Yui i felt refreshed when she woke up on her wooden bed the next morning. She was grateful that she did not have any trouble falling asleep, even if her pillow and bed changed. Yui i headed to the dining hall to have her breakfast after tidying her bed and dressing up.
If yesterdays agreent pushed through, she would be assigned to clean the interior of that residence for today. Interior cleaning was more labor intensive than normal, since she had to move the furniture aside on top of tidying up.
Yui i wolfed down her food. She had to eat as much as possible.
Can you co with for a second?
It was the middle-aged woman they first saw yesterday.
Her na was Yang Yu Lin, and she was the overseer of the court ladies, and was in charge of guiding them.
Yui i knew she needed to reply, but her mouth was too full; she couldnt even swallow.
Ill wait, so make sure you dont choke.
Aunty Yang looked exasperated.
Yui i was not a glutton; it was the foods fault for being too delicious. She hastily chewed her food, and after gulping all of it, she asked anew.
What might it be?
A Beauty made a request regarding the maiden who cleaned her residence yesterday. Lady Wang wanted her to continue again today.
Lady Wang?
Yui i puckered her brows upon hearing the unfamiliar na. Aunty Yang made another disgusted face when she saw Yui is expression.
Dont tell you didnt know? Wasnt it you who cleaned Lady Wangs place yesterday?
Oh, so shes the owner of that residence!
So she was a concubine with the status of a Beauty. It was the sa as her mother, so Yui is feeling of kinship arbitrarily increased again.
I was not inford beforehand, and I thought it would be rude to ask the person herself.
That girl, really
Aunty Yangs expression turned grim after Yui i explained her situation yesterday.
Most likely, she never expected that the supervisor woman would not explain anything.
Aunty Yang continued on. Apparently, Lady Wang was worried about Yui is response, so she negotiated with Aunty Yang directly.
I also went there after hearing her story. You did well with just half a days work, and all by yourself, at that.
Cleaning is all about grasping the essentials and proper planning.
It was important to follow the cleaning procedures carefully, and the scope must also be established properly. She managed sohow, because she clearly decided that she would only clean the exterior.
You know so big words, dont you.
Aunty Yang suspiciously stared at Yui i, and then she heaved a great sigh.
You were the only one who worked that hard on her first day. The rest of the girls just listened to their supervisors; they did not even do any work.
So it seed that right from the beginning, there was no intention to let the girls, including Yui i, work on their first day. Everything was due to the reckless behavior of that supervisor.
The truth is I was hoping i would also work responsibly if shes paired with a novice.
The supervisors na was Li i, and it seed that she was a slacker.
They already knew the circumstances. Why didnt they assign that place to sobody else? The trash piled up, and that residences condition was terrible.
It was not that heavy a load if the residence was regularly maintained, but it was neglected for too long, so it beca troubleso to clean. They didnt have to leave it in the hands of i; they could have deployed the other court ladies, instead. But since they did not do that, there must be a deeper reason behind it. This was the Inner Palace after all it bore all the grudges of won within its walls.
Anyway, Ill leave the cleaning of Lady Wangs residence to you.
Aunty Yang placed a manju wrapped in cloth on the table top.
Hurray! Its todays treat!
And so, Yui i gathered her cleaning tools after eating breakfast, and went back to the place she cleaned yesterday. Lady Wang and her maid were waiting for her.
We will be going now, so please clean the residence while we are away, the maid said.
I understand. Is there anything I cannot touch?
The vase and the mirror are gifts from the Emperor, so please take care in handling them.
The maid paused for a while before replying to Yui is question. After seeing the two of them off, it was ti to start cleaning. She wore her hood and mask just like yesterday.
Please excuse !
There was no one inside, but Yui i still greeted in a loud voice as she opened the door.
Yeah, even the air feels dusty in here.
Yui i opened the windows to improve air circulation. Even if the climate here was warr than in the remote regions, the wind was still cold, so Lady Wang and her maid probably left the windows closed due to this reason. Regardless, as long as it was cleaned, then ventilation would improve, too.
Finally, they must have sent one of the cleaning staff.
The maid said that, so the dust must have accumulated since they didnt clean the residence themselves. If Lady Wang was indeed a forr court lady, as Yui i had guessed, then she must have been frustrated at the dirty condition. It must have been faster if she did the cleaning herself, but since she beca an esteed person, she could no longer do as she pleased.
nial jobs such as cleaning were the work of court ladies, so she would be mocked by the other concubines if word ca out that she did her own cleaning. If that happened, then her status within the Inner Palace would plumt.
The Imperial wives sure got it hard.
But its not the ti to wallow in sentintality right now.
After improving ventilation, Yui i removed the blankets on the wooden bed and brought them outside to be sunned. She hanged them on the sunniest part of the balustrades she had cleaned yesterday. She took the make-shift duster and vigorously beat the blankets with the bamboo end.
Whoah, so dusty!
A cloud of dust flurried around. No doubt about it; one wont be able to stop sneezing if she were to sleep on them. Furthermore. it would be a total disaster if she had allergies.
After doing that, Yui i moved the various small items outdoors, and put it all together in one place. She removed the mirror and the vase, which were allegedly bestowed by the emperor, from the shelves. She put them in a place where she can keep an eye on them, just for safety. She secured them right from the beginning, in order to prevent their breakage.
After doing all these things, she did the sa procedure as yesterday. She dusted the ceilings, swept the floor, and scoured and wiped everything as a finishing touch. She paid attention to places that were prone to dust accumulation. She thoroughly dusted and polished the small objects, vases, and mirrors, then returned them to their proper places.
She then took a break and ate the stead bun she got from Aunty Yang. Thus, a whole day of cleaning passed, and she managed to finish everything before the sun set.
Well, I did a great job, right?
Yui i was praising her handiwork, when Lady Wang returned. Yui i took off her hood and mask, and bowed her head.
How nice, everything has beco so splendid. I can also breathe more easily.
Indeed, my lady.
Lady Wang was moved to tears upon seeing the clean, dust-free residence, and the maid also rejoiced along with her.
Pardon , but are you afflicted by any kind of illness?
Yui i was drawn to Lady Wangs words, so she blurted out the question, even though she inwardly thought that she was being a busybody. Lady Wang answered her honestly.
No, that is not the case. But it is true that I had been coughing a lot even in the past. There were severe instances when I did not stop coughing for a long ti. However, it has been better now compared to when I was a child.
Maybe Lady Wang has asthma?
It should have been tough for her, living in such a dusty condition. Furthermore, her cough worsened when staying indoors, so she spent her whole day leisurely strolling, or resting in sunny places, from morning until sunset. The wind was still cold during this season, yet she was inflicting suffering on herself just to escape.
I already cleaned the interior carefully, so please rest assured that your tussis will get better. Also, if possible, please boil so water indoors. The added humidity will help make this arid season bearable, and it will also help prevent colds.
She wanted to give advice based on her experience as a nurse in her previous world, so she nosily said that, albeit unwittingly.
Oh, is that so?
We received great information.
Lady Wangs eyes widened in surprise, while her lady-in-waiting nodded. The maid must be itching to prepare the hot water imdiately.
I am truly grateful for the cleaning work you have done. What is your na?
It is Yui i.
Lady Wang asked her while giving her thanks, so Yui i introduced herself.
Well, Yui i, here is your reward.
Lady Wang passed so mushipan to her maid.
The castella-like aroma assailed Yui is senses, right before dinner ti.
Is it really fine for to receive this?
Of course. Didnt I tell you? Its your reward.
Cleaning was Yui is job, so there was no need to reward her. But she was a little bit happy that Lady Wang did not take her service for granted.
Then, thank you for the food.
Lady Wang smiled at Yui i, who cant help but grin widely since she got so sweets.
I am also happy that this place beca beautiful once again,for a reason apart from my own satisfaction.
Lady Wang continued her story as Yui is eyes twinkled in curiosity.
A Beauty also resided in this place before . I had the opportunity to ask the emperor before, and I was told that she was a very kind person.
Yui is heart pounded.
It might be far-fetched, but she thought the Beauty that was ntioned might be her mother.
She was speaking in past tense, so that ant the person in question was no longer residing in the Inner Palace.
There were nurous Beauties, but only a handful of them were chased out.
Her mother stayed for only a short period of ti as a Beauty, and she was driven out soon after, so it was probable.
In that case, then Yui i might have been born here.
Although this theory was to be taken with a grain of salt, Yui i could not dispel that nagging feeling of possibility.
So this ans Ive discovered my (provisionary) birth ho.
Should you summon , I will co again to clean.
Yui i bowed and left.
T/N: Oh, curious coincidences ?
*Lady Wang was a concubine with Beauty status, with the original text written as (). Since its weird to say Beauty Wang or Wang Beauty, I used the Chinese counterpart i Ren for the title, and then Lady Wang for the rest of the chapter, for the sake of a smooth reading experience (but mainly because Im too lazy to make an intricate set of numbered footnotes, so please pardon ? )
Also, the stead bun Aunty Yang gave was manju, while Lady Wang gave her a mushipan. Both of them are variations of stead bread.
manju (Credits: /manju/)
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