Flowery Hair: A Maidservant

Chapter 56 The Story of the Eldest Young Master's First Birthday Gift

The people sitting in the dining room were all well-liked maids from their respective rooms. They wouldn't make any tactless comments about this experience, but it would be a bit abrupt to do so in public. Therefore, Donggua politely said that he was busy and went back to the small kitchen.

Fu Zi looked embarrassed and apologized to Meng Shu, saying, "Sister Meng Shu, I... I didn't mean it, please don't take it to heart."

Ruizhu retorted irritably, "Who cares? What did Meng Shu say about you? Why are you trying to associate yourself with Donggua and drag Meng Shu into this?"

Donggua is Steward An's apprentice and is quite popular at Fu'anju. In particular, she made a few new dishes and was even registered with the old lady. The maids in each room all wanted to befriend her.

Mengzhu tapped the plate with her chopsticks, and Ruizhu immediately fell silent. Was she just unhappy with Fuzi and couldn't see that Mengshu ignored her? She had been shamelessly clinging to him ever since they left.

"I didn't intend to hide anything about this experience, but you were very hesitant at first. What? Have you come to terms with it now?" Meng Shu asked casually after eating a piece of crab roe pastry.

Fu Zi twisted the hem of her clothes under the table, looking guilty. "I was just overthinking it. My sister advised me before that I was only doing odd jobs for Chun Ya and was powerless to help her."

Mentioning Chunya, Meng Shu put down her chopsticks, no longer in the mood for arguing with her, and said, "It all depends on whether she has a heart or not." Chunya and Fuzi came from the same village and had known each other since childhood, but Fuzi was somewhat cold-hearted.

Seeing that Ruizhu and Mengshu had finished their meal, Mengzhu patted Mengshu's arm, and the three of them left the dining room. Ruizhu was still sulking, muttering, "Why is this person like this? It's disgusting."

"Perhaps there's some other purpose behind it."

After Meng Shu finished speaking, she didn't mention her again. The three of them went to wait outside the flower hall, waiting for the masters to finish their meal and gather in the flower hall to drink tea and talk. They quietly stood in the background like decorative vases.

Tang Xianlue said a few words and then led the steward to the front yard. The old lady didn't even have eyes for her eldest son; she was staring at the baby being held by the two wet nurses in front of her.

Aunt Lu looked haggard, her eyes fixed on the second young master. Madam Yun, on the other hand, seemed to have completely abandoned all responsibility. Since giving birth to the seventh young lady, she had focused on managing the household affairs, leaving everything around the seventh young lady to be looked after by trusted nannies and wet nurses.

Aunt Wen also adored the second young master and held him in her arms once. "This child's eyes are like our eldest uncle's, like black grapes. He looks very intelligent."

The old lady was delighted to hear this, as if she were reminded of Tang Xian's childhood. Back then, they lived under the same roof as the first and second wives. The large mansion was full of intricacies and hidden agendas, and everyone was scheming and calculating, far less comfortable than it was now. Fortunately, her husband was an upright man and not keen on taking concubines, having only one maidservant. In addition, she had three children of her own, so there was something to look forward to during her days of burning lamp oil.

"When Xian'er was a first birthday boy, he picked up a small abacus from among all the items. This shows that he will be successful in business from a young age. When Quan'er (the second young master's name is Tang Quan) is a first birthday boy, we will also hold a proper ceremony for him."

Madam Yun chimed in, "Mother is right. It reminds me of when our Lin-ge was born, the first birthday celebration. That was quite a fun time."

The old lady recalled the scene, smiled broadly, nodded, and said, "Our Lin-ge'er is the best."

The fourth young lady asked curiously, "What did big brother catch back then?"

Aunt Liu has been flattering the Madam in everything lately. She covered her mouth with her handkerchief and laughed, "Your eldest brother has been well-behaved and clever since he was little. When he turned one year old, a large table was set up on the kang (a heated brick bed) with more than twenty kinds of objects. He looked at them for a long time but didn't grab any of them."

Amidst the surprised gazes of the young ladies, the old lady touched the prayer beads in her hand and interjected, "Lin-ge'er didn't fancy any of them. In the end, he stretched out his arms and asked the prefect to hug him, and he even pulled off the prefect's official hat."

Madam Yun, Aunt Liu, and the other young ladies laughed, but Aunt Lu and Aunt Wen's smiles didn't reach their eyes. Su Wen and the others beside the old lady also suppressed their laughter. This past event was the old lady's proudest moment, and she had told it countless times over the years.

The fifth young lady, who was very good at acting coquettishly, hugged Madam Yun's arm and asked in a sweet voice, "Mother, old lady, was it an abacus I picked up back then?"

Madam Yun tapped her little head and said, "You, you are the most greedy of all. What you are holding is a big gold ingot."

Everyone laughed again. The fourth young lady scratched her head, unable to recall ever picking her first birthday cake. So she asked on the spot, "What about me? What about me? Grandma, Auntie, what did I pick?"

Upon hearing this, the four adults, including the old lady, fell silent, and a hint of jealousy appeared on Aunt Wen's face.

Or perhaps it's because our Aunt Liu is so simple-minded that she bluntly said, "Fourth Miss doesn't know yet, the first birthday ceremony is a very solemn occasion. At that time, all the elders of the clan and relatives and friends will be invited to witness it. Therefore, in aristocratic families, only the legitimate children or boys have the first birthday ceremony."

Upon hearing this, the fourth young lady's face immediately flushed with shame and anger. Children don't know how to hide their emotions, and Aunt Wen was afraid that things would get out of hand again. Fortunately, the third young lady said a few words to the fourth young lady in time to calm her down.

Meng Shu, this pretty face, stood calmly behind the Second Miss's big ship, observing very carefully. The distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children was actually reflected everywhere in the Tang family.

However, Madam Yun is highly respected both as the principal wife and in her maternal family, so the concubines wouldn't want to make a fool of themselves. Besides, none of the previous concubines had given birth to sons.

Fortunately, Guangbai came in to report that the managers of the front courtyard had arrived at Fu'anju, which eased the awkward atmosphere.

Since the shopkeepers were all men, Aunt Liu and the other concubines led their daughters to leave, leaving only Madam Yun and the second and fifth young ladies in the flower hall.

Soon, led by Yongzheng, the second uncle of the shop, a dozen or so shopkeepers who had been invited to the banquet slowly entered the flower hall. The old lady waved to Suwen to find a seat for the second uncle.

Several managers took turns offering festive greetings and presenting the collected gifts, mostly gold and jade ornaments or rare mooncakes and pastries. These were all Tang Xian's trusted confidants. The old lady and Madam Yun would also invite their relatives to Fu'anju to watch a play in the afternoon, as a sign of their high regard.

After the shopkeepers left, taking advantage of the good sunlight, the old lady took a stroll in the garden. Fu'anju's garden not only had mountains and lakes, but also flowers of all colors blooming brilliantly.

“At the last council meeting, the grain shop brought some rare seeds. I heard they were brought back from a very far place. Let’s go take a look.”

Suwen helped the old lady up, with Guangbai and several of her maids following behind.

There were also some in Madam Yun's courtyard, and she said, "They are indeed very rare. Let's not even mention how small the flowers are, but the fruits that grow are bright red and look festive and appropriate for the occasion."

After passing through the artificial hill, the group arrived at an open area. Under the covered walkway outside the octagonal pavilion, there were several potted plants. Underneath the clusters of green leaves were bright red fruits, swaying in the breeze.

"These flowers look beautiful. I'll send a few pots to each room and courtyard later." The old lady, leaning on a bamboo cane inlaid with white jade dove-head ornaments, was helped into the pavilion by Suwen to rest. A maid had already prepared tea and fruit for them.

Guangbai smiled and agreed, then gave instructions to the maid beside him.

Madam Yun led her three concubines into the pavilion, while the second young master and the seventh young lady were cared for inside by their wet nurses, who were afraid they would catch a chill if they went out.

The old lady waved her hand, telling her granddaughters to go play by themselves and not to stay with her all the time.

The fourth young lady felt humiliated and her eyes blazed with anger. She found fault with everything and, taking advantage of the fact that no one was looking, she secretly plucked a handful of flowers from the pots and crushed a few bright red fruits to vent her frustration.

"Ouch, it hurts! It hurts so much! Waaah! Someone come quick! This flower is poisonous!"