Flowery Hair: A Maidservant

Chapter 67 The Art of Managing People

In the large hall, only Wei Mama was left to serve, while Madam Yun played with a bracelet of osmanthus-scented beads and sat opposite the second young lady.

"If this is the arrangement, doesn't Mother think it's a bit too early?"

Madam Yun choked up after hearing her daughter's words. At the right moment, Wei Mama brought her a cup of tea and gathered up the account books on the table. She said on behalf of her mistress, "Second Miss, please forgive this old servant for speaking out of turn. Parents who love their children plan far ahead for them. Our Madam will naturally make plans for you as early as possible."

Madam Yun took a sip of tea before saying, "When you were little, you didn't like being served by many people, so we only arranged for Mengzhu to be your personal attendant. Only later did we add Ruizhu..."

The second young lady looked ashamed, then said in a serious tone, "Of course, I can understand my mother's good intentions."

"Mengzhu is honest and steady, but lacks a bit of intelligence and sharpness; Ruizhu is lively and innocent, but lacks a bit of caution and thoughtfulness; as for Mengshu, she is the one I like the most."

Madam Yun was naturally very satisfied with Meng Shu. However, this girl was too clever. Not only was she thoughtful and meticulous in her work, but she was also very good at reading people's expressions. She was also very worldly and tactful in dealing with the stewards outside. This was not a bad thing, but rather too good.

If someone appears to be near perfect, and has no weaknesses to counterbalance, who knows if they might one day be devoured? A death contract can become ineffective at times, such as when someone becomes a concubine in the royal palace as part of the dowry; in that case, the contract is no longer under the control of the second young lady.

(This is the first time the Prince's Mansion has been mentioned, ladies. As for why the masters of the Tang family were so sure that the second young lady would marry into the Prince's Mansion, that will be explained later. Also, I will post the hierarchy of the Prince's Mansion's inner quarters when I get to that part.)

Therefore, the manor arranged personal servants for each young master and young lady, and the selection of these servants was extremely careful.

There are essentially a few ways to choose a servant. One way is to select from the servants born into the household, as they are honest and reliable. After all, servants share in the glory of their master's family and are bound by family ties, so there is little chance that they will turn their backs on their master.

The second method was to select from servants who had signed a life-or-death contract, such as Meng Shu. Such candidates would be kept by the side for several years for observation. If their character, talent, and appearance passed the test, then it would be considered to bestow favors and finally promote them to that position.

Thirdly, the mistresses assigned these maids from those they were already familiar with. For example, the two personal maids of the eldest young lady were originally from Aunt Liu's side (one of whom was Bitao, who was punished for making a mistake and sent to the estate), and the other two were second-class maids from the old lady's room.

Madam Yun certainly had her concerns, but she wouldn't really give up Meng Shu as a candidate. Besides, she originally planned to keep her by the Second Miss's side to observe her. Five years would be enough to see a person clearly. But now there was something she could arrange, and it all depended on whether the mistresses wanted to do it.

Thinking of this, Madam Yun put down the fragrant bead bracelet and spoke frankly to the second young lady: "Meng Shu is a beautiful girl, and she is also very clever and outstanding. If you think she is useful, there is an opportunity to do her a favor right now."

"Mother means helping her find her relatives? Didn't the old lady already send the housekeeper to handle it?"

The second young lady was also aware of Meng Shu's background.

Madam Yun shook her head, realizing that her daughter was still young and lacked foresight.

"We found some clues earlier. His uncle had a close relationship with a courtesan named Huanyun at Chunfeng Tower. Meng Shu was sold to that place by Jushang and happened to serve her there. She and Huanyun had some affection for each other."

The second young lady hurriedly said, "In that case, let's have the steward redeem her. I think that courtesan is a kind and righteous person. She even sent a maid over to deliver some things this morning. When Meng Shu came back, her eyes were red, so I didn't let her come over to serve her."

It's just a matter of spending some money; does the Tang family really lack money?

The second young lady genuinely felt that Meng Shu had served her exceptionally well, and she had no intention of doing her a favor. She was simply grateful for Meng Shu's attentive care and diligent work over the past few months, and felt that she could lend a helping hand if she could.

Madam Yun was unaware that her daughter harbored such simple thoughts. Following her words, she said, "Her uncle has not returned for several years. It is highly likely that he has met with misfortune. Since she has genuine feelings for that courtesan, she will naturally be grateful to you if you bring it up. The bond between master and servant is built up little by little."

This is very straightforward: the art of managing people is a skill that aristocratic families cultivate in their children from a young age.

The second young lady nodded thoughtfully. Madam Yun was also a little tired after talking for a while, and her mood calmed down a lot when she smelled the faint osmanthus fragrance emanating from the prayer beads in her hand.

Upon seeing this, Madam Wei remarked, "Aunt Lu's skills are becoming increasingly exquisite. These past few days, when Madam has been feeling down, she has taken a great liking to play with this string of prayer beads. I heard that it was made by grinding the osmanthus blossoms from a whole osmanthus tree into a fine powder, then adding water from a rootless tree to knead it. I'm afraid only Aunt Lu in the whole mansion has the patience for this kind of water-grinding technique."

Madam Yun smiled and said, "Her incense-making skills were already quite good, and now that she has a son, she has become even more obedient. It's rare that she hasn't developed any other thoughts."

These days, Aunt Lu finally realized that the mistress had no intention of coveting her son at all. She became even more grateful and, after much thought, made a osmanthus-scented bead bracelet. She then specially asked the family physician to examine it before sending it to Yun Gui Courtyard.

"When you return, send that red-gold flower-shaped hairpin from the makeup box to Fengyin Courtyard. This fragrant beaded bracelet is indeed very useful. Did Aunt Lu send one to the old lady as well?"

Mother Wei shook her head, "The people from Fengyin Temple never mentioned it, so it's probably not true."

Madam Yun moved her neck, her smile deepening. "Our master's concubine is truly excellent; she has not a single clever thought in her mind. Very well, since the master is not here, instruct the servants not to mistreat Fengyin Courtyard."

Madam Wei quickly agreed, and after a moment, Madam Yun said again, "By the way, tell Aunt Lu to keep her distance from the Second Young Master when making incense. He's only a month old, and it's not good for his health if he gets exposed to the scent."

"Yes," Mother Wei replied again, reaching out to massage her master's cervical spine.

The second young lady disliked incense and didn't interrupt. Today, she was learning from Madam Yun how to look at the account books and was mentally reviewing the family's monthly expenses when the head maid of Yun Gui Courtyard came to deliver a message.

"Madam, the people from Lanting Courtyard have sent word that Concubine Wen just sent someone to Fu'an Residence to request an audience with the Old Madam. She not only brought the Fourth Miss the copy of the 'Women's Instructions' that she had been copying during her recent confinement, but also a headband made by Concubine Wen herself."

Madam Yun closed her eyes to enjoy Wei Mama's massage, and said indifferently upon hearing this, "You can't even hold back after only half a month? The old lady won't agree."

When Aunt Liu and the eldest young lady made mistakes, they were confined for more than a month. Aunt Wen was previously favored by the old lady, but she did not know that the old lady valued rules the most. She would not be released from confinement for more than a month.

After the head maid left, Madam Yun suddenly raised her eyes and asked the second young lady, "Wan'er, let me ask you, now that your father has left the mansion, why does Aunt Wen still want to come out so soon?"

The second young lady thought for a long time but still couldn't understand why her mother had asked such a question.

Being confined to one's home is not a pleasant experience. It's not just about not being allowed to leave the courtyard. According to the Tang family rules, during confinement, one must stay in one's room every day, either copying scriptures or kneeling for half an hour each day, while people from Fu'an Residence naturally guard the outside.

Do you need a reason not to be grounded?

Madam Yun had no choice but to patiently explain: "The operation of the inner quarters must follow the rules. There is no such thing as breaking the rules without cause. Since Aunt Liu knew that she would be confined for more than a month, why did she go to the trouble of begging the old lady halfway through? If your father were still in the mansion, it would be understandable."

If the old lady really did release her out of consideration for their past relationship, what important thing would she have to do?