Flowery Hair: A Maidservant

Chapter 124 Receiving the Phoenix Hairpin

Donggua shrank his neck and shook his head first: "I was able to notice because a group of people were surrounding Miss Lu just now, chattering noisily. Then a servant from the Earl's mansion came to report the news, and just as everyone turned their heads, I vaguely saw a hand reaching towards Miss Lu's waist."

Immediately afterwards, Zou Xiuer fell into the water, and Donggua hesitated for a moment before jumping in to save her.

Hua Yan nodded, putting the matter aside for the time being.

Around noon, Ruizhu carried a food box to the carriage. "Is Donggua feeling better? We owe this to Mingyue. This was brought over from the manor's kitchen by Senior Sister Mingyue."

Donggua had already smelled the aroma of the food and couldn't help but smile. "I'm perfectly healthy and have nothing to do. Huayan, after you finish eating, hurry up and go take care of the master. Don't let me cause any problems."

Ruizhu, with a smirk on her face, had been grinning foolishly ever since she appeared. Huayan opened the food box and asked, "What happened? Did the Princess bestow a phoenix hairpin upon the Second Miss at the banquet?"

"Hua Yan! Cough cough... You're amazing! You even guessed it!" Rui Zhu was so shocked by the accuracy of Hua Yan's guess that her mouth was agape.

Hua Yan frowned upon hearing this. This was indeed unexpected. Given the lady's style, it seemed she shouldn't be trying to steal the spotlight at the banquet.

"After reading the poems, Her Highness first praised Miss Jiang's poems at the banquet. Then, upon seeing Miss Su's poem, she couldn't help but exclaim, 'As expected of the Grand Secretary's granddaughter, both the conception and the literary talent are superb.'"

Donggua looked away from the food box and asked curiously, "In that case, shouldn't the phoenix hairpin be given to Miss Su?"

Ruizhu's lips curled up slightly, her talkativeness growing stronger. "It was Miss Su who claimed that the second half of the poem was written by our young lady, and then after the princess read the young lady's poem, she also praised it in public."

The phoenix hairpins were originally a pair, and were given as gifts to General Jiang's residence and our Tang residence respectively. As for Miss Lu, no gift was given. However, the Princess seemed very pleased today. Hearing of the marriage agreement between the Su family and our Tang family, she personally gifted Miss Su two blue-and-white porcelain vases from the previous dynasty's official kiln.

Hua Yan pondered carefully and concluded that something must have happened at Lianxinzhai, perhaps related to changes in the court. Otherwise, there would be no reason why Miss Lu, who was of the highest status, would not receive a reward.

How did the people at the table react?

Ruizhu paused abruptly, then lowered her head in shame. "I... I was so happy for Miss that I didn't notice the others... But the eldest daughter of the Marquis's mansion, Miss Su, and Miss Cao all came forward to congratulate our Miss. The other ladies and young ladies were probably a little envious, but with the Princess in the room, nothing unusual happened."

"It's alright. It's just that after this incident, the Second Miss will have gained a reputation in the capital, and she'll probably receive many invitations to banquets and poetry gatherings."

"This was all foreseeable," Hua Yan said calmly.

After finishing her meal, Hua Yan went straight into Qionghua Pavilion. The Princess's banquet had already ended, and the young ladies were scattered around the garden like mushrooms after the rain, enjoying the flowers and scenery. Hua Yan observed from a corner for a while and saw the Princess and Mr. Lin talking with several ladies in the pavilion.

She exchanged a glance with Mingyue, then quietly slipped behind the second young lady. Tang Ling'er was chatting idly with Liu Yuhe, and a few other young ladies were joining in, talking about the most popular opera troupes in the capital, the latest styles of hairpins and bracelets, or whispering and speculating about the cause of the incident at the Rongxing Earl's Mansion.

Some tactless people directly asked the second young lady, and her response was crisp and clear: "I am not familiar with the Earl's mansion."

The young ladies nearby all seemed quite intrigued. Miss Jiang, with a cryptic look in her eyes, interjected, "That's a strange statement. Could it be that Madam Zou isn't the Second Miss's aunt?"

The second young lady feigned ignorance and replied in the same style as Miss Jiang: "What's so strange? Doesn't the General's Mansion have a few unfamiliar relatives?"

Hua Yan's heart tightened, and she secretly worried for the second young lady. The Tang family was insignificant in front of the second-rank general's mansion. Wouldn't such a reply offend Miss Jiang? Fortunately, Cao Xinglin reacted very quickly.

She couldn't help but chuckle, stepped forward and took the second young lady's arm, but said mischievously to Su Wanwan, "Wanwan, I'm so envious of you. You'll have a fun little sister-in-law like Wan'er to keep you company. She's just like a child. I love it."

Miss Jiang glanced at Cao Xinglin but said nothing more.

Hua Yan finally relaxed, feeling quite tired.

The strategies that the second young lady had been intensively trained on a few days before the banquet were completely abandoned by her on the actual occasion!

The first rule of Hua Yan's banquet handbook, written after staying up all night: 'Listen more, argue less, and skillfully handle provocations.'

The key is to avoid offending anyone!

It seems that the Second Miss's personality needs to be drastically adjusted. Otherwise, if she were to truly be within the palace walls in the future, she would be constantly on edge, and the slightest mistake could cost her her life. The road to protecting her mistress is long and arduous.

Returning to the story of the Rongxing Earl's mansion, Hua Yan secretly felt that it was related to Madam Yun. It was highly likely that the concubines in the Rongxing Earl's harem were all arranged by Madam Yun years ago. Furthermore, there were many unsavory things in wealthy and powerful families, especially since Aunt Zou was an intolerant mistress. Just by looking at the fact that the Rongxing Earl had seven or eight illegitimate daughters but no illegitimate sons, one could see the clues.

In addition, the eldest son of the Earl's family was excessively spoiled by Earl Rongxing and Aunt Zou, which made him arrogant and disdainful of others. He always acted without any scruples and caused a lot of trouble outside, which made him very bad in the capital.

After thinking for a while, Hua Yan began to concentrate on searching for the maids dressed in light yellow clothes. They were the Zhuang family and the Jiang family in the garden. She temporarily ruled out the people from the manor and would verify with Ming Wu later.

The Zhuang family is very disciplined. Following Miss Zhuang, they never take the initiative to contact outsiders. Miss Zhuang herself is even more so. Although she is exceptionally dignified and polite, she always gives people a sense of aloofness. Therefore, not many young ladies have contact with her.

Both the Lu and Jiang families were generals' mansions, only differing in rank. Miss Jiang was very warm towards Miss Lu. The Jiang family's maid was also wearing a light yellow uniform. The maids from both mansions seemed to be in frequent contact, and while their masters were admiring the flowers, they all gathered together to chat.

In a short period of time, the two families did indeed become close friends, just as the rumors on the street suggested.

On the surface, the Zhuang family had no reason to harm Miss Lu. The Vice Minister of the Chancellery had been favored by the Emperor for many years and had never sided with either the Crown Prince or the Third Prince. Hua Yan, after hearing about this from Dong Gua, reasonably suspected the Xun Hui Jiang family, because she knew that the head of the Jiang family had secretly made the same choice as Tang Xian. If the eldest daughter of the Lu family became the Seventh Prince's consort, it would be the greatest threat to the Ninth Prince.

The camaraderie among military generals is far less important than the future of their own families.

However, since Miss Lu did not receive the phoenix hairpin at the banquet, Hua Yan couldn't help but become somewhat preoccupied, glancing subtly towards the pavilion. It seemed that the Princess, or perhaps Prince Rui behind her, was using this opportunity to reveal their attitude towards the Seventh Prince's marriage.

What are Madam Yun's thoughts on the actions of the Seventh Prince and the Lu family? In the past three years, Hua Yan has often used Madam Yun as a mirror, always thinking about how Madam Yun would act in such a situation, so as to reflect on herself and make improvements.

Madam Yun was completely unaware that the maid she had painstakingly trained as her dowry maid was actually taking her as a role model. She wondered what her expression would be if she knew. At this moment, she was standing on the second floor, gazing into the distance, her gaze fixed on the Rongxing Earl's mansion.

Standing behind her, Wei Mama whispered, "Don't worry, Madam. Mingwu just relayed a message that the Emperor is furious and has sent an eunuch to read out the decree. At this critical juncture, everyone is acting swiftly and decisively. By the time we return to the manor, the Zou family may have already been escorted out of the capital."

Madam Yun withdrew her gaze and exhaled a breath of stale air. "Mother Wei, do you think my good father is busy making arrangements or is he keeping his doors closed to visitors?"