A Willing Mistake, My Lady – Chapter 9
by Little PandaLooking for Work (Part 1)
A beauty like a painting, not knowing which man will ultimately be the lucky one.
Skin white with a rosy flush, as if naturally rouged; long lashes that spared her any need for makeup. Jiang Chenyu rose and drew back the bed curtains on both sides, letting the morning light pour in. She wore a gauze sleeping robe so fine it caught the light, her bare feet stepping onto the floor of the canopy bed. The polished wood, golden and gleaming, made her pale, tender feet look almost translucent, each toe rounded and pink-tinged. As she passed through the colorful beaded curtain ahead, the sunlight caught her — a waist as slender as a willow branch, its graceful curve visible in perfect silhouette to the one watching from behind.
In truth, Shen Hetang had woken before her. But seeing Chenyu stir, she immediately closed her eyes again. Then she opened them, just a sliver — and the sight that met her gaze was this living portrait of a beauty. She truly didn’t know which man would ultimately benefit from such a sight. At this moment, she could only say to that unknown future fellow in her heart: brother, your romantic fortune1 runs deep.
Before long, Jiang Chenyu had changed behind the folding screen into a pale yellow round-collared robe and a white horse-face skirt2 embroidered with flowers. Chuntao then brought in the wash water to attend to her ablutions, a few flower petals floating inside.
After that came a complicated ritual — hair-combing was always a bittersweet pleasure. Fortunately, Shen Hetang didn’t have to suffer through it. She needed no one else to comb her hair; she never let anyone see her with her hair unbound. Dressing, combing — she handled it all with practiced ease, a skill she owed to the original body’s3 muscle memory.
Sometimes she felt afraid, too. If the original body’s soul was still inside, then it would be one body with two souls — how terrifying that would be. Though she had taken over someone else’s body, she felt sorry about it, but this was beyond her control. She could only say sorry, and beyond taking things one step at a time, what else could she do?
“Husband, you’re awake?” When Jiang Chenyu returned to the bedroom with Chuntao and the meal, Shen Hetang had already finished tidying herself.
“Why did you go fetch breakfast yourself?” After the family division, the servants had been thoroughly divided as well. Though not numerous, there were more than enough to serve two masters.
“Of course I had to give instructions for breakfast. Husband, you look too thin — you need to eat well. Come, taste this fish porridge that’s been simmering for ages.” The bright, lovely girl spoke with a dangling hair ornament4 swaying gently at her temple, making her seem even more lively and innocent. If Shen Hetang hadn’t seen her dispatch enemies in a few swift moves, she might have mistaken Jiang Chenyu for one of those naive, sweet-natured girls5.
“Why? Am I too thin? Did I poke you?” Seeing her bright, innocent face, Shen Hetang couldn’t resist teasing her.
Sure enough, seeing Shen Hetang deliver this with such a noble, serious expression, the young woman’s ears flushed crimson at once. She stammered: “I didn’t — I wasn’t turning my nose up at you. If anyone’s looking down on anyone, it’s you looking down on me — you sleep so far away!”
“What’s the use of me sleeping far away? You still roll right over to my side anyway.” She delivered the joke with a straight face.
Jiang Chenyu hurriedly glanced behind her — thankfully no one else was there. Really, how could he say such suggestive things with that face, and without a single change in expression? She couldn’t tell if he disliked her or liked her. So annoying.
“Hmph… I’m ignoring you. Eat by yourself.”
“No, no, no — I was wrong, I was wrong. Wife, I was wrong. Come, let’s eat before it gets cold.” She’d gotten so used to acting lately that she hadn’t even noticed the word slip out — it came automatically.
Jiang Chenyu felt that good-looking people truly had an advantage — she couldn’t even stay mad at him.
“Um, I can’t just stay home all the time. I was thinking of going out to find some work — what do you think?” Shen Hetang asked, her eyes serious.
“If you really want to, then go ahead. If you can’t find anything suitable, come back and help me manage the books at the shop.” Besides the clothing shop she’d received in the division, she also had a rice shop, a tea house, and two hundred mu of land. She knew a man couldn’t be kept shut inside the house — no matter how reluctant she was, she had to let him go out.
“Thank you.” She thanked her out of habit. Right now, Jiang Chenyu seemed to glow in her eyes. If she were truly a man, she would have gone over and kissed her twice. No one had ever been her safety net before — her whole life, she’d had to push forward, relying only on herself.
“Should I ask Great-uncle to make some inquiries for you?” After the assets they’d given them, relations with the relatives had thawed considerably.
“No need to trouble them. I want to look around myself.” She didn’t want Chenyu getting tangled up with those people again.
“All right.”
“Mm.”
Half a month later, wandering this main street once more, Shen Hetang’s mood was entirely different. Before, she’d been like a luckless beggar; now, she was like an idle sightseer.
She didn’t know what twist of fate had brought her to this unfamiliar era. But her greatest strength was making peace with her circumstances. She slowly soaked in the rich atmosphere of ancient times, steadying her mind, telling herself: this isn’t a dream. She really was here.
She looked around, asked at two places. One was a restaurant seeking an abacus-wielding manager — rejected. The other wanted a teacher versed in the Four Books and Five Classics6 — she… well… rejected again. Finding work here was difficult. Truly testing her.
Walking along, she found herself standing before the Yamen gate. This was good — right up her alley. Her eyes brightened as she peered inside. But this was government work, eating official rice7 — they wouldn’t hire just anyone. She’d have to find the right moment.
Footnotes
- Yànfú (艳福) literally means 'beauty fortune' — good luck in romantic or amorous matters. The phrase yànfú bùqiǎn (艳福不浅) is a common expression meaning someone has been blessed with considerable romantic fortune.
- A mǎmiànqún (马面裙), literally 'horse-face skirt,' is a traditional Chinese skirt with structured pleats on both sides and a flat front and back panel. It was a common garment for women during the Ming and Qing dynasties.
- A common term in transmigration fiction: the 'original body' (yuánshēn) is the physical form the protagonist's soul inhabits after crossing over. The 'muscle memory' Shen Hetang refers to is the body's retained physical habits and skills from its previous owner.
- A bùyáo (步摇) is a traditional Chinese hair ornament featuring dangling pendants that sway with the wearer's movement, hence the name 'step-shake.'
- Shǎbáitián (傻白甜) is Chinese internet slang for a particular female archetype: sweet, naive, innocent to the point of foolishness. It literally means 'stupid-white-sweet' and describes a character who is pure-hearted and guileless.
- The Sìshū Wǔjīng (四书五经) are the foundational texts of Confucian education: the Four Books (Great Learning, Doctrine of the Mean, Analects, and Mencius) and the Five Classics (Classic of Poetry, Book of Documents, Book of Rites, I Ching, and Spring and Autumn Annals). Mastery of these was essential for anyone taking the imperial examinations.
- 'To eat official rice' (chī guānjiā fàn) is a colloquial expression meaning to work for the government. Such positions were stable and coveted, but difficult to obtain without connections or examination success.
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