Flowery Hair: A Maidservant

Chapter 151 The Concubine Enters the Mansion - Dowry

Hua Yan gently took the Second Miss's arm. The Second Miss's vision was covered by the bridal veil, and when she stood up, she instinctively gripped Hua Yan's hand tightly.

The slight coolness to the touch told Hua Yan that the Second Miss must be very nervous.

The Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs stepped forward to preside over the ceremony. Although Prince Jin was of noble status, he still had to bow to the old lady according to etiquette on his wedding day, and then nod to Tang Xian and his wife. Tang Xian and Madam Yun, to show their respect, had to turn slightly to the side and return the bow at the same time.

When the old lady first met the prince, she felt that he was extremely imposing and dignified. However, thinking that her granddaughter, whom she had carefully raised, would enter the mansion and whether her future life would be smooth or not depended on his single thought, she couldn't help but feel melancholy.

As dusk fell, Hua Yan helped the second young lady, who was holding a round fan, slowly leave the mansion. As the fifth and seventh young ladies cried out "Sister!" in tearful voices, a tear silently rolled down the back of Hua Yan's hand.

The prince's ceremonial tents stretched from the street to the main gate of the Tang residence. The street in front of the mansion had not seen such a lively scene in a long time, and the street was crowded with people wearing loose cotton-padded coats. The Tang family's daughter's marriage instantly made them a new elite in the capital, and even the common people at the foot of the imperial city, who had seen some of the world, could not help but smile and gossip.

After the second young lady was seated in the sedan chair, Hua Yan and Rui Zhu served on the left side of the sedan chair, while Ming Yue stood behind the sedan chair, closely following Aunt Mei.

Once everyone was ready, the Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs announced in a clear and resonant voice:

"The auspicious hour has arrived. The Prince and his concubine shall depart the residence. All others, please leave and pray for blessings and good fortune!"

Surrounded by numerous noblemen, the Prince of Jin strode to the front of his ceremonial guard, leaped onto his horse, and was followed closely by his personal guards.

Amidst the deafening drums and music, the bridal sedan chair was slowly raised. Steward Tang led the stewards inside and outside the mansion to scatter lucky money. After people scrambled to grab the money while saying auspicious words, the procession carrying the dowry finally walked out of the mansion gate one by one.

With tears welling up in her eyes, Hua Yan bowed respectfully in the direction where Madam Yun stood. Supported by Wei Mama, Madam Yun waved her handkerchief in response, then looked away from the bridal sedan chair and nodded slightly to Hua Yan.

After bowing again, Hua Yan turned and followed the wedding procession.

Madam Wei said softly, "Madam, don't be sad. Miss will return to her parents' home in three days, and you will see her again soon."

Huanyun and her servant Dingxiang were lost among the crowd of onlookers, watching as Huayan gradually blended into the group until she could no longer be seen.

"Meng Shu is a clever and cautious girl. She should be able to protect herself at any time. Miss, you can rest assured."

Huanyun's heart was in turmoil, and after a long while she said sadly, "If Zhou Lang knew, I don't know how heartbroken he would be."

Every time Dingxiang heard Huanyun mention Zhou Bai, she felt a lump in her throat, but given the situation today, she didn't say anything.

On the same day, in a certain place in Xuanquan Prefecture in the northwest, Chen Lin and a group of seven or eight people were planning to head to the border under the cover of night.

Since the poetry gathering at the Hot Spring Villa, he had been dispatched to three locations in Jinzhou to assist the merchants in disaster relief efforts, and then remained in Jinzhou to work for Tang Xian. This continued until he and his fellow disciples received this temporary assignment.

He wasn't originally required to go on this mission, but after the messenger mentioned that the person was Hua Yan's uncle, he confirmed that the familiar figure in the manor that day was indeed Meng Shu, so he volunteered.

Outside Chongrenfang in the capital city.

Two wedding sedan chairs of vastly different sizes met at dusk after a snowfall.

The princess's entourage was solemn and dignified, complete with flags, parasols, and banners. Eight sedan chair bearers steadily carried the bridal sedan chair, its octagonal roof rising high, resembling a miniature palace. It was inlaid with gemstones, gold, and silver ornaments, and the sedan chair was covered with red silk curtains, the phoenix and sun pattern woven with gold thread appearing even more magnificent in the afterglow of the setting sun.

Looking at the second young lady's side, her bridal sedan chair was much less impressive in comparison. Although it was also made of nanmu wood, it was only decorated with silk.

"Miss, we have arrived at Chongrenfang. The Prince has gone ahead to meet up with the Princess's entourage. We should be able to set off shortly," Hua Yan whispered a reminder.

A hundred meters away, Jiang Jie, the eldest daughter of General Xunhui's mansion, dressed in a blue hairpin-adorned ceremonial robe, sat gracefully in the bridal sedan chair, holding an ivory palace fan and looking down with her head bowed. Her delicate face and eyes held a hint of anticipation.

"She's just a merchant's daughter from Lin'an, yet she expects our young lady to condescend to wait for her. What a big face she has."

Zhixue glanced at the Tang family's wedding procession from afar, frowned, and clicked her tongue.

Lu Wei grabbed her arm and reminded her, "You've completely forgotten Madam's instructions. The Tang family has only been in the capital for a few months and has already caused such a commotion. They are obviously not to be underestimated. Besides, this is the will of the officials of the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs. How can they let you say whatever you want?"

Zhixue pouted and said unhappily, "Don't boost other people's morale. Even if they entered the manor on the same day, she would only be a concubine. She doesn't even have the right to marry the prince. In the future, our young lady will be the one to respect her."

"What are concubines compared to our young lady? Look at the style of their wedding sedan chairs, they're only a bit more solemn than those of ordinary officials' wives. And look at the maids accompanying the brides beside the sedan chairs, their clothes are just ordinary. Everyone says the Tang family is wealthy, but that's not necessarily true."

Xingyu also said, "Our General's Mansion has a total of 108 dowry loads, and the last load may not have even left the mansion yet. I heard that the Tang family only sent 72 loads."

Just then, an old woman dressed in silk hurried over and whispered beside the bridal sedan chair:

"Miss, I didn't have a chance to see the dowry list from the Tang family, but Lord Xiao, the registrar of the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs, sent some news that greatly surprised the officials of the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs."

Zhixue hurriedly asked, "Granny Gui, what exactly is the news?"

After catching her breath, Granny Gui said, "The hot spring estate that Princess Yongping has been staying at in the suburbs for the past two years was actually part of the dowry of the second young lady of the Tang family!"

Zhi Xue and Xing Yu were momentarily speechless. Lu Wei frowned and asked, "Is this true? Isn't that estate part of the Princess's estate?"

Seeing that her young mistress had not spoken, Granny Gui felt even more uneasy.

Before she could answer Lu Wei's question, she dropped another shocking bombshell.

"What! The Tang family has included Yongxiu Cloth Shop and Yongbaolou in the dowry, which is a total of twelve shops in the prefecture city?!"

Lu Wei murmured, "I underestimated the Tang family. I suppose they didn't intend to include the seventy-two loads of dowry in the general's mansion. They probably gave away most of their business empire as part of the dowry."

Yun Shuang, one of the four maids who accompanied the bride, remained silent. Jiang Jie coughed lightly inside the sedan chair, and the others immediately dared not make a sound.

"What's so strange about that? If the Tang family didn't provide most of their wealth as dowry, why would the prince lower himself to ask for her hand in marriage?"

Inside the sedan chair, Jiang Jie's face seemed veiled in frost. He only felt slightly calmer after recalling his mother's words. He figured the Tang family was merely a money bag for the prince's power struggle, and even if the second young lady of the Tang family entered the household as a concubine, she probably wouldn't receive much favor.

Having worked as a maid for a long time, Hua Yan was sensitive to her job and was also observing the four dowry maids next to the bridal sedan chair in the General's Mansion across the street.

I had seen two of them at a poetry gathering at the hot spring resort, but I had never seen the other two, who were clearly more beautiful.

During my last meeting with Huanyun, I learned that the General's wife had recently sent someone to bring a distant niece from her maternal family to the capital. I wonder if she is among them...

The drums and music started again, and with the chants of the sedan chair being lifted, the wedding procession slowly made its way toward the Prince Jin's Mansion in Yongxingfang.