Who Do You Think You Are

The room was so silent you could hear a pin drop.

Madam Zhang didn’t speak, and neither did Song Caitang. But there was a tension between them that nobody could understand and nobody could interrupt…

Guan Rongrong was very annoyed,

“Cousin, you know that I’m the straight-talking type, so I’ll go straight to the point.”

She glared at Song Caitang, the sharp corners of her eyes showing how nitpicky she was, “Any household would have rules about when greetings need to be made, what time the day starts, and what time the day ends. Others might not say anything, but you have to remember such things yourself. My mother is in charge of the house and has to attend to many things every day. Do you know how many matters have been pushed back because she’s been waiting for you?”

Song Caitang made sure she looked very teachable. She immediately got up and got ready to fall on her knees, “I am so sorry, First Aunt. This is all my fault. Grandmother looks so ill, and I couldn’t bear to leave her, so I stayed there for a while longer and forgot the time. Please punish me!”

“Since you know your mistake, you’d better…” Before Guan Rongrong could put on a gleeful expression after forcing Song Caitang to eat humble pie, Madam Zhang cut her off.

“Why are you saying such things?” Madam Zhang motioned to her head maid to stop Song Caitang from kowtowing to her as she threw her own daughter a warning glance,

“Being filial to your elders is the right thing to do! Nobody would blame you for being filial! I only waited for a while, and it’s no trouble to me. Why should I punish you?”

If word got out that the Cousin Young Mistress of the Guan family got punished because she had gone to visit her ill grandmother for too long and was late to greet her aunt, the Guan family would be so embarrassed! Madam Zhang herself would be so embarrassed!

Madam Zhang smiled and said, “You don’t have to be so formal around us. Your surname is Song, but the Guan family is your mother’s family, so we’re very closely related. Even if the bones in a body are broken, the body is still held together by tendons – you don’t have to keep your distance. Just treat this place like your own home, you hear me?”

Song Caitang glanced at Guan Rongrong, then smiled shyly as she responded, “Yes, First Aunt…”

Guan Rongrong nearly lost her temper.

But she managed to hold it in after Madam Zhang glared at her,

“Your Second Sister has good intentions, but she’s very straightforward and speaks without thinking. Actually, she’s not angry with you. It’s good for you to learn these rules, and there are good reasons to do that, understand?”

Song Caitang smiled politely, “Yes, Eldest Sister talked to me about this earlier as well. I will take note.”

“That’s good.” Madam Zhang’s expression did not change at the mention of Guan Qing, “Learn these things well. They might come in handy soon.”

Guan Rongrong immediately frowned unhappily. Was her mother going to mention that matter…

Song Caitang had noticed the change on Guan Rongrong’s face and figured something was up. She blinked a few times and asked curiously, “Soon? First Aunt, do you mean…”

“Luanze is a small place, but it’s a blessed place too. A number of big shots from the capital are coming. Do you know the commander of the royal guards and the nephew of the emperor, Zhao Zhi?”

Madam Zhang knew what topic unmarried young women were into, so she purposely took her time to speak about this, “He comes from a good family and has great achievements in the military, so he’s brought glory to the emperor, but he’s too playful and has been punished by the emperor. He’s been demoted to surveillance commissioner, so he has to travel to the different prefectures, and I heard he’s coming to Luanze soon.”

“And because this man who’s famous for dealing with situations in a completely unpredictable and sometimes overboard manner, our local authorities are being very careful. They’re making sure they cover all grounds, and they’re afraid of not doing enough. The Gao family has specially invited an aristocrat from the capital, an in-law, Miss Ling, to come over as well, hoping that she will help to get them connected…”

What Madam Zhang was implying was clear.

Never mind a family of merchants like theirs – even the local authorities dared not try to get close to the emperor’s nephew. But an aristocrat like Miss Ling was a good connection to have.

If one could get close to her, get her support, enter the aristocratic circles, and get to the capital city, your future would be limitless!

The young women in this family were all of marriageable age. Even if only one made it, that was enough to carry the rest of the family!

Guan Rongrong pulled a long face. She was really angry now. Her mother had really mentioned this matter! How could she mention this to Song Caitang?

How could this bitch even stand a chance!

“Mother…” she whined as she looked at Madam Zhang.

But Madam Zhang continued to look at Song Caitang, “You’re both good girls, so you must remember to be on your best behavior.”

Song Caitang bent her head as though she felt shy talking about this, “I…will work hard.”

Guan Rongrong looked even angrier now.

Was her mother going to bring this bitch along?!

And why should she?!

And how dare this bitch agree to it! Who did she think she was?!

“Mother!” Even her whining sounded angry now.

Madam Zhang glanced at Guan Rongrong calmly.

There was no anger in her eyes at all. That was an icy, emotionless glance.

Guan Rongrong did not dare to make a scene and shrank back immediately.

After the room quietened down again, Madam Zhang took another sip of tea and covered her cup with a cover, “Just one thing I’d like to remind you about. Don’t get involved in despised work.”

The room was too quiet, so the sound of the cover hitting the cup was so loud it seemed capable of shaking one’s heart.

Song Caitang looked up and met Madam Zhang’s eyes.

There was a calmness in her gaze, as well as a warning.

Don’t get involved in despised work? What did she mean by despised work?

Once she thought about how she managed to get back to this house after being trapped in the coffin home, she realized what Madam Zhang meant.

She was referring to touching dead bodies.

The coroner’s job was considered a despised one. Most people were not willing to do it.

Song Caitang smiled brightly and responded just as brightly, “Got it!”

She had agreed not to get involved, but it was hard to say what she would do in the future.

As for how to handle it…she’d deal with it if something happened.

Song Caitang could be shameless when needed and a swinging single, no less.

That part made her nothing like a daughter of an influential family.

Qingqiao didn’t get what Madam Zhang was driving at, so after they left, she whispered to her Young Mistress when nobody else was around, “What did Madam mean when she said all those things?”

An aristocrat from the capital… She would bring Song Caitang along if she behaved well enough…

Why did it sound like Madam Zhang was finding a good chance for her Young Mistress?

This was the same woman who had sent two maids to watch over her Young Mistress!

Song Caitang raised an eyebrow, an intelligent glint in her eyes, “She’s trying to see how much I’m worth now compared to the past.”

When she was an idiot, she was only worthy of marrying an idiot. Now that she wasn’t an idiot anymore and proved to be a smart girl, she was worth much more and could be exchanged for something worth much more too,

“She wouldn’t want to make a loss.”

Qingqiao gulped. What a scary woman!

Song Caitang noticed that Qinxiu was walking over, so she glanced at Qingqiao and said, “Go over to Eldest Sister’s place.”

Qingqiao remembered what they talked about earlier, so she knew what to do without needing further instructions.

She nodded and replied, “Yes, Young Mistress!”

“Also, tell Eldest Sister that the weather has been quite poor recently, which might be why Grandmother isn’t getting any better. As a show of filial piety to Grandmother, it’s better for her to gather the herbs herself and cook them herself.”

“Wha?” Qingqiao was a little confused. This part wasn’t mentioned earlier.

“Just tell Eldest Sister exactly what I said.”

“Alright.” Qingqiao bowed, then left.

After Guan Qing got the message, she called Qingqiao into a private room and asked her a lot of questions. But Song Caitang didn’t know what she eventually did after that, and she didn’t ask around either. She just focused on doing what she was supposed to do.

She woke up in the middle of the night again. She sat outside to admire the moon again while rolling more pills, then left the house with Qingqiao the next morning.

This time, Huamei was the one who got the chance to come along.

They didn’t go anywhere else and headed straight for their destination.

Huamei was very alert, making sure to adjust the curtain of the carriage when necessary, served tea attentively, and introduced all the scenery, people, and many other interesting things as the carriage drove past. She made full use of her gift of the gab, so much so that Qingqiao couldn’t squeeze a single word in. That was until…

The carriage stopped in front of the blacksmith’s.

Even the neatest of blacksmith workshops couldn’t be all that clean. The stains left behind by scraps of metal and the water used for quenching were difficult to clean, so the whole place looked dirty and smelled nasty.

Huamei immediately furrowed her brows.

What was Song Caitang here for?

Qingqiao took Song Caitang’s hand and helped her out of the carriage, “Young Mistress, walk slowly, watch your step…”

As she spoke, she glared at Huamei.

Aren’t you always so attentive? Even the wind can’t blow as quickly as your tongue! Why aren’t you saying anything now? Your tongue’s been cut off?

Huamei looked a little angry, but when she realized that Song Caitang had already alighted and she was still in the carriage despite being the maid, her face reddened from panic, and she quickly hopped out of the carriage.

But when she alighted, she stepped into the blackened dust, which instantly dirtied the new shoes with embroidered flowers that she was wearing for the first time today. She became even angrier now.

The shop owner was a middle-aged man who looked very honest. He was a really honest character, too – when he saw that Song Caitang had come personally, he had no idea how to talk to a young lady of high status, so he quickly called his wife for help.

His wife was a quick-witted woman. She complimented Song Caitang a lot, but when she noticed that Song Caitang only smiled and did not say anything else, she knew that Song Caitang was a mature young lady who wanted to look at the sample promised before moving on.

She was familiar with the business, so she knew where the things were kept. She went to retrieve the sample and placed it in front of Song Caitang.

“Miss, take a look at this one and see if you’re happy with it?” She had a friendly smile, and was welcoming and easygoing, “I’m not trying to brag, but within the next ten miles of this place, there are many in this city whose workmanship is worse than his, and almost nobody is better than him! If there’s something you don’t like, just let us know, and we’ll change it for you!”

Song Caitang picked up the intricately designed knife. Her eyes curved a little upwards to show how satisfied she was, “The shine is not bad.”

Huamei stared at the sharp little knife and felt her heart pound wildly. She was feeling so dizzy she felt she might faint anytime.

Was that what she thought it was?!

Cousin Young Mistress was at the blacksmith’s to pick up her knife order?!

That knife was so small, and the blade was so thin and sharp…what could that be used for?

She was reminded of what she had heard earlier, about how Cousin Young Mistress had touched dead bodies in the coffin home…

She glanced up to see Song Caitang touch the blade with her long, fair fingers. Her smile was reflected in the shiny blade, and she had an excited gleam in her eyes…

Cousin Young Mistress was really very interested in this knife and was studying it very closely!

The blade was very small, so it was definitely not meant for cutting vegetables. And if it was not for vegetables, then it was for…cutting…

…cutting people?

Hands, feet, skin…

If a maid was disobedient or showed displeasure, was Song Caitang going to slice their flesh to torture them slowly?

Just thinking about that sent shivers down Huamei’s back.

And just then, Song Caitang happened to look in her direction, the light reflection of the blade illuminating her smile…

Huamei’s heart nearly stopped.

OH MY GAWWWD HELP! I think…I can’t stay in this job much longer!