Free The Red Chamber by Pauline A. Chen

is the only one in the household that Xifeng trusts.
    With a desperate effort of self-control, she manages to speak calmly. “You’ve forgotten one thing. Ping’er is my personal body servant. I can’t possibly do without her.”
    “That’s no problem.” Lian is cocky and relaxed now that he has Granny’s support. “Why don’t you take the three hundred taels ? That’s more than enough to buy half a dozen maids.”
    “You think it’s so easy? Ping’er is no ordinary maid. I have been training her to help me run the household for years.”
    “I have an idea,” Lian says, as if he is being very generous. “Even after we’re married, she can keep on helping you.”
    “She can’t do everything I need while she has to worry about serving you—”
    “Why don’t I give you Suncloud?” Lady Jia interrupts. “That way you’ll be able to spare Ping’er.”
    Because Granny seems to be granting her a great boon—Suncloud is one of her senior maids—refusing seems impossible.
    Granny takes her silence as assent. “That’s settled. Snowgoose, why don’t you call Ping’er so we can tell her of her good fortune?”
    Xifeng is beginning to feel desperate, as if she is scrabbling up a mountainside of crumbling rock. Her only hope is that Ping’er will refuse.
    Ping’er appears quickly, looking scared. She kowtows to Granny.
    “Now, Ping’er, you’ve received a very fine opportunity.”
    Ping’er says nothing, twisting her hands nervously.
    “Master Lian has taken a fancy to you. He is planning on making you his Number Two. What do you think of that?”
    Ping’er darts a beseeching glance at Xifeng. Even to Xifeng’s suspicious eyes, Ping’er does not evince the least sign of triumph or pleasure. She looks wretched.
    “Come now, Ping’er,” Lady Jia prompts her again. “Why don’t you give Master Lian a kowtow to thank him for the great honor he is paying you?”
    Finally Ping’er whispers, “Only if my mistress agrees.”
    “You don’t have to worry about that,” Lady Jia says. “Your mistress agrees. Master Lian has agreed to let you continue serving her, so you don’t have to feel like you’re abandoning her.”
    “But—” Still Ping’er hesitates. She looks at Xifeng again. “Are you sure?”
    Ping’er is giving her another chance, yet Xifeng cannot bring herself to admit her weakness. She is too conscious of the maids moving around her, trying to do their work as silently as possible so they can catch every word. No matter how hard she works running the household, everyone hates her for her strictness. They cannot wait for her to show her vulnerability so they can attack.
    She shrugs, feigning indifference. “I don’t mind,” she says. She turns to Lian. “I should think you could get someone a lot prettier and younger than Ping’er. But if that’s what you want, suit yourself.”
    Lian smiles at Ping’er, ignoring Xifeng’s jibe. “You heard her. She doesn’t mind.” He takes Ping’er’s hand. “I’ll go and consult an astrologer about a lucky date for the wedding.”
    “Why didn’t you tell him that you didn’t want to?” Xifeng says, when she and Ping’er are alone in their own apartment.
    Ping’er stares at her. “How could I? I’m only a slave.”
    Xifeng knows she is being unfair, expecting Ping’er to stand up to Lian and Granny when she couldn’t do so herself. “I suppose it was too good for you to pass up. From maid to mistress—what a promotion!”
    Ping’er starts to cry. “That isn’t fair. Why couldn’t you have just told them ‘no’?”
    She cannot explain how Granny had cornered her into discussing Lian’s marriage in front of everyone, offering her money and her own maid to make it impossible for Xifeng to refuse. “How could I?”
    “If you had just told them ‘no,’ it would have been the end of the matter—”
    “I did say ‘no’ at first, but then—”
    “You should have stood your ground.” Ping’er speaks as