Chapter 317 - 223: Creeping in the Shadows

When Daman arrived at the council hall, Pei Jue and Feng Jingteng were still in discussion.

As a servant girl, she did not dare to barge into the meeting room uninvited. She glanced at the spot where Feng Yun had just been sitting and saw no handkerchief, furrowed her brow, and backed out.

Where had Feng Yun just gone?

To wash her hands, change her clothes? The back room, the scribes’ quarters...

Thinking this, Daman followed the path Feng Yun had taken, her eyes glued to the ground, daring not to blink.

But after searching for a long time, she still found no handkerchief.

Everywhere was spotless, with servants still cleaning...

Could it have been picked up by someone?

As she thought this, suddenly a pair of feet appeared in her line of sight, and she jerked her head up.

Jiang Da was smiling with his arms crossed, staring at her.

Daman took two panicked steps back, bowed, and turned to leave.

Jiang Da darted forward in a few quick steps, blocking her way.

"What are you hiding from? Am I going to eat you or something?"

Daman, with her head lowered, "Uncle Jiang."

"You still recognize me, eh?" Jiang Da huffed coldly, "I thought after spending so much time with Shi’er Niang, you’d forget your own name and who you belong to."

Daman bit her lip, "Daman wouldn’t dare."

Jiang Da observed her complexion, snorted lightly, "You needn’t be so nervous. Lady Chen is also fond of you, worried that you would suffer beside Shi’er Niang, which is why she instructed me to remember to send her regards once we reached Xinzhou."

Daman’s complexion grew even uglier, her lips turning pale.

"Daman thanks Madam for her concern."

Jiang Da looked around, gestured with a hook of his finger, and motioned for her to follow him.

The two of them, one in front of the other, walked down the narrow path leading to the outhouse and stopped.

Jiang Da asked, "Shi’er Niang gave you a recipe, called ’Golden Boudoir Guest,’ didn’t she?"

Daman’s face changed slightly.

"Speak!" Jiang Da said impatiently, with a stern voice.

"Yes..." Daman, hearing him say the name ’Golden Boudoir Guest,’ knew right away it was because of Feng Yun’s words that had been overheard.

Jiang Da extended his hand toward her, "Give it here."

Daman’s pupils dilated slightly, and she took a step back.

"That is something for women to use, what use is it to Uncle Jiang?"

"So what if it’s for women? It’s not like the Feng Family only has Shi’er Niang as a daughter, right? If it’s good for Shi’er Niang, then Thirteen Niang and Fourteen Niang might well need it too, right?"

Daman looked at him warily, silent for a long while before pleading softly, "Uncle Jiang, Shi’er Niang has changed a lot from before. If I lose something she entrusted me with, she won’t let me off..."

Ha! Jiang Da scoffed coldly, "I’ll just make a copy and return it to you as it was, what are you afraid of?"

"No," Daman shook her head, "She will find out..."

"Then aren’t you afraid, that she will learn about your relationship with Lady Chen?"

Daman jumped, her face turning deathly pale as she looked at him, remaining silent.

Jiang Da stepped closer, "Have you forgotten about your mother? I mean... the woman who gave birth to you... Do you not care for her wishes? She has spent her entire life hoping you could acknowledge your ancestry and become a proper lady of the Feng Family. And you? What about you?"

Jiang Da’s gaze bore into her, sharp as knives.

"You’ve been so defiant, and for months, you’ve sent not a single message back home. Have you forgotten Madam’s instructions? Have you forgotten who saved your mother’s and your lives? Or maybe, you no longer wish to save your mother’s life?"

Daman’s face had by then lost all its color.

"Uncle Jiang, it’s not that I didn’t send messages, but Shi’er Niang is too cautious, and I couldn’t find the chance..."

Jiang Da gave her a sidelong glance, his smile more mocking than believing.

Daman’s eyes reddened, "Uncle Jiang, how is my mother?"

Jiang Da replied, "What else can she be? She takes her medication every day, barely clinging to life. The cost of her medicine every month is one hundred silver coins. If it weren’t for Madam’s kindness in paying for her care, she would already be dead. Where would you get the chance to be filial?"

Daman hung her head, tears falling plop, plop.

Jiang Da snorted with laughter, "Why cry? If you do your job well, just a word from Madam and from then on, you’ll be a proper lady of the Xuzhou Feng Family, rising up to be a phoenix. The good days are still to come."

Daman, tears brimming in her eyes, "But I am originally a daughter of the Feng Family, am I not?"

"Naïve," Jiang Da shook his head, "This world, you see, has its nobles and its commoners. Crawling out of a golden nest, you’re a phoenix; crawling out of a stray dog’s den, you’re nothing but a stray dog. You and Shi’er Niang, Thirteen Niang, you have the same father, right? But their mothers are of noble birth, born legitimate daughters from golden nests, endless in wealth and honor. And your mother? A singing prostitute, a stray dog from the slums. Without a noble patron, you’ll be a stray dog for life..."

Daman cried even harder.

People of the same kind but of different fates, she knew this all along.

Sharing the same father with the Feng sisters and having the blood of the Feng Family, but she still had to serve as their maidservant, a menial, at the beck and call of everyone...