Flowery Hair: A Maidservant

Chapter 121 Aunt Zou Borrows Money

Su Wanwan frowned, stood up and took a step back. The second young lady had already instructed Hua Yanmingyue to separate Miss Liu. The two young ladies who were on good terms with the Su family also stepped forward. One of them, a tall and beautiful woman, raised an eyebrow at Liu Yuhe.

"Sister Liu, are you doing this on purpose? Everyone here knows that our Wanwan is exceptionally talented in poetry and literature. You're just waiting for the appointed time to deliberately sabotage Wanwan and soil her dress..."

Hua Yan had learned about the young ladies in advance, and whispered to the second young lady, "This is the second daughter of the Cao family, a Grand Academician of the Guanwen Hall. She and Miss Su have been friends since childhood."

The Cao family was renowned for its distinguished lineage, and Miss Cao, naturally of high birth, possessed a remarkably upright character and a keen understanding of right and wrong. She was someone Madam Yun had initially considered for the Marquis's residence, a potential candidate to become its future matriarch, but alas...

Liu Yuhe handed the poem to the maid behind her, turned around and her eyes were already red, looking like she had been bullied. "Even if Sister Cao is on good terms with Sister Su, she can't turn black into white. Just now I only wanted to discuss poetry with Sister Su, how could I have any other intentions?"

Just then, shouts and cheers faintly came from the opposite bank. Hua Yan listened carefully and saw that it was the waterside pavilion hidden by green trees—the Prince Consort had gathered a group of young masters from noble families. Judging from the time, they should also be holding a poetry gathering.

Hearing the commotion, Liu Yuhe asked anxiously, "Sister Su, did you bring any spare clothes? How about I have my maid fetch a set from the carriage, and you can go to the room arranged by Qionghua Pavilion to change first?"

Miss Cao scoffed, "What kind of taste do you have? How dare you let Wanwan wear clothes you've worn? Wanwan, I'll accompany you back to Qionghua Pavilion."

Su Wanwan stopped Miss Cao, "It's alright. Caiyue brought it. There's not much time left, Xinglin, Wan'er, you two continue with the poetry gathering. I'll change my clothes and come over later."

Caiyue gave a curtsy and turned to leave quickly.

The second young lady held Su Wanwan's hand, her face full of concern. "Let Hua Yan go with you; she's always very thorough in her work."

Seeing that the others ignored her, Liu Yuhe bit her lip and said, "I was being presumptuous today. I hope Sister Su won't take offense." After saying that, she returned to her seat with her maid and looked at Su Wanwan's back with a sinister expression.

Su Wanwan patted the second young lady's hand, "Don't worry, I'll be back soon."

Hua Yan noticed Liu Yuhe's expression and said with a smile, "Miss Su, our young lady has nothing to do here, so let me go with you."

With Mingyue by the Second Miss's side, Hua Yan felt very at ease.

Behind Qionghua Pavilion was a garden, and to the right was a courtyard separated by a bamboo grove, which was specially prepared for the ladies to rest or touch up their makeup and change clothes. Huayan followed Caixia and saw Donggua by the lake after leaving the Nine-Bend Pavilion. She nodded to herself.

Caixia, supporting her young mistress, felt somewhat indignant and whispered, "Miss's poem is not yet finished. In my opinion, that Miss Liu's daughter is indeed as Miss Cao said, with ill intentions."

Su Wanwan recalled her mother's words from the previous night, beckoned Hua Yan forward, and asked with a smile, "In your opinion, who will stand out in this poetry competition and receive the phoenix hairpin bestowed by the Princess?"

Hua Yan was surprised by Miss Su's question and lowered her head, saying, "In my humble opinion, literary talent and artistic conception are secondary, so it is not appropriate to make a judgment on who will win."

Caixia asked doubtfully, "Is it possible that the competition of poetry and prose doesn't consider literary talent or themes? Would the Princess and Mr. Lin really cheat so blatantly that the young lady from General Lu's mansion, who has the highest status among those present, would win?"

Su Wanwan pursed her lips and tapped Caixia's head. "You really need to learn some social skills from Huayan. The poetry gathering is just an excuse to hold this banquet. The ladies will have to spend some money for the phoenix hairpin bestowed by the royal family."

"Then Miss Tang will definitely win the poetry competition this time," Caixia said with a chuckle after a moment's thought. It was clear that the Tang family's wealth was common knowledge.

Hua Yan gently shook her head. Seeing this, Su Wanwan stopped in her tracks and asked curiously, "Could it be that Caixia is wrong?"

Since we're all family now, Hua Yan thought it over and felt there was nothing to be ashamed of. She explained softly, "Miss Su, there are so many distinguished ladies at today's banquet. Our Madam Yun shouldn't stand out too much."

This was unexpected for Su Wanwan. She and her mother thought that Madam Yun would make a grand appearance in front of the noble families and officials, so that the Tang family could officially show their faces in the capital.

At the fork in the road, turning left leads to the courtyard where people rest. Mingwu is waiting by the roadside and has already stopped Caiyue, who is returning with her clothes.

After curtsying, Mingwu glanced at Huayan, nodded slightly, and then said to Su Wanwan, "Please go to the side room by the side gate to change your clothes, Miss."

Su Wanwan was completely bewildered, and Hua Yan quickly whispered in her ear, "Miss Su, don't worry, Mingwu is one of our Second Miss's people." Su Wanwan was stunned for a moment, almost intimidated by her future husband's family, but fortunately she nodded quickly, and the four of them followed Mingwu to the right.

In the bamboo grove behind the house on the left, Chen Lin stood in front of the back window, with a young man dressed in a scholar's robe lying at his feet.

Inside the Lotus Heart Pavilion.

Madam Yun sat at the end, leisurely drinking tea and chatting and laughing with Madam Su and Madam Sun.

Princess Yongping briefly described the drought in Jinzhou, then ordered her maid to fetch a blank booklet. "With Her Majesty the Empress taking the lead, and Consort Shu and Consort Min also speaking out, all the ladies in the harem have donated their annual allowances. Now that natural disasters are frequent in Jinzhou and other places, we women in the inner quarters should also share the burden for His Majesty and the ladies, and help alleviate the people's suffering."

Madam Lu took the lead in responding with a few words, and the other ladies naturally had to make their own remarks as well. They flattered the ladies for their compassion for the people, the princess and Mr. Lin for their kind hearts, and said that their own mansions were also willing to donate grain and porridge to relieve the disaster victims.

"The Ninth Prince has traveled from Jiangnan northwards to Jinzhou. Recently, he sent messengers on horseback with news that the number of disaster victims in the three prefectures has reached over 100,000. The Imperial Uncle has allocated 100,000 taels of silver from the national treasury for disaster relief. However, post-disaster reconstruction is extremely difficult. This book will record the donations from each prefecture in a true and accurate manner, and will eventually be presented to the Imperial Uncle and the Empress for their review."

Upon hearing this, the ladies' eyes lit up, and they praised from the bottom of their hearts, "Your Highness is so kind."

Lady Rongxing felt extremely uneasy, her face contorted with unease. She had no idea that the matter of donating silver would reach the emperor's ears, and she only had four hundred taels of silver notes with her. Helpless, she could only turn her head to look at Lady Yun while drinking tea.

Fortunately, Princess Yongping was very sensible. She first used the excuse of changing clothes to give the ladies enough time to think it over.

Aunt Zou breathed a sigh of relief after the princess left, and immediately got up and went to Madam Yun's side.

"My sister wants to borrow money? What, does the dignified Earl's Mansion lack money?" Madam Yun did not deliberately lower her voice, so the ladies nearby could not help but look at Aunt Zou.

Aunt Zou's face turned ashen, her eyebrows furrowed in anger, and she tried to pull Madam Yun aside to talk. Wei Mama, head held high and chest puffed out, took a small step forward, separating Aunt Zou from Madam Yun.

The ladies in the flower hall gathered in twos and threes to discuss the matter, paying no attention to the commotion, except for Madame Chiang Kai-shek, who kept an eye on things.

Madam Yun did not get up, and said calmly, "Sister, please be patient. There is no need to rush to show your face in front of the princess. I believe your lord will have his own intentions."

"What do you mean by this? Our Lord..."

Before she could finish speaking, a servant from Lianxinzhai brought in the head maid of the Rongxing Earl's Mansion to deliver a message. The maid looked anxious and whispered something in Aunt Zou's ear. After hearing it, Aunt Zou let out a wail and fell straight backward.