Surviving as a Maid of the Sichuan Tang Clan

“Hey! What on earth happened!”

What greeted me when I came back to the servants’ wing was Songji’s yell.

With how furious she looked, cold sweat ran down my back. I smiled like nothing was wrong and waved at her.

“Good evening, Songji.”

“You can say ‘good evening’ right now? Do you know how worried I was when you didn’t come back last night?”

Mm. Not working.

Songji had rushed over in one stride and was huffing like an enraged bull. She grabbed my shoulders and shook me hard.

“You didn’t send word you’d be late, nobody said they’d seen you. I kept thinking maybe you made some mistake with the Elder and he had you punished, or maybe those Simyang girls pulled something. I imagined all sorts of things. You really...”

Her voice broke. Her eyes were hollowed out like she’d stayed up all night worrying.

“I’m sorry, Songji.”

I apologized and pulled her into a tight hug.

I’d been so overwhelmed I’d completely forgotten about her. I hadn’t thought she’d worry this much.

I quickly patted her back, and she sniffled.

“I’m just glad nothing happened.”

“Yeah.”

“Did you get any sleep?”

“Of course.”

“You’re not hurt anywhere?”

“No. Oh, hey. Want some tea?”

“Tea? What tea? You mean actual tea, not dregs from cheap leaves?”

“Yeah. Grandfather Tang Jung gave it to me.”

Letting her go, I took out the tea tin I’d gotten from Tang Jung and shook it. Songji’s face brightened.

“Is this Dream-Summit Tea? Oh my, I’ve only ever smelled the scent before.”

“Probably.”

“I’ve never heard of the Elder giving tea as a reward. Hey. You must be doing your work well.”

“That’s not it, he just gave me what was left.”

To be exact, he’d given it to me so I could drink it while I studied. It obviously meant “when you get back, don’t sleep, study.”

Even in the martial world, you had to rely on caffeine to study. Life was truly harsh.

I pulled out another bundle from my clothes.

“I brought snacks too.”

Taking the plain-cloth bundle, Songji happily undid the knot. When she saw the pale rice cakes inside, she cried out.

“These are snow rice cakes! He gave you something this fancy?”

“Yeah. Well. Come on, let’s go in and eat them.”

“Right. Let’s hurry inside.”

Her smile reached her ears. From the look of it, she was even happier about the precious rice cakes than the high-grade tea.

Right. Food is what really counts. Good attitude. I pushed her back and went into our room.

But then I noticed my pillow and quilt had been swapped out for new ones.

I tilted my head in confusion, and Songji answered casually.

“Madam Jin came by yesterday. She said there wasn’t a suitable room to move you into right now, so she’d at least change out your bedding. I stayed up all night waiting just so I could tell you this...!”

“Songji, I’m sorry. I’m really sorry.”

Her voice was rising, so I quickly shoved a snow rice cake into her mouth to plug it. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

Come to think of it, Madam Jin had said she’d move my room. Once it was light out, I’d have to go tell her I’d stay as I was for the time being.

If I wanted to live quietly, it was better to cut down even a little on things that would get me talked about.

“You, really...!”

“You’ll choke. Hang on, Songji. I’ll brew the tea.”

Glowering at me, she puffed out her cheeks like a squirrel and chewed. The crunchy sound of the rice cake made my mouth water.

Is it good?

Poking at the brazier, I popped a snow rice cake into my own mouth. Nutty and slightly salty—perfect for a little something after a meal.

Facing each other as we ate, we both burst into laughter. It was nothing special, but somehow it made us laugh.

After swallowing her rice cake, Songji spoke.

“Sohae. What are you going to do from now on?”

“About what?”

“About Grandfather Tang Jung, I mean. From the way he keeps giving you things, he must like you, but I’m a little nervous. It was a long time ago, but they used to say whenever the Elder called for a newly hired maid, she always disappeared. You’ve lived here all along, sure, but... I’m still nervous. Can’t you ask nicely and get your work assignment changed?”

At her words, I thought of how Tang Jung had suspected my identity.

He’d asked if I hadn’t been working here long. So he really had looked for new maids from time to time in the past.

“It’ll be fine.”

I lifted a shoulder. I wasn’t a new hire. I was Tang blood. There was no way Tang Jung, who’d accepted me as his descendant and disciple, would harm me.

The problem wasn’t Tang Jung, it was the aunts and half-siblings I hadn’t even seen yet...

“Songji. I have a question. What kind of person is the Young Clan Head?”

“The Young Clan Head? The Young Clan Head is obviously a total bastard... ah. You can’t tell anyone I said that, okay?”

So he’s a total bastard.

Honestly, I could tell just from Tang Muheok’s attitude. There was no way a son raised under a father like that would turn out with a decent personality.

The strange one was gentle, soft-spoken Tang Un.

“Of course I won’t.”

“You promise?”

When I nodded, it was like she’d been waiting for that moment. She let all her pent-up complaints tumble out.

“Frankly, he’s not someone who deserves to be Young Clan Head. He’s not smart, he’s not good-looking, and on top of that he’s always throwing his weight around at the maids and he’s got filthy tastes. Who’d want to serve a master like that? If at least his martial arts were outstanding, that’d be something. But the Vice Captain of the Black Cloud Guard taught him for five years, and he’s still worse than the Third Young Master, who’s four years younger. That proves he has no talent for martial arts. If the Young Clan Head becomes Clan Head, the Tang Clan is going to collapse. Then where are we supposed to go? Do you think I could get a job at an inn?”

Songji. Breathe when you talk. Breathe.

Her face was as red as a ripe tomato. She must have {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} had a lot built up against the Young Clan Head.

Meanwhile, the kettle on the brazier had started to boil, steam puffing out. As I poured the boiling water into a cooling pot, I asked:

“Then why did he become Young Clan Head?”

“Because he’s the eldest son, of course. And the other young masters are still younger.”

Speaking as if it were obvious, she opened the tea tin and marveled at the well-dried leaves.

“This is really good tea!”

“Do you like it? Don’t hold back—drink as much as you want. I’ll get more.”

“Really? I’ll really drink like there’s no tomorrow, then. Anyway, I heard the Clan Head didn’t intend to make Young Master Yeongho the Young Clan Head at first. The main Madam’s child is Young Master Un, you know. But then Young Master Un came down with that severed-meridians disease and... well, it just turned out this way.”

“Ahh.”

“I think maybe Madam Zhuge has a weak constitution, and that’s why Young Master Un turned out like that. It’s famous gossip that she couldn’t have children for more than three years after the wedding, and that’s why they brought in Madam Im. Madam Im even had a son first, remember?”

“Right.”

“And then Madam Jo, who came in much later, has two sons and a daughter, while Madam Zhuge only has Young Master Un. She must be suffering in her heart.”

It really was a rather pitiful story.

This family had its own share of drama. So how many siblings did that give me? Four sons and one daughter?

Before I could ask, Songji grumbled on her own.

“Even then, Young Master Hwayeop and Young Master Juyeop are at least people you can serve. Young Master Seho is an absolute menace. All he ever says is, ‘My older brother is the Young Clan Head, what are you going to do about it,’ and he’s always flipping tables. Madam Im is so good with numbers people call her gifted in business. I don’t know how she ended up with a son like that. And on top of that, Young Lady Juhui is...”

There’s more? Just how many kids are there?

I counted on my fingers, trying to sort out the number of my half-siblings.

In short, the first wife, Madam Zhuge, had only Tang Un, and the rest were children of Madam Im and Madam Jo.

The eldest son Tang Yeongho and youngest son Tang Seho seemed to be Madam Im’s, while the third and fourth sons, Tang Hwayeop and Tang Juyeop, seemed to be Madam Jo’s.

The Third Young Master Captain Tang Bugyeong taught out on the training grounds must have been Tang Hwayeop. That would make Unit Captain Tang Bugyeong the Vice Captain of the Black Cloud Guard.

There were so many people to memorize that my temples throbbed.

Judging from what she’d said, there was also one daughter under Madam Im and one under Madam Jo. They were probably the Juhui and Chohee Tang Un had mentioned before.

“The other day, Hong-i got driven out. That was actually... hey, Sohae. Are you even listening to me?”

“Of course. The young lady was too much.”

“Right? No matter what, you don’t do that to a personal maid who’s served you her whole life...”

Once Songji’s tongue started, there was no sign it would stop. I listened with one ear and let it out the other while chewing on another snow rice cake.

The tea in the cup, which had been steaming hot, had already gone cold.

Five sons and two daughters.

Even if I left the favorable Tang Un out, that still made six. How was I going to survive the blood-soaked succession struggle of six siblings?

I tapped the cup with my finger. What I could do right now was...

“...and that’s what happened. This tea is really good. Anyway, aren’t you going to study your letters today?”

“I am.”

Time to conquer the Thousand-Character Classic.

I downed the tea in one gulp and pulled out my inkstone. As I started grinding ink with dead eyes, Songji smiled and spread paper out in front of me.

“If you hate it that much, why are you studying? Just do it for half a double-hour and go to sleep. I’m turning in first.”

“Because the Elder told me to. Go ahead and sleep.”

“Mm. I’ll clean this up.”

“Thanks, Songji.”

She cleared away the tea things and, maybe because she was tired, fell asleep as soon as she lay down. Listening to her gentle breathing, I gripped my brush.

No matter what, I’m finishing the Thousand-Character Classic by the end of this month!

Burning with determination, I started copying the text. Under the wavering lamplight, crooked characters lined the page.

*****

The next day, and the day after that, Tang Jung was away from his seat.

I’d thought that as Grand Elder he could just do whatever he wanted, but watching him, that wasn’t the case.

“The Grand Elder Clan Head of the Peng Clan is coming? That brat’s still alive? How long do they mean to work this old man to the bone?”

He grumbled, but still went dutifully to receive each guest. From the look of it, he took the role he’d been given quite seriously.

Well. Adults only get treated like adults when they act like it. In that sense, Tang Jung was an admirable adult.

Stretching, I slowly stepped into his building. Since I’d be alone anyway, I’d planned to skip cleaning and focus on my letters today.

But there was an uninvited guest sitting in the receiving room.

“Sohae, you’re here?”

The one who greeted me warmly was Tang Un.