The next morning came early for Annchi. She was used to long hours and hard work, but it clearly had not prepared her for Lady Mei Lan’s dance training. Annchi’s arms burned as she put away her pallet and pulled on her uniform. She quickly braided her hair before checking to see who else was about. It didn’t surprise her that she was the only one up and finished getting ready. Although they had been working in Lady Mei Lan’s household for two months. It was easy to tell the other girls still weren’t used to being in service. They were always the last to wake up and get ready. Moa Moa and Ming Zhu had become fast friends, but neither had time for Annchi.
“Ming Jai Lin, get up.” She gently shook the older girl awake. “You need to stretch before we start working today. You’re going to be extremely sore.” The groan that left Ming Jai Lin’s month let Annchi know she was correct. Her movements were slow and stiff as she packed away her pallet.
“Why am I so sore. We stretched and soaked as Lady Mei Lin suggested.” Jai Lin groaned as she pulled on her dress.
“Here, let me help.” She took the ribbon from Jai Lin’s stiff fingers and quickly braided the older girl’s hair. “You’re going to be sore because you’re not used to working. I doubt you focused on labor when you lived in Councilor Ming’s home. Even now, because of your skill Madam Ling has you focus on fine embroidery and has Moa Moa do the mending.” She glanced at where the other girls were still sleeping.
“I was active. I often went on strolls. I even helped in the garden sometime.” Ming Jai Lin defended herself. Annchi rolled her eyes at the pitiful defense. Jai Lin was quickly becoming a true sister to her, but sometimes it was all too clear that they came from different backgrounds.
“Come on I’ll make you a salve before everyone gets up. It will help since we have practice later today. Grab me a bun from the kitchen, and you can come get it.” Annchi promised tying the final ribbon off.
“Thank you. I’ll pick it up on my way to drop off Lady Mei Lan’s new handkerchief.” Jai Lin promised gratefully she had made such a good friend. “I guess you should go before I try to wake the other girls up.”
“I keep warning you to stay away from them. If you are too nice they will take advantage of you. Lin Moa Moa is already claiming some of your work.” She warned before leaving. Annchi knew it was dangerous not to make allies in the Forbidden City where the winds constantly shifted. Without friends, she was an easy target. It would be just like her life before being taken in by Master Ling. If anything went wrong she was to blame, even if another kid started a fight she would be blamed. Taking the fall here would be much worse than anything the villagers had done to her. She thought her choice was better than Jai Lin. She would only get in trouble if someone outsmarted her. Ming Jai Lin was trusting snakes not to bite her.
Annchi went straight to the storeroom trusting Jai Lin would bring her breakfast. Though the sky was just starting to lighten, she knew Madam Nui would already have fixed some buns for the servants and started Lady Mei Lan’s breakfast. The Lady was unusual in many ways. It was not just that she treated her servants better than most nobles, but she treated them almost like family. From what Annchi was able to learn since her arrival in the Palace Lady Mei Lan followed most of the rules of conduct closely. As long you were dutiful and loyal Lady Mei Lan would take good care of you. However, this did not mean that Lady Mei Lan was an easy mistress to serve. Whether it was the Lady or her head maid Zheng Ming Shu the required perfection in all things. Thankfully she was used to long hours since Master Ling was the only doctor in her village, so he often worked his entire household to the bone. This was especially true during the past year because the nearest apothecary had been burned down by enemy soldiers. This was the real reason why she was so well versed in all the herbs in the Jade Palace’s storeroom.
She was endlessly grateful for Master Ling’s teaching and care since it gave her a place in her Lady’s household. Annchi hoped that she could keep studying medicine, but knew it may be impossible. She was still pondering the different ways she could continue her studies when Jai Lin appeared with breakfast.
“There are two buns and a peach in exchange for a jar of balm.” Ming Jai Lin announced proudly. Annchi sighed. Balm took more than an hour to make, and an entire jar was probably more than she should provide, even if Lady Mei Lan was generous. If it was a small jar, they shared Zheng Ming Shu might allow them to keep it. Annchi had prepared a tincture that would numb the pain because it was quicker, but she supposed a topical would be more useful. She went and searched the stores of pre-made cures and quickly found what she was looking for.
“Here, make sure no one else sees it. This isn’t something that I can make so I had to take it from the store.” Warned Annchi.
“Are you sure we can take it then? Won’t you be in trouble if someone finds out?”
“Who knows. Ointments last longer than brewed medicine, so I have no idea how old or effective it is. I haven’t seen anyone making an ointment since we arrived. The medicine I brewed would have helped you get through today, but that’s it. If we train every day we’re going to be sore until our bodies get used to it. It would be wasteful to throw out already prepared medicine though. I’m sure if I label it someone will need it soon.” Annchi corked the small vial and wrote a note of the distilled bitters used. Ming Jai Lin didn’t look certain, but the girl must have been sore because she pocketed the medicine without further argument.
Annchi was happy to see her friend had a little sense. She cleaned up her work area quickly putting things to rights so she could start her other duties. Though she worked with Ming Shu in the medical room to treat all of Lady Mei Lin’ s people, but there wasn’t enough work to justify spending her entire day there. Yet unlike the other girls she had neither the talent to earn a spot in a specific department nor did she earn their ire to be forced out. Instead, she was Ming Shu’s assistant. Every day she shadowed the older girl for the first few hours when she went over needed tasks. Then she would help her make prescriptions in the storeroom. After that, she would deliver them to the different recipients and report back to Ming Shu. Then Ming Shu would give her a seemingly random task that she would repeatedly fail at until the older girl would come and banish her to go clean. She hoped that having daily dance lessons with the Lady would replace these. Yet for some reason, she didn’t think it would.
“Again, Annchi, you are not making medicine. This is supposed to be a relaxing cup of tea. Yet it is so bitter I can barely swallow it.” Ming Shu instructed pouring her cup into a pot next to her. Annchi thought it was a ridiculous size when Ming informed her that today’s task was to brew a perfect cup of tea for their mistress and all others would be poured into the pot. Yet now the pot was over halfway full, yet Annchi was nowhere near brewing the perfect cup. The complaints so far had been too strong, too weak, too hot, too cold, and several cups were apparently types of tea Lady Mei Lan hated but kept for visitors. Annchi sighed and measured out the leaves again. This time she used to have the amount. She poured the water into the pot and waited.
“Why must I make tea when Lady Mei Lin only drinks tea you prepare?” Annchi complained.
“What would happen if I wasn’t present? If I was ill or was given a day off? Do you really expect the Lady to brew her own tea? No task is just one person’s. If you cannot sew, mend, or garden the least you should be able to do is serve te and snacks. If not you will be a useless lady’s maid!” Ming Shu lectured with a deep sigh making Annchi wince. It was true so far she had shown to be pretty useless outside the workroom. Though she thought Master Ling had prepared her for a life-in-service. The truth was outside the care he gave is patients his standards were far below that of the imperial court.
“Sorry, Sister Ming Shu you’re right. I will try harder to meet your expectation.” Annchi conceded meekly. She hoped this next cup met her standards. The idea of filling such a large jar with mistakes was embarrassing. She once again poured the tea into the cup this time it was yellow with a faint floral scent. Ming Shu smiled; training this girl was a handful, but it was also fun in a way. She took pride in her successes and tried to avoid making the same mistake.
“Decent, not perfect, but I will let you serve this to the lady.” She laughed at the younger girl’s expression. “I just told you I will not always be around. In these cases, you will serve our Lady in my stead. I have to run some errands in town. Take this pot and some snacks to the room you were arranging flowers in yesterday. Lady Mei Lan should be resting in there.”
The younger girl nodded and followed the steps she had practiced all morning earlier. She carefully picked out a lacquerware tray with flowers on it. She paired it with the light green tea set they had been practicing with. Then she headed to the kitchen and grab the dishes the cook had prepared for Lady Mei Lan’s snack. Since Ming Jai Lin was already in the kitchen she had her check the tray. She rearranged the items but gave no critiques. Annchi was a little more confident.
Lady Mei Lan was already sitting at her table when Annchi arrived.
“I’m sorry for my tardiness my Lady please forgive me.” Annchi apologized setting the tray before for. Lady Mei Lan waved away the apology with a gracious smile.
“It is only your first day, so I’m willing to be a little lenient. Besides you brought my favorite snacks,” she informed her, gesturing to the rose cakes. “They are hard to make and so I don’t often trouble Madam with them. Ming Jai Lin must like you if she arranged this. Be sure to thank her. How do you feel today?”
“I’m fine, my Lady. Thank you for the concern.”
“Really? I know you are used to long hours, but I’m sure you are not used to dancing. The stretches alone probably taxed your body.” Annchi twisted her hands nervously. No one would know that she had taken that medicine for Ming Jia Lin, but she didn’t feel right letting Lady Mei Lin worry about them.
“My Lady, please forgive me for not checking first, but I gave Ming Jia Lin medicine from the storeroom. There was already a balm for sore muscles in there. I didn’t think your ladyship would mind since lots of the medicine was passed out daily.”
“Yes, but the balm is much more expensive and harder to obtain. How long do you think it took to create that jar?” Questioned Lady Mei Lan taking a sip of her tea.
“A fortnight. The ingredients would need to be steeped for a long time before being distilled. Then it would have to thicken into a paste or mixed with a wax.” Annchi answered confidently. Lady Mei Lan was surprised at the thorough answer. Clearly, the girl had listened to her master and studied well. Maybe she would take Zheng Min Shu’s advice and continue to educate her. No one would go to battle without a doctor.
What was the Harem, but a deceivingly beautiful battlefield? It was always helpful to have a loyal healer with you on one’s side. She examined the girl closely. When they first met she thought the girl was passable. Not ugly but not eye-catching enough to draw attention. After Annchi had spent a few days as Zheng Min Shu’s shadow the older girl recommended cultivating her talents, yet Lady Mei Lan was hesitant. Zheng’s instincts were rarely wrong. It was a skill that had served them well both inside and outside the Palace. Still, she had doubted the girl’s advice until this moment. The quick response and confidence in the response showed the girl was not only a good student but sure of herself. She would not waver from her decision; at the same time, she was willing to open herself to criticism by admitting to having taken the balm without permission.
“For a weaker balm that would have been the correct answer, but for the one you are no doubt referring to it will take a month to recreate. It is a very potent mixture that I hoped to keep in reserve. I believe that you and Ming Jai Lin have potential. Therefore you may keep the ointment if you continue to hone all your skills. I have heard you complain about your lessons on flower arrangements and tea brewing. These are both important skills to have at court. You cannot invite a guest without refreshments. Knowing what a flower symbolizes will also help avoid misunderstandings.” Lady Mei Lan chided firmly. Annchi’s cheeks burned. She knew Lady Mei Lan was a generous mistress and almost all of her servants were proud to be part of her household. It was true that despite her success and status she was belittled for her beginnings. If anything went wrong when she first entered the haram it as blamed on the fact that she was never educated. Her lack of manners were due to being an orphan. Her brashness stemmed from her time as a performer. Her success with the Emperor was thanks to her experience entertaining guests.
“I’m sorry my Lady. I will do better,” promised Annchi.
“Without a family or wealth, you need to be perfect in everything. Any mistake you make will be scrutinized. No transgression will be forgotten. For now, you have people willing to teach you. Use this to your advantage little Annchi.”
“Yes, my lady. “ She answered bowing deeply.
“Good. Now go find Ming Jai Lin. We will have your dance lesson after Ming Shu returns from her errand.”
“Yes, my lady. I will go retrieve her.” Annchi promised bowing again.
“Make sure you eat something today’s practice will be harder than before. Now that you’ve seen the steps I expect you to master them.” Lady Mei Lan warned. Annchi bowed again before leaving to find her friend.
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