Chapter 6: Amnesia

The rain outside had already stopped.

From the wide-open door, Qi Yue could see into the courtyard. The two maids were using iron rakes to clear away the leaves and dead branches brought down by the rain, preventing them from clogging the drainage outlets. They spoke in low voices, one reminding the other not to get their feet wet, the other directing where to scoop. Their soft whispers, combined with their attire in this post-rain classical courtyard, looked just like an ink wash painting—fresh, elegant, and refined.

The one who had applied her makeup was named A-Ru, and the one who combed her hair was her younger sister, A-Hao. They were easy names to remember.

Qi Yue sighed. Things were as they were; she would just have to take it one step at a time.

She was lost in a daze, lost in her own thoughts, when A-Ru and A-Hao brought in the meal.

A bowl of porridge—thin porridge. Qi Yue stirred it with a spoon; it was millet.

A round cake, the size of a palm. Qi Yue broke it open with her hands; it was made of unleavened dough.

The vegetable—what was this? It looked like the pickled cabbage roots or something similar from winter. Qi Yue poked at it with her chopsticks. She looked at the other dish; it was meat, but it seemed to have been boiled in water, bland and tasteless.

With maids to serve her, being called "Young Mistress," and having seen a large group of servants earlier—even if their attitudes were a bit strange—this was undoubtedly a wealthy household. Looking at the furnishings and clothing, they must be rich.

"Is this all there is to eat?" Qi Yue couldn't help but ask.

This was worse than the cafeteria food at the rural health center, which never lacked funding or income.

"Young Mistress, this month's allowance hasn't been delivered yet..." A-Ru lowered her head and murmured.

Qi Yue said "Oh." As a newcomer, she shouldn't worry about food and drink for now. Although she didn't know if this was breakfast or lunch, according to her own internal clock, it was time for dinner.

"Then I'll eat," she said with a smile.

The two maids breathed a sigh of relief, though they were also surprised. This time, upon hearing about the situation, the Young Mistress didn't throw a tantrum or cry, but instead smiled and began to eat heartily. When they saw the bowl and plate wiped clean, both of them couldn't help but stare at the Young Mistress in astonishment.

"Waste is shameful," Qi Yue said earnestly.

Regardless of the original owner's appetite or habits, she, Qi Yue, had this appetite and these habits.

She didn't want to pretend. A person is who they are; no matter how much she pretended, she wouldn't be able to hide it. It was better to use amnesia and a sudden change in personality as an excuse.

A-Ru and A-Hao didn't understand what she meant, but as servants, they were accustomed to listening without asking questions, so they nodded and agreed.

"You two go eat first. Come back when you're done; I have something to tell you," Qi Yue said.

Seeing her solemn expression, A-Ru and A-Hao felt a bit uneasy, but they didn't dare ask more and hurried to clear the dishes and retreat.

Before long, they returned, though it was unclear if they had actually eaten.

Qi Yue was still sitting in the chair. Seeing them approach, her expression became even more solemn, which only made the two maids panic.

"I have something to tell you," Qi Yue began. "Today, when I hanged myself..."

"Young Mistress, that was just us talking nonsense. You never did such a thing..." A-Ru immediately knelt down, crying.

A-Hao knelt down as well.

Qi Yue looked helpless. She hadn't even finished speaking; what were these two thinking?

"I did it, and I truly died," she continued, ignoring their words.

A-Ru and A-Hao looked up at her in shock, and then their tears flowed even more profusely.

"...Actually, I even drank Meng Po's soup. I don't remember anything—how I died, how I reached the Road to the Underworld, whether I saw King Yama—I remember nothing. I only remember walking and walking, not knowing where I was going or what I was doing..." Qi Yue stopped them from speaking again and continued, her gaze fixed outside the door, as if immersed in her memories.

A-Ru and A-Hao gradually stopped crying. They looked at her with astonishment, surprise, and a hint of fear. They were listening intently, and with Qi Yue's deliberately low tone, the two maids couldn't help but lean closer to each other.

"...I walked and walked, and suddenly..." Qi Yue said, pausing abruptly.

A-Hao, being young, couldn't help but let out a small cry. Realizing her lack of composure, she covered her mouth and kowtowed to apologize.

Qi Yue was amused by her and waved her hand to show it was fine.

"Suddenly, I saw a person, an... um, an old lady waving at me," she continued, switching to a gentle tone. "At that time, I had no consciousness or thoughts, so I walked over. She looked at me and just cried, saying many things I couldn't understand..."

"What did she say?" A-Ru, being bolder, couldn't help but ask.

"She said things like, 'You silly child, why did you come here? Why are you suffering so much?'" Qi Yue frowned, pretending to struggle to remember. She was indeed trying hard to think, and as she thought about how sad and heartbroken her own loved ones must be, tears welled up in her eyes. "...I couldn't recognize who she was, but I felt she was someone very, very close to me..."

Hearing this, A-Ru's expression froze, and she sat up straight.

"Is... is it the Old Mistress?" she asked, stuttering.

The Old Mistress? Qi Yue shook her head.

"I told you, I drank Meng Po's soup and forgot everything, including you," she sighed, reaching up to wipe her tears.

"Ah? Young Mistress, you... you don't recognize us?" A-Hao asked, looking shocked.

Qi Yue nodded.

"I was held by that old lady, and as she cried, I cried too. Then I asked where I should go, and she said I should naturally go back. I had long forgotten where I came from. Before I could ask, she pushed me, and then I woke up." She finished in one breath. "When I woke up, I saw a whole crowd of you rushing in. I thought I was still in the underworld and that you were there to judge me. I was terrified."

A-Ru and A-Hao nodded. Thinking back to when they first saw her, the Young Mistress had indeed shouted "Ghost!" and her terrified appearance certainly hadn't been faked... So that was it.

However... this was just too...

A-Ru and A-Hao didn't know what to say for a moment. They sat on the floor in a daze. Qi Yue didn't speak either, waiting for them to process it. It didn't take long.

"So, you mean the Young Mistress doesn't remember anything from before?" A-Ru asked.

Qi Yue felt a weight lift from her heart and nodded.

"You may rise," she said.

A-Ru helped A-Hao up, and the two stood.

"Does the Young Mistress really not recognize A-Hao?" A-Hao asked, pointing to her own face.

"Never mind you, I don't even recognize myself," Qi Yue said.

"Oh, so Meng Po's soup is really that powerful..." A-Hao sighed.

"Of course it's powerful. Otherwise, if you were reincarnated with memories of your past life, how would you live?" Qi Yue explained. The ancients should be deeply convinced of this; it was easier to fool them.

If that were the case, the human world would be in chaos. The two maids thought about it and nodded in unison.

"So," Qi Yue exhaled and leaned back in her chair, "I can be considered someone who has been reincarnated. Although I don't know why that old lady pushed me back, since I'm back, I must live well. It's better not to know the past; starting over with a clean slate is fine."

Thinking of the past, A-Ru began to cry again. Forgetting it might be for the best.

"So don't worry about me. I will absolutely not seek death again," Qi Yue said, smiling at her.

A-Ru nodded through her tears.

"The Young Mistress doesn't recognize the people in our manor either, right?" she asked in a low voice after a moment of thought.

Qi Yue smiled.

"There's nothing to hide. Whether they believe it or not, my conscience is clear," she said.

A-Ru understood her meaning and nodded in agreement.

A-Hao didn't quite understand what they were talking about, but feeling sad that the Young Mistress didn't recognize her, she began to earnestly introduce herself. Qi Yue also began to ask about the things she had "forgotten." Compared to the steady A-Ru, A-Hao was more lively and talkative. Qi Yue soon learned about "her" past from her.

Qi Yue-niang, a native of Yandu in the Great Xia Kingdom—as for what kind of country the Great Xia was, Qi Yue had asked, but the answer was simply that the Great Xia was the Great Xia, so Qi Yue gave up asking.

Qi Yue-niang's parents had both died early. She had fled with her grandmother to Yongqing Prefecture, living under Peach Blossom Mountain, ten miles outside the city. Five years ago, at the age of fourteen, she had accidentally treated the Old Mistress of the Marquis of Dingxi, who had been bitten by a venomous snake while visiting the mountain to offer incense. After her grandmother accidentally fell off a cliff and died, the Old Mistress of the Marquis of Dingxi, moved by her loneliness and the great debt of saving her life, took her into the manor to raise her personally, treating her like one of the family's own young ladies. Two years later, she petitioned for a marriage between her and the Marquis's eldest son. Three years ago, when the Old Mistress fell gravely ill, she moved the wedding date forward so she could see them bow to each other in person. Just after the newlyweds finished their bows, the Old Mistress closed her eyes.

This sounded like a legendary, melodramatic soap opera. Qi Yue-niang, an orphan, had leaped to become the eldest daughter-in-law of the Marquis of Dingxi and the future Marchioness. This was undoubtedly the ultimate "rags to riches" story. It was just a pity that it seemed the prince and princess hadn't lived happily ever after...