Flowery Hair: A Maidservant

Chapter 108 Why Not Dress Up?

When Hua Yan returned to Yunyi Courtyard, the second young lady had just finished lunch. There were seven or eight exquisite dishes on the octagonal table, but they didn't look like they had been touched much.

Seeing that Hua Yan's face was flushed, the second young lady said worriedly, "The heat in the capital is unbearable. Rui Zhu, you should take her downstairs to rest and cool off. Don't let her drink ice water."

Ruizhu stepped forward with a smile and took Huayan's arm, saying to the second young lady, "Don't worry, Miss, we will definitely make proper arrangements for the most popular person in the courtyard."

Aunt Mei came in from outside, laughing and scolding, "That little hussy is getting more and more out of line. Everything in the courtyard has been settled. The steward will bring over a new maid this afternoon. It's time for 'evening training' tonight."

Hua Yan waved her hand and said, "Thank you for your concern, Miss. I'm fine. Aunt Mei, are you choosing people for the courtyard?"

"The old lady and the madam each assigned two second-class maids from the courtyard. The general affairs office will also transfer a few maids to supply the young ladies and select two more from among them. There will also be a few servants, an old woman at the gate, and two cooks who are good at cooking northern dishes."

After chatting for a while, Hua Yan and Rui Zhu returned to their room. The thoughtful Da Donggua had already prepared the meal, and Rui Zhu went out to bring back an ice basin. "The capital is much hotter than Lin'an. Won't it be like a steamer in July?"

"Miss doesn't seem to have much of an appetite. Donggua, could you mention to Steward An that you'd like to prepare something delicious for dinner?" Hua Yan wiped her face with a towel and turned to remind Donggua.

Winter Melon seemed a little speechless, and stammered, "It's not that I have no appetite..."

Ruizhu quietly moved a little further away. "...Miss likes to cool off, so she drank several bowls of cherry and sugarcane juice, and even added crushed ice."

Hua Yan was speechless, and unconsciously sat down with a sullen face. "Why didn't you and Mengzhu persuade her to stop? Aunt Mei is busy, so we should be more careful when we are by Miss's side."

Donggua handed the drink to Huayan and said gently, "It's my fault, it's my fault, why did you have to research iced drinks? But it really tastes good, you should try it."

The maids in Yunyi Courtyard, without realizing it, began to regard Huayan as their leader, and even Mengzhu willingly stepped back. Huayan herself was unaware of the great effort she had put into planning and managing the embroidery shop outside. This included instructing Huanyun on what kind of people to train, what kind of informants to leave in the capital, and what kind of information to focus on gathering.

Over the years, she has developed a certain imposing presence, which is even more formidable than that of Mother Wei. As time goes by, Ruizhu and the others gradually become a little afraid of her.

Just as Wei's mother said, she has one persona at Yunyi Academy, but her true self is perhaps the Huayan she presents outside.

Ruizhu, who was always good at reading people's expressions, immediately admitted her mistake and said apologetically, "I know I was wrong, and I will definitely try to persuade Miss as soon as possible."

Hua Yan leaned closer to her and placed some of Rui Zhu's favorite stir-fried chicken slices on her plate. She said softly, "As servants, our primary responsibility is to take good care of our mistress. The Zhen family's physician and apprentice have not yet returned to the manor. If Miss falls ill, we will not be able to find a trustworthy doctor for a while."

As Hua Yan spoke, she also reminded herself that she should investigate the major pharmacies, clinics, famous doctors, and most importantly, the imperial physicians in the capital, including their expertise in certain diseases, their character, temperament, and family background, just in case.

Once the matter is clarified, if it is truly important, we should find an opportunity to get to know and maintain a good relationship with them beforehand. Since it's not appropriate for Yunyi Academy to intervene, Madam naturally has her own methods.

This is where the Tang family falls short compared to a century-old family. Although the Tang family has great capabilities in folk commerce, the foundation of a century-old family is reflected in every aspect. They have served as officials for many years, and their relatives and friends are everywhere, making it extremely convenient for them to do things.

In the afternoon, Steward Cui personally led several maids and servants, and Aunt Mei warmly invited Steward Cui to come down for tea. Hua Yan stood behind the Second Miss, fanning her as she sat at the table.

The second young lady had fair skin, and after applying a light touch of powder, her cheeks glowed with a very faint blush. Today, she wore a pale yellow embroidered dress, her black hair, like a cloud, loosely tied in a crescent-shaped bun, held in place only by a white jade hairpin inlaid with pearls and emeralds. Hua Yan watched from the side, finding the second young lady truly exceptionally beautiful and elegant. Her thoughts drifted away, wandering aimlessly, wondering what the Ninth Prince looked like...

The second young lady's brows furrowed slightly as her slender, white fingers turned the pages of the roster. Hua Yan was also sizing up the people in front of her, and had the illusion of seeing her past self through a thin veil.

Besides the second-class maids sent by the old lady and the madam, the other candidates included those from brokerage firms in the capital, those initially selected by Master Zheng and then re-selected by the steward of the mansion, and those born into the household. Although they all came from different places, their backgrounds and family circumstances should all be clean.

After observing for a while, Hua Yan noticed some differences. Apart from the servants born into the household, most of these people had been sold into servitude for a long time, with the youngest being at least twelve or thirteen years old. The long period of being sold into servitude meant that they had worked in other households, so Hua Yan couldn't help but pay more attention to them.

The second young lady patiently called each person on the roster forward for questioning. Those who wanted to change their names were asked to do so, those who were retained were assigned tasks, and those who were not to her liking were sent back to the general affairs office by Steward Cui. The Tang residence was no longer receiving managers, so Steward Cui had also been working in the general affairs office for the time being.

The maidservants were just lowly servants, whose job was simply to clean the courtyard and look after the flowers and plants.

There were six second-class maids, plus Yu'er and Donggua (who was nominally the maid), making a total of eight. These six were now being reassigned by the Second Miss: some went to the tea room to prepare and serve tea; some served and cleaned in the inner rooms, and stood guard outside; others did needlework, mending, and washing. This arrangement made things much easier for Huayan and the others.

After finishing her work and returning to the study with the second young lady, Hua Yan finally had a chance to talk about the events that had happened at the neighboring mansions earlier that morning.

“You have indeed considered things very thoroughly. I have also heard my mother mention the Sun family. As you said, I am quite curious about that Miss Sun.”

"We'll see them eventually. Miss is going to the Yun residence with Madam tomorrow. The young ladies there have very different personalities, so we need to be prepared to deal with them..."

"It was just a show in the past," the second young lady said casually.

After writing for a while, he suddenly said to Hua Yan, "I remember when I was six or seven years old, I went to the capital with my mother to visit relatives. My stepmother was alright, but Aunt Zou's words implied that she looked down on merchant families."

The Aunt Zou mentioned by the second young lady is Madam Yun's stepsister, the Earl of Rongxing's wife.

Thirty years ago, the Rongxing Earl's Mansion was a truly prominent family in the Great Zhou Dynasty. However, since the passing of the previous Earl of Rongxing, it has declined considerably. Among the information Hua Yan has collected are some interesting anecdotes about the Rongxing Earl's Mansion.

The successor, the Earl of Rongxing, was a very charming young man in the capital when he was young. His poems and essays were eloquent and he loved to invite friends to drink and compose poems. Originally, such a romantic figure had a pretty good reputation in the capital.

Unexpectedly, not long after the wedding, his true colors were revealed, showing his 'truly philandering' nature. He took in concubines and mistresses one after another, and had a large number of illegitimate children, all of whom are now of marriageable age. He considers himself noble, and naturally, his betrothal gifts and dowries must be impressive. In recent years, the Rongxing Earl's Mansion has been in debt for who knows how much.

Hua Yan pretended to be ignorant, knowing full well that Rongxing Earl's concubines were most likely being manipulated by Madam Yun behind the scenes. Huan Yun had learned that three of Rongxing Earl's concubines came from Jiangnan, which, based on the timeline, meant that Madam Yun had married into Lin'an within a year or two...

“Miss, since that’s the case, let’s dress up and go out tomorrow, so that Aunt Zou can see the wealth of a ‘merchant family’.”

The second young lady smiled faintly and said, "Alright."