Flowery Hair: A Maidservant

Chapter 50 The Story of Being Kicked Out

Aunt Liu nodded repeatedly, "What Madam says is true. Look at that jade phoenix in the middle, its color is pure white, just like a jade phoenix spreading its wings."

Aunt Lu was still in a daze when she heard this and followed up on Aunt Liu's words, saying, "The fragrance of this flower is faint but extremely fresh and lingering. If Madam likes it, I will personally make a fragrance for you."

Aunt Wen walked with her head down, while Meng Shu lagged behind, noticing that her shoulders swayed slightly.

Fu'an Residence Flower Hall.

The old lady wore a silver-gray brocade jacket with eight auspicious floral patterns, and her hair was simply tied up with a white jade hairpin with a slanted auspicious pattern. She sat comfortably in a rosewood armchair. When she saw her daughter-in-law bringing a string of granddaughters to pay their respects, she asked Suwen to quickly serve tea.

Madam Yun took the lead in bowing, picked up the chair at the very front of the table, and sat down. She exchanged pleasantries with the old lady, thanking her for her hard work in managing the household affairs recently. She then explained in detail the number of people coming from the Song family in Jinnan to collect taxes after the Mid-Autumn Festival, how the mansion should be decorated, the guest list for the banquet, and that the mansion needed to prepare invitations in advance and send them to each household.

The old lady was always satisfied with her daughter-in-law's thoughtfulness. After listening to her, she felt that there was nothing wrong with her and felt even more that she had a good eye for her daughter-in-law.

The old lady didn't care much about the eldest daughter's marriage. These past few days, she had been talking with Granny Gao every day. Granny Gao was a remarkable person. She had served in the palace for two dynasties, rising from a palace maid to a female official. She had seen at least five hundred or even a thousand noble ladies. With just a few casual remarks, she broadened the old lady's horizons. Granny Gao was also very kind and gentle in her dealings with people. She praised the second young lady of the mansion highly, making the old lady feel as if they had met too late.

“The stage was set up yesterday. Granny Gao and I are both looking forward to hearing Yuquanzi’s performance. We’ll have lunch at Fu’anju today and watch the show together this afternoon.”

Madam Yun smiled and agreed, then had Wei Mama bring out two prepared gift lists: one for Granny Gao's ceremony, and the other for the Mid-Autumn Festival gifts to be sent to the Marquis's residence in the capital.

The old lady first looked at the one given to Granny Gao, nodded and said, "You are the most thoughtful in handling things. You have both local specialties from Lin'an and our Yongxiu Cloth Shop's unique cloud-mist silk and scattered flower brocade. I heard that Granny Gao has a grandniece who is about to get married, and cloud-mist silk is the most suitable to add to her dowry."

"It's not valuable enough. Suwen, please open the storeroom and get a White Cloud Guanyin statue to add to the gift list."

Suwen carefully agreed, and the old lady picked up another gift list. After only glancing at it twice, she frowned slightly, and her expression immediately darkened. "This is inappropriate."

Madam Yun knew the key point, but pretended to be troubled.

"The festival gifts for the Marquis's residence in the capital are acceptable, but cross out the gifts for the other two branches."

The old lady was referring to the two branches of Tang Xian's father's family. When the old master suddenly passed away, the eldest and second branches of the family treated them, a widow and her children, very harshly. When the family divided, they only received a small portion of the property, practically being kicked out.

“You don’t need to make things difficult for me. Let Xian’er come to see me, and I will ask him myself.”

After arriving in Lin'an, they lost contact with the two families. Today, upon suddenly seeing the names on the gift list, the old lady was instantly enraged, recalling the faces of her two sisters-in-law.

"Yes."

Madam Yun breathed a sigh of relief. The division of her husband's family in the capital had caused quite a stir in the city. Madam Yun had heard many anecdotes about the mother and son's past when she was still unmarried. As their wife and daughter-in-law, it was not appropriate for her to get too involved.

After this incident, the atmosphere in the flower hall became rather tense. The second young lady, feeling sorry for her mother, saw Hua Ying leading the maids to serve tea and awkwardly said to the old lady:

"The old lady's little kitchen is best at making trendy snacks. A few days ago, her granddaughter was busy learning manners, but she came up with some new tricks to satisfy our appetites."

The second young lady had never said such a witty remark in front of others before, which clearly surprised the old lady and Madam Yun. The old lady thought to herself that Gao Mama's training in etiquette and manners had not been in vain, and that the ceremony should be extended further.

Little did they know that this was all thanks to Meng Shu.

After that night talk between the mistress and servant, the second young lady was like a completely different person every time it was Meng Shu's turn to be on night duty. Meng Shu knew that she cared most about the filial madam, so she advised, "Miss, you have left your vibrant side in Yunyi Courtyard. But you don't know that the madam and the old lady may not only hope that you will be dignified and virtuous as a lady of a prominent family, but may also occasionally want to see you as a lively girl enjoying the company of your parents."

The second young lady clearly took it to heart.

The old lady came to her senses and said with a smile, "Wan'er is right. In the small kitchen, An Shun's (steward An) and his apprentice have recently learned to make steamed buns. They look beautiful and taste fresh. Suwen, please send someone to bring some over."

Upon hearing this, the second young lady couldn't help but turn around and look at Meng Shu. Meng Shu was also wondering why Donggua hadn't come over for the past two days; it turned out he was learning a craft from Steward An.

Not long after, Huaying, along with Steward An and Donggua, brought up a plate of bright red pomegranates and green apples. Seeing the puzzled looks on everyone's faces, the old lady couldn't help but laugh and say, "Look, even someone as clever as Wan'er has been fooled."

The old lady got interested and casually broke open a pomegranate. Meng Shu could tell as soon as she touched it that both fruits were made of flour.

Everyone was indeed amazed and praised the old lady for her ingenious idea of ​​Fu'an Residence. Meng Shu glanced at Dong Gua, who was looking at her with a smug smile.

Winter Melon's secret stash of money is growing bigger and bigger.

This wasn't Meng Shu's idea; she was also very proud of her friend.

The second young lady also found it novel. After tasting it, she patted Meng Shu and Rui Zhu on the shoulder, telling them not to worry. She would have Dong Gua make some and send them to Yunyi Courtyard later. The second young lady was far superior to the other young ladies in pampering her maids.

Because of the noodles, the old lady's gloomy mood vanished, and she personally rewarded Steward An. Donggua naturally received a lot of rewards as well. Seeing her mother-in-law happy, Madam Yun also gave rewards. The concubines dared not stand out in front of the old lady and quietly played the role of decorations.

Afterwards, the old lady asked Guangbai to invite the second young lady of the Marquis's mansion, Granny Gao, and Granny Yuan to Yunxi Courtyard. The young ladies strolled around the garden at Fu'an Residence, while Madam Yun chatted with the old lady and Granny Gao. They had a lively lunch, the stage was set up, and the gongs were struck to start the performance, making for a very lively occasion.

Meng Shu was certainly unaware of the aftermath of sending festival gifts to the capital, which involved the entanglement between the old lady and her son. All she knew was that the second young lady of the Marquis's mansion would return with a full load of gifts two days later. Meng Shu accompanied the second young lady out of the mansion to the Lin'an Wharf to see her off. Granny Gao stood against the wind, her gaze finally softening for once. She bid farewell to the second young lady and said, "See you again if fate allows."

With these matters settled, it was time for the managers of the Tang family business to hold a meeting. The various stewards and managers of the Tang mansion were also busy preparing for the Mid-Autumn Festival, and the whole mansion was filled with a festive atmosphere.

At this juncture, the second young lady was also very busy. In addition to resuming her studies at Muyunzhai, the matter that Madam had mentioned giving her two shops to practice at was also put on the agenda. In addition, before festivals, she would always pick one or two friendly places to attend the flower viewing, garden tours, or poetry gatherings organized by the young ladies of Lin'an.

However, amidst the chaos, a minor, unpleasant incident occurred at the Tang residence: the two young ladies returned to visit the old lady.