Flowery Hair: A Maidservant

Chapter 330 "I'm here"

Meng Shu glanced away and quickly frowned. Consort Chun tugged at her sleeve and said in a low voice, "Don't just stand there, we have to go see the Emperor right away."

Only Jingming attended the Emperor. Jingming, the eunuch, held a whisk, his head bowed and eyes lowered. He carried a flat brocade box, and judging from the direction he was coming, he must have come from Yingzhou Hall.

Consort Chun led everyone in a graceful bow. The Emperor seemed to be in a good mood, his gaze lingering on Consort Chun and Consort Chun. "I heard laughter from afar. What amusing thing have you found?"

"Your Majesty, my concubine and Shu'er came to the Thousand Carp Pond to relax. On a whim, we started playing a game of composing couplets. Would Your Majesty be interested in joining in?" Consort Chun pointed in the direction they had come from, where the incense in the censer on the chest in the distance had burned out.

The Emperor was speechless: "No flowers, no table, no bronze bowl, and only half an inch of incense sticks allowed?"

During the Wei and Jin dynasties, linked verse games were popular among the gentry. These games involved composing poems about nature or expressing profound philosophical ideas, requiring participants to complete the verse before the echo of the bowl's sound ceased. Those who succeeded received a flower, while those who failed were penalized with three dou of wine. The passage in "Letter to Wu Zhi" describing this scene—"When traveling, we rode in linked carriages; when resting, we sat side by side… When we were drunk and flushed, we looked up and composed poems"—perfectly captures this atmosphere. Therefore, the emperor remarked, "No flowers, no table, no bronze bowl."

Consort Chun replied, "Your Majesty, please forgive my rudeness. Back when I was still a young lady, Mr. Lin, Shu'er, and I often used this to pass the time. It was just a casual joke, meant only for fun."

What Consort Chun didn't say was that at first, Meng Shu always avoided these literary performances and refused to participate. It wasn't until she went to Yun Gui Yuan, and although she didn't know what her mother said to her, and because Mr. Lin's teaching was very unrestricted by social status, that she gradually opened up.

Jingming, observing the situation, quietly went to make arrangements while the Emperor and Consort Chun were at the pond.

In just a short while, the rosewood table, the bronze bowl, and a basket of various fresh flowers, wine, tea, and fruit were all prepared and arranged properly.

Green Willow, with her sharp eyes, noticed that Jingming had been holding a brocade box earlier, but now that he had returned with nothing in his hands, she secretly breathed a sigh of relief—beyond the Thousand Carp Pond was the Jade Pavilion, and if the Emperor were to give Shuer a gift in front of Consort Chun... such a scene would not look very good.

'Empress Chun doesn't care, but Mengzhu might feel sorry for her,' Green Willow always worries about Meng Shu the most, thinking more about her than Winter Melon.

At this moment, Donggua waved his two chubby little paws and rearranged the pastries he had brought. When he heard Meng Shu ask for paper and pen, he hurriedly took out the Four Treasures of the Study from the box, his movements clean and efficient.

Meng Shu took the brush and ink and placed them on the sandalwood table in front of Consort Chun, saying, "Your Highness has been going to Yichun Palace to copy scriptures recently, and it seems that your writing skills have become more and more refined. Why don't you transcribe the few sentences you just read?"

Consort Chun smiled and did not argue with her. She finished writing and handed the paper to Mengzhu for the Emperor to review.

The Emperor silently read the poem, finding the four couplets to be perfectly balanced in movement and stillness, aptly contrasting each other, and exuding composure. He secretly praised Consort Chun, whose dignified demeanor belied the remarkable liveliness of her poetry, and couldn't help but glance at her.

"Consort Chun started the poem, and we've already gone through two rounds. Since I'm here to join in the fun, I should prepare some prizes. I'll use a bushel of snail-shell ink as a wager. If anyone hesitates or goes off-rhyme, instead of being penalized with wine, they'll embroider a purse for me. How about that?"

Consort Chun chuckled: "I am not skilled in embroidery, so I will have to be more careful from now on."

“It’s alright,” the Emperor said, turning his gaze to Meng Shu with a meaningful look. “If Consort Chun can’t finish, Consort Jieyu can take over.”

Meng Shu was in low spirits, but her face showed delight: "Your Majesty's poetry and prose are quick and skillful, and you have been praised by Mr. Lin. I thought Your Majesty should be careful."

The Emperor clapped his hands, “'Last time it was Consort Jieyu who took over, this time let Consort Chun go first.'

As soon as he finished speaking, Jingming struck the bronze bowl, the sound startling several egrets.

As the melody lingered, Consort Chun recited: "Floating light sways like jade."

The Qi River meanders, with cypress oars and pine boats, describing the movement of boats on the water, which follows from Meng Shu's previous line about a small awning boat.

The sound of the bowl rang out again, and the Emperor replied, "Shadows of light enter the jade cup."

Meng Shu smiled knowingly and pointed to the green willow, saying, "Quickly, take two flowers; the Emperor and the Empress's couplets are very fitting."

Green Willow took a magnolia from the basket and respectfully presented it to the imperial desk, then picked out a large peony and placed it on the table in front of Consort Chun.

Just then, an evening breeze arose, and Meng Shu replied, "The wind blows and the duckweed scatters." She then received a peony.

The wind stirs the duckweed, dew clings to the lotus buds. Consort Chun continues: "Heavy dew, fragrant lotus blossoms."

When it was the emperor's turn, he changed the subject and said, "Stop rowing and pick up the fallen feathers."

Meng Shu pretended to have run out of ideas. After the sound of the bowl stopped, she got up, curtsied, and apologized, saying, "Your Majesty, I couldn't finish that sentence for the time being, and I am willing to accept the punishment. I will be the loser, and Your Majesty, I will embroider your purse. I beg Your Majesty to help me."

The Emperor looked at her with a smile, but said nothing.

Consort Chun exclaimed in surprise, "This will work?"

The Emperor said, "Let her be lazy this once. Has Consort Chun thought about how to continue?"

Consort Chun, who was fond of poetry and literature, did not think much of it upon hearing this. She glanced at the Emperor and said, "What's so difficult about that? Your Majesty, stop rowing and let me continue... 'Stroke the inkstone and write Canglang.'"

Using feathers as a brush, and cleverly borrowing from Mencius's "Li Lou" ("The waters of the Canglang River are clear, I can wash my tassels"), he used water as a metaphor for his heart, winning applause from the audience.

"it is good!"

Consort Chun's high spirits and lively, carefree expression drew the Emperor's frequent glances.

After several rounds of exchanges, Meng Shu had the fewest flowers on her desk at the end. Consort Chun received a bushel of snail-shaped ink and immediately gave half of it to Meng Shu.

Upon seeing this, the Emperor smiled slightly and said, "This way everyone benefits. I've come at just the right time."

Just then, someone came to the Empress Dowager's palace to deliver a message: at the end of the month, the Emperor, as usual, must have dinner with the Empress Dowager.

Meng Shu's lips curled slightly as she and Consort Chun respectfully saw the Emperor off. Once the figure in black had disappeared from sight, Meng Shu stood up and said, "Your Majesty, would you like to have dinner at my place?"

He leaned closer to Consort Chun's ear and said, "I had Donggua prepare two pots of Lychee Green Tea. It's rare that Aunt Mei isn't here, so we can have a little drink."

Consort Chun turned around and glanced at Mengzhu behind her, and instructed, "Take the rewards back to Chengguanzhai first, and Ruizhu will come with me to Bilangxuan."

......

Inside the Bilang Pavilion, the candlelight flickered red.

Anticipating that the Emperor would not come tonight, the two drank two cups in a row and enjoyed themselves immensely.

However, Consort Chun had a low alcohol tolerance and soon became drunk, completely different from her usual dignified self. She pulled Meng Shu aside and talked on and on.

From old stories of Lin'an to the royal palace in the capital, the protagonist sometimes thinks of his grandmother, sometimes worries about his eldest sister who lives far away in the southwest, and finally frets about the marriages of his remaining sisters.

Finally, Consort Chun's voice lowered, and she hugged Meng Shu's arm, calling out "Shu'er" with hazy, drunken eyes.

He called out more than ten times in a row.

"I am here."

Meng Shu listened quietly for a while, then responded softly. She turned and instructed Dong Gua to bring warm honey water to help Consort Chun sober up.

Consort Chun was cold on the outside but warm on the inside, and her heart held many people she couldn't let go of. Such a personality was most susceptible to being bottled up, and needed to be channeled from time to time. Therefore, every now and then, Meng Shu would find an opportunity to persuade her to have a few drinks.

When Consort Chun was escorted back to Cheng Guan Zhai, Aunt Mei didn't say anything, only reminding her not to overindulge in alcohol next time. Meng Shu brought up Madam Yun, explaining with a light smile, "Madam will be coming to the palace the day after tomorrow, and Her Highness was delighted, which is why she drank a little more."

Upon returning to Bilangxuan, they found Jing Neiguan waiting in the flower hall.

"Greetings to Your Majesty." Jingming bowed and presented a flat box. "His Majesty ordered me to deliver something."

Green Willow was very curious. Seeing Meng Shu nod, she stepped forward and carefully took it.

Upon opening it, he exclaimed in astonishment, "This... isn't this the purse that Her Majesty gave to the Emperor last New Year's Eve?"

Why was it sent back after hanging in the Fu Ning Palace bedroom for so long?

Meng Shu took it, her fingertips tracing the words "Peaceful Night" embroidered on the purse, her eyes flickering slightly. "Please tell His Majesty, Consort Jing, that I am well and thank you for your concern."

Just as Green Willow was about to see them off, Meng Shu said, "Xia'er, go to the Treasure Pavilion and get a rhinoceros horn cup." She then said gently to Jing Ming, "Today at Thousand Carp Pond, I thank Minister Jing for his thoughtfulness."

The rhinoceros horn cup was a rare item that Zhou Bai had sent last time. Jingming said repeatedly, "No, no, that was a treasure that Lord Zhou gave to Your Highness. How can this servant accept it?"

As he spoke, he bowed and retreated.

Xia'er, holding the rhinoceros horn cup, saw her master's signal and quickly followed after him.