Flowery Hair: A Maidservant

Chapter 93 Aunt Mei

The day after the birthday banquet, Mr. Lin, at Mrs. Yun's behest, specially gave the second young lady three days off.

In the afternoon, Meng Shu and her three companions, carrying account books, accompanied the Second Miss to Yun Gui Courtyard. The details of the decorations and expenses for the birthday banquet needed to be verified with the inner accountant. This hands-on experience allowed the Second Miss to gain a deeper understanding of the courtyard's daily expenses, including food, drink, clothing, and other necessities. It also helped her become familiar with different types of accounts, such as income, expenditure, and inventory. Furthermore, the birthday gifts sent by various families the previous day needed to be cataloged and stored for future social interactions.

Even with guidance from the inner accountant, it would take the Second Miss two days to familiarize herself with and complete these tedious accounts, meaning she only had one day to rest.

Ruizhu always felt more sorry for her young mistress. On the way, she whispered to Meng Shu, "Our madam is really strict. Since the second half of the year, she has been managing the young mistress more and more. There are etiquette rules and account books. Qin Mama has also been sent to the estate. How can the young mistress handle this?"

Meng Shu didn't look to the side and replied softly, "Miss doesn't need to know too much about the accounts. The important thing is to know how to check and verify them, and not be deceived by the people below. If you care about Miss, talk to Donggua more and ask her and Madam Li to give Miss some nourishing food in the autumn."

Is the account book important? Of course it is, but Madam Yun has always emphasized that the second young lady should be adept at interpersonal relationships and have more shrewdness and skill. This is not something that can be achieved overnight, and the young lady will gradually become busier.

Thinking about Aunt Wen's matter and then about the two great-aunts, Meng Shu thought a lot last night. What she didn't understand before became clear when she stepped back and looked at it from a different perspective.

The two aunts each have their own faults. With Madam Yun's skills, plus the fact that the old lady has always valued her daughters-in-law, it would be a piece of cake to deal with the two sisters-in-law. How could she have let them go for so long?

It wasn't until the Second Miss's words in the bathhouse that Meng Shu understood; this was probably a ready-made example that Madam Yun had deliberately left unsaid.

First, she taught the second young lady how to figure out the thoughts of concubines and mistresses through unusual behavior. Then she showed her the post-marital situations of two kinds of married women: one was unable to stand up and was bullied by her husband and concubines, and the other was estranged from her husband. These were living examples in front of her, which were better than Madam Yun's earnest preaching.

Ruizhu blinked cutely and nodded repeatedly after hearing Meng Shu's words, but she added, "Li Niangzi in our courtyard's small kitchen is extremely skilled, and Donggua has recently started thinking of new recipes. You should avoid her, or we might have to test them on poison..."

Meng Shu glanced at Mingyue beside her and suppressed a laugh, saying, "Don't worry, we're not needed."

Mingyue is always alert, her little ears are always perked up, what noise can escape her notice? "You are not allowed to talk about Donggua, she has been making a lot of delicious food lately."

The second young lady walked ahead, her little ears perked up. She said, "Our Mingyue isn't picky about food."

Ruizhu chuckled and stepped forward to take Mingyue's arm, "Once the winter melon is cooked, it will naturally be delicious, haha."

The master and servants whispered among themselves as they entered the gate of Yun Gui Courtyard. A maid led the way, and the group walked along the pebble path past the central rockery and koi pond. On both sides, they saw ancient and elegant Podocarpus macrophyllus trees with lush green leaves. After stepping over three stone steps and passing through a lattice door, they arrived at Madam Yun's reception hall.

The study is connected to the reception room, separated by a huanghuali wood folding screen with lotus and dragon patterns, creating a tranquil atmosphere. The hibiscus-patterned window is half-open, letting in slanting sunlight that bathes the display cabinet against the wall in a golden hue.

Madam Yun, dressed in casual clothes, sat comfortably on an official's hat chair. The second young lady took the lead in bowing, and Meng Shu and the others carefully placed the account books on the table and stood at a distance behind the young lady.

"Don't rush to look at the accounts. A few days ago at the old lady's place, I promised to reward them according to their merits. Yesterday, their performance in entertaining guests and at the banquet was quite good, so they deserve a reward."

As soon as Madam Yun finished speaking, Wei Mama's old face beamed like a peony, and she came out with four second-class maids carrying many things. The head of the Fang family and Steward An were also behind them, all with happy expressions.

“Wan’er, Xiangmei has been my maid since I was a child. More than ten years ago, she married the second son of the head of the Yun family estate. She also accompanied me as a maid from the capital to Lin’an. Xiangmei is steady and never makes a mistake. Her family has helped me a lot.”

Now I'm assigning her to your Yunyi Academy as an internal steward. What do you think?

Upon hearing the name "Xiangmei," Fang Daren's eyes welled with tears, and her heart burned with emotion. Since her mistress married and she herself had married, it had been over a decade since her mistress had called her that.

If a woman has no achievements, she has always taken her husband's surname after marriage. The word "Xiangmei" that came out of her mouth also evoked memories of Madam Yun and Mother Wei from their earlier years.

Fang Dajia called out "Miss" with tears in her eyes and then burst into sobs. Wei Mama stood behind Madam Yun, wiping away tears with her handkerchief. She had watched the young lady and her several head maids grow up. Xiangmei, Qilan, Ruozhu, and Qiuju were the four maids. Now, only Xiangmei was a maidservant. Ruozhu had vowed never to marry and, after self-combing, was now working as the accountant of Yun Guiyuan.

As for Qi Lan and Qiu Ju, they both died tragically after that banquet... which ultimately caused the young lady to become cold-hearted and give up all thoughts of love. In the blink of an eye, she spent almost twenty years in Lin'an.

The second young lady knew that after Qin Mama left, her mother would arrange reliable people, but she didn't expect that her mother would point to the housekeeper she was used to. She hurriedly stepped forward and took Madam Yun's hand, saying, "Mother's arrangement is naturally excellent, but the housekeeper..."

The eldest daughter of the family knelt before Madam Yun and the second young lady, saying, "This servant is willing to follow Madam's orders and will do her best to take good care of the second young lady from now on."

Madam Yun never showed her emotions in public. As soon as she raised her arm, Mama Wei stepped forward to help the eldest daughter of the family up. Madam Yun said, "I am at ease with you here. Wan'er, you don't need to refuse."

The second young lady had no choice but to bow and thank Madam Yun. After thinking for a moment, she turned to the head of the Fang family and said, "In that case, when Steward Fang arrives at Yunyi Courtyard, shall we address her as Aunt Mei?"

The young lady, no, Aunt Mei, knelt down and kowtowed to acknowledge her master. When she raised her head, she smiled and said to Madam Yun, "Miss, do you still remember when we were young and in our maiden days, Qiu Ju and I would get together and chat about the future. At that time, we thought that it would be prestigious to be an 'aunt' in the future. Now that I am married and have children, I... can be said to have fulfilled my wish."

Mentioning Qiuju and the others, Madam Yun finally couldn't hold back and turned to calm herself down, "What's wrong with you today? The things you're saying are making people sad for no reason. Wei Mama, hurry up and distribute the rewards, lest those little maids laugh at us for telling old stories."

Such a sincere bond between master and servant is truly touching. Meng Shu turned her gaze to the second young lady. Sunlight streamed through the half-open window, casting a soft outline on the second young lady's face. She then jokingly remarked, "Mother, you should also reward these four people beside me well."