Chapter Eighty-Nine: Your Old Servant Is Right Beside You

Song Ci found it rather strange. Ever since that night when she had been tormented by a nightmare, Madam Gong had seemed like a different person. She attended her with extraordinary care and devotion, overflowing with concern, even reminding her of things she had not known before. It was both thoughtful and warm.

That warmth left Song Ci a little at a loss, and she could not help studying the old lady.

Madam Gong touched her own face. “Why is Your Grace looking at this old servant so? Has this servant’s face gone awry?”

“No, it’s not that, Madam. It’s just that you’ve suddenly become so attentive to me. All these little tasks can be left to the maids; you’ve got me feeling like a swaddled infant. It’s rather embarrassing.”

Madam Gong’s mouth twitched. “Serving Your Grace is this servant’s duty. Surely Your Grace does not think this old servant, unlike those young girls like Hong You and the rest, has grown clumsy in hand and foot?”

“You’re nimble enough,” Song Ci said. “If you think you’re not nimble, then come do tai chi with us in the future. I guarantee that even when you’re old, you’ll still move like the wind.”

And once again she began trying to recruit people into her little morning-exercise troupe.

Just imagining a group of people in the courtyard practicing tai chi—was that not practically the very picture of a public-square dance?

“I’m an old woman with no one to rely on. What would I want with such a long life?” Madam Gong said with a smile.

“That’s not how you should think,” Song Ci said. “You spent most of your life in the palace, didn’t you? After leaving it, you came straight to the prime minister’s household. One might say you’ve never seen the wider world.”

She did not agree at all, and went on, “When you retire honorably someday, you could hire a carriage and travel here and there, seeing the great mountains and rivers of our Great Qing Kingdom. That way, you won’t have lived in vain.”

“By then I’d be terribly old, and I would still have to serve you. As for honorable retirement, I’d have to wait until—” Madam Gong’s words stopped short, and she did not continue.

Song Ci smiled. “Yes, once I’m dead, you can retire honorably. Though if you want to retire now, that would be fine too. After all, you’re not a bondservant; you’re a free person, and you also hold rank.”

Madam Gong shook her head. “The world is vast, but where could I go? I’ll just remain at your side.”

“If you want to spend your old age in the prime minister’s residence, that’s fine too. Rest assured, even if I die, I’ll arrange your retirement properly and prepare enough money for your old age. Or perhaps, Madam, you should follow Lady Li’s example and take in a granddaughter-in-law in the household. If not, you could buy a little girl or boy outside and raise them; then you’d have company in the future and would not be too lonely.”

Madam Gong froze. Her nose stung a little, and she rebuked her gently, “Your Grace must not keep speaking of death. It is inauspicious. You will live a hundred years.”

“People are bound to die sooner or later. You and I will both have that day. There’s no need to avoid talking about death; only then can one face it calmly.”

Song Ci thought of the bargain she had made with the old matriarch whose body she now occupied, smacked her lips, and muttered, “But before I die, I have to make arrangements for all of you and for this household, or else she certainly won’t let me off.”

A flicker passed through Madam Gong’s eyes, but she acted as if she had heard nothing.

“Madam Gong, Hong You and the others are at the right age as well. When you have a free moment, have them all come and speak with you—whether their families have made arrangements, or whether they already have someone in mind. If neither, then find them suitable matches. We can’t keep delaying those girls forever.”

Song Ci then thought of the chatter she had first heard among the maids, and of little Bao Yu. “And Fourth Master too. Sigh—go ask Old Lady Wei what family she truly has in mind for our Fourth Master. We should find out first.”

One thing after another. When counted up, there really was so much to be done.

Madam Gong looked at her with her head bowed, counting on her fingers and frowning as she spoke, and could not help smiling.

Doctor Lin was right. This was good too.