Flowery Hair: A Maidservant

Chapter 103 Clouds Return to the Capital

The second young lady and Hua Yan looked at each other in bewilderment. They had only a superficial understanding of the imperial court, but they knew that the emperor had a total of ten sons. According to the primogeniture system, the eldest son was made crown prince at the age of two. In addition, there were four other princes, the second, third, seventh, and ninth, who were still alive.

The second prince's birth mother committed suicide in the palace years ago, which was considered taboo. As a result, the second prince was also disliked and was sent away from the capital to his fiefdom at an early age. It is said that he was never recalled to the capital. Among the four princes, the third prince has the most illustrious status. His birth mother is the most favored Consort Shu, and he also has military blood.

The Seventh Prince was intelligent and kind, and had a good reputation in the court and among the people. As for the Ninth Prince, his mother was of low rank and he was the youngest. He had always been unassuming and had no reputation in the capital.

In Hua Yan's opinion, the Ninth Prince's chances were slim, but through Madam Yun's guidance during this period, Hua Yan gradually figured out that the Ninth Prince was good at forbearance and had been hiding his sharpness and ambition.

These are all supposed to be struggles among men, but once these struggles become real, the women in the inner quarters are the first to be affected. However, Madam Yun did not seem to be worried about this.

After this incident, everyone, including Tang Xian, went into hiding. The matter of the Floating Light Brocade proceeded smoothly. However, when Hua Yan finally learned that Tang Xian had gotten in through the Third Prince's connections, she was shocked and could only sigh, "Old fox..."

When Tang Xian returned from the capital, it was time for the eldest daughter to get married.

The dowry from the Tang family was naturally very generous, consisting of shops and land, various furniture and decorations, clothes for all seasons, headdresses and jewelry, antiques, calligraphy and paintings, medicinal herbs and spices, totaling sixty-four loads.

In addition, there was the dowry. Aunt Liu personally selected two maids and four second-class maids. Each family's servants included three servants, and the groom was also among them.

Because of the good behavior of Aunt Liu and her daughter during this period, Madam Yun and the old lady each added 10% to their share of the common treasury. Don't underestimate this 10%, because the dowry alone amounted to more than 5,000 taels of silver.

The wedding day arrived quickly. Early in the morning, the eldest young lady had her face threaded and was getting her makeup done at Fuliu Courtyard. The second young lady and several of her younger sisters came to add to her dowry. Apart from the homemade perfumes given by the sixth young lady, the rest of the gifts were headdresses and jewelry. The young ladies who were on good terms with the eldest young lady also gathered around, and after adding to her dowry, they chatted intimately.

Aunt Liu had been crying since yesterday, and now seeing her daughter in a bright red wedding dress, she couldn't help but shed tears. She held her daughter's hand and said many things, showing her loving motherly heart.

Afterwards, accompanied by the dowry maid, the eldest daughter went to Fu'an Residence to kowtow to the old lady and her stepmother. At this time, the wedding procession of the Song family of Jinnan had already arrived at the gate of the Tang Mansion, where Tang Lin was leading the young masters of various families in Lin'an to block the gate.

Hua Yan and Ming Yue were sent out by the Second Miss to watch the excitement. The two maids hid behind the crowd inside the door and saw through the gap that the new son-in-law, Song Chengrui, was indeed tall and strong, with long arms and legs. He dismounted and stood in front of the eldest young master, clasping his hands in greeting. He was a full half a head taller than Tang Lin.

Song Chengrui entered the army at the age of twelve. The soldiers he usually dealt with were all rough men. He had never seen such a handsome and elegant young man before. However, he was always carefree and had no sense of inferiority.

He wasn't nervous at all; he just stared blankly at Tang Lin, making Tang Lin feel a little uncomfortable. No one knew that Song Chengrui was secretly delighted, thinking that although the bride and Tang Lin didn't share the same mother, she must be very beautiful. So, faced with the request to compose a poem to urge Tang Lin to get married, this martial man slapped his forehead and recited a few lines of doggerel.

Without even rehearsing his lines, he blurted out:

Urgently needing to get ready, but overjoyed.

A bride in her red wedding dress awaits her wedding in the morning light.

Don't waste this auspicious time.

She changed into her wedding dress and went to the wedding hall.

Each line grew louder than the last, and at the end, he grinned sheepishly at Tang Lin, revealing a set of perfectly white teeth. Seeing Tang Lin's stunned expression, he scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Brother-in-law, I'm just a rough man and can't write poetry. These lines are sung by the brothers in the army."

Tang Lin, a man of great learning, was utterly dumbfounded by these four lines of doggerel.

"Pfft—" Hua Yan covered her mouth and chuckled, while Ming Yue clapped her hands and whispered, "This doggerel is just a catchy rhyme, but the young master's kung fu must be pretty good. Look closely, the calluses on his tiger's mouth and fingertips must be from frequently drawing a bow and shooting arrows."

Finally, he drew his own conclusion: "Sharp eyes, deep breathing, even ten of me couldn't beat him."

Hua Yan: ......

Even Tang Lin, usually so composed and magnanimous, laughed and cursed, "utter nonsense, a complete mess!" He then demanded to perform a set of boxing moves. Song Chengrui, wanting to show off to his fair-skinned brother-in-law, put on a show with the military brothers who were welcoming the bride, and only after showering them with a large sum of money did he finally get his way.

Once the Song family's wedding procession entered the Tang residence, Song Chengrui felt uneasy in the face of the Tang family's immense wealth. He silently recited his sister-in-law's instructions before leaving and made his way step by step to Yun Gui Courtyard.

As the eldest daughter left Yun Gui Courtyard to get married, Aunt Liu, following the rules, could not approach. She could only nervously hide behind the rockery with tears in her eyes and watch her son-in-law enter the courtyard. The difference in their social status was truly heartbreaking.

Regardless of what the eldest young lady's intentions were, she still managed to marry into Jinnan smoothly. Hua Yan followed the second young lady out of the mansion to see her off. On the carriage back to the Tang mansion, the second young lady said softly, "From what you've said, she seems to be a good match. Eldest sister is quite fortunate."

For a long time afterward, Tang Xian spent most of his time away from home, and the council meetings were changed to once every six months. After the old Marquis passed away, his eldest son succeeded him as the Marquis of Huai'an. According to seniority, he was Tang Xian's uncle. This Marquis of Huai'an was over forty years old and was already holding a sinecure in the Ministry of Rites. He took the opportunity to retire at home to observe the mourning period and thus relinquished his post.

The seasons cycled, year after year, and in the blink of an eye, it was the forty-seventh year of the Qianyuan era.

That year, Hua Yan turned fourteen and became the top maid in Yunyi Courtyard. Unfortunately, Dong Gua had not yet been able to take over the position of head of Li Niangzi's small kitchen, but she did manage to make a few new snacks and was accumulating more and more money.

With the instruction of Hua Yan and Zheng Dongjia, Huan Yun opened an embroidery shop in the capital. Because of its outstanding patterns and very precious materials, it catered to wealthy families and its reputation in the capital grew better and better. Young ladies from noble families or stewards of large mansions often visited the shop. Therefore, Huan Yun personally went to the capital to take charge two years ago.

Unfortunately, there is still no news of her uncle. Hua Yan and her companion have not given up. Fortunately, Huan Yun has accumulated manpower and resources in recent years. She not only sent people to Xuanquan Post Station, but also made a point of inquiring about news from the border caravans.

Many things happened in the Tang family during these three years, the most noteworthy being the arranging of Tang Lin's marriage.

In the spring of March, Tang Lin passed the imperial examination with flying colors. During the palace examination, he was personally selected by the emperor as the third-ranked scholar in the 47th year of the Qianyuan era. At that time, after ten years of hard study, he had finally become a student of the emperor. The twenty-year-old third-ranked scholar rode his horse through the streets, showing off his talent in the capital.

However, the reason why the Tang family of Lin'an gradually rose to prominence in the capital was not only because of the eldest son of the Tang family's status as a third-place scholar, but also because of a marriage contract.

Tang Lin was exceptionally talented and had an elegant demeanor, so naturally many wealthy and influential families wanted to marry their daughters to him. Among them was Madam Yun's favorite daughter-in-law.

Su Wanwan is the eldest granddaughter of Grand Secretary Su and the eldest daughter of the current Grand Master of Ceremonies. It is said that she is not only exceptionally beautiful but also exceptionally talented and intelligent, making her one of the most outstanding young ladies among the many prominent families in the capital.

The two families quickly arranged the marriage, causing a sensation throughout the capital.

Finally, the branch of the Marquis's family, which had fled the capital in disarray to Lin'an twenty-six years ago, was ready to move back to the capital.

A few days before the relocation, the old lady took Tang Xian to stay at the ancestral hall in the village.

Inside Yun Gui Courtyard, everyone was busy. Madam Yun sat listlessly in a rosewood armchair, looking north through the hibiscus-patterned window. Twenty years had passed since she left the capital, and the day of her "return" had come. She wondered if her stepmother and stepsister had slept peacefully all these years.