Respect

Yue'er left the room and went straight to the kitchen to ask the older cook to make a pot of plain congee with two plates of refreshing side dishes. She told her to send the food to the young master's room as soon as it was ready. Mama Wang readily agreed, and Yue'er slipped away, heading for the rear courtyard with a light step to find her young lady.

The moment she stepped through the door, she saw Lin Qingyao sitting upright at the table, her back straight and not resting against the chair. Her complexion looked much better.

"Yue'er, what brought you back at this hour?" Lin Qingyao looked up at her.

Yue'er came closer, her hand clenched and her eyes curving with a smile. "Miss, I brought you something good. Have a taste."

She pinched the wrapper between her fingertips and tore it open, revealing the chocolate inside. The piece had been hard just moments ago, but the warmth of her palm had softened it and left it misshapen. Yue'er pouted, her face falling at once.

"How did it melt like this? It was still hard a moment ago."

"What is it?" Lin Qingyao first caught a rich, sweet fragrance, mixed with a faint roasted note. It was unlike anything she had smelled before. "What is that? It smells lovely."

"It's candy. Please try it quickly, miss. If we leave it any longer, I'm afraid it'll melt into paste." Yue'er held out the melted chocolate.

Lin Qingyao took it and asked, "Where did you get this?"

"Young Master Shen gave it to me. He told me specifically to bring it to you, miss."

As soon as she finished speaking, Ju'er lifted the curtain and came in too.

Yue'er pulled another, much larger piece from inside her clothes. This one was tightly wrapped, and when she peeled back the foil, it was still hard and intact. Puzzled herself, she casually broke off a small piece and popped it into Ju'er's mouth.

Ju'er chewed twice, and her pretty almond-shaped eyes immediately narrowed into crescent moons. "It's so delicious! Yue'er, give me another piece!"

Yue'er hurriedly tucked the rest away and pouted. "The young master only gave me this one piece in all. You're lucky I shared a bite with you. If you want more, ask the miss."

"Stingy," Ju'er muttered, wrinkling her nose.

Lin Qingyao picked up the slightly melted piece of chocolate and took a small bite. A dense, silky sweetness melted instantly on her tongue, sweet without being cloying, with a faint trace of roasted bitterness at the finish. Its rich fragrance lingered as it slid warmly down her throat and into her stomach.

In all her life, she had never tasted anything so strange and rich. It was not cloyingly sweet like honey, nor crumbly like pastry. It was smooth and delicate, and its aftertaste lingered for a long time.

She swallowed the sweetness in her mouth and looked up at Yue'er with a smile.

"It seems Young Master Shen is quite attentive to you. I've never even seen such a rare thing myself."

Yue'er's face reddened, and she hastily waved her hands. "What are you saying, miss? Young Master Shen gave it to me especially for you in the first place."

"Is that so?" Lin Qingyao's smile deepened as she teased her deliberately. "Then I suppose the piece you tucked away was a reward Young Master Shen gave especially to you?"

Yue'er pouted and turned her face away. "You're just talking nonsense, miss."

"If I'd known, I wouldn't have brought it to you. I could have secretly eaten it all myself," Yue'er muttered with a pout.

Lin Qingyao raised a hand as if to tap her. "You little girl, are you asking for a beating more and more these days?"

Yue'er stuck out her tongue and made a face at her. Beside them, Ju'er immediately lunged over. "Miss, I'll tear her mouth off for you!"

The two girls laughed and tussled, filling the room with their chatter.

"All right, all right, stop it." Lin Qingyao laughed and stopped them. "Now, to business. Did you rush back just to bring me a piece of candy?"

Only then did Yue'er stop laughing and come closer.

"Miss, there's something else. Young Master Shen brought back two filthy little girls today, and I don't know where he found them. They're twins and look exactly alike."

Lin Qingyao did not give it much thought and said casually:

"I suppose he bought them as maids from among the disaster refugees. Perhaps he thought he didn't have enough hands and wanted two more people to serve him. Could it be that you haven't been attentive enough, so he bought someone else?"

"How could that be?" Yue'er waved her hands anxiously. "Young Master Shen said they're the sisters he took in! I offered them my own clothes to change into, but he wasn't happy about it. He said his sisters couldn't wear servants' clothes. Where am I supposed to find other clothes for them?"

Hearing this, Lin Qingyao slowly stood up, bracing herself against the edge of the table. Her injuries were only flesh wounds to begin with. Though they still hurt when she moved, she had no trouble walking. She gave Ju'er an instruction:

"Ju'er, go pick a few outfits from my trunks that will fit them, and wrap them in a cloth."

"Miss, what do you need the clothes for?"

"What else? To take to those two girls." Lin Qingyao glanced at her. "Just get them when I tell you to. Why so many questions?"

Ju'er acknowledged the order and soon returned carrying a bulging cloth bag. The three of them headed for the front courtyard. Lin Qingyao walked slowly, and whenever she pulled at a wound, she merely knitted her brows slightly before continuing on as usual.

When they reached the entrance to the courtyard where Shen Jingchuan lived, they saw two small, skinny girls sitting beside the stone table, holding bowls of congee and eating it in large mouthfuls with a plate of pickles.

Hearing footsteps, the two girls looked up at the same time. Lin Qingyao was neatly dressed and elegant in bearing, plainly a young lady from a prominent family. They hurriedly set down their bowls and chopsticks and stood up, heads bowed and fingers clutching the corners of their clothes. They did not even dare look up, and their bodies trembled slightly.

Lin Qingyao glanced at them and saw that their little faces had exactly the same features. They were delicate-looking, but so thin that their cheeks had sunk in and they scarcely looked human. She did not go up to speak to them, but simply stood in the courtyard and waited.

Yue'er had already run ahead, lifting the curtain as she went inside and calling out brightly:

"Young Master Shen! Young Master Shen!"

Shen Jingchuan's voice came from inside. "What is it? Where did you run off to just now?"

Yue'er held up the curtain and smiled. "I took the candy to my young lady as you instructed. Come out and see, she's here."

"Oh? Miss Lin is here?"

Before Shen Jingchuan had finished speaking, he had already strode out. When he looked up and saw Lin Qingyao in the courtyard, he hurried forward to greet her with cupped hands.

"Miss Lin, it's you. Please, come inside and sit down."

"I won't come in."

Standing at the courtyard entrance, Lin Qingyao gave a slight nod.

"Yue'er told me you'd taken in two younger sisters and didn't have any clothes that fit them just yet. I had a few simple outfits in my trunks, so I brought them over. I don't know whether they'll fit."

She stepped aside, and Ju'er came forward and held out the cloth bundle in her hands. Shen Jingchuan took it, turned, and walked over to the two girls to hand it to them.

Lin Qingyao looked the two girls over, then could not help laughing.

"They really do look exactly alike. Without a close look, I can't even tell who's who."

The girls had already been ill at ease, and her remark left them even more at a loss. They hurriedly bent their knees, not even knowing where to put their hands.

Shen Jingchuan had said they were his sisters, not servants, but the young lady before them was richly dressed and had an extraordinary bearing. They dared not greet her as servants, yet did not know how to greet her as equals. They stood frozen for a moment and exchanged a furtive glance, their eyes full of bewilderment and embarrassment, their heads nearly buried against their chests.

Lin Qingyao saw it all clearly and could not help smiling. She spoke gently:

"All right, there's no need to be so stiff. Since you're Young Master Shen's sisters, you're just like my own younger sisters. We can greet one another as sisters. You're younger, so from now on, call me sister."

At her words, the two girls abruptly raised their heads. Surprise showed in their eyes at first, then a little light appeared. Together, they called softly:

"Sister Lin." Their voices were faint, but held genuine delight.

Lin Qingyao's gaze swept over their figures. Though both were thin, with slender shoulders and backs, their frames were well-proportioned and upright. They did not look like girls raised in an ordinary poor family, so she said,

"Try on the clothes. I think they may be a little loose. You're both too thin. Now that you're with your brother, eat well, and you'll slowly fill out again."

The two girls held the clothes and thanked her repeatedly, their fingertips pinching the fabric and their hearts warm.

Seeing this, Shen Jingchuan cupped his hands to Lin Qingyao. "Thank you for going to the trouble, Miss Lin. I thank you on their behalf."

"Young Master Shen, there's no need to be so formal."

Lin Qingyao smiled faintly. "You saved my life. What are a few clothes compared to that?"

She was a young lady raised in the inner quarters, and it would not be proper for her to stand in the courtyard too long alone with a man. After a brief pause, she said, "I've delivered the clothes, so I'll head back now."

"I'll see you out," Shen Jingchuan said.

They had only taken a couple of steps when Lin Qingyao suddenly stopped and lightly tapped her forehead.

"Look at me, I completely forgot."

As she spoke, she pulled two small gold nuggets from the pouch at her waist, then turned and walked back to the two girls. In a gentle voice, she said:

"I came in a hurry and didn't prepare any proper gifts for our first meeting. Take these two little nuggets and save them to buy some snacks or sewing supplies."

The girls were startled. They hurriedly waved their hands and stepped back, shaking their heads like pellet drums as they repeatedly said, "We can't accept them," and "We really shouldn't."

Seeing this, Shen Jingchuan spoke.

"Take them. We're all among friends here. This is a token of your Sister Lin's goodwill, so there's no need to refuse."

Only when he said so did the girls hesitate and stop refusing. They carefully accepted the two weighty little gold nuggets, their fingertips trembling slightly.

They looked up at Lin Qingyao, gratitude nearly overflowing from their eyes.

It was not that they coveted the gold and silver, but because Lin Qingyao had brought them clothes and now offered them gifts for their first meeting, and because she had called them "younger sisters" and spoken to them as equals.

From beginning to end, she had never treated them as helpless beggar children or bought servants. She had genuinely regarded them as Shen Jingchuan's younger sisters and treated them with full respect.