Bonus: Handmaiden

Having a handmaiden, Bai Meizhen decided, was entirely more stressful than stories said. Looking out over the lake, she considered her words, and adjusted her grip on the fishing rod in her hands. Beside her, Xiao Fen stood still and attention, with her hands hidden in the long sleeves of her black gown. The other girl’s brow was wrinkled in concern.

“My Lady, what troubles you so?” Xiao Fen asked.

Of course Xiao Fen would notice her consternation. She was after all, her handmaiden. “I have been receiving a great deal of letters,” Bai Meizhen replied. “Regarding your conduct in the Outer Sect.”

Xiao Fen, for one brief moment, looked wounded before her expression smoothed out, and she bowed low, a new fire of determination in her eyes. “I apologize Mistress. I had thought that I was representing your interests as instructed, clearly I have erred. Please instruct me on how I can improve.”

Bai Meizhen lowered her head, and her fishing line sagged. That little display of emotion… She was glad for it. Of all the Xiao she had been given leave to interview, only Xiao Fen had showed that spark of unextinguished passion. However… that same temper had its problems. “Please call me by name when we are alone, Xiao Fen.”

Perhaps it was the irritating Sect rules that kept them apart most times which made things remain so awkward between them still. Still that at least was a mistake that Xiao Fen only made once per meeting.

“Of course, Lady Meizhen, forgive my slip,” Xiao Fen said, somehow bowing even lower.

Bai Meizhen frowned, it was a small thing, but she wished that Xiao Fen could be less deferential. Ling Qi had spoiled her. “Raise your head. Let me say that you have been performing all of your tasks well, the letters I have received are about secondary concerns. There have been several complaints from the Hou clan regarding your treatment of Hou Jin in particular. Others families as well, if less so.”

Xiao Fen looked confused. “But my Lady, the Hou clan is nothing. They are called counts, but what lands do they rule, or soldiers do they lead? They are jumped up courtiers. Why would you concern yourself with the prattle of trash?”

Bai Meizhen was silent as she gave a sharp tug on her line, pulling a wriggling green scaled carp from the splashing water. It was a puny thing compared to the fish of the Lakes, but it was plump enough as Emerald Seas catches went. A single glance and a surge of qi froze the creatures heart, stilling it’s movement immediately. She began to work the hook free of it’s mouth. “It is true that the Hou clan is of the new paradigm in the capital, but this does not make them irrelevant. Their wealth is at least real. However do not mistake my intent. I do not particularly care about the whining of stone counters.”

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Even the house of her new… friend, Bao Qingling was not so shameless. Mercantile certainly, but their true power was built from their crafts and lands. That they chose to participate in the actual dickering over stones was unseemly, but not terribly so. For a moment, Bai Meizhen found herself distracted, thinking of the way the girl’s dark hair framed her face. The fish in her hands twitched and Bai Meizhen shook her head. Releasing the unhooked fish, it dropped and was snatched from the air by a tendril of shadow deposited in the basket behind her.