Mama Qiao laughed as she held Xue Dongting’s face in her hands, that pretty little face with those limpid eyes radiating a detached beauty. Mama Qiao said tenderly, “Girl, you’re not a young girl anymore. You’re growing more and more radiant. If you had been born into a good family you would certainly marry well. It’s a shame your reputation is ruined due to all this time you’ve spent as a singsong girl with me.”
Xue Dongting shook her head. She was the only one left in this little border town singing hall. Wanqing, Yuansheng, and her were all orphans who had grown up under Mama Qiao’s care. Mama Qiao had once been a famous courtesan in the capital. When she got older and her looks faded she had taken the three of them to this remote little town. Life was hard, so she opened a singing hall to make a bit of silver so they could scrape by.
Wanqing was the eldest, Xue Dongting second, and Yuansheng was the youngest. Wanqing was good at singing, Yuansheng was good at playing the zither, and Xue Dongting… She was the prettiest, so with these three girls here the singing hall’s business improved more and more every day. But the girls were getting older. Wanqing was already married, and Mama Qiao would not let Xue Dongting and Yuansheng go out in public. The money they had saved up over the years was enough for them to live on. Xue Dongting realized that the hall had not been open for business for the past six months.
Mama Qiao was about to say something, then stopped herself.
Past events were coming back to Xue Dongting gradually. She knew that at this time in her previous life there was a fisherman in the next village who had sent betrothal gifts to her in a bid to propose marriage. Back then she had been proud and arrogant and so had rejected him and returned the gifts.
Xue Dongting felt a pang in her heart and she smiled faintly and said, “Mama Qiao, what were you going to say?”
“Wanqing became the concubine of that Squire Zhang. I went to see her yesterday… She’s not doing well. It’s only been six months, but… Squire Zhang’s wife finds fault in everything Wanqing does…” Mama Qiao’s eyes welled up. She couldn’t go on.
Xue Dongting’s chest tightened. The previous time around she had often vied with Wanqing over men, but she had not paid any attention to her every since she’d married into the Zhang family.
Mama Qiao noticed her silent frowning. She went on, “Don’t be sad. Everyone has their own fate… Women like us, attaching ourselves to some bigwig might still not pay off.”
Xue Dongting nodded. She agreed with that. In her past life with Third Prince, he had never even touched her. He had just taken her as a lowly singsong girl.
Mama Qiao has still said not brought up the matter with the fisherman, so she said neutrally, “Mama Qiao, just marry me off to a woodcutter or a fisherman or a farmer. An ordinary life is good enough.”
Delight shone in Mama Qiao’s eyes. She hastened, “The other day… there was this fisherman from Clearcreek Village. He’s about thirty or so and all alone on account of him moving there from elsewhere. He doesn’t have a wife…”
Before she could finish, Xue Dongting nodded. “Okay, I’ll do as you say, Mama Qiao.”
Mama Qiao probably knew that she was usually proud and aloof, so she didn’t expect her to agree so briskly. “You agree?” she said incredulously.
Xue Dongting nodded firmly.
Mama Qiao laughed. “Girl, he might be older, but that just means he knows how to care for someone.”
Xue Dongting laughed. “Mama Qiao, I won’t go back on my word. You can arrange the day… Only, I don’t want a dowry. Yuansheng is still young, you all will need some money in case of emergency…”
Mama Qiao cut her off, “Oh that won’t do, will it? How can you not have a dowry?”
Xue Dongting put on her former attitude, giggling. “Even though we’re all just prostitutes being married off, there’s nothing improper about it. If you think about, I’m losing out anyway, so if we send a dowry over won’t I be losing out even more?”
Mama Qiao smiled helplessly and paid her no more mind. Xue Dongting saw the bitterness in Mama Qiao’s smile. Perhaps she thought that she really was marrying down. Xue Dongting didn’t say anything else. Marrying a fisherman in this life would still be better than what happened in her past life.