“The autumn air is clear,
The autumn moon is bright,
Leaves that have fallen gather and scatter,
Jackdaws roosts and start anew.
Yearning for each other, when shall we meet again?
It is hard to love this night”

Autumn Air - Li Bai

Mengyao woke with a start, panting as he sat up. After a few moments, he felt recovered enough to put his arms down and push his hair back. He couldn’t help but chuckle.

27 years old and I still have nightmares about it.

He sighed before rising out of his bed and to his vanity. Though he was nothing more than a simple servant, the Lady of the House awarded him many pleasures. And of course, he was grateful. She was the one who found him on the streets when his home burned.

He still remembered wandering the streets and asking for food. The youngest son of the prestigious Su family never had to worry about that sort of thing. But he lost it all to the fire. And when he wandered the streets, many merchants and innkeepers shooed him away and said “If you can’t afford it, you don’t need to be here!”

That was when he saw Madame Yi Tung-Mei and her son, Yi Lei riding through the marketplace. Her beautifully adorned carriage had stopped as she approached him. Mengyao looked at her and frowned.

Almost without a word, she took his hand and led him back to her carriage.

“Mama! What are you doing?! If you pick up one homeless person, they’ll all want to be picked up!”

“Quiet your tongue, A-Lei,” Madame Tung-Mei had said as she put her hand on Mengyao’s head.

Mengyao smiled as he remembered the ride. It was quiet and calming. Well, it was calm except for Lei giving Mengyao the evilest look he could give. Mengyao looked at his feet as he kicked them just a bit.

When they arrived at the Yi residence, he was in awe at how large it was. It was much larger than his home and had phoenixes everywhere! When the carriage stopped, Madame Tung-Mei helped Mengyao step out first and led him to the main hall with Lei following behind. She had dismissed all her servants and told them to close the doors.

Lei folded his arms as he looked at Madame Tung-Mei.

“Mama, seriously! Why do you want to keep this homeless rat?!”

“I said to quiet your tongue!”

With a quick hand, Madame Tung-Mei had flung a small fireball at Lei.

Mengyao clung to Madame Tung-Mei’s robes as he watched the small fireball zoom past Lei.

“Do you realize who this is, child?!”

Mengyao watched Lei squint his eyes before widening them. “He’s alive?!”

“Yes he is. That is why I picked him up.”

“What are we going to do?! We can’t keep him! If the people who killed his family found out he was here, they’ll try and kill us too!”

“Which is why I can’t give him our family name,” she had said, smoothing Mengyao’s unkempt hair.

Madame Tung-Mei had squatted to Mengyao’s height to look him in the face as she continued to smooth his hair and held his face in her hands. She had looked quite sad.

“Yao’er. I can’t give you my family name and I can’t reveal that you’re a survivor. You will have to become a servant. It’s the only mercy I can give you,” Madame Tung-Mei said apologetically.

Mengyao at the time didn’t understand. He couldn’t remember exactly what he said to her but after a few moments, he agreed and stayed in the residence as her servant. However, he was given many more freedoms than other servants were given.

Many servants had to share quarters or sleep in the kitchen. Mengyao was given his own room to sleep in. Of course, he was supposed to share a room with Lei but Lei threw a temper tantrum and refused.

Madame Tung-Mei didn’t want to hear anymore of Lei’s temper tantrums and so gave Mengyao his own room.

Mengyao was just happy to have a roof over his head and food to eat. Though his time on the streets were only a few short months, it felt like an eternity. But the question he always had never left, whether on the streets or in the Yi home.

Who killed his family? Why? What did they do to deserve that treatment?

Mengyao took in a deep breath before standing and getting dressed for the day. There were many things to do today! Apparently, Madame Tung-Mei had expected guests to come over to discuss trade and business. He knew that the home had to be perfect!

When he dressed in his best robes, he sat at his vanity and looked at the guan he had. Out of the twelve he had; only two were from Lei (only because Lei didn’t wear them or didn’t like them). The rest were birthday gifts from the Lady of the House.

He settled on his favorite guan that she had given him: A silver guan with a large blue stone in the middle with a matching hairpin. He had to admit: Blue complimented his quite pale skin nicely and Madame Tung-Mei had nice taste.

With a swift hand, he made his hair up and pinned it in place. He looked in the mirror and smiled, taking note of his appearance. His hair was neat and kept and his smile warm. He even noticed the dimples in his cheeks when he smiled. He did remember Master Yi Jiang saying that his dimples would be the reason he’d get many admirers.

Mengyao shook his head. He was just a servant. What admirers would want him?

He stood from his vanity and headed out his room. As he walked he heard fast approaching footsteps. He took in a deep breath before turning and giving the kindest smile he could give.

“Young Master Lei, good morning!”

Lei sneered before turning his head away and his nose up as he walked by. Even for a man close to being in his mid-thirties, Lei had quite a baby face with soft features. However, his temper was explosive and sometimes came out of nowhere, like thunder from a storm. Though no one said it to his face, he had earned the title “The Thunder Prince”. 

Mengyao shook his head as Lei walked by, his long black hair trailing behind him.

“A-Lei. I believe Yao’er wished you a good morning.”

Mengyao turned to the source of the voice before bowing deeply. He heard Lei’s footsteps stop midstep.

“My lady, good morning.”

“Good morning to you Yao’er. A-Lei, he wished you a good morning.”

Though her face seemed expressionless, the aura and power that came off Madame Tung-Mei was incredible. When she walked into a room, she commanded respect and attention from all those in her presence. Though she had been kind to him, he knew to never get on her bad side.

“Mama, he’s just a servant! I don’t have to say good morning to him!”

“I’m not going to tell you again: Yao’er wished you a good morning.”

Mengyao stood up and looked to Lei, who had his arms folded and a scowl on his baby face. He looked even more like a child this way.

After a few moments, while rolling his eyes, Lei held up his hands toward Mengyao and grumbled, “Good morning, A-Yao.”

“That will do for now. I would advise you to not roll your eyes and give a proper “good morning” to him. Remember your manners for when the Duan Family comes over tonight,” Madame Tung-Mei said. 

She turned to Mengyao and softened her face just a bit. “Yao’er, I expect nothing less than the best from you, correct?”

“Yes, my lady.”

“Get to it.”

Mengyao bowed to Madame Tung-Mei once more before walking away, tucking his hands into his sleeves. As he walked away, he heard Lei begin to argue with his mother. He couldn’t help but chuckle just slightly. It made him think of the arguments he had with his eldest sister, Xiaohui.

As Mengyao approached the kitchen, he heard a crash.

He sighed. He hoped she didn’t hurt herself this time.