Flowery Hair: A Maidservant

Chapter 113 A dog doesn't mind a poor home

The various incidents in the previous dynasty had not yet escalated and were far from affecting the inner quarters.

Although it is not auspicious for marriage at this time, the Dowager Lady of the Marquis's Mansion, as Tang Yu'er's grandmother, cannot help but worry about her granddaughter's marriage. However, the Marquis of Huai'an's Mansion is just a facade of a marquis, not only is it financially depleted, but also the men in the front courtyard, apart from the Marquis of Huai'an who serves as the Vice Minister of Rites, are mostly unsuccessful. Even Tang Wen failed the imperial examination this year.

But now things have taken a turn for the better, and Tang Yu'er has a few more options for marriage proposals thanks to Tang Lin.

As the relationship between the Tang family and the Marquis's family grew closer, the identity of the third-ranked scholar could indirectly affect the marriages of the young ladies in the Marquis's family. No matter how distant the Tang family was, Tang Yu'er was still the third-ranked scholar's cousin, wasn't she?

“Yu’er is usually aloof and indifferent. She has not had many close female friends in the capital for so many years. Such a quiet nature is a bit too thin. As her grandmother, I am always worried that she will suffer injustice in the inner quarters after she gets married.”

In front of the old lady and Madam Yun, the Grand Madam steered the conversation toward the younger generation. The old lady, who also had several beautiful granddaughters, became even more enthusiastic about chatting.

The elderly ladies of each household were seated in the flower hall. Among them, sitting next to Madam Yun was Madam Hou, who was Tang Yu'er's mother, Madam Feng. Seeing that Old Madam Tang had comforted her mother-in-law with a few words, she continued, "Yu'er is sixteen now. At the beginning of the year, she had a good family background and privately expressed her desire to get married, but the Marquis said there was no rush."

Madam Yun smiled faintly and said, "Yu-jie'er isn't that old, so it's reasonable for her to stay for another year or two."

Currently, the officials in the court are roughly divided into four factions: loyal ministers who are solely devoted to the emperor, the Crown Prince's faction, the Third Prince's faction, the Seventh Prince's faction, and the Ninth Prince, who is considered far from being a threat in the eyes of the court. However, the Marquis has secretly sided with the Ninth Prince, so it seems that no matter which family the Marquis's daughters marry into, it is not the best choice at present.

However, how many women in the inner quarters could be as intelligent as Madam Yun? They rarely had the opportunity or the insight to understand the political situation at court. The matter was of great importance, and even the Lady of the Marquis was unaware of the Marquis of Huai'an's schemes. Therefore, she seemed somewhat anxious, single-mindedly thinking about how not to delay Yu Jie'er's wedding.

Madam Yun only gave this one point, and said nothing more.

Because Tang Wen, the eldest son of the Marquis's family, and Tang Lin were as close as brothers, when Tang Wen was being betrothed a year ago, Madam Yun, through Tang Xian, subtly mentioned to the Marquis's family the eldest daughter of a Grand Academician of the Guanwen Hall. As a result, Tang Wen ultimately became engaged to Feng's niece. Although the Feng family's social standing wasn't low, their roots were in the southwest, and they wouldn't offer much support for Tang Wen's future career...

Before long, it was almost noon. The masters dined separately for men and women in the flower hall. Hua Yan and the maids who had come with the Tang family were led by the people from the Marquis's mansion to the lower courtyard, which was a place specifically for entertaining maids and servants.

In the sweltering summer heat, this courtyard was not only in a remote location, but the servants were also not entitled to use ice. Ruizhu fanned herself to cool off and complained to Huayan, "Our Tang family is much better. Even the maids above the rank of head maid can get a basin of ice every day in the summer."

The treatment at Yunyi Academy was ridiculously good, and the girls there were practically living a life of luxury. Hua Yan couldn't help but sigh. Ever since she came to the Tang family and followed the second young lady, everything she ate, wore, and used had been meticulously prepared. Now that she had only suffered a little hardship, she found it unbearable.

It is truly easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but difficult to go from extravagance to frugality

Mengzhu reminded, "Quiet down. This isn't Yunyi Academy. Don't talk nonsense."

Hua Yan's face flushed slightly. She had been feeling a bit resentful just now, so she quickly tried to make amends, saying, "Mengzhu is right. Ruizhu, we offended Cuihu, who serves the second young lady of the Marquis's mansion, back then. Be careful that she doesn't take advantage of us."

Upon hearing this, Ruizhu smiled slyly and whispered, "Cuihu hates you the most. Back then, you used your position to settle personal scores and severely slapped her hand."

Seeing that no one was paying attention to them, Mengzhu couldn't help but tease, "If only Mingyue were here back then, she's too rough."

Hua Yan: ...Well, Meng Zhu, you're even more ruthless. Your dignified appearance is just an act for your aunt, Aunt Wei, isn't it?

Mingyue was stunned, suddenly realizing she had missed out on so many joyful moments. Seeing this, Ruizhu, bursting with gossip, quickly sat down next to Mingyue and whispered in her ear.

Before long, a servant from the Hou mansion's kitchen brought over two dishes and a soup. It couldn't compare to the food served to the servants at Yunyi Courtyard, but it was still barely edible. Just as Hua Yan and the others were eating, Cuihu and Cuiqi arrived. Hua Yan quickly led the way, standing up to greet them.

Cuihu was older than Huayan and the others. As soon as she entered, she looked down at them and, ignoring Cuiqi's attempts to stop her, said coldly, "It must be unfair to Miss Wan's favored maids. I'm afraid they all look down on the food in our Marquis's mansion."

Ruizhu blinked her big eyes, looked at Cuihu Lake, and then looked at Huayan expectantly.

Hua Yan said calmly, "I don't understand what Sister Cuihu means by that. There's a saying, 'A dog doesn't despise a poor home.' Doesn't Sister Cuihu mean she's forgotten her roots?"

Cuiqi pulled Cuihu behind her and said with a smile, "Cuihu can't speak properly, please don't take offense. We've known each other for a while, and I came here specifically to check on things because I was worried that the servants in the kitchen might not be able to entertain us properly."

Cuiqi spoke politely, then warmly invited Huayan and the others to sit down, and after exchanging a few words, she abruptly changed the subject.