Flowery Hair: A Maidservant

Chapter 83 Mingyue and the Young Master's Gift

This scene was unexpected for the four of them, but the second young lady quickly came to her senses and understood her mother's intention.

Having spent a considerable amount of time together, Mengzhu and Ruizhu exchanged glances. Mengzhu suddenly felt a sense of unease. Although Wei Mama was her aunt, her aunt knew very well what could and couldn't be said. Wei Mama hadn't uttered a single word about the Second Miss's impending entry into the Prince's mansion.

However, Mengzhu was the maid who had stayed in Yunyi Courtyard the longest. Ever since that night when she and Mengshu and Donggua asked the masters for guidance, she had realized the gap between herself and Mengshu and the others.

The fact that they're hiring a skilled martial arts maid shows the Madam's good intentions. Compared to that, is there any point in my existence? I'm not as clever as Meng Shu, and I'm not as charming as Rui Zhu. Dong Gua has a keen sense of smell and excellent pastry-making skills...

At this moment, Mengzhu felt more panicked than ever before. She unconsciously looked at her aunt, a twelve-year-old girl born into a family of servants, and for the first time, she felt worried about the future.

Ruizhu rolled her bright eyes a few times and turned her gaze to Meng Shu. She secretly decided that while serving her mistress well, she should also follow Meng Shu closely. She was the most pragmatic and knew that Meng Shu was the one recognized by both the Second Miss and the Old Madam. Following the strong would never be wrong.

The others in the hall naturally wouldn't notice the strange looks from the two maids. Only Mama Wei was outside the situation. She gently shook her head and gave Mengzhu a reassuring look from afar.

Of the three girls, only Meng Shu remained calm. She had no sense of accomplishment and therefore no concern for gain or loss. And a skilled martial arts maid was essential for the second young lady, so that was enough.

Since these three girls were chosen by Madam Yun, their backgrounds must be clean. Therefore, the second young lady did not ask in detail, but only asked a few questions based on her intuition, such as their age, the moves they learned, and what they were good at.

It must be said that the Second Miss is a very clever person. After learning that the three of them were all eleven or twelve years old and that they all came from the same martial arts school, she chose them based on her first impression.

The second young lady turned around and glanced at Mengzhu and the others, then looked more closely at the three people in front of her, pointing to the one in the middle who was relatively not very tall.

What's your name?

"Your...sister...replying to Second Miss, my name is Mingyue, and I am the youngest among us."

The youngest girl in the middle seemed surprised to be chosen. She had a very spirited appearance, and unlike the usual maids who wore their hair in double buns, she tied her hair with a wooden hairpin and then casually tied a knot with a red ribbon.

The second young lady nodded and exchanged a glance with the madam. She chose her because she was about the same height as herself and her frame was not exaggerated, so it wouldn't look out of place to take her out.

The other two maids felt no jealousy when they saw that the Second Miss had chosen the Junior Sister. They almost simultaneously clasped their hands in greeting to Madam Yun and the Second Miss. The one who looked the oldest said, "Madam, since that's the case, the Junior Sister can stay in the manor. The head of the family and the master still have tasks to complete, so I will take them back with me."

Madam Yun seemed to have anticipated that her daughter would choose Mingyue, and said, "On the Double Ninth Festival, Yong'an Pharmacy will send two fresh ginseng roots that are fifty years old. Please take them to Madam Zhou."

Mother Wei took the brocade box presented by the head maid and personally saw them out of the courtyard.

Mingyue watched her senior sisters leave with some reluctance, then quickly straightened her back and stood automatically behind the Second Miss.

"Your father mentioned in his letter that Mingyue is exceptionally talented. She is only able to serve you because of Madam Zhou's affection for our Tang family. You must not mistreat her," Madam Yun said solemnly.

The second young lady had just sat down when she hurriedly stood up and said yes. Just then, an old woman came to deliver a message that people from Yunqi Courtyard were coming to see the eldest young master with his congratulatory gifts.

Ever since the eldest young master went to Lushan Academy in the capital, Mu Feng has been the one to run errands and deliver congratulatory gifts for him every year. This time, however, two old women carried a sandalwood box.

The second young lady smiled, wondering what birthday gift her brother had prepared this year. Madam Yun had never seen her daughter's genuine smile since the day at the Chongyang Ancestral Hall, and she was quite moved.

"Our Lin-ge'er cares about you very much. He's spent the last few years searching for good things in the capital," Madam Yun joked, instructing her head maid to quickly open the box. Seeing that Madam was in a rare good mood, the head maid opened it quickly, and when she saw what it was, she couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

Meng Shu followed behind the second young lady. No wonder the head maid was surprised; there were as many as thirty or forty different items in the box.

At the bottom were more than ten ancient books, followed by agate paperweights, writing brushes, ink, paper and inkstones, jewelry, hair ornaments, spices and lip rouge, and various exquisite trinkets. On top of all was a satin box with gold-threaded peony patterns.

As soon as the second young lady's gaze fell, Meng Shu bent down and brought the box to her. The second young lady took it with her delicate hands, opened it, and was slightly surprised. Meng Shu stared intently and peeked at it. It turned out to be a property deed, seemingly for a manor in the suburbs of the capital.

Madam Yun's eyes flickered for a moment upon seeing it, but she quickly concealed it and said with a smile, "I didn't expect Lin-ge'er to give me a manor as a birthday gift. He has excellent taste. This is probably the most scenic place in the suburbs."

Meng Shuyin, hiding behind the second young lady, lingered on the house deed and almost instantly realized that the Tang family might be moving to the capital.

The second young lady, not knowing what to think, simply put the house deed into a box and handed it to Mengzhu to hold. She then picked out a few pieces of jewelry from the box to give to her fifth sister who lived in Yun Gui Courtyard.

After looking at the gifts, Wei's mother went back to her room. Madam Yun was talking about how the birthday banquet would be held at Yunxi Courtyard. The place was decorated in a magnificent style and was originally a courtyard for honored guests. Not only was the place large, but the scenery was also beautiful, with pavilions, towers, bridges, and flowing water. It was suitable for both holding the banquet outside and in the flower hall.

The second young lady had no opinion on this, so she pointed out Meng Shu and instructed her to go to Yunxi Courtyard with the Fang family later. The preparations would begin tomorrow, and the menu from Steward An's place also needed to be finalized by tomorrow. Vegetables would be supplied by the estate, and fish, crabs, fruits, honey-glazed dishes, etc., needed to be purchased in advance.

Meng Shu wrote them down one by one.

And so, when they came there were four of them, master and servants, but when they left there were five, with two old women from Yunqi Courtyard following behind carrying the young master's gifts.

Mingyue was serious and unsmiling, and obediently guarded the Second Miss. She was also very polite to Meng Shu and the others, but there seemed to be a hint of wariness in her politeness. Ruizhu sensed this and was a little unhappy. Meng Shu had been paying attention for a long time and secretly thought that it was just a habit she had developed over the years and that she had no ill intentions.

Upon arriving at Yunyi Courtyard, the Second Miss summoned the head of the household and explained the banquet arrangements. A moment later, Meng Shu followed the head of the household to Yunxi Courtyard.

After dismissing her maid, the second young lady took out the gifts her brother had brought one by one. Finally, a piece of paper fell from an ancient book called "Daily Records of Knowledge," its strokes vigorous and unrestrained.

A few words were written on it: 'The sea presses down on the bamboo branches, then they rise again; the wind blows at the mountain corner, then it shines again.'

The second young lady stared at it for a long time, gazing at the gentle breeze and shadows of the trees outside the window. Her face was a mixture of tears and laughter, and tiny teardrops fell onto the letter paper. Having read the poems thoroughly, she naturally knew that this line came from Chen Yuyi's "Watching the Rain" from the previous dynasty.

The next line is, "Not minding the leaky roof and lack of dry place, but precisely because the dragons are about to wash their armor and weapons."