Trap in a Book

Chapter 3

The morning had arrived, as Xiaomei was already up and moving as it was her normal time of waking up to work. Xiaomei plans to just survive and keep a distance from the main leads while pretending to be her cruel self for now.

The first thing she needs to do is survive in the cold palace as she read novels that this place was the worst situation to be in.

"My lady, are you cold?" Said her sweet, timid maid. This was LiMei, her maid, who the emperor allowed her to be with Daiyu since he still felt guilty as he also allowed Daiyu to have all her clothes and jewels with her. LiMei was a quiet and humble young lady who listened and followed orders as it was her duty.

Xiaomei snapped out of thoughts and spoke to LiMei, "No, I'm fine." Xiaomei started looking around the small room and walked outside to get herself familiar with how to survive in this place. She is living in a small shabby house, with small amounts of grass here and there. There were a couple of trees on the right, which made it look like a small forest in her courtyard. There was also a hidden old broken well behind a tree. Xiaomei leaned over the well to see a decent amount of water. She picks up a fallen brick from the well and places it back. She walked back to the side of the house to see a small pile of rotten old wood and an old pot and bucket. After looking around the place, she started wondering what to do first.

She entered the house, as it was one large room with her bed pushed to the wall on the right side with a see-through curtain around it and beside her bed was a broken closet. In the middle of the room had a small dirty table with a couple of seats, and on the left side, there was a long horizontal cabinet. Xiaomei opened the broken wooden closet and looked at which clothes were not her style or didn't seem to fit anymore and threw them on the floor.

"Miss, what are you doing?" LiMei asks, confused.

"I'm going to use my clothes as cloth," she replied.

"Why?" LiMei asks again, looking at Xiaomei with curious eyes while tilting her head.

"We need to survive if we are living here. So, we need to clean this place," Xiaomei said.

"Yes... but your clothes...." LiMei said quietly.

"It's just clothes. Don't worry," she said.

Xiaomei then opened the horizontal cabinet. There were spiderwebs and thick layers of dust on each shelf. She opened the other side of the cabinet to find a small rusty, old scissor that was used for cutting threads when someone was sewing. Xiaomei grabs it and tests it out if it still works. However, it barely cut, and she had to cut the fabric multiple times before making an ugly cut. Xiaomei gave up and started ripping her clothes using her arm strength. LiMei was shocked and blurted out, "Miss, what are you doing!"

Xiaomei stops and looks at LiMei, confused. "Making my clothes useful," she answered. Xiaomei continued to rip her dress into long strips. Once she finished ripping, she grabbed all the strips made from one dress into her hand and began to tie the ends together to make a long rope. "LiMei, can you fill a bucket of water for me?" Xiaomei asked, and LiMei quickly went to grab a bucket of water.

Xiaomei then exits the house and looks around to find two trees that were close to each other. She then ties one end to each tree.

"Here you go, Miss? What is this for?" LiMei asks as she reaches her.

"To clean," Xiaomei answered using two words. Xiaomei wanted to wash the blanket and bedsheet, but where could she wash the blanket as she didn't have a big enough bucket. She thought for a minute before changing her mind and decided to wash the blanket another day. So, she just grabbed the bedsheet and tried to move the bucket before LiMei shouted, "Miss, let me carry it!"

"Oh, it's okay," Xiaomei said and tried to grab the bucket again, but LiMei shook her head and insisted on carrying it. So, Xiaomei gave it to her.

"Where do you want me to put it?" LiMei asked.

"Just put it over there," she said and put the bedsheet into the water. She crouches down and starts washing the bedsheet.

"Let me do it, Miss," LiMei insisted again. This time Xiaomei smiled and shook her head and continued washing the bedsheet. She scrubs the sheet together and tries to clean the stain out. And then she and LiMei grab each end and start squeezing the water out.

Before Xiaomei and LiMei threw the sheet up on the rope to air dry. "Okay, let's clean the house now," Xiaomei said and walked towards the house.

Throughout the day, Xiaomei and LiMei use her clothes to mop up the floor, clean the walls, wipe the table and chairs, and clean the bedposts and bedframe. Xiaomei opened the wooden window to let some air in while LiMei was finishing up the table. Soon enough, the small house is clean and tidy and no longer has spiderwebs and dust, yet it still looks old and shabby.

"What should we clean now?" LiMei asked.

"We need to clean the outside of the house," Xiaomei said.

A couple of hours pass by, and Xiaomei and LiMei wash the outside walls, the wooden post holding the roof, and the door. Xiaomei wiped her sweat away before they took a break. "Miss, the place looks better now," LiMei said, excited. Xiaomei smiles in response and nods in agreement. The sun was setting, and Xiaomei and LiMei quickly washed the clothes they used to clean and air-dried them with the sheet.

Not long enough, the sky had turned dark, and the moon and stars appeared, and Xiaomei and LiMei had already taken down the bedsheet and put it back on the bed as they left the cloth to dry overnight.

Soon, Xiaomei and LiMei stomachs started to growl in hunger, but no one showed up to bring them any food. Xiaomei knew this would happen as the maids would look down on them as well because they are in the cold palace. So, Xiaomei must think of something for them to survive in this place. In the flickering candle, she was in deep thought before LiMei insisted that she go to bed as it might help them not think about food.

As Xiaomei was in bed, she continued to think before sleep overcame her as the morning arrived. LiMei had already grabbed the clothes and folded them neatly. Xiaomei asks her to place it on one of the shelves in the cabinet.

"LiMei, we need to take all of my jewels and sell them," Xiaomei said.