Before the age of two, Ming Rou could not be separated from her mother. However, Ming Yulan herself was a delicate, pampered young lady, so most of the care fell to the Wet Nurse and other servants. When the child was brought before her, washed clean and smelling sweet, she would feel a surge of affection for her fair, chubby daughter, cooing at her and holding her.
After the age of two, she slept with the Wet Nurse. Even so, every night around midnight, she would suddenly wake up crying bitterly. When asked what was wrong, she would only say her heart hurt. Each episode would last until near dawn before she could fall back asleep. Because of this, the Ming household had to send an extra servant each night to take turns with the Wet Nurse attending to her sleep.
That night, Ming Rou had climbed into bed as usual, tucked under her little blanket and ready to sleep, when she saw the Wet Nurse lead someone into the room. Looking up, she saw it was one of the older sisters from earlier that day, the one who smelled so nice.
Ming Rou sat up, clutching her blanket, blinking her eyes at the Wet Nurse and asked, “Wet Nurse, what is she here for?”
“Eldest Miss, this is the Auspicious Maiden the Old Patriarch chose for you. From now on, she will be the one to sleep with you.” The Wet Nurse, fearing Ming Rou would be shy with strangers, hurried forward to soothe her.
“Wife? What’s a wife?”
Hearing this, Ye Qiuniang turned to look at the Wet Nurse as well. She was already twelve years old and naturally understood what a wife was meant to do. But her situation was special; she was mainly there to bring fortune to the Eldest Miss, which was somewhat different from a typical child bride.
“Eldest Miss, a wife is someone who eats with you, sleeps with you, and plays with you. If you hurt anywhere, she must hurt with you. If you’re happy, she’s happy for you. In all things, you are the center of her world.”
Ye Qiuniang looked at the porcelain-doll-like Ming Rou, then listened to the Wet Nurse’s words, a thoughtful expression in her eyes. Compared to her own siblings, little mud balls who ran wild, this Eldest Miss was far more endearing. What’s more, in the Ye household, her younger brothers, spoiled beyond control as they grew older, had taken to bullying her, the elder sister.
If it weren’t for this little girl before her, her own fate would likely have been the same as the other village girls: handed over to traffickers, forced into prostitution, becoming playthings for old men.
Just before entering the door, the Wet Nurse had sternly instructed her that, from this day forward, her heart could only hold the Ming family, only the Eldest Miss. Ming Rou was to be her sky.
Now that Ye Qiuniang had entered the Ming household, her future fate was tied to this Little Meatball before her. She naturally took the Wet Nurse’s words to heart, striving to fill her heart and mind with Ming Rou’s image.
After the Wet Nurse’s explanation, Ming Rou looked utterly confused: “What’s the difference between her and Little Cui?”
“Little Cui is just a servant. A wife is someone who lives and dies with you,” the Wet Nurse explained confidently.
Ming Rou nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite. The Wet Nurse then said, “Alright, Eldest Miss, it’s late. Time to sleep. Qiuniang, you get into bed too. It’s hot right now, remember to fan the Miss, but her body is weak. Stop fanning once she falls asleep, so she doesn’t catch a chill.”
Ye Qiuniang quickly agreed. She took off her shoes and climbed onto the bed. Back home, she often had to help care for her younger siblings. Her two brothers were eight and six, and a younger sister was three and a half. While her older siblings worked the fields with their parents, she was left at home to wash clothes, cook, and look after the three younger ones.
Having practically raised them single-handedly, she wasn’t intimidated by Ming Rou. It was only the sheer opulence of this bed that made her feel slightly uneasy.
Ming Rou had a soft, delicate nature and, being spoiled beyond measure in the Ming household, possessed a hint of overbearingness. But she usually listened to her mother and the Wet Nurse. Still, sleeping with a stranger for the first time, and being so young, she was naturally still attached to her familiar companions. A little fussy, she wasn’t too happy to see Ye Qiuniang on her bed and threw a small tantrum.
The Wet Nurse observed from the side for a moment. Seeing the commotion wasn’t too great, she felt it was time. Hardening her heart, she quietly slipped away, lifting the door curtain and leaving.
Ming Rou looked up and saw the Wet Nurse was gone, and immediately began to cry softly.
Ye Qiuniang’s heart pounded in fear when she heard the crying. She had heard village girls who became maids say that failing to properly care for a household’s Little Master, making these precious little people cry, would result in a scolding, sometimes even a whipping. Fearing the crying would attract others, she quickly sat up and tried to console her, flustered.
“Eldest Miss, are you feeling unwell?” Ye Qiuniang asked cautiously.
The little girl sobbed, “I want my Wet Nurse…”
“Isn’t a wife good? The Wet Nurse just said, a wife will accompany you in everything from now on, even sleep with you. If you cry, the wife can cry with you too.”
After saying this, Ye Qiuniang imitated her, letting out a soft, whimpering cry.
Hearing this, Ming Rou instantly stopped sobbing, her eyes wide with surprise as she stared: “You can even accompany me in crying?”
“Of course, from now on, whatever the Eldest Miss wants Qiuniang to accompany you in, Qiuniang can do it with you,” Ye Qiuniang comforted her softly. She cautiously reached out and touched the top of Ming Rou’s head. Her fingertips came away damp with a thin layer of sweat. She quickly wiped it dry with a handkerchief, and by the way, began to gently fan her with a small, round fan.
It was summer, and Ming Rou’s earlier fussing had made her feel hot. The slight breeze Ye Qiuniang provided was very timely, making her feel much lighter. Her initial resistance slowly faded away. Hearing the other girl call herself Qiuniang, Ming Rou turned her small body to face her.
“You’re called Qiuniang. Is that ‘qiu’ as in autumn?”
“Yes, has the Eldest Miss already started learning characters?” Ye Qiuniang was surprised.
“Just after I turned four, my Maternal Grandfather hired a teacher for me. I have to go study every day.”
Ye Qiuniang hadn’t expected such a tiny girl, so thin and frail she looked weak and even stumbled when she walked, to already be taught by a tutor. She wondered if this little body could handle it.
“But… if you misread something, would the teacher hit your palm with a ruler?”
The thought of that small, chubby, tender hand being struck by a cold, hard ruler, leaving streaks of blood, made Ye Qiuniang’s heart ache. From now on, she was Ming Rou’s. Just as the Wet Nurse said, she would share Ming Rou’s pain. If Ming Rou was hit, it would hurt her more than if she was struck herself.
“No way, the Teacher looks a bit stern, but he never scolds me harshly,” Ming Rou shook her head.
Ye Qiuniang realized she had worried too much. This exquisitely beautiful little girl was the Ming family’s treasure. Even more fragile than a porcelain doll due to her delicate health, which teacher would dare strike her palm?
“It must be because the Eldest Miss is so clever that the teacher can’t bear to scold her.”
Ming Rou, soothed by this gentle flattery, immediately forgot her earlier displeasure. She replied haughtily, “Of course I’m clever. I’m the smartest in the whole Ming family. No other child can compare. My Maternal Grandfather often praises my cleverness.”
“Yes, even on my first meeting with the Eldest Miss, I also feel you are exceedingly bright.”
Having cared for her younger siblings, Ye Qiuniang knew what children liked to hear. Following her lead and praising her a couple of times, the little girl, still wrapped in her quilt, beamed happily.
“Everyone calls you Qiuniang, but you’re my wife. I don’t want to call you what they do. From now on, I’ll call you Jiujiu. Only I can call you that. No one else can,” Ming Rou declared, full of possessiveness.
Hearing her assert her ownership so righteously, Ye Qiuniang couldn’t help but laugh softly. She continued her fanning. “As you wish.”
Just as she finished speaking, she saw Ming Rou give a tiny yawn. The little girl leaned back against the pillow and started to put her thumb in her mouth to suck. Ye Qiuniang frowned involuntarily. This child was almost five and still sucking her thumb. This was a bad habit. She quickly tried to stop her: “Eldest Miss, you cannot eat that.”
Ming Rou looked up at her, confused.
“There are caterpillars on your hands. If you eat them, your tummy will hurt, and worms will grow in your belly.”
Ming Rou jumped in fright. Because the family spoiled her so much, this habit had always been tolerated. No one had the heart to scold her, so over time, it became ingrained. Now that she was older, she still couldn’t change. But hearing Ye Qiuniang’s words, she suddenly felt as if her hands were crawling with caterpillars and dared not put them in her mouth again.
But after taking her hand out, she felt uncomfortable. She fussed and whined, refusing to sleep. Ye Qiuniang, long accustomed to this behavior in children, began patiently coaxing the little girl. Meanwhile, she secretly reached over and gently scratched the back of Ming Rou’s head, her fingers tracing along the roots of her fine, soft hair, lightly stroking the scalp, over and over.
This was her secret weapon for dealing with children who didn’t want to sleep. Just a few soft strokes like this, and it almost guaranteed these little rascals would close their eyes and fall asleep.
Sure enough, the girl whose eyes were sparkling just moments ago was soon drowsy. As she was drifting off, she still murmured her new wife’s name: “Jiujiu… Jiujiu…”
In the middle of the night, Ye Qiuniang was startled awake by movement beside her. Though only twelve and in the deepest stage of her own sleep, being in a new place filled her with anxiety. The slightest disturbance was enough to instantly rouse her from her dreams. Because of Ming Rou’s condition, a lamp was kept burning by the bedside all night.
When Ye Qiuniang woke, she found the little girl beside her shaking her head, whimpering, her tiny palm pressed to her chest, her face a mask of pain. Ye Qiuniang suddenly remembered the rumors: the Ming family’s Eldest Miss had suffered from a heart ailment since birth. That was why she had the chance to enter the household for an auspicious match. A jolt of alertness ran through her. She sat up quickly, reached out to touch Ming Rou, and found her head drenched in sweat. She hastily grabbed a handkerchief to wipe it away.
If anything happened to the Eldest Miss, she would certainly have no good days ahead!
In her panic, a thought struck her. She scrambled out of bed and, from her small bundle, retrieved a tiny pinch of Spirit Herb. She placed it under Ming Rou’s pillow. Soon, a faint fragrance spread, and Ming Rou was noticeably less agitated than before.
Ye Qiuniang scrambled back onto the bed, sat beside her, and gently fanned her while softly humming a tune, a country ballad. With her other hand, she did as she had before bed, placing her fingers near the roots of Ming Rou’s hair and gently massaging.
Unexpectedly, under her ministrations, the little girl stopped her whimpering cries. Her previously furrowed brows gradually smoothed out. The sweat on her head faded, and before long, she had fallen back into a deep sleep.
Ye Qiuniang waited a long while. Seeing that Ming Rou wasn’t waking up again, she herself was overcome with exhaustion. Only then did she lie back down and continue sleeping.
The night was as calm as water. Just as she was slipping into dreams, Ye Qiuniang had no idea that, during that earlier moment of chaos, several dark figures had been standing outside the door, carefully listening to the sounds within.
These people were none other than the Ming family’s Old Patriarch, Ming Quan, Ming Rou’s mother, Ming Yulan, and the Wet Nurse. At first, they had heard a soft whimper from Ming Rou, followed by a low sob—the prelude to her nightly crying. Ming Yulan by his side remained calm, but the Wet Nurse was restless. She couldn’t hold back and was about to rush into the room, but Old Patriarch Ming stopped her.
As rustling sounds came from within, Ming Rou’s sobs came in fits and starts. Then, a few soft, gentle notes of a melody drifted out. The sound was very low, almost inaudible from outside, merely a faint tune of a country song, seemingly nothing special.
But what was amazing was that, at this hour, when Ming Rou would usually have already burst into full-throated crying, she was instead soothed by this simple, unpolished tune. Her crying grew quieter, gradually fading away until it was finally submerged by the sounds of insects chirping in the night grass.
In the darkness, Old Patriarch Ming’s expression was unreadable. Only when both girls had fallen asleep did those figures file away one by one.
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[T/N: “Jiujiu” (啾啾) is a cute baby-talk nickname Ming Rou invented as a play on Ye Qiuniang’s name (“Qiu”). It literally means “chirp-chirp”]
