On the tenth day of the second lunar month, the wintersweet in Hanmei Courtyard had withered away completely, leaving only bare branches behind. Jiang Rou stared at her reflection in the bronze mirror. Her face was as pale as paper, dark bruises shadowed her eyes, and the Gold Step-Shaker in her hair hung crookedly, giving her an indescribably defeated appearance. Xiaocui knelt on the floor, clutching a lacquer box that held half a piece of moldy pastry—leftovers she had stolen from the kitchen.
"Miss, you haven't eaten for three days..." Xiaocui said, her voice choked with tears. "Even if you won't do it for yourself, please think of Madam..."
"Mother?" Jiang Rou let out a sudden, faint laugh, her fingertips tracing the surface of the mirror. "Chanting scriptures and praying in the ancestral hall every day, she has long since acted as though she has no such daughter as me."
Chapter 144