Flowery Hair: A Maidservant

Chapter 72 Chrysanthemums and Peonies

That day, Aunt Wen sent someone to Fu'an Residence to appeal to her emotions, but was scolded by the old lady. Meng Shu thought that the third young lady was about to plead for her.

Sure enough, the third young lady seemed to hesitate for a long time before finally mustering her courage. She knelt on the ground and cried, "Mother, the Double Ninth Festival is a big day. My aunt and fourth sister have been punished for almost a month. They have already realized their mistakes. Why not take advantage of the festival to release them..."

Madam Yun stared intently at the Third Miss, lowering her eyes without speaking. The most important thing about the Double Ninth Festival is ancestor worship, and the concubines are not considered proper mistresses, so they are naturally not allowed to go out. The Third Miss's excuse was not very clever.

The third young lady did not resemble Aunt Wen's temperament, nor was she much like Tang Xian. She was always an invisible person in the Tang family, always following the rules when paying her respects and never doing anything out of line, so it was difficult for her to criticize her.

Madam Wei hurriedly stepped forward to help the Third Miss up, saying, "Third Miss, you've always been the most well-behaved and sensible. Why are you talking nonsense today?"

The third young lady paused, then looked at Madam Wei, "Mother, what you mean..."

Madam Wei, supporting the Third Miss's arm, turned to look at Madam Yun and feigned a sigh, "Third Miss, this old servant is used to serving in the mansion, so I'll take the liberty of saying a few more words."

"Mother is an old woman who has been by my mother's side for many years, you must not say that." The third young lady was still young after all, and she went along with what her mother said and changed the subject.

"The Third Miss has always been well-behaved in the mansion. When has the Master, Madam, and Old Madam not praised her?"

You just mentioned that your concubine has been punished for almost a month, but it hasn't been a full month yet, has it? Besides, a while ago, Concubine Wen sent someone to plead with the Old Madam, but the Old Madam, following the rules of the manor, refused. If our Madam were to decide to release your concubine and sister, how would Madam face the Old Madam? Don't you think so?"

The third young lady was no match for Mother Wei. Her last bit of cleverness vanished. After hearing this, she was terrified and immediately tried to kneel again, saying, "I... Mother, I dare not, I did not mean that."

Madam Yun took a sip of tea before waving her hand and saying, "It's all out of your filial piety towards your aunt. It's nothing. Go and choose the materials."

The third young lady breathed a sigh of relief, hurriedly bowed, and left the flower hall.

Meng Shu watched Wei Mama's actions from the corner and sighed inwardly. As expected of someone who served by the Madam's side, she managed to subtly criticize and subtly defend her mistress by saying things that were inconvenient for her to say, without losing the dignity of the Third Miss.

"You little rascal, did you look carefully?"

Meng Shu was lost in thought when she heard the voice and looked up abruptly. She saw Wei Mama teasing her with a smile, and smiled awkwardly. She immediately flattered her, saying, "Second Miss often tells us to learn from Wei Mama. Only today have I had the honor of seeing her."

Madam Yun couldn't help but smile upon hearing this. Her own daughter would never say such a thing; this girl was the most clever.

After the young ladies had chosen their fabrics, Madam Wei returned to the flower hall and suggested some more patterns and designs to Madam Yun. Only after Madam Yun nodded did she lead her people back to the sewing room.

Meng Shu and her three servants carried two bolts of fabric back to Yunyi Academy. Because Mr. Lin had left Lin'an to visit friends in the capital, Muyunzhai was on holiday for the past few days, so they were spared from going to study every morning.

The second young lady sat leisurely by the window with a book in her hand, while Ruizhu and Mengzhu sat on a stool separating silk threads. Mengshu carried a needle and thread basket, preparing to make clothes for the second young lady. Earlier, when they were selecting fabric at Yun Gui Courtyard, Ruizhu and the second young lady secretly mentioned that their needlework skills were not as good as Mengshu's. Therefore, Mengshu was asked to make the clothes for the second young lady this time.

With the craftswoman right in front of her, the second young lady lost all interest in reading. Suddenly, she pointed to the turquoise silk thread that Mengzhu had just separated and said, "If there's time, embroider a few green chrysanthemums under the hem of your skirt."

Meng Shu was holding a pair of scissors, preparing to cut clothes, when she heard this and hesitated: "Second Miss, this Shu brocade was specially chosen for you by Madam. It has a subtle peony pattern on it. If the long skirt with straight stripes is embroidered with chrysanthemum petals, it will clash with the pattern. If you like chrysanthemums, how about I embroider a green chrysanthemum-patterned pouch for you?"

The second young lady put down her book, stared at the fabric with its subtle peony pattern for a moment, and casually said, "I was just saying a few words; let's follow Mother's lead."

Meng Shu: "...What's going on? A mother and daughter fighting means the servants are suffering the consequences."

Just now, after the young ladies returned from selecting fabrics in the flower hall, the second young lady had originally chosen a dark silver embroidered silk, but Madam Yun only glanced at it before pointing to a piece of Shu brocade and saying that it was more elegant than grand.

Finally, Meng Shu racked her brains and, following Madam Yun's instructions, made a jacket with a front opening from Shu brocade with peony patterns. She replaced her original straight-striped long skirt with a light-colored pleated brocade skirt, embroidered with a few small petals of various colors, and barely managed to embroider two or three green chrysanthemums with turquoise silk thread.

Ruizhu secretly reminded Meng Shu, "Our second young lady's favorite flowers are chrysanthemums and plum blossoms, but Madam had many peonies planted in our Yunyi Courtyard. The second young lady has never liked them, and later she didn't even visit the garden often."

"Which one can't you like, chrysanthemums or peonies? Why does our lady seem to be deliberately trying to change our second young lady's temperament?"

Meng Shu seemed to be deep in thought. She couldn't see through Madam Yun. Just by looking at how she managed the household affairs and how she treated people, she knew that she was no ordinary person.

With the Second Miss's birthday approaching, Meng Shu put all her effort into embroidering purses and bags with various chrysanthemum and plum blossom patterns. She also had Meng Zhu find dried flower petals to make sachets, each embroidered with a large green chrysanthemum.

However, the second young lady did not express particular satisfaction before leaving. After dressing properly, she boarded the carriage with the others.

This time, the old lady and Madam Yun only took a few young ladies with them. The second young master and the seventh young lady were still young and stayed in the mansion. The eldest young lady was preparing for her marriage and did not leave the mansion. The third young lady also took leave for some reason. Therefore, only the second young lady, the fifth young lady, and the sixth young lady accompanied them.

Meng Shu did not go; the second young lady only brought Meng Zhu and Rui Zhu.

The reason, as for, is because of Fukuko.

Because of Fu Zi's unusual behavior, Meng Shu became alert and paid more attention to her. She noticed something was amiss: Fu Zi, who was usually a loner, took advantage of the opportunity to get food from the main kitchen to intentionally make contact with several maids in Fengyin Courtyard.

In addition, he also frequently came into contact with Jinshu, a second-class maid in Yunyi Courtyard.

Recalling what Madam Yun and the Second Miss had said earlier, Meng Shu told the Second Miss and then stayed at Yunyi Courtyard.

Not long after the caravan left, Meng Shu went to the small kitchen to find Dong Gua. Since the masters had been away from the mansion for the past three days, the small kitchen was also on holiday, so Dong Gua decided to stay at Meng Shu's place.

"Master and Steward Cao went to the estate with the old lady. The two stewards from the outer courtyard are also not here. Now the servants in the mansion are much more relaxed." Donggua and Meng Shu came out of the small kitchen, each carrying a jar or pot.

"What are all these things? They're so heavy."

Winter Melon said proudly, "Let's try the pomelo drink we made earlier, and the other fruits we've been trying recently."

"...Winter melon, winter is just around the corner after the Double Ninth Festival. You can't keep making drinks all the time. Didn't you learn how to make dough from Steward An? Shouldn't you try to make more variety in your noodle dishes?"

"You're thinking too simply. There are only a few kinds of desserts. Do you think I can make steamed buns into something fancy?"

Meng Shu casually said, "Isn't the idea for noodles also yours? But there's still a lot to learn and make when it comes to noodles."

After arriving at Meng Shu's room, the two settled the jars and pots. Dong Gua sat on the bed to rest, when suddenly he remembered something and hurriedly asked, "You've been acting mysterious these past few days, and you even came to see me specifically. What are you trying to do?"

Meng Shu leaned closer and whispered a few words. After listening for a while, Donggua gasped, "How dare she?"