Flowery Hair: A Maidservant

Chapter 131 Trying to Steal the Old Lady's Son

Hua Ying was lost in her thoughts and didn't notice Hua Yan's unusual behavior.

Looking at the maids standing behind their masters in the flower hall, Hua Yan sighed almost imperceptibly.

Servants who have signed a life-long contract cannot actually decide their own marriages. For those like Su Wen and Hua Ying, who have served the old lady since childhood and are especially favored, it is already a great favor that their masters can plan ahead for them instead of arbitrarily assigning them marriages.

I heard that when Aunt Zou first married into the Earl's mansion, in order to win over the stewards inside and outside the mansion as soon as possible, she assigned one of her dowry maids to the son of one of the stewards, a mentally challenged and idiotic boy.

Suwen and Guangbai were born into a family. Their elders racked their brains to send their daughters to Fu'anju to serve the old lady. Ninety-nine percent of their thoughts were that they hoped to gain merit by serving her and then be able to get the old lady's favor to release their indentures during their marriages, so that their descendants would also be commoners from then on.

Therefore, even if Suwen was reluctant to leave the old lady, she would seize the opportunity to marry out of the mansion.

But if Hua Ying had followed Mu Feng, the outcome would have been very different.

Putting aside whether the two can have a harmonious marriage, there is one key point that Hua Yan finds very regrettable.

Because Mu Feng works for the young master who has entered officialdom, and the position of steward is extremely important, the old lady and Madam Yun will definitely not release their indentures.

This means that Hua Ying's indenture is still in the mansion, she is a servant, and it is very likely that she will be sent to Yunqi Courtyard along with the servants selected by the old lady, and will be managed by the future eldest young mistress.

The eldest son is getting married at the end of the year, and the old lady and Madam Yun are currently selecting people for some important positions in Yunqi Courtyard.

Huaying's later life may have been spent managing affairs, just like Aunt Mei and Jushang.

Getting back to the main point, Hua Yan actually intended to ask Hua Ying a question today.

She harbored ulterior motives, wanting to poach the old lady's man. Hua Ying was gentle and elegant, yet cautious and shrewd. Having lived in the wealthy Fu'an Residence for many years, she was well-informed and discerning, especially skilled in jewelry matching. If she could recruit Di Si Ge, it would be an invaluable asset.

After all, the Disi Pavilion caters to women's business and gathers information about the inner quarters of the household. Although Huanyun is capable, she is less knowledgeable than Huaying.

However, everyone has their own destiny, and Hua Yan can understand Hua Ying's choice.

Women are inherently weak, and Hua Ying is an orphan without a maternal family to take care of her. If she had chosen to marry into a merchant family like Su Wen, she might not have been troubled by her husband's family at first because she was once the old lady's first-class maid. But what if, over time, her relationship with the old lady faded?

Is she just relying on the man beside her? But how much of a man's sincerity is genuine?

Leaving aside the distant past, just look at the man who cares so much about Madam Yun, yet he still took three concubines... Without going into the past, if we want to repay Manager Liu's kindness, can't we use other methods?

Getting off topic... Hua Yan noticed the flirtatious glint in Hua Ying's eyes, and after a few moments of thought, she realized that her choice of Mu Feng wasn't without reason. Having served the young master since childhood, Mu Feng's character was clearly trustworthy. Furthermore, with the Tang family's flourishing prosperity, things like the indenture weren't so important to her anymore.

Thinking of this, and realizing there was no room for maneuver, Hua Yan felt a little regretful, but could only make a few jokes and say that she would prepare a big gift for her.

While the two were whispering to each other, the Fifth Miss, dressed in colorful clothes, entertained her parents in the flower hall. Upon hearing the old lady mention the Second Miss, Hua Yan immediately perked up her ears.

"The end of September is Wan'er's fifteenth birthday. This year, Wan'er will be of marriageable age. After the Mid-Autumn Festival, the manor will definitely start to make arrangements and plans. Xian'er's wife has been sending letters to the master by carrier pigeon these past few days, asking him to return to the manor before the beginning of September no matter what."

The second young lady sat gracefully beside Madam Yun. Since it was a family banquet, her attire was not particularly extravagant. At noon, Hua Yan had dressed the second young lady in a narrow-sleeved, waist-cinching thin satin blouse, with a light-colored striped long skirt underneath. A red-gold flower-shaped hairpin was inserted diagonally into her hair bun, and a delicate magnolia flower was placed at her temple. Although she only wore light makeup, her demeanor was pleasing, and her appearance and temperament were both excellent.

The old lady was in high spirits, and the more she looked at the second young lady, the more she felt that she was far superior to the noble ladies of the capital she had met before, and she was delighted.

"Mother, don't worry. Uncle wrote to me the other day saying that he will definitely come back at the end of the month. Besides, it's Mother's birthday in October. Uncle was too busy to come back last year, so he can't miss it this time."

With the imperial court's tireless efforts in disaster relief, the situation should be resolved by early September, at which point our household can finally have a proper celebration.

Madam Yun's words were not without basis. According to the news from the Jinzhou Merchant Guild, the Ninth Prince was not lacking in wisdom and methods. Not only did he personally take care of the disaster victims, but he also reportedly achieved remarkable results in just three days. First, he seized the opportunity to remove the corrupt officials in Jinzhou and their gang of parasites. Then, he temporarily took charge of the prefectural government and used the wealth accumulated by the corrupt officials over the years for the benefit of the people.

Tang Xian played a crucial role in this, devising strategies behind the scenes. The Tang family businessmen in Jinzhou also played a significant role – the evidence of the Jinzhou prefect's crimes was presented by them, without anyone noticing – Tang Xian knew exactly how to avoid arousing the future Ninth Prince's suspicion.

In other words, after this incident, the Tang family's importance in the Ninth Prince's eyes is probably no less than that of General Xunhui's mansion. After all, it's far from the point where military force is needed.

Upon hearing this, the old lady's wrinkles all smoothed out. "Xian'er has always been the most filial. Birthday celebrations are fine, it's just a matter of having a banquet. But Wan'er's coming-of-age ceremony cannot be neglected."

The fourth young lady's eyes twitched involuntarily upon hearing this. Two days ago, Madam Yun had taken the second young lady to the poetry gathering hosted by the princess, which had already made her extremely envious.

Speaking of which, she was also Mr. Lin's student, so why did her stepmother only take her second sister? Her aunt was right; her stepmother was just putting on a show of impartiality in front of outsiders. Her future still depended on her own efforts. If she and her third sister could also participate, not only would they gain exposure among the noble ladies of the capital, but the phoenix hairpin might also end up in someone else's hands!

She was spoiled by Aunt Wen and thought that the Second Miss won the championship only because Madam Yun gave the Princess a lot of money. Therefore, after hearing that the old lady attached great importance to the coming-of-age ceremony, she became even more jealous.

The third young lady was terrified of her younger sister's antics and kept a close eye on her. Seeing her sister's displeased expression, she feared that the brat might say something inappropriate again, so she quickly grabbed her sleeve. Just then, the seventh young lady couldn't sit still and begged her wet nurse to take her to the garden.

The third young lady quickly stood up, her face beaming with smiles, and said, "Grandma, Mother, Seventh Sister is still young and can't sit here for long. Let's take Seventh Sister outside to see the flowers and plants, so you can discuss things."

Hua Yan watched as the Fourth Miss's face turned pale and then red. It was truly a pity for the Third Miss. It was quite a strange thing that two siblings from the same mother could have such different temperaments and personalities.

Worried, Madam Wei spoke to Madam Yun and carried the Seventh Miss out of the flower hall. The Fourth Miss, unwilling to go out, had no choice but to follow. The Second Young Master was being raised in Concubine Lu's courtyard, and Concubine Lu, ever more sensible, carried the Second Young Master closely behind, afraid of overhearing anything.

Seeing this, Aunt Liu was extremely anxious. She had originally intended to take advantage of the festival to mention the eldest young lady. Before she could even utter the words, she was truly unwilling to leave.

Fortunately, Madam Yun said:

"Shuang'er is a blessed woman. After marrying into Jinnan, she gave birth to a son. In the past three years, she has rarely had time to return to her parents' home. I have already asked Wei Mama to send a letter to her, asking her to take the child to stay for a while at the end of the month. After the Mid-Autumn Festival, she should set off."

(I had something to do yesterday, so I'll post the other chapter later.)