Flowery Hair: A Maidservant

Chapter 448 Stirring up the waters in the palace

Green Willow glanced at Meng Shu on the soft couch, and seeing her lightly tap her knee with her fingertip, she took out a lotus-colored purse from her sleeve and said somewhat abruptly, "This is a small token of our Lady's affection for you, Aunt. Please accept it."

Seeing this, Aunt Zhou's tense expression relaxed a little.

She didn't take the purse, but instead knelt down with a "plop," saying, "I appreciate Your Majesty's kindness, but it's just my duty. How dare I ask for any more reward?"

Green Willow helped her up again, and this time she didn't stand on ceremony. She led her to sit on the embroidered stool and stuffed the purse into her arms. "Auntie, you're being too polite."

Aunt Zhou dared not sit down properly, but only leaned lightly on the edge of the embroidered stool, which looked even more strenuous than kneeling.

Meng Shu said, "Auntie, please tell me in detail."

"Your Majesty, I have been on imperial orders these past few days leading the embroiderers to prepare Your Majesty's auspicious robes for your investiture as a concubine tomorrow. The clothing of the servants of Lingcui Palace is not under my jurisdiction. However, three days ago, Head Warden Chen suddenly sent word that I should oversee the making of summer garments for the three wet nurses, and specifically instructed that they should be made with care. I dared not neglect this task, and even sewed the cuffs myself."

She paused, her fingertips tightening around the hem of her dress, "...but yesterday, just before leaving the embroidery room, I discovered that those outfits had been switched..."

"The fabric for summer clothes is all uniformly issued by the Imperial Clothing Bureau. How did you notice something was wrong, Aunt?" Green Willow pressed.

Aunt Zhou raised her hand and turned her sleeve over. "Please take a look, young lady. I started my apprenticeship at the age of fifteen. For every piece of work I do, I mark it with two stitches of the same color on the inside of the sleeve."

She was wearing a dark green dress, and sure enough, there were two delicate dark stitches on the inside of the cuffs, almost invisible unless you looked closely.

"Seeing that the other sets of clothes didn't have this mark, I took advantage of a moment when no one was looking and changed into the finished garments the embroiderers had practiced with. Fearing another mishap on the way, I specifically asked my most trusted maid, Cailian, to accompany me..."

Green Willow pondered to herself, no wonder some of those clothes had fine stitches while others were slightly rough.

Aunt Zhou mustered up her courage and looked up, but as soon as she met Meng Shu's gaze, she shrank back as if she had been burned.

“I’ve worked in the embroidery room for over ten years and I know the rules of the palace. I’m even more afraid of getting into trouble. Those clothes that were taken off… I didn’t dare keep them. I secretly burned them later.”

"Your Majesty, please forgive me!" Before she could finish speaking, she slid off the embroidered stool and knelt heavily on the ground.

Meng Shu stood up and slowly walked to Aunt Zhou, offering a slight helping hand. Aunt Zhou rose tremblingly, only to hear a clear, gentle voice above her head: "Aunt, when you looked at those clothes that had been changed yesterday, besides the absence of your secret mark, was there anything else unusual?"

Aunt Zhou replied carefully, “Your Majesty, when I first looked at it, I couldn’t find any faults in the stitching or the style. I really couldn’t see anything unusual. But when I touched it, I felt that the fabric was a bit rough… Oh, right, when I burned those clothes, the fabric emitted a fragrance when it came into contact with the fire, but the smell was extremely strong and made my throat feel tight. It was definitely not the incense commonly used in the palace.”

"Did you have a grudge against Manager Chen? In your opinion, was she involved in this matter?"

Aunt Zhou pondered for a moment, her voice tinged with bitterness as she spoke:

"I have been in the embroidery room for more than ten years. I should have some dignity, but because of some private matters and my inability to flatter, I have never been liked by the embroidery workers."

The ladies-in-waiting and scribes below, seeing which way the wind was blowing, also distanced themselves from me. It wasn't so much a feud as to whether she might take advantage of the situation or be acting under someone else's orders... I dare not make a judgment.”

Half an hour later, Aunt Zhou left Cuiyu Hall with the purse that Green Willow had given her, her steps still a little unsteady.

The purse felt light and airy, containing two silver notes.

Inside the bedchamber, Green Willow clutched her handkerchief and said angrily, "It must have been Her Majesty the Empress who did this. Right now, the only person in the palace who can mobilize the staff of the Imperial Wardrobe and do something in the embroidery room is Her Majesty the Empress. It's all thanks to Aunt Zhou's meticulousness; otherwise, if this had really fallen on the wet nurse, the consequences would have been unimaginable."

Meng Shu was facing the bronze mirror on her dressing table, her calm profile reflected in the mirror.

After not going out for several months and resting in bed during her postpartum period, her cheeks looked a little fuller than before.

She gently shook her head, holding the hairpin between her fingers: "Not necessarily. Aunt Zhou's craftsmanship is the best. Whether it's an internal dispute within the Clothing Department or if outsiders have really interfered, it's too early to draw conclusions."

"Call Hongyu in."

After a while, Hongyu entered quietly and, before Meng Shu could ask any questions, curtsied and reported: "Your Highness, Consort Qu has been living a secluded life since her promotion. She only sent Ruixue back to her mother's home a few days ago, and there has been no other activity. As for Ruixue... this servant is keeping an eye on her as Your Highness instructed. A few days ago, when she went to the Department of Jewelry to collect the newly made pearl flowers, she met with the eunuch Chen mentioned earlier. The two talked for about half an hour in the corridor."

Meng Shu traced the edge of the makeup box with her fingertip: "Investigate this eunuch Chen and see if he has any dealings with the embroidery workshop's managers and clerks, especially... Manager Chen."

"Yes." Hongyu responded and withdrew, leaving only Lvliu and Mengshu in the hall.

A hint of confusion and surprise flashed in Green Willow's eyes: "Your Highness suspects Consort Qu? She was only promoted to Consort, she hasn't even gotten close to the rank of Imperial Concubine. The manpower and influence in the palace are limited, why would she go to such lengths to do this..."

Maybe.

She has always been discreet in her actions. Now that the Empress has just regained power, whatever goes wrong at the full moon celebration will draw all eyes to the Empress. If she wants to use someone else to do her dirty work and stir up trouble in the palace, now is indeed a good opportunity.

After speaking, Meng Shu pondered for a moment and said, "The summer clothes haven't been distributed to the wet nurses yet, have they? Have Aunt Mei find... arrange for Wet Nursing Nu to... and make sure she doesn't have any contact with Yu Nu'er tomorrow..."

After Meng Shu finished making the arrangements, Lü Liu was taken aback at first, then her eyes lit up, "Your Majesty, this is truly... using someone else to do your dirty work."

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(Note: The embroidery workshop was under the jurisdiction of the Clothing Department of the Imperial Clothing Bureau. The Clothing Department had two Clothing Supervisors, both of the sixth rank, who were in charge of clothing and jewelry; two Clothing Clerks, both of the seventh rank; two Clothing Managers, both of the eighth rank; and four Female Historians, who handled documents. The rest were embroiderers and ordinary palace maids and eunuchs.)