Flowery Hair: A Maidservant

Chapter 134 Prince Jin

Mingyue put down the half-eaten crab and asked nervously, "...What, is Miss going to kick us out?"

Upon hearing this, Donggua couldn't help but cough, almost bursting out laughing. She loved playing with Mingyue the most; that girl could always make people laugh with her words.

Hua Yan smiled and explained, and Mingyue finally felt relieved. "I see. But Sister Mengzhu is two years older than us. Maybe Miss is really looking for a suitable husband for you."

Mengzhu: "......"

This was also what she was worried about. Her aunt had asked her a few days ago, and her family was afraid that she would miss her chance to grow up, so they had been trying to ask the lady for a favor.

Mengzhu is seventeen this year; she should have been married long ago if she lived outside.

Hua Yan looked at her companions and couldn't help but feel melancholy. None of them, including Dong Gua, knew about the manor's arrangements for the second young lady. Meng Zhu might be able to guess a thing or two from Wei Mama, but she probably didn't know everything.

Over time, Hua Yan gradually discovered the potential in each of them.

Mengzhu is steady and reliable, making her ideal for filling in any gaps in her knowledge. Furthermore, Huayan intends for her to teach Ruizhu a few rules of etiquette. Ruizhu is clever and loves gossip, making her perfect for gathering information. Taking her out of the manor to a banquet would bring back a ton of news from various households. As for Mingyue, she's incredibly skilled; she could easily defeat Muyu within ten moves...

Winter Melon's talent lies in its sense of smell. Inspired by this a few years ago, and later benefiting from Aunt Lu's guidance, it even spent a month at Yong'an Pharmacy.

Nowadays, winter melon can not only identify the taste of various spices, but is also extremely sensitive to the smell of medicinal herbs. It can even distinguish the difference in taste of the same herb before processing, after it is made into a medicinal dish, and after it is boiled into a soup.

On a side note, Donggua has recently started developing medicinal cuisine in the small kitchen, which has even caused Dr. Zhen's hair to turn quite a bit gray...

Including Hua Yan herself, although they all had their own shortcomings, Hua Yan privately believed that if they served the Second Miss together, they could solve any problems that arose later.

Ruizhu, laughing and joking, put a piece of fish belly on Mengzhu's plate and comforted her, saying, "Miss's marriage is still a long way off, it's not our place to worry about ourselves. In short, all of us except Donggua will become Miss's dowry maids and help her establish herself in her future husband's family."

Winter Melon: "......" Wherever Meng Shu goes, I'll go. What's wrong with bringing a cook as part of my dowry...

Hua Yan dissected a crab and handed it to Meng Zhu, leaning close to her and whispering, "Don't worry, after the Second Miss's coming-of-age ceremony, Madam may have some arrangements."

After finishing their meal, the five rinsed their mouths with tea, composed themselves, and went to Fu'anju to pick up the second young lady.

After serving the second young lady until she had finished washing and dressing, Hua Yan stayed behind to keep watch at night.

After Mengzhu and the others left, the second young lady, dressed in a soft nightgown with her long, flowing hair casually tied up, sat on the embroidered bed and eagerly asked, "Where did Donggua hide the wine he stole?"

Hua Yan had just finished lighting the agarwood incense to help her sleep and was about to advise the second young lady to rest early when she turned around and saw the second young lady's earnest gaze. She decisively moved to the rosewood cabinet inlaid with treasures, opened the cabinet door and took out a pot of chrysanthemum wine.

The second young lady stepped barefoot onto the velvet carpet with floral patterns and gracefully sat down at the table.

Hua Yan took out an amber-colored wine glass, bent down and filled it. She squinted slightly, gently lifted it and brought it to her lips. In no time, a faint blush rose on her cheeks.

Drinking in her boudoir was the first time in fifteen years that the Second Miss had done something so outrageous. Thinking this, Hua Yan couldn't help but feel sorry for her. As a young lady from a prominent family, every word and action had to conform to the rules. Only in her boudoir, in this small world that belonged only to her, could she find a moment of joy.

However, to prevent the second young lady from overindulging in wine and drinking half a pot, Hua Yan took it upon herself to remove the wine cup and bring out some tea for the second young lady to rinse her mouth.

Before the second young lady went to bed, she suddenly asked:

"Hua Yan, if your uncle returns safely, you...?"

His voice was slightly hoarse.

Hua Yan spread a thin blanket on the footstool, lay down fully clothed, her eyes dimming, revealing weariness in the darkness.

Since Madam Yun returned from the Su residence, Hua Yan has seen everything, from assigning new women to the Disi Pavilion to arranging Zhou Niangzi's people to the embroidery shop under the pretext of the disaster in Jinan.

This was the Madam's overt "precaution." It was also a way of telling her to behave herself as a dowry maid. No one knew what the Su family had said that day, but now, even if the Second Miss decided to release her indenture, Madam Yun would absolutely not agree.

Even though she never had any other thoughts.

"...Why does Miss ask this? If it weren't for the care of the Tang family, I might have ended up in Chunfeng Tower just like Sister Huanyun back then. After entering the mansion, I received careful guidance from Madam, and I am willing to serve you, Miss."

If Uncle returns, Sister Huanyun will finally have a place to belong, and I will have fulfilled my mother's wish. From now on, I will serve Miss just as Madam Wei served her.

The second young lady smiled, her clenched fingers slowly relaxing, a strange sense of peace washing over her.

For the next two weeks, Hua Yan accompanied the second young lady to several banquets and traveled through the streets and alleys of the capital in a carriage. She no longer saw any people who looked like disaster victims. At the same time, it was said that several autumn rains had fallen north of Jinzhou, and the drought had been somewhat alleviated.

At the end of August, Tang Lin returned home.

It was also at this time that the case of Prince Zhan, jointly investigated by the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review and the Prefect of the Capital, came to a conclusion. Prince Zhan's mansion collapsed, and it is said that during the search of his home, antiques, paintings, calligraphy, and countless amounts of gold and silver were found, but there was no evidence of any dealings with the Third Prince...

In early September, the Ninth Prince returned to the capital to report, and the Emperor issued an edict of reward and honor.

The third prince was enfeoffed as Prince Yu, the seventh prince as Prince Heng, and the ninth prince as Prince Jin.

The title of 'Jin' was naturally related to the Ninth Prince's achievements in providing disaster relief in Jinzhou. Along with this decree of honor, the Princess also announced the amount of silver and grain donated by each mansion to the disaster victims in Jinzhou and other places during the poetry gathering.

Among them, the reputation of Tang Er, the younger sister of the current third-ranking scholar in the Hanlin Academy, quickly spread throughout the capital. Madam Yun donated 30,000 taels of silver in the name of the products produced by Er's shop.

Meanwhile, the story of the once-thriving bookstores in Lin'an spread throughout the streets and alleys of the capital through the words of Lin'an students. Several years earlier, the talented Miss Tang Er, while visiting the bookstores, inadvertently discovered that the bookstores in Lin'an had very few books for the imperial examinations. She then sorted out and filled the gaps, established a printing workshop, and provided convenience for poor students in Lin'an.

This incident happened nearly four years ago, so why is it only being revealed now? Hua Yan touched her nose and thought it was all thanks to the foresight of the family head, Tang Xian.

Who could have imagined that a small decision made by the Second Miss, with Tang Xian's involvement, would yield such a great reward?

Before the second young lady actually married into the Prince's mansion, the title of "sister of the third-ranked scholar" was rather weak. However, her reputation for donating silver came first, and her reputation for helping poor scholars with their imperial examinations came later. Her name of "virtuous and intelligent" was enough to overshadow the daughters of century-old noble families.

Tang Xian and his wife truly paved the way and fueled the flames at every step.

In no time, even seven- or eight-year-old children playing on the street knew the name of Miss Tang.

Furthermore, some families that were on good terms with the Marquis's and Yun families sent their young ladies to visit the Tang family in person, which greatly bothered the second young lady.

As noon approached, Hua Yan accompanied the second young lady to Yun Gui Courtyard to present the guest list for the madam's birthday banquet.

Since it was also the second young lady's coming-of-age ceremony, the second young lady and Hua Yan discussed the list for a long time. Hua Yan divided the families that had contacted the Tang family in the past few months into several categories: family relatives by marriage, close friends, Tang Lin's official dealings, and female relatives of merchants. The second young lady spent two days sketching and drawing before it was finalized.

Madam Yun slightly added to and deleted from the guest list presented by the second young lady, and instructed the general affairs office of the mansion to prepare invitations.

(We're moving on to the next phase, so I'm having writer's block... so updates will be less frequent. Sorry.)