang. You can't keep locking yourself in this chamber and you need to eat and get healthy."

Lady Wei nodded.

"I'll ask Nanny Han for some vegetable soup.", she said.

Nanny Han pranced to the kitchen, happy that the Second Miss could convince Lady Wei to eat. She had been worried about her Mistress these past few days, more than usual. She had served Wei Ruolan ever since the latter had been a little girl. There wasn't anyone else she would want to serve more. She even turned down her Mistress' offer to find her a good husband to stay at her side years ago, and she would stay at her side until death. Nanny Han just wished she would see her Mistress being happy again.

Sixteen years ago she had been happy.

But then she had been forced to leave everyone she loved behind to marry a man who was under her rank but still dared to treat her so badly!

If Old Master knew...

But Old Master wouldn't be able to do anything. He couldn't out rule an imperial decree.

When Nanny Han arrived at the kitchen, her happy mood was immediately dampened.

Nanny Gao and two of the Third Miss' maidservants were standing in the kitchen gossiping.

As soon as they saw Nanny Han walking in, they stopped talking.

"Nanny Han, what are you doing here? Don't you have work to do?", Nanny Gao sneered.

Nanny Gao was the Third Miss' Nanny and always the first when it came to bullying the servants that served Lady Wei and the Second Miss.

"Lady Wei asked for vegetable soup."

Nanny Gao laughed coldly.

"Who does she think she is? She can't just ask for food whenever she wants! Every group of this household gets three meals at fixed times. If she missed one, she'll have to wait for the next."

Nanny Han clenched her teeth and took deep breaths, trying to stay calm.

"Madam was already lenient when you brought the Second Miss some congee a few days ago. Don't you think you're becoming too arrogant?", one of the maidservants added.

Nanny Han's face remained calm, even though she was seething underneath.

She knew very well that this rule only applied to her Mistress and the Second Miss. First Master, Third Miss, the Madam and the Marquis could eat whenever they wanted. Even meat, something her Mistress and the Second Miss rarely got. They usually only got left overs or vegetable soup.

Nanny Han sighed and turned around to leave. She would come back later, when the kitchen was clear.

But before she could step out of the kitchen, Nanny Gao grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back.

"Did you think you could just leave like that? You overstepped your boundaries today. We have to inform Madam."

With this she grabbed her by the ear and dragged her to the main room where the Madam and the Marquis were currently listening to the Third Miss playing the Guzheng. The Third Miss stopped playing when she saw the group of servants dragging in an elder woman.

Wasn't this elder sister's Nanny?

How dare she interrupt her!

Nanny Gao dragged Nanny Han in front of the Marquis and Madam and made her fall on her knees.

The Marquis glared at the servants. This was the second time they had interrupted his daughter today.

They were becoming too daring!

Yin Guang looked at the elder woman at her feet, eyebrows raised.

Nanny Gao respectfully bowed to the Marquis and Madam.

"We caught this servant here trying to sneak food from the kitchen!"

Hearing this, the Marquis lost his composure. He stood up, towering over Nanny Gao.

"You interrupted my daughter's lovely concert for THIS?", he bellowed. Nanny Gao immediately sunk on her knees, shaking.

Yin Guang put a hand on her husband's arm.

"Please don't be mad at her, beloved. Nanny Gao only fulfilled her duty."

She then looked to Nanny Han on the ground, who was covering her painfully red ear with her hand.

"Let us give her a chance to defend herself."

She offered Nanny Han her hand to help her stand up, but Nanny Han ignored it and pulled herself back on her feet.

"I'm sure Nanny Gao misunderstood the situation. You didn't really try to sneak out food, right?"

When the Madam spoke to her in such a sweet and caring manner, she almost sounded like her Mistress. But Nanny Han knew that it was all just an act. The Madam was nothing like her Mistress.

She took a deep breath, brazing herself for what was about to come. She wouldn't get away without a beating this time.

"No, Nanny Gao didn't misunderstood. My Mistress is very hungry. She didn't eat anything these past two days."

The Marquis squinted his eyes.

Lady Wei again.

This had been the second time today that servants were acting up because of her and the second time she made his daughter suffer. Did this woman truly think she could mess with him? Someone needed to remind her of the rules.

He called for some male servants, who immediately arrived and bowed to him.

He then moved his head towards Nanny Han.

"Punish her with thirty beatings! If she survives, throw her out on the street and make sure she never returns!"

Nanny Han's eyes grew wide. She released a breath she didn't know she was holding while the male servants had already grabbed her arms and dragged her outside to fulfill her punishment.

She wasn't afraid of dying. Every life would come to an end one day. It was a natural process nobody could stop. No, what she was afraid of was leaving her Mistress and the Second Miss behind.

When she was gone, who would take care of them?