Flowery Hair: A Maidservant

Chapter 39 No wonder they all say that about you

Before even entering Yunyi Courtyard, Green Willow rushed out as if her heart was in her throat. Upon seeing Meng Shu, she instantly seemed relieved and hurriedly tried to speak. Meng Shu, mindful of the people from the old lady's courtyard behind her, led Green Willow to a corner, distancing her from the others.

Green Willow's first words left Meng Shu speechless, and Ruizhu started arguing with Cuihu, who was by the side of the second young lady of the Marquis's mansion.

"What's going on? The Second Miss and the others aren't in the courtyard?" Just a few days ago, the Second Miss had told Ruizhu not to cause any trouble.

"The Second Miss, along with the people from the Marquis's Mansion and several young ladies, paid their respects to our Madam. Sister Mengzhu went with them and instructed Sister Ruizhu to bring the maids from the young ladies' quarters to our courtyard to make arrangements, saying that the masters would be having a game of pitch-pot later."

Everything was fine just a moment ago, but somehow the personal maid of the second young lady of the Marquis's mansion broke a blue-and-white porcelain cup with a floral pattern. Sister Ruizhu scolded her a few times, and the two started arguing.

Meng Shu was also very troubled after hearing this. She told Lvliu to call a few maids to come and take the food boxes. Arguing was not a glorious thing, so she shouldn't let the people from the small kitchen go in. Otherwise, if word got out, wouldn't that make things difficult for the second young lady?

After entering the gate and taking a few more steps, the noise could be clearly heard. From Green Willow, they learned that the Second Miss and the others had been at Yun Gui Courtyard for about half an hour. Estimating the time spent talking with the Madam, and considering the distance from Yun Yi Courtyard to Yun Gui Courtyard, they should be back in about half an incense stick's time.

Therefore, when Meng Shu arrived at the embroidery tower, she immediately instructed Green Willow to lead the other young ladies' maids to rest in the side hall.

"You want to pay for it? Can you afford to pay for it? It's a complete set of official kiln porcelain. If one piece is broken, the rest can't be used to entertain guests. Even if you were sold ten or eight times, you still couldn't afford to pay for it!"

Ruizhu's voice was somewhat sharp because of her anger, and she tried her best to keep it within a certain range, which showed that she knew that what she was doing was inappropriate.

"I had no idea that the richest family in Lin'an would be so concerned about such a small cup. In the Marquis's mansion in the capital, I've broken countless cups like this, and our young lady never said a word."

Cuihu looked to be about fourteen or fifteen years old, with fair skin, but a small black mole on her chin marred her beauty. She casually replied, one hand on her hip and the other waving a round fan.

Ruizhu was furious. Without thinking, she blurted out, "Easy for you to say! Aren't all those official kiln porcelains your young lady made from our Tang family's porcelain..."

"Ruizhu! Be quiet."

If such words came from the mouth of a maid, and were heard by the second young lady of the Marquis's mansion, who knows what kind of trouble it would cause.

Cuihu looked at Meng Shu as she approached, and seeing her bright and cheerful demeanor, a hint of jealousy flashed in her eyes.

"Have you smashed many of these cups in the Marquis's residence?"

Cuihu suddenly froze, unsure of the meaning behind the question. She nodded subconsciously, then retorted sarcastically, "Indeed, only your Tang family would make such a fuss. What's the big deal about a few cups..."

Meng Shu looked her up and down. "It's normal that you can say something like that."

He quickly shook his head and said earnestly, "Sigh, no wonder they all say that about you."

Cuihu was completely bewildered, and her heart tightened. She asked, "Who? Who's gossiping about me? You've only just met me, how do you know someone's talking about me behind my back?"

Meng Shu feigned pity for her, then ignored her, saying, "Ruizhu, clean this place up. The Second Miss will be back soon."

Ruizhu's anger subsided. She cleaned up the broken cup and, together with Meng Shu, prepared all the items for the pitch-pot game and placed them under the eaves. The sun wasn't too strong, so it was a good time to get some fresh air and stretch our muscles in the courtyard.

Even after Meng Shu and the others had laid out the tea, fruit, and winter melon drink they brought from the small kitchen, Cuihu kept asking questions. Meng Shu remained silent, which made Cuihu even more irritable. She rolled her eyes and hid to the side, seemingly lost in thought.

"Who said anything about her? Have you heard something? Is there gossip about her in the Marquis's mansion?" Ruizhu asked curiously.

How would I know?

Ruizhu: ...So you were just kidding her, but look at her, running around in circles and scratching her head.

It was pretty fun!

Green Willow was already guarding outside the gate. When she saw the Second Miss and her party from afar, she quickly sent a maid to deliver a message. Meng Shu then went to the side hall to bring the other maids over. By the time the Second Miss and her party arrived at the embroidery building, chatting and laughing, everything had been arranged.

Cuihu's probing gaze fell on Cuiqi behind the second young lady of the Marquis's mansion, and Meng Shu saw this and sneered inwardly.

The rest went relatively smoothly. The two nannies, Gao and Yuan, stayed at Yun Gui Courtyard and did not come. Madam Yun gave the second young lady of the Marquis's mansion many gifts, so the second young lady of the Marquis's mansion was all smiles and did not mention going to the second floor for a visit. She just drank tea in the flower hall and occasionally showed off her sights and experiences in the capital.

For example, when the emperor bestowed a marriage upon the eldest daughter of the Duke of Qing, who was to marry into the royal family as a concubine, she would accompany her mother to the Duke of Qing's mansion to celebrate. Women from all the families in the capital would gather there, making it extremely lively.

Or casually mention a few words about various poetry gatherings and flower-viewing banquets, makeup styles passed down from the palace, coming-of-age ceremonies for noble ladies, and the jewelry and fabrics popular in the capital.

The second young lady sat demurely and didn't respond much. Occasionally, when the second young lady of the Marquis's mansion looked over, she would nod politely, as if to say, "What you said is so good, and you are absolutely right."

The fifth young lady was still young and not interested in makeup and banquets. She only showed a little longing when the emperor mentioned the marriage bestowed upon her by the Duke's family. As for jewelry and clothing, she felt that Yongbaolou in the capital was just a branch of her own family, so she didn't need to envy the noble ladies in the capital.

Therefore, they looked at the second young lady of the Marquis's mansion with some pity. Poor thing, the most precious jewelry and ornaments in the capital this season were all leftovers from the ladies of our Tang family.

The sixth young lady was the same age as the fifth young lady. Although her birth mother was just a concubine, Aunt Lu of Fengyin Courtyard could be described as an extraordinary woman. The sixth young lady was influenced by her surroundings from a young age and was only interested in perfumes and cosmetics. Therefore, she asked about the makeup and cosmetics that were popular in the capital in the past year.

The third and fourth young ladies provided ample emotional support to the second young lady of the Marquis's mansion, especially the fourth young lady.

No matter what she had seen or heard in the capital, she bombarded her with questions about the details. It was a pity that the Marquis's mansion had long been in decline, and the Second Miss of the Marquis's mansion was only telling her what she had heard from other noble ladies. Seeing the Fourth Miss asking questions with her mouth agape, she was very annoyed.

Taking advantage of this time, Meng Shu deliberately spoke with Cui Qi, the maidservant beside the second young lady of the Marquis's mansion. The two talked about something, and Cui Qi covered her mouth and chuckled. Meng Shu, carefully controlling the situation, glanced at Cui Hu again.

Cuihu immediately became unsteady on her feet. The second young lady of the Marquis's mansion also noticed this side and secretly felt that Meng Shu's appearance was somewhat irritating. The second young lady then pointed at them and asked what was interesting.

"Reporting to Second Miss, we were talking to Sister Cuiqi about the origin of this winter melon drink. We just mentioned that the winter melon had lost a lot of weight because of it, and Sister Cuiqi couldn't help but laugh." Meng Shu replied obediently, apologizing to the winter melon in her heart and promising to make it up to her later.

The Fifth Miss also laughed and told about Donggua's concoction. The young ladies of the Tang family had all heard about it before, but hearing it again still made them very happy. The Second Miss of the Marquis's Mansion also found it interesting. She picked up the cup, tasted it, and said that it had a unique flavor.

Afterwards, the young ladies played pitch-pot together under the eaves, while Meng Shu and her maids waited on the side until the old lady came to deliver a message, at which point everyone went to Fu'an Residence for dinner.

The second young lady pointed to Mengzhu and Ruizhu to accompany her, and Meng Shu did not rest, but went directly to the small kitchen to check on the winter melon.