Flowery Hair: A Maidservant

Is Chapter 140 worth requesting permission from the emperor?

"Wasn't Madam a bit too harsh just now? This girl is very proper in her conduct; even when dealing with Prince Jin, no one could find fault with her."

After the second young lady left with Hua Yan, Tang Xian said.

Madam Yun's expression relaxed slightly, and a smile appeared on her lips. "Hua Yan is extremely proud and too intelligent, but with the smooth progress of the household in the past two or three years, her and Wan'er's growth has inevitably been somewhat lacking."

Most importantly, ever since she established the Disi Pavilion, believing she had the upper hand in everything, she has indeed unknowingly lowered her guard.

"Today is the Double Ninth Festival, and Guangci Temple is crowded with people. Even if Mingyue is skilled, she really shouldn't have let Wan'er go to a secluded place. This time she encountered the Prince of Jin, but she may not be so lucky next time."

Tang Xian was, after all, a man, and didn't really understand the thoughts of the women in the inner quarters. He just assumed that his wife was probably giving him a routine warning.

However, he always had a very good impression of Hua Yan. Many years ago, at the council meeting of the merchant guild, Hua Yan had just arrived at the Tang family and was working in Langya Courtyard. She discovered Qian Wanlai's plan ahead of time by observing just a little abnormality. She was only ten years old at the time.

Madam Yun changed the subject, continuing, "Today I took Wan'er to Guangci Temple to pray for blessings. The predictions made by Zen Master Cihui were exactly the same as Madam Su's...we..."

Over at Yunyi Academy.

Hua Yan was indeed reflecting on herself along the way, occasionally gazing absently at the Second Miss's back.

The second young lady had an upright posture, and even her walking was meticulous, which made her unable to help but recall the scene when she first met the second young lady.

It was a day in June, and they were both only ten years old. At first glance, I only thought that the young lady was extremely dignified in appearance and serious when reading. The little girl even advised her in the tone of someone who had been through it all, saying things like, "Most storybooks are nonsense, and it's useless to read them."

As time goes on, one can see the vibrant side of the second young lady, but that vibrancy is hidden in her sorrow and rarely shown to others. Drinking late at night is probably the most outrageous thing she has ever done.

So this time, the second young lady intended to go to the back mountain of the temple to relax, and Hua Yan did not stop her when she saw that no one was around.

As a result, they encountered the Prince of Jin, whom they were supposed to leave...

It's not surprising that the Second Miss recognized Prince Jin even though she hadn't seen him. The main issue was that the male attendant's accent was so strong that he practically read the word "eunuch" out loud, which was why Mingyue was completely oblivious.

As for what Lady Yun would do with milk tea after hearing about this, Hua Yan couldn't think of anything for the moment, but Dong Gua had certainly done a good job. Furthermore, since Prince Jin was interested in milk tea, there was certainly much to be done with tea-flavored pastries and other similar treats.

The second young lady walked slowly ahead, feeling that her rashness had caused Hua Yan to suffer injustice, and was about to say a few words of comfort.

Hua Yan then advised, "Miss, Madam's concerns are not without merit. You must never take any risks when you are out in the future."

The second young lady nodded gently, signaling Hua Yan to walk alongside her.

Then Hua Yan said, "Madam has given us a wake-up call this time. We servants still need to work on our character. Miss, would you like to discuss with Aunt Mei about re-establishing the rules for the courtyard?"

The second young lady thought for a while, and only spoke when they were almost at Yunyi Courtyard:

"Aunt Mei is in charge of rewards and punishments within the courtyard, but she doesn't really understand the personalities of you all."

"Mingyue is sincere and honest. She has practiced martial arts since childhood, so she can be a bit impulsive and reckless. Ruizhu is clever but likes to talk, but that's harmless as long as it doesn't violate the rules of the manor. I actually enjoy seeing them so lively, unlike you and Mengzhu."

Hua Yan paused, supporting the second young lady's hand, and smiled with her eyes crinkling: "Miss, do you perhaps find this servant and Mengzhu distasteful?"

The second young lady looked at a corner of the towering embroidered building through the wall and said these words.

"You and Mengzhu are devoted to me, and I cherish you both so much."

However, due to the situation in the capital, you have become more thoughtful and cautious lately, which often reminds me of you when you were still Meng Shu. You stood up for Ruizhu and teased the girl next to your cousin Ling'er. You were bright and lively, like a gust of wind that could always stir up waves in Yunyi Courtyard.

As for Mengzhu, she's been with me since she was four years old. Over the years, she's become like a carbon copy of me, always putting on a show of being dignified. I secretly feel that doing that is already exhausting enough, and looking at her makes me feel a little emotionally drained too..."

Hua Yan suddenly found herself unable to say what she was about to say, and realized why the Second Miss had apologized to Madam Yun earlier—if Aunt Mei had handled it, the atmosphere in the courtyard might have been even worse than it had been in Lin'an.

Moreover, only they know about the Second Miss's marriage at the moment. Perhaps Mengzhu and the others will only find out when the official decree is issued. Therefore, the Second Miss is in no hurry to restrain them.

Not long after the Double Ninth Festival, Madam Yun sent out invitations to several ladies she was on good terms with to come to her residence.

The main event of the banquet was the announcement that Old Madam Su would be the principal guest at the second young lady's coming-of-age ceremony. Madam Su arrived at the Tang residence alone, as the two families were to be betrothed at the end of the year, and Miss Su did not attend to avoid suspicion.

Besides Madam Su, Madam Hou and Madam Yun also came. The four ladies from Zhuang, Sun, He, and Yang on the street in front of the mansion also visited one after another with their daughters.

The banquet was nothing special; the main event was held in the flower hall of Fu'an Residence.

Hua Yan, who was serving the second young lady, witnessed Madam Yun casually mention the milk tea in the mansion to the old lady. The old lady then went along with it and mentioned with a smile that the cook in the mansion had recently made a drink using spring water from Guangci Temple.

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law chatted back and forth, piquing everyone's interest with just a few words.

Suwen nodded to Huaying upon hearing this, and soon Donggua brought a group of maids to serve the ladies and young ladies hot milk tea.

The colorful little dumplings tumbled and floated in the brown tea soup. Apart from Madam Su, who had seen them before, all the ladies and young women present were very curious. After taking a sip, they all praised them.

Hua Yan touched her nose. Milk tea was only available in the mansion. It seemed that no matter how many people Prince Jin sent, it would be difficult to find it. In the end, they could only come back to the believers at Guangci Temple that day and deduce that what they saw that day was the second young lady of the Tang family.

A few days later, Madam Yun took the opportunity to serve the milk tea to the guests. Regardless of whether Prince Jin was really interested in the milk tea, the fact that the marriage was progressing smoothly would be beneficial for the Second Miss's position in the Prince's mansion.

Meanwhile, in the Imperial Palace, in the study of the Qian Yuan Hall.

The emperor was over fifty years old, and his brows and eyes showed signs of aging. He sat at the table, and the memorial in his hand slipped to the ground.

"Editor Tang?"

The eunuch Zhang Quan bent down to pick up the memorial and reminded him, "Your Majesty, Compiler Tang is the third-ranked scholar in this imperial examination."

Upon hearing this, the emperor looked meaningfully at the Prince of Jin below him, and for a moment he didn't know what to say. Was it really worth him to specially request permission to marry the sister of a minor official of the seventh rank?

"She was originally the younger sister of the third-ranked scholar, so she must have been quite beautiful, but her family background was weak. I heard that the Tang family was originally from the Marquis of Huai'an's family, and the branch of Tang's father became merchants in Lin'an."

Zhang Quan bowed and reminded him again. The emperor suddenly realized and said, "So the shimmering brocade that Consort Min likes was presented by her father. It does have some use."

At this point, the emperor's gaze softened slightly as he looked at his youngest son. He remembered that Tang Xian had initially gained access through the Third Prince, who was now the Prince Yu. In a sense, the Tang family was now considered half-imperial merchants.

Based on this, it seems there was no conflict of interest between the Prince of Jin and the Tang family. What is more worthy of investigation is the Prince of Jin's request to marry the legitimate daughter of General Xunhui's family as his principal wife.

Knowing his father's suspicious nature, Prince Jin did not say much, only mentioning that he had seen the second young lady of the Tang family once from afar at Guangci Temple.

After a long pause, the emperor smiled and said:

"Approved. Then let Compiler Tang personally draft the imperial decree bestowing the title of concubine upon the Prince of Jin."

Zhang Quan: "......"

Asking Tang, the compiler, to propose that his own sister be made a concubine of the Prince of Jin is truly a case of two wrong answers out of three. If there is any, one can only imagine what the handsome and talented scholar was thinking when he drafted the imperial edict.