Meili~
Meihua had tucked her in late at night, and she had been too tired to notice her surroundings. But now, in the light, Meili took a fresh look at everything.
The frumpy nightshirt that had annoyed Meili the night before was actually a pastel rose colored nightgown with a single daisy embroidery that wrapped around the wrists. The smooth material smelled nice. The silky fabric felt and looked expensive. The room that had seemed tiny was no longer obscured by darkness and shadows. It was actually quite large, even roomier than the main gathering chamber of her parents’ home, where five of their siblings, including herself, had slept. Instead of an unsightly, stained bed sheet hanging in the doorway for privacy like she was used to seeing in their old house, thick tapestry curtains divided the space from her sister’s bedroom.
The sparse room Meili thought belonged to a servant was lovely. It was decorated with beautiful ceramic vases, some holding fresh plum flowers. There was also an assortment of trinkets, like little fairies resembling children and animal statues on the dust-free shelves, and framed calligraphy, hung on the smooth silk papered walls. No matter where she gazed, signs of wealth were unmistakable.
Once, she had seen a bed resembling Meihua’s oversized wooden-framed raised sleeping platform while sneaking into the furniture store. It was in the farthest section of the goods store, accessible only to invited individuals. Meili’s bedding wasn’t as nice being on the floor but plush and blanketed with a luxurious sateen comforter that was impeccably clean—It was the most exquisite bedding she had ever seen. They looked even finer than the ones in the expensive stores that had rudely shooed her away. The blankets were so stunning that she suddenly felt unworthy sitting on them, yet she considered if Meihua could use them, so could she.
Life was a captivating enigma. The last person she had expected to encounter was her stupid sister, Meihua, this far from home. It wasn’t because Meili missed Meihua that she had secretly ventured into the backyard the previous night to unveil herself; it was pure curiosity that drove her. In fact, Meili had contemplated not meeting with Meihua after she discovered her identity. However, it seemed that her sister had accomplished something that Meili had yearned for a long time.
It hadn’t been thoughtlessness or impulse when Meili didn’t follow Anwei when he left for the next town. She stayed behind in Qingshui City because it differed from the capital, a dull place she found boring since she was poor. It was the same thing day after day of just peering into nice stores and spotting things she wanted but couldn’t buy. The sight of young women her age frolicking around dressed up in fancy clothes, being carted around in expensive sedans, sitting next to and being courted by handsome men who were clearly out of her league, was enough to make her blood boil, since the only difference between Meili and those women was nothing but the luck of being born to better parents.
She didn’t know her father was dead, but she hated her parents, who lacked education. The only literate family members had been mother, Meihua and Er’r. She resented them for being nothing, with only the inclination to breed recklessly like rabbits, even though they couldn’t afford to feed and clothe the growing family. Meihua had it worse, wearing dresses made from rag scraps, but Meili had never owned a new dress that wasn’t handed down from mother. She had been forced to endure with the barest while her parents made no efforts to improve their own lives, or more importantly, hers.
She longed to be someone different from the Meili everyone knew, although she was uncertain of how to bring about such change. All she felt was that she did not want to be known as the daughter of an impoverished alcoholic canal worker and a spineless woman who did the neighbor’s laundry and had been pregnant most of Meili’s life.
She wanted to shed her old self the way a snake sheds its skin.
Her metamorphosis began with a new name. She changed her name to Yueli after the princess, who was currently the talk of the capital. She drifted around using her new identity, enjoying her freedom, with no one telling her what to do. When tired, she slept in the fireworks factory, and when hungry, she ate whatever she pleased. The people in Qingshui City were nicer than back home. Being a smaller town, there were fewer drifters to compete with, and most didn’t think she was homeless. People said she and the smattering of freckles across her nose were adorable. Getting free food without money was easy. With male vendors, flattery or flirtation was enough. With women, a sad story about having an ill mother at home and tears were enough for sweets, noodles, and snacks to fill her pockets. She would have continued this lifestyle of freedom if she hadn’t seen Meihua in town.
Meili was enjoying a scallion pancake when she saw a woman that looked eerily like Meihua but dressed in fancy clothes. When she went inside the apothecary; Meili followed and heard the pharmacist giving the woman instructions for brewing the pain diminishing tonic he was prescribing. Like Meihua, the woman mentioned having bad wrists. Her sister’s wrists often became stiff and painful to move. The old neighbor hood quack with the glass eye had told mother that Meihua’s wrists were permanently damaged from years of washing clothes in icy waters.
Meili followed the woman back to her home. For days, Meili watched her and discovered that she was actually her older sister, Meihua, who was living under a different name. Meihua was A-li, also known as Madam Li. She dressed in nice clothes with her hair up in a bun as a married woman wore. She had a fancy sedan at her disposal but often walked to town on her daily trips to buy fresh ingredients from the market. She had a cook and a servant who didn’t live with her, but two men did.
The men seemed to be slightly older than Meihua, but not as old as their father. They appeared to be closer in age as their eldest brother. These men were remarkably attractive and possessed excellent manners. Their clothing suggested wealth, and they spoke in gentle tones, resembling the sophisticated and educated individuals in the capital city, rather than the boisterous canal workers or marketplace vendors who often resorted to cursing and shouting.
Both of them showed a special interest and attentiveness in Meihua, leading Meili to consider that they might be using her sister as their shared courtesan. It wasn’t unheard of for people to engage in threesomes. Meili didn’t judge her sister for having to serve two men. She thought Meihua was lucky because the men were rich, young, handsome and in good shape, but more than anything else, her sister was the very thing Meili wanted. Meihua had shed her past. Ridden herself of her poverty-stricken name and accomplished what Meili dreamt of doing and she wanted Meihua to do the same for her.
It was still in the manor. Someone, probably her sister, had left a cup of sweetened soymilk on the bedside table, but she didn’t hear Meihua’s voice outside. Meili stayed put in her room and lingered, lying around in bed, until she became bored and restless. Eventually, she quietly emerged from her bed and ventured into her sister’s room, taking in every detail with astonishment. She vividly remembered from the previous night that the massive wardrobe was filled with an array of clothes, prompting her to tiptoe across the room in an excitement filled rush.
The sight of it all was truly breathtaking. As Meili’s hand glided across the dresses, she couldn’t help but admire their delicate and exquisite beauty. She also took the time to flip through the assortment of cloaks, each one adorned with long ribbon ties and offering a variety of colors and styles. However, it was a particular hooded cloak that immediately captured her attention. The blue fabric resembled the color of the sky, complemented by a white collar and silver stitching that evoked thoughts of fluffy billowing clouds. Eagerly, she draped it over her shoulders and slipped into a pair of matching shoes, marveling at how perfectly everything fit her.
Her sister possessed more than just fancy clothes. Her vanity held a delightful assortment of little pots of rouge, face powder, colored lip papers, and perfumes. Her hair brushes were all silver handled. Meili couldn’t resist running the lavish brushes through her hair. She took the liberty of sampling a bit of each cosmetic, admiring how they enhanced her own appearance. However, amidst all the treasures in Meihua’s room, it was the velvet boxes brimming with golden hairpins, earrings, rings, jeweled necklaces and other ornaments like the many smooth bangles in colors from corals, greens and white jade bracelets that truly took Meili’s breath away. She had never laid eyes upon such exquisite finery, nor seen so much gold in her entire life.
Each piece was more exquisite than the next, but her favorite were the hairpins adorned with dangling phoenixes that danced with movements. When she delicately placed them in her hair, it felt like a spiritual experience. She put on as many bangles as possible until she could scarcely bend her arms and jeweled rings on every one of her fingers. As she marveled at her reflection, something else caught her eye. By Meihua’s bedside, there sat a somewhat closed black lacquer box. Inside, there was an overabundance of money, causing some to stick out of the partial opening. A sight that Meili could hardly believe. The jewelry suddenly seemed uninteresting, for all she saw were coins, silver and gold, intertwined with paper money.
The whites of her eyes like saucers were wide with shock as Meili leaned over the bedside table. Her face was hidden beneath a cloak. She was shaking, so the hairpins trembled with her body’s movements. With a fistful of money held close to her chest, she inhaled the sweet scent of wealth and she had an epiphany. Regardless of being born into poverty or lacking the ability to read or write, it was insignificant. It didn’t matter that she wasn’t a virgin, either. Meihua’s ability to alter her own fate inspired Meili to believe that she, too, could do the same. Ultimately, that was the only thing that truly held importance.
She was completely engrossed that she didn’t hear someone enter the room or sneaking up behind her. Long arms circled her body without touching her. A face crept inches by her cheek and someone simultaneously grabbed her waist with both hands and growled in her ear, “This suggestive posture will serve perfectly for my lustful intentions, you seductive Huli Jing.”
She shrieked in fright. Meili screamed and threw the money in the air. She whipped around to see her brother-in-law wide-eyed as he hollered, “All eighteen levels of fucking hell!” He recoiled with such force; he shoved Meili over onto her knees forcibly. When he realised he had caused her to fall, he gingerly helped her stand. Meili was nervous he would see the money and assume she was stealing, but he seemed oblivious to the scattered coins and paper notes around them.
“Forgive me. I thought you were A-li. You’re wearing her clothes and I temporarily forgot there was another female under this roof. Did I hurt you?” He asked, reaching out and delicately rubbed her knees before jerking his hand away as if she were poison ivy. “I think it would be best if I left you to do whatever you were doing. I’m sorry. If your knees are bruised, ask Mrs. Ma for medicine.” He was stammering nervously, but Meili replied brightly, “Brother-in-law smelled nice and I didn’t mind being hugged by you. I loved it. You can embrace me anytime.”
She expected a chuckle, or at least a smile, from him, but he scowled. “It was an accident. From behind, I mistook you for your sister. I didn’t get a look at your face because of the cloak. You’re wearing A-li’s clothes, shoes and hairpins, but I should have been more careful,” he spoke curtly and Meili replied, “It was a welcome accident. I really liked it.”
His teeth clenched, and his jaw tightened visibly at her cheeky reply. His eyes were now hooded, seeming to sink deeper into his face, causing their darkness to intensify and they bore into her face. The sight of his discomfort reminded her of other men she had encountered. Men with rigid demeanors who needed to maintain a facade of propriety. But with her, her brother-in-law didn’t have to exert any control or pretend he wasn’t a hot-blooded man with male needs.
She beamed at him, but he glared at her as if he was trying to figure her out, even though she had laid it out for him. “I’m a woman. I’m not a prudish virgin and I can do the same things my sister does for you. You might prefer me. I’m younger and I promise not to say anything to my sister. Meili doesn’t want brother-in-law to get into trouble.” She said, then remembering the provocative dialog between him and Meihua the night before. She added suggestively. “I’m tight.” She spoke to him using the girlish and flirtatious voice that made most men blush, but she didn’t get the reaction she was hoping for, rather his expression darkened more.
“You’re too young to be this indecent.” He scoffed at her with his lips pressed into a tight line and wordlessly stomped off without giving her a second look. But Meili was excited by their chance encounter, even if he claimed it was accidental. Her face was smug from her brother-in-law’s touch and the smell of him left a more profound impact than any material possession – surpassing even the allure of Meihua’s clothes, jewelry, or money combined. He could pretend he didn’t desire her. He could accuse her of being indecent, but she had learned some men preferred indecent women. Meili believed under the right circumstances when her sister wasn’t home and it was only her and him, her brother-in-law, would accept her eagerly.