She thought she was going to die.
She did.
But the next time she opened her eyes , she found out that she was living a whole new life, as a little girl who was going to enter a noble household as a maid.
However, a true pearl can never hide its lus...
YuLan ran her fingers on the surface of a light colored guqin, slowly tracing the wood grain and the curve of the instrument. The top part was made from the wood of a Chinese parasol tree, like many other zithers commonly existed in the Empire. But the lacquer used to stain the surface was unusual - it gave the wood a lighter color and gave it a creamy smooth lustre.
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It was a very beautiful guqin.
On the head curve of the instrument, two characters were engraved and sealed in black ink:
Song Li.
This guqin belonged to Ji SongLi, which had been given to YuLan by 2nd Madam Hai FenChu a few months ago after his latest letter arrived.
Back then, Hai FenChu had handed the guqin to her with a perplexed and somewhat confused emotion on her face. Initially YuLan refused, but Hai FenChu handed her a short letter from SongLi which was apparently included in his letter to his mother. It was hardly one page and it was not even properly addressed to her.
"Mother told me that you are very adept in guqin. My guqin is now yours. Please consider it my birthday present to you for the past few years I have been absent. Please do not refuse it. Rather than gathering dust, a guqin is happier when there is someone cherishing and using it how it should be. For that, I am certain you will."
She initially thought that letter - and thus the guqin - could have been meant for Ji LanBai instead. But YuLan later understood that it was really for her when she read the next sentence on the paper:
"I also read from Mother that you are quite a composer. Please consider arranging a new score for me. I will consider it your birthday gift for me for a lifetime. You don't have to make cakes for me anymore."
YuLan had a conflicted look and gave Hai FenChu a questioning gaze; only for the older woman to return her gaze with a more dazed look,
"SongLi has asked to give the guqin to you. So please just accept it."
Then Hai FenChu left in a stupor while muttering to herself in a low voice, "Is he feeling guilty? Why all the favour? He liked his guqin so much. If he didn't like YuLan, why give it to her." She sighed, "I have such a weird son."
YuLan liked - no, she loved the guqin. It was an extremely beautiful piece of instrument and an absolute delight to play with. The strings were also made of top quality silk. Silk usually was not ideal for frequent uses because of its tendency to break easily, but YuLan had tried strumming song after song, notes after notes with the guqin after she received it. The silk used was truly best of the best.
She could tell that this was truly a prized possession of Ji SongLi, she felt almost guilty that she was entrusted with it.
For the past few years, especially since SongLi and General Ji left the household, she was not blind to see that she received constantly special treatments from the two Madams, and of course from Ji LanBai as always. Her bedroom - the study adjacent to Ji LanBai's own bedroom - was renovated. Her previous simple bed had also been replaced with an exquisite canopied mahogany bed. It was by no means inferior than what Ji LanBai also had.
