Flowery Hair: A Maidservant

Chapter 147 Who can say for sure what the future holds?

The rosy glow on her face faded, leaving a pale complexion.

Even though she had anticipated such a scenario, she was still speechless when she suddenly heard the lady speak so bluntly.

Madam Yun seemed oblivious to Hua Yan's unusual expression and continued slowly:

“So-called background is never a constraint in the eyes of intelligent people.”

Your experience at Chunfeng Tower will be completely erased. Actually, it's not a big deal. Going back a few dynasties, Empress Wei of Han Kingdom came from humble beginnings; she was originally a singing girl in Princess Pingyang's household. Not to mention anything further back, even in the previous dynasty, there was a Zhaoyi who came from a brothel.

Hua Yan never looked down on her background; she simply disliked serving or depending on men.

While becoming a concubine was an order one had to obey, there was still room for maneuver in how one fulfilled the role. After all, being a 'concubine' was merely a nicer title for a high-ranking dowry; in essence, it was no different from being a maidservant.

There will be more and more women in the Prince of Jin's harem. A mere concubine, if she has no desire to compete for the Prince's favor, will be no different from a palace maid for the rest of her life.

Therefore, she frankly expressed her thoughts:

"Madam is farsighted and has a deep love for the Second Miss. However, if I may be so bold as to speak frankly, although the encounter with Prince Jin at the back mountain of Guangci Temple was brief, I personally believe that he is not a lustful person."

Choosing a concubine with the intention of vying for the Prince's favor is a poor strategy. Miss is intelligent and kind, and her reputation precedes her. This servant only wishes to wholeheartedly support Miss in becoming the most beloved person in Prince Jin's heart.

These words were cleverly chosen, both expressing her true feelings and reassuring Madam Yun about her appearance.

Madam Yun understood, but for the Tang family, the position of concubine was just a threshold. The road ahead was long, and who could say what the future held?

Before letting Hua Yan leave, Madam Yun gave Hua Yan a day off, allowing her to disguise herself and go out of the mansion to meet with Huan Yun.

"I heard before the Mid-Autumn Festival that you instructed Green Willow to attract many disaster victims?"

Hua Yan had prepared her answer beforehand and replied, "Yes, Madam, that is indeed the case."

"There are two reasons for doing this. First, to give the women among the disaster victims a way to survive. Second, as the lady said, there will be many women in the inner quarters of the Prince's mansion. The women taken in by the servants may have many places to go in the future."

Hua Yan then asked Madam Yun to send someone to take over Green Willow's embroidery shop in Jinnan, and took out the Cloud Garment Pendant from her bosom.

“Sister Huanyun’s Disi Pavilion is running smoothly. I will be entering the Prince’s Mansion after the New Year, and I’m afraid I won’t need this token anymore. Please take it back, Madam.”

The afterglow of the setting sun merged with the night, and the lights in the flower hall were not yet on, with Madam Yun's face shrouded in shadow.

"This token can be used in the palace as well."

Madam Yun's voice was deep and resonant, but it sounded like thunder in Hua Yan's ears, and naturally, the Yunshang Pendant was not taken back.

After Hua Yan left, Wei Mama told the maid who was guarding outside the door to light the lamp and helped Madam Yun into the inner room.

Madam Wei murmured, "To be a maidservant to this level, this old servant has seen quite a bit of the world, yet no one can compare to her."

After changing her clothes, Madam Yun sat in front of the dressing table for a long time without speaking, her mind filled with Madam Su's words that day: "A noble and auspicious appearance."

·

The next day, Hua Yan and Dong Gua disguised themselves as servants and left the mansion in a carriage.

The two first went to Yongbaolou in the capital to pick up a gift for Huaying. Huayan had commissioned a jade pendant with the design of the Two Immortals of Harmony and Union, while Donggua picked out a jade hairpin to match it on the spot.

The private room on the second floor of Yongbaolou.

Manager Gong had often sent his wife to fawn over the Second Miss. He had seen Hua Yan before at Langya Courtyard in Lin'an, so he personally entertained her. After some arguing, Hua Yan insisted on paying the full amount and took the small brocade boxes as promised.

Winter Melon smiled and said, "So much? Doesn't that mean we've used up all our monthly allowances from the past few years?"

Just as Hua Yan was about to speak, she suddenly heard arguing coming from next door, and the voices seemed familiar.

Manager Gong frowned and looked unhappily at the second manager behind him.

In the next private room, Liu Yuhe said sarcastically, "Who do we have here? It's Ling'er, whom we haven't seen in a long time. Are you here today to choose a dowry for your distant cousin?"

"Tsk tsk, the second eldest daughter of the Marquis of Huai'an's mansion is not as good as the daughter of a merchant from a collateral branch. I wonder how our eldest daughter of the Marquis's mansion feels now."

"Everyone in the capital knows the Tang family on Fuqian Street, but no one knows the main branch of the Marquis of Huai'an. It's quite a surprise that Sister Ling'er has the heart to come here for a stroll. If it were me, I would have hidden in the mansion long ago and dared not go out."

Three sentences made Tang Ling'er exclaim that she had bad luck.

After the poetry gathering at the hot spring resort that day, her mother, father, and eldest sister gave her stern advice, telling her to stay away from Liu Yuhe. Gradually, Tang Ling'er realized that over the years, Liu Yuhe had been using her as a tool, both openly and secretly, and she had suffered losses while still being taken advantage of.

But she was bad with words, and what's more, Liu Yuhe's words hit the nail on the head, leaving her speechless for a moment, unsure how to respond.

Cuiqi whispered a few words to Tang Ling'er, and Tang Ling'er's eyes lit up.

She wouldn't associate with either side anymore, and she had nothing to worry about. "The direct and collateral branches are always one family. Wan'er's glory is the glory of our Tang clan. It's just that Sister Yuhe is in love with someone else but can't have him, so she only uses the poetry gathering to do some underhanded things."

These words were so hurtful that Hua Yan secretly found them amusing.

Because of the involvement of Miss Su, Liu Yuhe's actions at the poetry gathering that day were not publicized. Even with Tang Yu'er's guidance after Tang Ling'er returned, she only realized that Liu Yuhe was in love with her cousin Lin and was deliberately making things difficult for Miss Su.

Immediately afterwards, the sound of a chair overturning was heard outside. "How dare a daughter of a noble family publicly slander my young lady! My young lady is innocent and cannot be allowed to be defamed like this..."

Liu Yuhe was furious and wanted to tear Tang Ling'er's mouth apart. Her father had just told her that Prince Heng intended to marry her as a concubine. If this got out, it would be terrible.

Manager Gong was full of gossip, but he had no idea what the other party was talking about. The second manager was sweating profusely and had already sent people to the stairwell to stop them. Fortunately, it was cold in winter and few officials' wives went out.

Yongbaolou was adept at handling disputes, and soon Huayan and Donggua could no longer hear any noise.

The two left Yongbaolou and headed straight for a teahouse near Disige.

Inside the carriage, Hua Yan opened a small wooden box, inside which lay two exquisite Hetian jade pendants.

Donggua stepped closer and immediately spotted the outline of a large winter melon in one of the fruits.

"...Don't tell me this is a gift for me!" Donggua scratched his head, ready to give Huayan a flick on the forehead as soon as she nodded.

Hua Yan suppressed a laugh and held up another ingot-shaped one in her hand. "This is it. Last time you wanted to wear the little goldfish that Grandpa gave you, but you didn't have any gold, so you'll have to wear an ingot instead. You little money-grubber from Yunyi Academy."

Donggua was overjoyed, because Huayan had given her more than a dozen handkerchiefs, all of which were embroidered with Donggua!

"This winter melon pendant is a parting gift for Steward An," Hua Yan explained.

Donggua's heart softened immediately, and he hugged Huayan, saying, "Master likes me the most, so he will definitely like this gift you gave me."

Hua Yan sighed, wondering if Dong Gua was praising himself or something else.

"Winter Melon, I suddenly remembered that your original surname was Zhang and your given name was Dunzi. If you enter the Prince's mansion in the future, you will have to take Aunt Mei's husband's surname. If you don't change your name, your full name will be Fang Dunzi..."

Winter Melon: "...I don't really want to talk to you right now."