Sōng Hán didn’t want to go in and suffer the insults, so he turned to leave. But his peripheral vision caught sight of the trembling servant girl hiding behind the wall.
He felt a twinge of sympathy.
This servant girl feared Sàoduóming like a tiger; how much more did he?
Sōng Hán felt a sense of shared pain.
Stopping in his tracks, he softly asked the servant girl, "What is your name?"
The servant girl stammered, "I am called Ao Xuan."
"Ao Xuan?" Sōng Hán repeated. "Which 'Xuan'?"
"From the xuan grass," the servant girl replied.
Sōng Hán was surprised and asked, "Can you read?"
"My brother studies; I sit beside him as he works and learn to recognize characters from him."
Sōng Hán was amazed and said, "If your family can afford to send you to school, why did they sell you?"
The servant girl defended herself. "I signed a live contract; my brother will come back after ten years to redeem me!"
Her eyes were wide, as clear as the water in a stream, making it easy to see right through her.
Another foolish one!
Sōng Hán shook his head and left without further ado, murmuring to himself, "Find an opportunity to move this Ao Xuan servant girl to the outer courtyard's study; she will only end up dead if she stays with Madame."
The servant nodded silently.
Sōng Hán went to visit Tiān Sī.
Sōng Mo lay by his son’s side, looking at him in awe and affection. "What do you think? What should we name our firstborn?" he whispered to Sàoduó, suggesting names like Ming Yi (Bright Firm), Xi Xian (Excellently Wise), or Feng Yi (Phoenix Feather).
Sàodú laughed and said, "It's too early for a name; let’s start with a nickname?"
"Absolutely not!" Sōng Mo pouted. "He is our eldest son; he needs both a nickname and a formal name."
He complained, "I think Ming Yi and Xi Xian are good names, but Gu Yù thinks Feng Yi sounds better. What do you say about the nickname ‘Yuan Ge’?"
Being the eldest, he deserved the character “Yuan.”
Sàoduó smiled and nodded. "That’s a good nickname!"
Proud of himself, Sōng Mo called his son "Yuan Ge."
But the baby boy was unimpressed; he furrowed his brow and cried loudly.
Sōng Mo laughed awkwardly.
Sàoduó hurried to comfort him: "Yuan Ge might be hungry."
Sōng Mo agreed and moved away, embarrassed.
Dear family members, enjoy your weekend!