Flowery Hair: A Maidservant

Chapter 46 One Son and One Daughter

Seven or eight days passed in a flash, and the Qixi Festival arrived in the blink of an eye.

Meng Shu followed the second young lady to Yunxi Courtyard every day to learn etiquette. From standing posture to head movements and even hand gestures, Granny Gao taught her for three days in a row with a ruler in hand.

Next, the demonstration began with the etiquette of bowing, explaining in detail a series of rituals such as nodding, crossing hands, overlapping hands, bowing deeply, holding a fan, brushing the skirt, bowing deeply, kowtowing, bending over, kowtowing, and so on. These rituals covered the rules that daughters of noble families learned from childhood, including walking, sitting, lying down, eating, visiting, and banquets.

Today we are about to discuss the fan-holding etiquette.

Speaking of this, we must mention the second young lady of the Marquis's mansion. She has been studying with unusual fervor these past few days and often pesters Granny Gao for guidance. The second young lady doesn't mind at all; she's happy to be lazy openly.

Yesterday, Granny Gao mentioned that today we would be learning the fan-holding etiquette. After class, the second young lady of the Marquis's mansion immediately offered to escort her back to Yunyi Courtyard.

Then he swiped a few valuable round fans. It was just a coincidence that Guangbai was delivering things at the old lady's request, including two round fans with crescent-white silk embroidered with bamboo patterns.

Granny Gao paid great attention to explaining the fan-holding etiquette, as this was a common practice for young ladies from noble families when going out. "Gently cover your face with the fan, bend slightly forward, being careful not to sway even slightly, bend your knees, and slightly raise your right arm..."

Perhaps it was because she had been eating too well lately, and also because Cuihu was older than Meng Shu and the others, she had gained some weight recently. At this moment, she was focused on the pattern on the fan and did not pay attention to her footing. She wobbled and almost fell. Granny Gao immediately threw her a flower.

Throwing flowers here means being punished.

Granny Gao found it difficult to teach six girls at once, so she would often sit at the head of the table with a ruler in her hand. If someone made a mistake, she would pick up a flower from the tray on the table and throw it down. The person who made the mistake would then come forward to receive the punishment.

You don't need to say a word when you come and go, so it won't bother anyone else.

Cuihu looked embarrassed and reluctantly stepped forward. Granny Gao was too lazy to hit her anymore. Seeing that Meng Shu had learned to be elegant and had obviously mastered the essence, she casually pointed at her and said, "You, you shall carry out the punishment."

Meng Shu's hand holding the fan froze for a moment. What a wonderful thing!

Cuihu's face turned a deep purplish-red, and her angry but speechless expression made the three people from Yunyi Courtyard feel a bit smug. Meng Shu immediately took a light step forward and, following the rules, picked up the ruler from Granny Gao's hand.

"right..."

Snap! Snap! Snap! The ruler struck the palm of the hand with a loud sound.

"...I'm not staying here anymore, Sister Cuihu."

Without any warning, the shot landed directly on Cuihu, catching her completely off guard, and her palm instantly became red and swollen.

Cuihu was, after all, a member of the Marquis's family. The second young lady of the Marquis's family was about to say a few words with a slightly sullen face when Qin Mama's voice, which was both happy and nervous, rang out from outside the door.

"Second Miss, Madam has started the illness. Master and Madam are both here. They sent someone to tell you to return to Yun Gui Courtyard quickly."

The lady is about to give birth!

The second young lady rarely showed a hint of girlish surprise, her face full of worry. She asked Granny Gao for leave and quickly led Meng Shumeng and Zhu out of Yunxi Courtyard.

Two days ago, Meng Shu accompanied the Second Miss to Yun Gui Courtyard to pay her respects. At that time, the Madam's belly was already quite large. The Second Miss brought an embroidered handkerchief and a large red pomegranate knot woven by Meng Shu. The Madam was very pleased with them and said that Meng Shu was very thoughtful. She even rewarded Meng Shu with a gold hairpin.

The three of them, master and servant, entered Yun Gui Courtyard. The main room was already in a flurry of activity. The old lady and the eldest master were anxiously waiting in the main hall. Concubine Liu and Concubine Wen, who had been released from confinement, stood to the side. The two looked at each other and then looked away. The fifth young lady sullenly knelt at the old lady's knees.

When the old lady saw the second young lady come in, she comforted her, "Don't be afraid, Wan'er. The midwife came to the manor to take care of her a long time ago, and the manor doctor also said that the baby is in the right position. Your mother has given birth before, and she has only just started labor."

The second young lady nodded hurriedly, and after bowing to her elders, she pulled the fifth young lady aside to wait.

Meng Shu looked into the inner room and saw shadowy figures, with old women occasionally carrying in chicken soup or other food, and others carrying hot water in and out.

For a moment, no one spoke. Meng Shu noticed the old man's tightly clenched fingers in his sleeve, indicating that he was extremely nervous.

Just then, the gatekeeper and a young maid rushed over, their faces panicked. "Master, something terrible has happened! Concubine Lu heard the news that Madam is about to give birth and was planning to come and visit, but she slipped and fell on the way..."

The old lady frowned, and Suwen walked to the door: "Madam is still giving birth. What nonsense are you spouting? Slap yourself."

The gatekeeper was so frightened that she couldn't speak coherently. She slapped herself twice. Her maidservant looked troubled and said to the master, "Please, sir, go and see our aunt. She just fell and is bleeding. Our aunt is also about to give birth."

Tang Xian's already slightly furrowed brows tightened even more, but he didn't move after all. "Send the family physician over there. There are also midwives at Fengyin Courtyard. Let Aunt Lu rest assured. I'll go see her after Madam gives birth."

The old lady was somewhat satisfied and patted Guangbai beside her. "Go over there and take the ginseng and medicine from my storeroom. Go and check on Aunt Lu for me. Tell her I want her to give birth to the child safely."

Guangbai hurriedly agreed, waved, and left with the gatekeeper and maid.

"Aunt Lu is quite skilled at making incense, but she lacks a bit of composure," the old lady said calmly.

Aunt Lu was originally just a perfumer in a rouge shop, from a poor family. More than 20 years ago, Tang Xiangang came to Lin'an from the capital and opened his first shop, a cosmetics shop. At that time, Aunt Lu was just a maid who helped make rouge in the shop.

Later, Tang Xian accidentally discovered her talent for smelling fragrances and had someone teach her carefully. Soon, Aunt Lu began to stand out in the art of incense making. With her talent, the first rouge shop quickly became famous in Lin'an and opened branch after branch in Da Zhou. In a short period of time, Tang Xian quickly accumulated the capital to start a business.

Tang Xian respected her greatly and originally intended to marry her off to an ordinary, moderately wealthy family as their principal wife. However, he did not expect that Aunt Lu had already secretly fallen in love with him many years ago.

“Mother is right, but Aunt Lu respects Madam, which is why she thought of coming to visit.” Tang Xian’s eyes flashed with weariness as he explained.

The old lady stopped talking and listened intently to the sounds coming from the inner room. She longed for another grandson.

About two hours later, a loud baby's cry was finally heard.

Immediately afterwards, an old woman came out from the inner room and said, "Congratulations, madam, congratulations, sir! Your wife has given birth to a daughter, and both mother and daughter are safe and sound."

The reactions varied. The second and fifth young ladies breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed after seeing their mother give birth safely. Tang Xian was somewhat disappointed, but also very happy. The old lady was stunned for a moment, then realized, "That's Xiao Qi. Bring him here so I can see him. Madam has given birth smoothly. Yun Gui Courtyard will be richly rewarded, and everyone else's monthly salary will be doubled."

The servants responded with delight, which seemed to add to the festive atmosphere surrounding the news of the birth of a daughter.

The second young lady held Meng Shu's hand, which was slightly warm. She turned to the fifth young lady and smiled, saying, "Mother is probably a little disappointed. We'll have to say some nice things later." The two of them looked at the baby with curiosity in front of the old lady.

She had just given birth and couldn't be seen by anyone yet. After a while, Madam Yun seemed to have heard the news outside and said to Tang Xian through the window, "Go and see Aunt Lu. She fell and is in even more danger because she was about to give birth."

Tang Xian agreed and told her to get some rest, and that he would come to see her again in the evening.

Before Tang Xian could leave, the gatekeeper rushed over again, her swollen head tilted back, and said happily, "Congratulations, sir! Congratulations, madam! Aunt Lu has given birth to a son, and both mother and child are safe and sound."

Sensing the Second Miss's body tense up instantly, Meng Shu sighed, realizing that her job as a servant was probably coming to an end.