Chapter Six: The Aoi River Incident

Update time: May 10, 2013

"Ziling..."

Ziling, who was embroidering a brocade handkerchief in the outer room, heard the voice and hurriedly set aside her embroidery basket, quickly stepping into the inner chamber. "Miss is awake..."

"What time is it now? How long have I slept?" Yue Lianyu asked lazily.

"It's just past the hour of the rooster, Miss. You slept for a full two hours," Ziling replied briskly, and then, as if remembering something, quickly added, "An hour ago, the young master instructed Qingluan to invite you to dine in the front hall. Seeing you were sound asleep, I sent him away. The young master then had supper sent over from the kitchen, it's being kept warm in the outer room. Would you like to eat now?"

At that moment, Yue Lianyu was deeply disturbed by the smell of sweat clinging to her body and cared for nothing else. "Leave it for now. Go tell the kitchen to bring fragrant bathwater. I sweated a lot and feel very uncomfortable."

"Yes, Miss. Please rest a little longer, I'll go right away." With that, she turned and walked out.

As soon as Ziling left the inner room, Lianyu felt her throat dry and parched. Not wanting to call Ziling back, she decided to get up herself and pour a cup of tea. Yet, as she lifted the brocade quilt, she saw a brown stain on the smoky green fabric. Annoyed, she thought, "How careless Ziling is, choosing such a quilt for me. I must ask Sister Lan to scold her later!"

With disgust, she pushed the quilt toward the foot of the bed. But as she did so, she discovered several patches of blood on the white long-haired rug beneath her. Yue Lianyu was stunned, her mind going utterly blank, and only managed a sharp scream of "Ah~~~~".

Xiangling, outside the Orchid Fragrance Pavilion, had just instructed a servant to prepare bathwater when the scream startled her. Recognizing her mistress's voice, she hurriedly ran back to the inner room, where she found her Miss hugging her knees on the couch, her face pale as snow, eyes brimming with tears and terror, staring at the couch. Xiangling quickly followed her gaze and saw several red stains on the snowy rug. She paused for a moment, then understood, breathing a silent sigh of relief.

She quickly stepped forward to comfort her, "Don't be afraid, Miss. It's nothing—this is your first time menstruating. Every girl goes through it. Didn't you ask Sister Lan about it when you were reading two years ago?"

Hearing Ziling's explanation, Yue Lianyu's eyes gradually focused, shifting from the rug to Ziling. She murmured, "Menstruation... You mean this blood is from me..." Before she finished, she closed her lips, lowered her head, and the pallor on her face was instantly replaced by a blush that crept all the way to her ears, hidden between her knees.

Ziling watched her Miss's embarrassment, wanting to laugh but not daring to. She knew that if she laughed now, she'd surely be resented and subjected to her mistress's clever little tricks. She quickly stepped forward to reassure her, "Miss, there's nothing to be embarrassed about. When I first got my period, I was even more frightened than you!"

She saw Lianyu's head lift slightly before burying itself again, but her ears stood straight, indicating that although she was embarrassed, she wanted to hear more. So Ziling continued, "When I first menstruated, I thought I had some terrible illness. As you know, I'm versed in some medicine, so I checked my own pulse but couldn't make sense of it. I was downcast for days, and only after it passed did I dare to secretly seek out Sister Lan to cry. That's when I learned it was just my period, and Sister Lan teased me thoroughly."

Ziling's words triggered Lianyu's memory. She vaguely recalled that during a few days in the previous summer, Ziling had seemed absent-minded and troubled, responding to questions evasively, her eyes always red. Lianyu, unable to bear it, allowed her a few days of rest. Afterwards, Ziling would blush whenever she saw Sister Lan, and when Lianyu, curious, asked about it, her face would only redden more. She remembered teasing her as "Monkey Face" then.

After all, she was only twelve or thirteen—a girl whose attention quickly shifted to Ziling. She lifted her head and asked, "Was it that time in summer when I let you rest?"

Ziling saw her Miss's attention had shifted and quickly nodded. "Yes, it was that time, so you're doing much better than I did!"

Yue Lianyu gradually recovered her spirits, muttering softly, "Of course. Had I not just woken up, I wouldn't have been so frightened."

"Indeed, my Miss is the bravest. Now, do you want me to arrange for the bathwater? But since you've begun menstruating, you can't soak in fragrant water—only use scented towels to clean yourself."

"Mm, just make the arrangements." Girls are always shy, and even though Ziling was her close maid, she still felt embarrassed.

Ziling, seeing that Lianyu had accepted the situation though still a little bashful, felt reassured and went out.

Yue Lianyu watched Ziling leave and, annoyed, tapped her own head with her small fist, silently scolding herself for being so timid.

After the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, footsteps came and went, mingled with Ziling's deliberately hushed voice in the outer room. Afterwards, Yue Lianyu was attended by Ziling for a brief bath, changed into fresh inner clothes, ate a meal, and went back to sleep.

Lan Shui returned from Firefly Garden to Orchid Fragrance Pavilion at the second watch of the night. Entering the room, she saw Ziling still keeping vigil in the outer chamber, so she stepped forward and, deliberately lowering her voice, asked, "Miss hasn't woken up yet?"

"She woke at the hour of the rooster, ate, and went back to sleep," Ziling said, just finishing the last stitch of the plum blossom on her brocade handkerchief, tying off the thread. "Miss had quite a fright today, as it's her first period, but she's fine now."

Lan Shui listened, reproaching herself. How could she have forgotten such a thing? Miss had just turned thirteen this March, and by the calendar, it was time for this to happen. Had she warned her earlier, Miss wouldn't have been so startled, and she hadn't even been present. Now that Miss was asleep, she didn't know the details, and Lianyu was proud and easily embarrassed. Tomorrow, when she meets the eldest Miss, she'll need to give her advance notice.

Lan Shui glanced at the yawning Ziling and reminded her, "Go rest in your room. I'll keep watch tonight. The young master just received word that the eldest Miss will arrive in the city by noon tomorrow. She won't tolerate any slackness from the people around Miss, so rest well and be at your best tomorrow."

Ziling quickly rose and thanked her, "Thank you, Sister Lan, for your advice. I'll take care. I'll head down now—thank you for your hard work tonight." Seeing Lan Shui nod, she took her embroidery basket and went to her room to rest.

Lan Shui warmed herself in the outer room before walking into the inner chamber, watching Lianyu sleep for a while before quietly returning to the outer room.