Flowery Hair: A Maidservant

Chapter 184 Receiving Instruction

The four newlyweds sat down according to custom and listened attentively to the princess's instructions.

"Now that you have entered the Prince's Palace, you must be familiar with the etiquette and rules taught by the instructing matrons, strictly observe the proper etiquette, distinguish between superiors and inferiors, and not overstep the bounds."

Your primary duty is to serve the Prince wholeheartedly. You are all of childbearing age and should strive to bear him children. However, the matter of procreation must be left to fate; you must not resort to unscrupulous means out of eagerness, lest you corrupt the atmosphere of the Prince's residence.”

Guo Zhaoxun blushed and stood up first to agree, followed by the other three.

The princess nodded in satisfaction, then said seriously:

"As the Princess Consort, I manage the inner quarters of the Prince's residence, and many affairs require the concerted efforts of all my sisters. You must all get along harmoniously, and not quarrel over trivial matters, much less form cliques or disrupt the order of the inner quarters."

The rules of the Prince's residence are strict and absolutely no violation is permitted. Anyone who violates them will be punished according to the law, either by being forced to kneel or confined to their quarters.

Song Chenghui stood ramrod straight, his chin slightly raised, his expression calm and composed.

Consort Shen, always obsequious, quickly replied, "We will respectfully follow the Princess's instructions."

Consort Zhen has always disliked flatterers and had a good impression of Consort Qu, partly because Consort Qu's father was a colleague of the eldest son, Tang Lin, in the Hanlin Academy.

Qu Liangyuan noticed the gaze, but dared not look up. Her slender fingers clutched at the corner of her clothes, twisting them incessantly...

Consort Zhen couldn't help but smile softly, suddenly thinking of her sixth sister at home. She remembered that when her sixth sister first came to Fu'an Residence to pay her respects, she, like Consort Qu, always looked helpless.

After paying their respects, Hua Yan helped Consort Zhen slowly walk out of Ruyi Palace.

At the palace gate, Guo Zhaoxun and three others bowed and asked Consort Zhen to go first.

Shen Liangdi's gaze unconsciously fell on the concubine's attire worn by Consort Zhen, and a look of envy appeared in her eyes.

After walking through the alley, Mingyue suddenly whispered, "Consort, I just noticed that Song Chenghui walks steadily and stands tall. He has a thin callus on his hand, so his martial arts skills must be quite good."

"The eldest daughter of a fourth-rank Loyal and Martial General's family is naturally extraordinary."

Hua Yan added, "I heard that Song Chenghui's maternal family and the Song family, from which her husband was born, are collateral relatives, but they are beyond the fifth degree of mourning. Both families are collateral branches of the Song family."

"Indeed, I thought that with Song Chenghui's background, he should have been a Zhaoxun when he entered the manor. However, the Jinzhou Tongzhi got involved with the Prince. My mother mentioned in her letter that Guo Zhaoxun's father will soon be promoted to Jinzhou Zhifu."

Hua Yan lowered her head and pondered. She thought that if the Guo family hadn't suddenly appeared out of nowhere, Song Chenghui's rank upon entering the mansion wouldn't have been very high. One reason was that they valued civil officials over military ones, but the most important reason was that there shouldn't be too many daughters of military families in the mansion, especially since the princess was from the Zhaohui General's mansion, which was of the second rank.

Although the King of Jin needs to rely on military generals, he will still need to be vigilant.

Yunyi Palace.

Mengzhu and Ruizhu were about to leave with the concubine's gifts when Concubine Zhen stopped them and instructed, "Mengzhu, give Consort Qu a gift for meeting her, and also get some bright hairpins and rings from the storeroom to add to it."

Hua Yan smiled gently. The young lady was as kind-hearted as ever, and it could be considered that she was paving the way for the young master.

When Consort Qu paid her respects, she wore a light purple palace dress sent by the Imperial Clan Court as usual, which was quite decent. However, the gilded hairpin and earrings she wore were rather unattractive. They were not only the style that was popular last year, but also a bit old-fashioned and could not support the occasion today.

At least, Shen Liangdi's occasional glances at Qu Liangyuan revealed a hint of disdain.

I've heard that Scholar Qu comes from a poor family, and this has remained the case for over twenty years since he became an official; he still lives in a rented house in the capital. He is quite a unique figure among officials.

Mengzhu nodded and noted it down. After instructing Ruizhu to prepare again, she took Xia'er and Dong'er out together.

Hua Yan's gaze inadvertently swept over Dong'er. After they had walked away, she asked Mingyue, "Have you gained anything these days?"

"She was relatively well-behaved a few days ago, but these past few days, when she went to the kitchen to pick up her food box, she took the opportunity to visit Qiu'er and exchange a few words with her."

Consort Zhen was puzzled. When Hua Yan helped her change her clothes, Consort Zhen asked in confusion, "Dong'er?"

"Could it be that she really has some problem?"

Aunt Mei was leading Donggua into the flower hall to set out the meal when she heard this and said helplessly, "My dear young lady, people's hearts are unpredictable. You should also pay more attention to managing the household affairs. Dong'er and Qiu'er live together and are as close as family. The other day, Dong'er even helped with the sweeping."

But when we expelled Qiu'er from Yunyi Palace, why didn't Dong'er plead for Qiu'er, not even a single word was mentioned...?"

Hua Yan smiled, her lips pursed. Look how anxious our Aunt Mei is; she didn't even have time to address her as a concubine.

Consort Zhen blushed, changed into her everyday clothes, and sat down at the octagonal table. "Auntie is right. I didn't notice it for a moment."

Aunt Mei almost facepalmed. She glanced at Hua Yan, feeling both amused and worried. It was the day after the coup. Consort Zhen was preoccupied with the Prince's affairs and had no time to think about anything else in the palace.

Aunt Mei now truly understood why Hua Yan had acted that way in the past. It was a good thing that the concubine was in love with the prince, but if she continued down that path, it would be truly worrying.

Mingyue faced Huayan and continued, "This servant noticed that Qiu'er is still very warm towards Dong'er, but Dong'er has intentionally or unintentionally said a few words bad about you."

Hua Yan didn't care at all. She took the tea that Dong Gua handed her and placed it next to Consort Zhen. After standing still, she sneered, "It's nothing more than a clown stirring things up. Has she had any contact with anyone from Ruyi Palace?"

"It hasn't been discovered yet."

"Keep an eye on it. If we catch them red-handed this time, we'll make sure Ruyi Palace knows what's what," Hua Yan said coldly.

Consort Zhen put down her spoon, feeling inexplicably guilty. Upon hearing this, she said with a sigh, "...Is this how you deal with the Princess? The Prince wants to rely on the Jiang family to stabilize the Northwest. Even if he finds out her mistake, he will probably just ignore her for a few days."

Aunt Mei thought so too, and was about to offer some advice when she heard Hua Yan say:

"I've been thinking about this these past few days. It's true that we should rely on the Jiang family, but the reason why the Princess was so fearless about the poisonous snake incident was because she seized the right opportunity."

The previous dynasty had just experienced the calamity of fratricide, and then there was the coup of Prince Yu. If news of poisoning were to spread in the Prince's mansion at that time, the impact would be far too great. The Prince would certainly suppress the matter and not investigate it.

But now, the Prince is in a very favorable position. Even the Jiang family should be aware of this. If the Princess Consort continues to act recklessly, as long as we gather evidence, we might be able to inflict some pain on them.

Of course, bringing down the princess was no easy task, but both sides tacitly understood that since they both wanted to vie for the empress's position, they also needed to appropriately show their strength and let the princess know that the Tang family was no longer what it used to be...

After Hua Yan finished her analysis, Consort Zhen and Aunt Mei were finally relieved.

However, Aunt Mei, being mature and prudent, still cautiously mentioned it.

"This matter needs to be considered carefully. Hua Yan must not make decisions on her own. My daughter's birthday is in a few days. I was just about to ask the concubine for a day off. I will make a decision after I return to the manor and inform the madam."