Memoirs of a Strategist | An original chinese novel

Chapter 2 : The tree that stands out...

It was incredible how much life could change with just the slightest change of teams.

Under Concubine Li, Qin Lixue was supported by a few hard-labor women who would sweep the floors, wash the clothes and dishes and replace firewood. Concubine Li was sick and couldn't work for more than a few hours without feeling dizzy. 

In her dreams, Sun Xinyu remembered scenes of the little shu-daughter working from day to night. Embroidery, picking flowers for the dinner table, boiling water for tea, dusting the items.

But now, in just a week... 

"2nd Miss, please have tea." The first-ranked maid Yu Yan respectfully placed a cup of warm tea in front of her.

The Moonlight Snow Pavilion, was initially built to house Qin Ruofeng's second daughter (if she had one in the future). But now this quiet and peaceful Pavilion was used by her, due to her new status as the adopted daughter of Qin Ruofeng. Along with the Pavilion came a first-class maid, four second-class maids and five generals maids to run errands. There were also separate house-keeping maids who did the needlework, washing and sweeping.

"Thank you. How is Third Sister? Is she awake yet?" Qin Lixue asked as sipped the morning tea in peace.

She wasn't delusional and knew that all these benefits existed only as long as she was of use to Qin Ruofeng and her daughter. The salary for the maids came from the stores in Ruofeng's name  - in other words, Ruofeng's personal earnings. None of this was due to Qin Lixue and she had to earn her keep.

While this is actually less than what the other shu-daughters of the Qin Manor had, it was already incredible to Sun Xinyu who used to handle all her chores in the dormitory. It was even more incredible to the original Qin Lixue who suffered from neglect and poor lifestyle at the Light Snow Pavilion.

But Qin Ruofeng really did not regret adopting Qin Lixue.

Polite, mild-mannered and dedicated, Qin Lixue kept her promise and paid more attention to Qin Suyin than her five first-class maids. 

This afternoon, Qin Lixue was having her afternoon meal with Qin Suyin post her lessons.

"...dance is a good choice to maintain flexibility and avoid putting on weight but it is not ideal in social scenes." Qin Lixue explained carefully as she thought back to the dancing posture of Suyin. 'Wouldn't swaying hips count as seduction to these ancient people?'

"Well...I feel embarrassed to dance in front of people too but the teacher says that dance is the best way to learn grace and posture." Qin Suyin sighed. She really didn't like dance lessons but was forced to learn as it was 'the way of a lady'. "If so, should I focus on music?"

"Music instruments are good but require extreme concentration and feel for the story to bring out its true power - it is easy for people who have no background in music to still judge you as it's all about the feeling you convey. Not to mention, love songs and songs of regret are not a choice while songs of peace and jubilation are overdone..." Qin Lixue replied. 

The original Qin Lixue had received no training on any of the 4 arts and Sun Xinyu's skills were limited to the basics of piano that she learnt as a child, before she was sent to the hospital.

But there was no doubting that nobles ladies of this era walked a very thin line. Knowing the four arts was important and took incredible amount of effort to learn but if not showcased properly, this same skill could earn them the name of a 'noble courtesan', capable of ruining their painstakingly maintained reputation in one sweep.

[Noble courtesan - A courtesan is a brothel girl. A noble courtesan is an insult that the noble lady is like a lowly brothel girl who uses her body and skills to attract men].