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墨書 Inktalez
Luofu was awakened from her slumber. She shrank her neck and pulled the blanket up, yet she still shivered from the cold. With no more desire to sleep, she opened her eyes.
The wind rushed in through the cracks of the window. As she looked around, she realized this was a strange room. The bed she was on was narrow and pressed against a drafty window. The blanket was thin, and in some places, she could barely feel any cotton filling, only two layers of thin fabric.
Her body ached a bit, and upon closer inspection, she found that her undergarments had been changed as well. The fabric of these undergarments was coarse, and she could even see some knots left from the weaving process. These knots rubbed against her delicate skin, causing a slight tingling sensation.
Getting up, she walked outside the door and recognized familiar sights in the courtyard. It was then that Luofu remembered this room was prepared for the servants. She had been here twice during the summer; once to look for Chef and another time to find her personal maid, Rui'er.
Right, Rui'er.
Rui'er must know why she ended up in the servant's room and what was going on with her clothing.
After calling out several times in the courtyard with no response, Luofu hesitated for a while before returning to her room to put on the maid's outfit that had been resting at her bedside. Although the fabric was rougher, the style and color were acceptable, and it fit well enough.
Even though it was her own courtyard, as the favored sister of Ruo Mansion, this place where the servants lived still felt somewhat unfamiliar. After wandering around for a while and making several circles, Luofu finally returned to her own courtyard. She pushed open the gate and brushed past a few servants, who surprisingly did not greet her. One older servant even shot her a disdainful glance!
Luofu did not understand why that person looked at her like that; all she knew was that they seemed somewhat familiar, vaguely from her elder brother's courtyard.
She heard soft whispers nearby and looked up towards the attic, noticing that her father and elder brother were leaning against the railing, discussing something. The last time she remembered them both being present at the same time was during her husband's betrothal ceremony. Could it be that something truly happened in her courtyard last night?
She hurriedly ascended the stairs; just as she stepped onto the second step, she heard footsteps coming down. It turned out to be her father and elder brother descending from upstairs. She lowered her head and pressed her back against the railing, fearing that they would scold her if they saw how she was dressed now. However, her father and elder brother walked past her as if they did not see her at all.
“Father~”
As she opened her mouth to speak, before she could call out “Father,” she heard her elder brother say to their father: “It's all Child's fault. Originally, we brought her back out of pity when we learned she had no family left. I softened my heart and asked Mother to keep her here. At first, she had some pride; she insisted on having Child accept her Contract of Servitude. The plan was to find someone for her in a couple of years when she got older so that at least she'd have a place to go. Who would have thought that she misunderstood Child's intentions? She kept trying to please Child and ignored all warnings from Child, stirring up much gossip and trouble.”
By chance, the maid beside my sister was unable to serve her anymore due to illness, so I took the initiative to send her here. Who would have thought that she would still be so restless and would resort to such malicious actions against my sister? Fortunately, my sister is not seriously harmed; otherwise, as her brother, I could only atone with my life.
I listened in confusion, but I gathered that the "she" mentioned in the conversation between my father and elder brother must be my personal maid, Rui'er. However, what had Rui'er done to provoke such anger from them?
Just as I was about to ask, my arm was suddenly gripped tightly by my elder brother. Looking up, I met a pair of furious eyes.
I rarely saw my brother this angry, and it frightened me. Lowering my head, I cautiously called out, "Brother!"
"Who is your brother? Since you have sold yourself to be a maid in our Ruo Mansion, you should act like one. Rui'er, to be fair, our Luo Family has treated you well, hasn't it? Yet you repeatedly entertain such wicked thoughts and have now set your sights on my sister. A heart as venomous as a snake's is nothing compared to this."
"Rui... Rui'er?"
I was stunned. I couldn't understand why my brother would call out Rui'er's name when everything seemed fine. Could it be that he was so enraged he had lost his senses?
The grip on my arm was painful; I frowned and struggled to pull away. "Brother, you're hurting me!"
"You've truly lost your mind! Rui'er, you've really lost your mind!" My brother forcefully released my arm. "I warn you, if you dare to target my sister again, I won't go easy on you. Considering that I once saved you and that you've been with our Luo Family for two years, I'll only expel you from the mansion. Here is your Contract of Servitude; take it with you. From now on, do not let me see you again!"
"Brother, no matter what happens, I'm Fu'er; I'm your sister Luofu!"
I watched in shock as the so-called Contract of Servitude was thrown by my brother and landed lightly on me. What surprised me even more was that Luofu herself came down from the attic.
"What... what is going on?" I shouted as I reached for my brother's arm. "Why? Why are there two of me?"
My brother dodged quickly, and I grabbed at nothing but air. My body leaned forward and then fell down the stairs.
The pain in her body was nothing compared to the shock in her heart. She looked up in confusion at the astonished gazes of those around her, then instinctively got up from the ground, wanting to question who this “Luofu” really was. But just as she stood up, her elder brother blocked her path with his sword. Immediately, she saw that “Luofu” sneer disdainfully and pull out a Copper Mirror from behind, holding it out in front of her.
“Take a good look at the face in this mirror. Who is it? Considering you have served me for such a long time, I won’t pursue what you did last night with my father and elder brother. Take your Contract of Servitude and leave our Luo Family. It’s best if you go far away. Otherwise, I cannot guarantee that I won’t regret it or that the people from the Government Office won’t come to take you away.”
Luofu was taken aback and slowly turned her gaze toward the Copper Mirror. Reflected in the Copper Mirror was the face of Rui'er. But she was clearly Luofu!
She pinched her own face hard; it hurt, confirming that this was not a dream. But how had she become Rui'er? And who was this “Luofu” in front of her? Could it be that she was the real Rui'er?
No! Rui'er would never treat her like this, and such an unbelievable thing as face-swapping could not happen in this world. It must be a dream; it had to be a dream.
Luofu raised her hand and slapped herself twice. Her cheeks burned, and her head spun, but when she regained her senses, that “Luofu” was still standing in front of her, while her father and elder brother looked at her as if she were a madwoman.
“Father, I am Fu'er, I am your Daughter Luofu!”
“Elder brother, take a good look at me. Even if my face has changed, you should still recognize my voice, right? I remember that no matter how I painted my face, you could always recognize me immediately. You know I am your sister, born of the same mother; even if my appearance has changed, our shared bloodline cannot be altered.”
“Brother, Rui'er has gone mad; she actually treats our past experiences as if they were her own.”
Upon hearing these words, “Luofu” instantly changed color. She anxiously gestured and pretended to be scared, ordering the servants to drive the real Luofu out of the courtyard.
Just as “Luofu” feigned fear and threw herself into her elder brother's arms to act cute, Luofu noticed the faint bruise on her wrist. That mark was shallow; it had been left by Rui'er after an injury. Since it was located near the wrist bone and rarely noticed by others, apart from Rui'er herself, only Luofu knew about it within the entire Luo Family.
Seeing that shallow blue birthmark, Luofu finally confirmed that this imposter “Luofu” was indeed her former maid, Rui'er.
“Rui'er! You are really Rui'er!” Luofu cried out heart-wrenchingly. “What have you done? What exactly did you do to me? Why have you turned into my likeness?”
"Come here! Drag this madwoman out!" The eldest brother, while protecting Luofu, commanded the servants in the mansion to take Luofu out of the courtyard.
Seeing this, Luofu disregarded her pain, broke free from the servants, and rushed forward to grab "Rui'er" by her clothing, shaking her frantically: "Rui'er, I beg you, please tell Father and Big Brother that I am the real Luofu! I am the real Luofu!"
The servants and maids surged forward, and amidst the chaos, someone landed a heavy punch on Luofu's stomach, causing her to curl up on the ground in pain. The agony clouded her mind, and she silently questioned herself; perhaps she really was Rui'er, and those memories of being Luofu were just a fleeting dream. But could there be such a vivid dream in this world?
In her dazed state, she was lifted by the servants and thrown out of the Luo Family. Her body fell heavily onto the bluestone pavement at the entrance, as if all her bones had shattered in that instant. In her haze, she saw a piece of paper fluttering down. She reached out but couldn't grasp it.
She knew it was Rui'er's Contract of Servitude, casually discarded by the servants of the Luo Family.
"Miss, are you alright?"
A familiar voice reached her ears. Luofu opened her eyes and saw a pair of concerned eyes. As her vision widened, she recognized the face.
"Xing... Miss Xing?"
Xing Ruyi furrowed her brows, carefully observing the face before her. It was somewhat unfamiliar yet oddly familiar. The skin was rough and yellowed. The bridge of the nose was flat, with a round tip that made it appear short overall. She had Dan Feng Eyes, with a few freckles at the corners. The mouth was perhaps the only attractive feature on this face; the lip line was beautiful, with a moderate thickness and a color reminiscent of peach blossoms.
After observing for a moment longer, Xing Ruyi raised her hand to cover the lower part of the girl's face and tentatively asked, "Are you Luofu?"
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