Flowery Hair: A Maidservant

Chapter 158 Detailing the Affairs of the Empress's Family

Prince Jin's Mansion, Yunyi Courtyard.

Yu Heyuan had been waiting outside the door. When he saw the Second Miss and her party from afar, he quickly asked Yu Jingnian to go inside and announce their arrival. As soon as the Second Miss stepped through the gate, Aunt Mei, Mengzhu, Ruizhu, and Donggua came forward to greet her with worried expressions.

Hua Yan glanced at the scene and nearly knocked over the four girls in the courtyard, who were in spring, summer, autumn, and winter.

At the same time, the rewards from the palace were also delivered by the chief steward of the Prince's residence.

The crowd escorted the second young lady into the palace, creating a joyful and bustling atmosphere.

Seeing that the Second Miss was relaxed, Mengzhu felt relieved. She apologized to her mistress and then hurried to arrange the rewards. These rewards from the palace were the first of their kind, apart from the betrothal gifts. Ruizhu happily followed to help out.

However, they were likely to be disappointed, as Hua Yan had already seen everything in the palace. The emperor had bestowed upon her headdresses and several bolts of tribute satin, one of which was a shimmering brocade. The empress received similar gifts, but with the addition of a jade ruyi scepter. Consort Hui, on the other hand, was very generous, bestowing upon her many small gifts, including palace flowers.

The jewelry made by the Imperial Household Department was indeed exquisite, but the top-quality workmanship of Yongbaolou was also excellent. Therefore, apart from those few bolts of tribute satin, the rest were not as amazing as one might imagine.

Perhaps the reward given to the princess will be of a higher standard.

Aunt Mei had no time to care about anything else. She had been on tenterhooks for half the afternoon. While gently massaging the Second Miss's shoulders, she listened carefully to the details of her audience with the Emperor.

Hua Yan hurriedly instructed Dong Gua to prepare some milk tea.

"It's been prepared for a while now, and it's keeping warm on the stove. I'll go get it now."

Donggua responded and went to the tea room in the west hall.

Hua Yan felt completely relaxed when she returned to Yunyi Courtyard. She was surprised to find that the house had been almost completely tidied up in just over half a day. Everywhere she looked were the things she used to use in the courtyard. Even a chess table had been set up on one side of the study, and the Jadeite Exquisite Chess Set, which was the second young lady's favorite, had been put out.

Chun'er and the other three girls stood awkwardly outside the door, unsure whether they should go in to serve.

Dong'er, who looked the oldest, looked into the room with envy. "Consort Zhen is so gentle. She has no airs at all. Just now, when Qiu'er almost fell, Consort Zhen even told us to be careful."

Qiu'er's face turned bright red with embarrassment. She had wanted to show her face in front of her master first. Among the four of them, she was the first to hear Xiao Nianzi's announcement. However, when Aunt Mei and the other elders heard the news, they were even faster on their feet.

She was standing next to the winter melon, and almost fell over when the melon's bottom bumped into her...

Chun'er murmured, "When Steward Song was selecting people, Hanfang and the others secretly gave the steward's wife a lot of gifts, just to compete for a job at Ruyi Palace. I wonder what they are like now."

Dong'er said innocently, "Why should I care what they do? They don't get double the monthly allowance."

Xia'er interrupted, "Whether we keep them or not depends on their performance later. In short, doing a good job is the most important thing."

Aunt Mei had instructed early in the morning that the formal kowtow and pay respects to the concubine should be done in the afternoon after she returned to the residence.

Hanfang, whom Chun'er had mentioned, fell silent, terrified.

They had just paid their respects to the Princess and each received a purse as a reward. Granny Gui had also arranged tasks for them early in the morning.

The maids assigned to Ruyi Palace were selected from twelve different mansions, each with a different function.

There was also a head maid, a chief eunuch, and four eunuchs.

Hanfang and three other maids were assigned to the tea room. She was overjoyed to receive the reward and also wanted to show off in front of the princess again, so she diligently served the finest pre-rain Longjing tea.

As soon as she stepped onto the veranda, she heard a sharp slap from inside. Fortunately, no one saw her, and she quickly and discreetly retreated, holding her teacup.

Inside the Ruyi Hall.

Jiang Jie changed out of her princess attire and sat down at the kang table in her everyday clothes. She said in a deep voice, "Mother sent people to bring you here from afar, just to remind your branch of the family that you should know your place. I didn't realize you had two faces when you were in the manor."

Yun Shuang knelt on the ground, kowtowing and begging for forgiveness. She cried with tears streaming down her face, and her left cheek was swollen and red, clearly indicating that she had been severely beaten.

"What's the use of dressing up so extravagantly? You're not even as good as that maidservant next to Tang Qingwan. Did the Prince even glance at you today?"

Jiang Jie looked toward Yunyi Courtyard with a gloomy expression. He had been preparing for his audience with the Empress for a long time, but in the Empress's palace, he was not only humiliated by the old woman Consort Min, but also allowed Tang Qingwan to make a big splash in Consort Hui's eyes.

Furthermore, the prince's gaze often fell on the master and servant, how could she not hate them?

“Drag her away and bring her back to the mansion when she returns home the day after tomorrow. She doesn’t need to come along.”

Yun Shuang's face turned ashen. Before she could even speak, Zhi Xue covered her mouth. Granny Gui, with a stern face, ordered Zhi Xue and Lu Wei to drag her out.

“Miss, Madam insisted on bringing this girl back to the manor because she was thinking of her family, and…” Granny Gui hesitated for a moment before offering her dry advice.

"There's no need for you to say anything, Granny. How could I not know what she's thinking?"

Jiang Jie said quietly, "How could a second wife truly help me make plans? It's just a pity that my father and brother are far away in the Northwest, where it's bitterly cold. I wonder what their situation is now."

After a long while, a single tear rolled down silently and landed on the kang table. Jiang Jie smiled bitterly: "It's all because of me. Otherwise, my father and brother wouldn't have had to suffer in the Northwest."

Granny Gui's face was covered in wrinkles. She stepped forward to comfort Jiang Jie, who leaned on her like he did when he was a child.

“Miss, there is no need to blame yourself. The general did not submit to Prince Yu in his early years, and kept delaying until the time when he had to choose. Between Prince Heng and our prince, the general originally favored our prince.”

Granny Gui gently patted her shoulder, offering words of comfort.

"Miss, should we have Banu write a letter to the general, reporting on the lady's recent actions...?"

Jiang Jie straightened up, shook his head solemnly, and said, "No, His Highness has mentioned many times that the northwest border is unstable. At this time, we must not disturb Father. As for Mother..."

"She has no children, so she can't cause any trouble." Jiang Jie snorted coldly, a slight smile playing on his lips, carrying a hint of smugness and mockery.

Granny Gui paused, recalling the changes that had taken place in the General's Mansion over the past ten years, and sighed inwardly.

The once vast General Xunhui Mansion had dwindled to just the two young generals and her by the time of the young lady's generation. Whether this was a blessing or a curse was hard to say...

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(P.S.: I plan to test the title of this book in a while. I need to come up with five titles. The current title has been criticized by readers, haha. Can you guys help me think of some titles? The titles should be as novel as possible. Thank you so much!)