Flowery Hair: A Maidservant

Chapter 154 Entering the Palace to Express Gratitude - Part 1

Prince Jin would naturally not stay overnight at Yunyi Courtyard tonight; rules cannot be broken. Besides, a group of officials were waiting for him in the front hall—tonight was not only the day of his wedding, but also the best opportunity to contact the ministers in the court.

As night deepened and the north wind howled, the large red lanterns outside the Yunyi Academy hall swayed like lone boats in the darkness.

The servants' quarters behind the main hall of Yunyi Courtyard.

"Hua Yan, do you know your mistake?" Aunt Mei reprimanded in a stern voice.

Hua Yan knelt on the ground, "This servant misspoke tonight, please punish me, Aunt Mei."

Faced with this scene, Donggua was at a loss, and Ruizhu grabbed her clothes and quietly slipped out.

Inside the room, Aunt Mei helped Hua Yan up and sighed:

“I know you mean well, but there’s plenty of time. Our young lady is gentle by nature and tends to keep things to herself. You really shouldn’t be shattering her dreams at this time…”

Now that Miss has entered the Prince's residence, she is even more likely to advance further because of Prince Jin. At that time, the palace will be deserted, and there are so many women around the Prince. If she doesn't rely on the Prince's favor, how difficult will her future days be?"

Hua Yan remained silent, deeply influenced by Madam Yun, who had once remarked:

"In this world, men are revered. Women are born into a life that is not easy, and since they have only one chance to live, they must face challenges head-on and never indulge in romantic love or wallow in sorrow."

Hua Yan privately believed that while the Second Miss, as a concubine, could fight for power and family favor, she should never give her heart. As her personal maid, she was ordered to support the Second Miss. Within the palace walls, she was not afraid of the power struggles and betrayals within the inner quarters, but she was only afraid that the Second Miss would be heartbroken.

Thinking this way reminded me of those words.

Now, after listening to Aunt Mei's words, I am reflecting on whether I was too hasty.

Although Aunt Mei and Hua Yan had different experiences and perspectives on people and things, their thoughts were the same. Therefore, Aunt Mei gave them a few words of advice and then left the room.

The day after the wedding happened to be the Lantern Festival.

According to custom, the second young lady was required to accompany the prince and princess to the palace for an audience, firstly to express gratitude to His Majesty for bestowing the marriage upon her, and secondly to pay her respects to the prince's birth mother, Consort Hui. Before going to Consort Hui's palace, she would naturally first pay her respects to the Empress's palace. It was the Lantern Festival, and all the concubines would surely gather in the Empress's palace early in the morning.

This is the young lady's first time entering the palace, and nothing should be neglected.

Hua Yan heard many anecdotes about the palace from Madam Yun and the governess, and gained a general understanding of the layout of the palaces and the relationships between the concubines.

Last night, she repeatedly rehearsed the possible unexpected situations she might encounter in the palace. Upon careful consideration, aside from the Princess Consort, she guessed that only Consort Min, the birth mother of Prince Heng, might cause trouble, but that would likely be directed at the Princess Consort.

Consort Min sought military support for Prince Heng by marrying the eldest daughter of the Lu family, the Grand General of the State. When this failed, she also considered the Xunhui General's Mansion as a second choice...

Early in the morning, Hua Yan led Dong Gua and the others into the young lady's bedroom.

Yesterday was Mengzhu's turn to be on night duty. Four maids from the Prince's mansion were waiting outside with toiletries. Huayan and the others took the items and told them to go about their business, assuring them that Aunt Mei would take care of the arrangements.

After marriage, when entering the palace, one must wear the popular hairstyle of women in the capital, a light blue cross-collar jacket and skirt, and the ceremonial attire of a concubine. The headdress worn by a concubine is also a crescent-shaped crown, made of gold and silver wire, with twelve pearls and gemstones and glass in the center.

After putting the crown on the second young lady, Hua Yan chose a pair of lotus-patterned warm jade hairpins and inserted them diagonally into the left and right sides of the single bun.

Winter Melon knew nothing about this, so she went for a walk in the yard and came back saying:

"Miss, there's nothing unusual in the courtyard, and the layout is very familiar. However, although our courtyard isn't small, it doesn't have a small kitchen..."

Without the small kitchen, Donggua felt insecure, so she didn't care about anything else and rushed to report to the second young lady.

As the second young lady was having Ruizhu put earrings on her, she heard this and said, "The Prince's mansion is not as comfortable as our mansion. There is no small kitchen, so Donggua can serve in the tea room in the West Warm Pavilion."

Ruizhu said, "I went to the tea room yesterday and it was fully furnished. It would be useful for making milk tea and other drinks. The person serving in the tea room is called Chun'er."

Mengzhu took the jacket and skirt from Mingyue and said with a smile, "Our Ruizhu is a know-it-all. Let Ruizhu go out and socialize properly in a bit."

Hua Yan chimed in, "Four second-class maids will be assigned to the courtyard, and two eunuchs will be on errands and relaying messages. When our young lady returns from the palace this afternoon, Aunt Mei will oversee the reassignment of duties. We should be cautious since we're new to the Prince's residence. It's alright if there isn't a small kitchen."

"Yes, Chun'er mentioned yesterday that three meals a day are delivered by a special person. I'll go to the kitchen in a bit to make arrangements."

After changing into her formal attire, the second young lady said, "With you all here, let's act as we did back in the manor. It's getting late, so come with me to the Ruyi Palace to pay our respects to the Prince and Princess."

Hua Yan and Ming Yue accompanied them. Two men dressed as eunuchs, with similar faces and very pleasing appearances, entered from outside. Upon seeing the concubine emerge from the palace, they immediately knelt and bowed.

"This servant, Yu Heyuan (Yu Jingnian), wishes Consort Zhen well." (This is a fictional story; for now, even eunuchs will refer to themselves as "servants"...hehe)

After the two men stood up, one of them, whose face was slightly rounder, bowed and said, "My brother and I have been assigned by Chief Secretary Feng of the manor to serve Consort Zhen at Yunyi Courtyard."

The second young lady nodded slightly, and Hua Yan instructed the person who had just spoken to lead the way.

Yu Heyuan was a clever girl. She used to work in the palace and was an apprentice of Zhang, the eunuch in Consort Hui's palace. "I haven't been in the Prince's mansion for long. Everyone in the mansion calls me Xiao Yuanzi and my younger brother Xiao Nianzi."

On the way, Mingyue held back for a moment, and seeing that there were no outsiders around, she asked curiously, "Are you brothers?"

Seeing He Yuan nod in agreement, Mingyue was bewildered, "How many brothers are there...?"

Yu Heyuan: "...Replying to Sister Mingyue, only my brother and I are left in my family. In the thirty-seventh year of Qianyuan, when I was six years old, my uncle sold me to a slave trader, and later I was resold to the palace. After becoming a eunuch, I first worked in the Imperial Household Department. Because my younger brother accidentally delivered the wrong brocade that was supposed to be given to Consort Min's palace, he was punished by being forced to kneel. Consort Hui pleaded for him, and he then went to work in Consort Hui's palace."

Mingyue was speechless, and hurriedly took the purse from her waist. "I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself. Please accept this as an apology and have some tea."

Yu Heyuan was at a loss, unsure whether to accept the call or not.

Hua Yan helped the second young lady walk ahead, deliberately not interrupting Mingyue.

The people assigned by the hospital to serve you day and night must have their character and background thoroughly investigated. If they can't even handle this small matter well, then we should find an excuse to send them away as soon as possible.

So far, it seems that Xiao Yuanzi is a bit talkative, but otherwise he's fine, except for one thing that's a little strange.

At that time, Consort Hui should still be Consort Hui. Would a lower-ranking concubine risk offending Consort Min to save a eunuch? Consort Min was the most favored concubine in the palace, and she was not someone to be trifled with.