Flowery Hair: A Maidservant

Chapter 126 "This servant will always be with you"

In another car, Hua Yan was discussing the banquet performance with the second young lady when she suddenly heard Aunt Zou's shout. The second young lady frowned slightly.

Mingyue lifted the carriage curtain and saw Aunt Zou's crazed face and Zou Xiuer, who was dumbfounded.

Mengzhu comforted her, "Miss, don't take it to heart. The Earl's family deserved their fate, and it's not surprising that they ended up like this."

Ruizhu wouldn't miss the chance to gossip, so she quickly added, "Yes, Miss, we servants haven't been here long, and when we were talking to the servants of the Sun family estate, we heard that Zou Kun, relying on the status of the Earl's Mansion, bullies men and women, and his reputation in the capital is terrible. This time he must have provoked a tough guy. Aunt Zou deserves it for not disciplining him properly."

In fact, it wasn't just because of Zou Kun's evil deeds that the Rongxing Earl's Mansion was raided and exiled. The most fundamental reason was that the Rongxing Earl had been eyeing the Zhan Prince's Mansion in recent years.

At the beginning of the Great Zhou Dynasty, Emperor Gaozu enfeoffed three kings of different surnames. With each new emperor came a new set of officials, and after nearly a hundred years, only the lineage of the Zhan family remained. Hereditary succession continued until this generation, when the Zhan family's roots shifted to Jiangnan, and somehow became the Third Prince's money bag.

This dates back more than 20 years. Floods frequently occurred in Jiangnan. Prince Zhan, then the Imperial Commissioner, went to provide disaster relief. He first falsified accounts and embezzled disaster relief funds, and then set up private warehouses to hoard and speculate on goods. Marquis Rongxing, a fallen nobleman, did a lot of things with him. Even the tea garden of Yongchun Tea House, which had the largest profit of the Tang family business, was ruined by Marquis Rongxing.

When the Ninth Prince went to Jiangnan, he appeared to be a newcomer accumulating experience, but in reality, he was preparing to make his mark by purging corrupt officials in Jiangnan and thus officially appearing before the court officials.

The Third Prince is currently very powerful, and the Seventh Prince will surely support him secretly as well.

Given that the Rongxing Earl's Mansion had the hidden hand of Tang Xian and his wife from their earlier years, gathering evidence of the Rongxing Earl's dealings with the Zhan Prince's Mansion would not be difficult. It was a matter of timing and circumstance; Tang Xian and Madam Yun were well aware of this, otherwise, how could they have allowed Aunt Zou to live peacefully for so many years...

It can be said that the fate of the Rongxing Earl's Mansion is just the beginning, and the Zhan Prince's Mansion will soon collapse as well, naturally greatly reducing the power of the Third Prince.

Closer to home.

The second young lady asked Mingyue to lower the carriage curtain and said in a low voice, "'Filial piety' is a difficult word to understand. I'm just worried that my step-grandmother will come to bother my mother again."

Hua Yan guessed, "I've heard that your maternal family, the eldest branch's great-uncle, is extremely impartial. The Fourth Madam has no connections in our household. Are you worried that she might come looking for trouble with us?"

The second young lady nodded gently.

After thinking for a moment, Hua Yan said to the second young lady, "Don't worry, Miss. I believe that the Fourth Master will not let her do as she pleases."

The reasoning is simple. Judging from the information received, Madam Yun's father is the most adept at protecting himself. Moreover, the Tang family's influence is not readily apparent to outsiders, so whether they can actually help is another matter. Even if the Fourth Madam comes knocking, she will probably only ask for some money to bribe officials. With Madam's experience, she will not be hindered.

Because of the changes at the Earl's mansion, the second young lady was somewhat silent along the way, and when Hua Yan started talking about other things, she seemed a little absent-minded.

Back at the Tang residence, Madam Yun summoned the Second Miss and Hua Yan to Yun Gui Courtyard alone. After Madam Yun and the Second Miss were seated, Hua Yan, without waiting for any questions, first recounted the details of the poetry gathering.

After listening, Madam Yun praised:

"You guessed right. On the second day after the results were announced at the end of March, Madam Liu from the Minister's Mansion sent a message through the Marquis's Mansion, indicating that she was indeed interested in Lin Ge'er... I underestimated Miss Liu, who dared to do such a vicious thing at the Princess's poetry gathering."

Destroying someone's innocence is tantamount to taking their life.

"Madam, in addition, Donggua once accidentally discovered..." Hua Yan told Madam about what happened when Zou Xiuer fell into the water and was near Miss Lu.

After listening for a while, the lady raised her eyes slightly and asked, "Wan'er, at today's banquet, who do you think is most likely to dare to make a move against the young lady of the First-Rank General's Mansion?"

Hua Yan had just discussed this matter with the Second Miss in the carriage. Inspired by Hua Yan, the Second Miss quickly organized her thoughts and said, "Hua Yan and I privately believe that the Jiang family of General Xunhui's Mansion is more likely to be involved."

"Tell me about it."

There was no one else in the flower hall. Madam Yun sat in a chair, tapping her fingers lightly on the armrest, her posture relaxed.

The second young lady slowly spoke: "...The Zhuang family of the Zhongshu Shilang Mansion has no reason to attack Miss Lu. According to the reasoning of 'cause' and 'effect,' if Miss Lu becomes the Seventh Prince's consort, she will pose the greatest threat to the Ninth Prince. The Jiang family regards the position of the Ninth Prince's principal consort as their own, and I also believe that the Jiang family is the most likely candidate."

As evening approached, a cool breeze began to blow.

After a long while, Madam Yun took a sip of tea, her expression unreadable.

"Not the Chiang family."

Hua Yan was slightly taken aback upon hearing this, but she perked up and listened attentively to Madam Yun's instructions.

"With the Ninth Prince establishing his residence in front of everyone, the Jiang family will not take the risk of attacking the Lu family in public."

The Jiang family is different from our Tang family. General Jiang is in his prime and holds a high position of power. It's less about him choosing the Ninth Prince and more about the Ninth Prince choosing him.

This suggests that General Xunhui holds the initiative, and he may also be wavering between the princes.

Hua Yan's background was too low, and even if she was intelligent, she was not sensitive enough to the political situation for the time being. Madam Yun saw that one of the two little ones was confused and the other suddenly realized.

He had no choice but to explain further: "First, assuming Donggua wasn't mistaken, but you judged based on the clothes, you were wrong from the start."

Whether it's the Zhuang family, the Jiang family, or the princess, even if they were to make a move, they would never reveal their true intentions through superficial actions.

Secondly, although Consort Min, the mother of the Seventh Prince, is interested in the eldest daughter of the Lu family, it's uncertain whether the Emperor will agree. This marriage has been nothing more than speculation from the beginning, with no real progress. For anyone, wouldn't it be premature to intervene at this point?

Hua Yan blushed and lowered her head in apology. Upon reflection, she realized that she had indeed been prejudiced from the start and had misjudged the situation.

At this moment, seeing that the second young lady and her servants both looked ashamed, Madam Wei felt sorry for them. She brought a cup of tea to the second young lady and said comfortingly, "In my opinion, this matter may not be about harming Miss Lu. Perhaps there are other hidden reasons."

Hua Yan and the second young lady exchanged a glance. They had been speculating for a long time on the way, and perhaps what Madam Wei said was just wishful thinking on their part...

Madam Yun concluded, "It's always good to think things through. There's no need to concern ourselves with this matter anymore. We'll discuss it further once we have news from Mingwu. I'll send someone to investigate the rest."

As for how much silver and supplies Madam Yun donated to Lianxinzhai for disaster relief, there was naturally no need to tell them. However, seeing Huayan's curious expression, Mama Wei did mention a few things when she saw them off at Yungui Courtyard.

It turns out that at the ladies' banquet, Madam Yun's rank was only 20% higher than that of the Sun family, a family with a long history of integrity, which was roughly the same as that of the Su family, her prospective in-laws.

However, Madam Yun had already secretly donated a large sum of goods through Mr. Lin, using neither the Tang family nor the Yun family as the official name, but rather the profits from the shops managed by the Second Miss over the years...

Mr. Lin only gave a brief hint; he knew exactly when to make it public.

The second young lady's steps were heavy; she felt that this day had been more tiring than a year in Lin'an. As she was about to return to Yunyi Courtyard, she raised her hand and looked northwest, her voice soft but filled with deep weariness.

"My mother has placed me on a very high pedestal. Hua Yan, I haven't even met the Ninth Prince yet, and I already foresee how difficult the days ahead will be."

Pingxuanfang Fuqian Street is located in the southeast of the capital, and the second young lady was facing the direction of the imperial city.

Following the rules, Hua Yan lagged half a step behind the Second Miss. At this moment, she desperately wanted to overstep her bounds again, her mind filled with thoughts like, "Miss, as long as you speak less, with Madam Yun as your steadfast protector, your future is secure!"

Unfortunately, she couldn't say it. She simply stepped forward, took the second young lady's arm, and said softly:

"This servant will always stay with you."