Flowery Hair: A Maidservant

Chapter 136 Guangci Temple - First Encounter with Prince Jin 1

This all started with a letter from Miss Qin.

As the second young lady's close friend in Lin'an, the third young lady would write to her every now and then, and once mentioned the eldest young lady, Fan.

Prefect Fan was busy making connections everywhere, single-mindedly planning to become a fourth-rank Vice Censor-in-Chief. During this time, he even betrothed his daughter to the youngest son of his superior. Only after the eldest daughter of the Fan family got married did she realize that her husband's family was in a state of chaos, with a large number of concubines and mistresses. Moreover, before she entered the household, the concubines had already given birth to two illegitimate sons.

Miss Fan was raised in luxury and pampered, and her status among the noble ladies of Lin'an was far higher than Tang Qing Shuang's. From a young age, she learned the intrigues and schemes of the inner court from her mother, but because she was wary of her family's reliance on her husband's family for support, she dared not rebel in the face of her miserable life.

Whether from a powerful and wealthy family or a humble one, if one's maternal family cannot be a support but is a burden, and one is unable to stand on one's own two feet, then one's life is ruined.

The second young lady, deeply moved after reading the letter, happened to hear of the eldest young lady's outrageous behavior in Jinnan, so she wrote a letter and delivered it to the Song residence from the third young lady's letter...

As previously stated, the eldest young lady has changed her ways. Although she enjoyed a rare moment of leisure and relaxation during her visit to her parents' home, she dared not do anything out of line. Moreover, her fiancé is about to take up a post in the Imperial Guard in the capital, and his family will undoubtedly help him after he moves there. Therefore, the eldest young lady dares not easily offend the old lady and Madam Yun.

On the Double Ninth Festival, the second young lady went with her family to Guangci Temple to pray for blessings and climb mountains.

Guangci Temple is quite different from Guangyuan Temple in Xinchangfang. It is a large temple with flourishing incense outside the city, located on Luojia Mountain more than ten miles away from Tonghua Gate. Not far from the foot of the mountain is the famous Longshou Canal.

Because the Guanyin Hall, located at the highest point of the temple, offers a distant view of the imperial city and the glazed golden tiles are faintly visible, it attracts throngs of visitors during festivals.

Hua Yan began preparing for this trip more than ten days ago.

She had the steward Tang and the general affairs office to take care of the arrangements along the way. What worried her was encountering danger or emergencies in the temple. After thinking it over, she did three things in advance.

Firstly, through the investigation conducted by the Disi Pavilion, a general understanding was obtained of the lists of people from various prefectures in the capital who were preparing to go to Guangci Temple to pray for blessings and climb mountains that day.

In order to know oneself and one's enemy, Hua Yan highlighted the key points related to the Tang family.

These days, as the Second Miss's reputation spread throughout the capital, several young ladies from less prominent families had tried to get close to her. Some were even instructed by their families to befriend her, while others were preparing to propose marriage to the Tang family. However, one family in particular had a very close relationship with General Xunhui's mansion, which made Hua Yan wary.

Secondly, it was instructed that Huanyun send people to Guangci Temple in advance to observe the entrances and exits of the female members of the temple, including the mountain gate, Buddhist hall, dining hall, and back mountain. Several hidden places were observed to prevent the second young lady from passing through.

Finally, after discussing the choice of travelers with Aunt Mei, she decided to have two second-class maids and two rough-working women from Yunyi Garden accompany them. She instructed Ruizhu to prepare two sets of clothes and headdresses, and Donggua to prepare all the necessary tea sets, water bottles, snacks, and other items.

On the carriage.

“Miss, the Marquis of Huai’an’s residence, the Zhuang residence, the He residence, the Liu residence of the Minister of Rites, the Earl of Shou’an’s residence… General Xunhui’s residence are also going to Guangci Temple to offer incense today.” Hua Yan leaned against a corner of the carriage and reported one by one.

The second young lady listened quietly, her brows furrowing slightly when she heard about the General's Mansion. "The Jiang family is going too? My cousin Yu'er once told me that the Jiang family always goes to the Huangjue Temple in the inner city to offer incense and pray for blessings."

Ruizhu, unaware of the implications, said, "Miss, today is the Double Ninth Festival, and many officials' families are going to Guangci Temple. There's nothing wrong with the Jiang family going too, is there?"

Hua Yan was also surprised when she first received the list from Huan Yun.

Huangjue Temple was a royal temple built by imperial decree during the reign of the late emperor, and it only received the families of the royal family and officials.

Whether it was the Great Zhou Dynasty or several dynasties before that, the families of military generals were especially devout Buddhists. The head of the Jiang family was a second-rank general, and Madame Chiang would go to Huangjue Temple to offer incense on the first and fifteenth of every month. There was really no reason for her to suddenly go to Guangci Temple.

If you want to climb to a high place, Lu Shou Peak near Lu Shan Academy outside the city is the most suitable and convenient place. I heard that Lu Shou Peak has been unusually lively these days, and even the great Confucian scholars of the time will bring their disciples there.

As for how easily Huanyun was able to find out about this list, it was actually quite easy. When officials and their families went out, there were many rules and regulations governing their attire. With so many things to do, a lot of people were involved, and there was always some information that could be leaked in advance.

The second young lady and Hua Yan exchanged a glance, both feeling something was amiss. The Marquis of Shou'an and Madam Jiang were rather at odds, and the two usually avoided each other, rarely appearing together. Even at the poetry gathering hosted by the Princess, the Marquis of Shou'an feigned illness and didn't attend.

Hua Yan focused intently, carefully reviewing the information she had gleaned from Madam Yun. Suddenly, her eyes widened, and a guess formed in her mind:

Could it be that the Prince of Jin will visit Guangci Temple today?

Since the Ninth Prince was enfeoffed as the Prince of Jin a few days ago, it has been like a stone thrown into a lake, causing the political winds in the court to shift instantly. Many court officials, including the Earl of Shou'an, have started to have their own ideas.

After all, Prince Jin had gained the emperor's favor and made considerable contributions, yet the position of princess was still vacant...

The Jiang family surrendered to Prince Jin, who promised them the position of princess. This kind of secret information could probably only be deduced by the two old foxes, Tang Xian and Madam Yun. So it's understandable that the other people who have daughters all hope to marry Prince Jin.

Hua Yan calmed herself down and looked at the carriage ahead through the gap in the curtain.

If Prince Jin really did visit Guangci Temple, why didn't Madam Yun tell the Second Miss about it?

On Lady Yun's carriage.

"This old servant is foolish. Why doesn't Madam mention it to the Second Miss so that she can be prepared?" Wei Mama couldn't resist asking.

Madam Yun was resting with her eyes closed when she heard Wei Mama's question. A slight smile appeared on her lips, but deep worry was hidden in her eyes.

"Everything is ready. We have done a lot for Wan'er in advance. The rest of the way is beyond the control of my master and me. His Highness Prince Jin came to Guangci Temple today to offer incense on behalf of his mother. Since he is traveling incognito, it is not a good thing to deliberately get close to him."

Mother Wei lowered her eyes, carefully wiped the osmanthus-scented bead bracelet, and handed it to Madam Yun.

Selecting maids to accompany the second young lady as part of her dowry, making her famous and influential in the capital before her coming-of-age ceremony, and arranging for people in the Imperial Hospital to eliminate relatives and friends of the Rongxing Earl's Mansion who might cause trouble at any time—all these things truly required Madam Yun's painstaking efforts.

There are many things that Madam Wei doesn't know. Tang Xian has many secrets in Jinnan, otherwise he wouldn't have arranged for his trusted confidant Zheng Shan to be stationed there year-round. Moreover, his eldest son-in-law, Song Chengrui, is also a pawn; His Highness Prince Jin will arrange for him to join the Tianwu Army as a captain...

"Mother Wei, don't forget about that little girl, Hua Yan. Although Huan Yun couldn't figure out that His Highness Prince Jin would go to Guangci Temple today, Hua Yan might be able to..."