Flowery Hair: A Maidservant

Chapter 318 Appearance Seems Damaged

"Madam Yun is coming?!"

Inside the hibiscus-scented tent, the sudden rain had just stopped.

Hua Yan lay quietly in the brocade quilt, her whole body aching and exhausted, yet she couldn't fall asleep.

She carefully maintained the same posture—the emperor beside her was fast asleep, and any slight movement would disturb his slumber.

Even after midnight, Hua Yan was still in a daze, half asleep and half asleep, her limbs aching and numb, feeling even more tired than when she was awake.

Recalling her actions in the study, she realized that her expression and words had been perfectly appropriate, and even the Emperor's expected reaction was within her expectations. This reassured her somewhat, but she was also vaguely worried that the Emperor probably did not want to see her getting too close to the Marquis's residence.

She had already sensed this feeling long before Green Willow reminded her.

......

I went to Fengyi Palace to pay my respects at dawn. Ruixue came over to ask for leave from her mistress, saying that Consort Qu was ill and needed to rest for a few days.

The Empress inquired a few questions with concern, and then sent Granny Gui and Xingyu to visit him.

Hua Yan was slightly surprised. Qu Qingge had been favored by the emperor for seven or eight days, and she had seen that Qu Qingge looked normal when she paid her respects these days. How could she suddenly become so ill?

Consort Chun was also somewhat surprised. Last time, Qu Qingge personally delivered two rare books as an apology, and afterwards, she didn't deliberately flatter or fawn over her like her cousin. This humble yet assertive demeanor changed Consort Chun's opinion of her considerably.

Just as she was pondering whether to visit her later, Hua Yan whispered in her ear the news that Lady Yun was coming to the palace. Upon hearing this, Consort Chun was overjoyed and immediately forgot about Qu Qingge, taking Hua Yan's hand and whispering to her.

The sisters' intimate behavior drew frequent glances from the Empress and Consort Mei, their eyes filled with curiosity.

Especially Consort Mei, she seemed to be the one who couldn't stand seeing them being so close.

However, she ultimately did not dare to speak sarcastically as before—after all, she had never gained the upper hand in front of Consort Chun, and now she was not as favored as Consort Meng, so she could only grit her teeth in silence.

After paying their respects, Hua Yan and Consort Chun returned to Xie Fang Garden together.

As soon as they entered the palace, Ruizhu, who was accompanying them, couldn't wait to tell Aunt Mei the good news. Aunt Mei was so happy that she didn't know what to do. She patted her head and pulled Ruizhu and the others down to prepare breakfast.

The garden is most refreshing before the summer heat begins, and the cobblestone paths still bear traces of water from sweeping.

Consort Chun's skirt swept past the crape myrtle trees in full bloom beside the road, scattering petals all over the ground.

"These days are truly wonderful." As they approached the flower hall, Consort Chun turned back to Hua Yan with a gentle smile and sighed.

In the morning light filtering through the lattice window, tiny dust motes could be seen floating slowly in the beams. Watching Consort Chun's profile bathed in the golden light, Hua Yan smiled and softly replied, "Yes, if only it could always be like this."

Consort Chun suddenly felt a pang of sadness: "I wonder if Mother will bring Xiao Qi and my little nephew over. I haven't met the child yet."

Mengzhu said cautiously, "Your Majesty might as well ask the Emperor; I think he will agree."

Consort Chun hesitated, then shook her head and sighed softly, "...It is already a rare blessing that Mother came. It would be bad to be too greedy."

Aunt Mei was in a good mood, but when she heard Consort Chun's words, her eyes reddened. She waved her hand to let Ruizhu go in to serve the meal, but she didn't come in because she was afraid of disturbing Consort Chun's mood.

After having breakfast, Hua Yan leaned lazily against the chaise lounge, feeling somewhat listless.

"I went to Yichun Palace yesterday to accompany the Empress Dowager to worship Buddha, and I haven't had a chance to visit you since. How is Donggua's face?"

Green Willow, who was serving nearby, couldn't help but chuckle. "Your Highness, Winter Melon's swelling had gone down, but yesterday she insisted on coming with me to the Imperial Workshop. I don't know which pollen got on her face, but it's swollen up again this morning."

Hua Yan said, "She deserves it. She said the veil was in the way, so let her be swollen. With the ointment that Madam sent, she'll recover in two or three days."

This remark drew another round of laughter from the crowd.

Mengzhu suddenly asked Lüliu in an enigmatic tone, "What are you going to the Imperial Workshop for? If you need anything, just tell them to send it over. Do you think they would dare to neglect a concubine?"

Upon hearing this, Green Willow's eyes darkened; Mengzhu's words inexplicably made her uncomfortable.

"Yesterday, on a whim, I had Xiao Nianzi make a few kites. In the afternoon, we... went with His Majesty to Yujin Lake to fly kites." Hua Yan said this on behalf of Lü Liu, seemingly unaware of what was going on.

Ruizhu exclaimed joyfully, "Let's fly a kite!"

Mengzhu: "The Emperor will go too?"

Green Willow glanced at Mengzhu and said with a smile, "Her Majesty ordered the Imperial Workshop to make a lot of kites. We'll each have one and have a good time."

The Emperor personally painted the double swallow kite, and Hua Yan immediately sent Green Willow with Jingming to the Imperial Workshop to convey a message, asking them to make a few more. The thought of flying that double swallow kite with the Emperor in front of Consort Chun made Hua Yan feel extremely embarrassed, so she simply had a few more made to make up the difference.

Consort Chun was in a great mood today, probably because she was thinking about the scene of flying kites in Lin'an. "If I had known, I would have asked Mengzhu to put the kites that my brother gave me into the box. My brother makes one by hand every year. I remember he gave me two last year."

Items sent to the palace by the Marquis of Lin'an's residence were always in duplicate. The kite given to Hua Yan was specially purchased from outside by Tang Lin to avoid attracting attention.

In truth, the Hou family's meticulous care for everyone made Hua Yan feel both touched and somewhat pressured. Zhou Bai and Xiu Yun were the ones who could empathize with her the most; otherwise, Zhou Bai wouldn't have worked so hard to advance his career, just to provide Hua Yan with more support.

Aunt Mei, being the perceptive one, was the first to notice Mengzhu's lapse in composure. She cheerfully found an excuse to take Mengzhu away. Ruizhu, still naively wanting to go and help, was stopped by Lüliu.

Hua Yan glanced at Lü Liu with amusement. Lü Liu secretly stuck out her tongue at Hua Yan and stood silently in the corner, sulking.

She couldn't stand Mengzhu's behavior. The two masters were clearly getting along like the same person, yet she was thinking all sorts of things. Did our Shu'er want to be favored? Bah!

Green Willow felt increasingly sorry for Hua Yan. She wasn't afraid of fighting with the Empress and Consort Mei, but she was afraid that there would be some clueless fools on her side.

Green Willow's anger was evident on her face, and Consort Chun gradually realized what was happening. She immediately said, "Mengzhu hasn't been behaving well these past two days. Aunt Mei has already spoken to me about it. Don't worry, Shu'er, I..."

Hua Yan said, "Your Majesty, there's no need to say anything. Mengzhu feels sorry for Your Majesty, but she's just overthinking things."

Mengzhu served Consort Chun for longer than anyone else, and Consort Chun's affection for her was different from that for Ruizhu and Mingyue. There was no need to put Consort Chun in a difficult position because of this.

Ruizhu was truly bewildered. "What happened to Mengzhu?"

Seeing that no one answered her, she belatedly realized that Ruizhu was naturally careless and easygoing. Although she and Mengzhu could talk about anything, Mengzhu had never mentioned her worries to her.

Consort Chun didn't speak again, but held Hua Yan's hand tightly. Hua Yan gently patted her hand and smiled at her.

Just then, Xiao Nianzi entered the flower hall and bowed to report: "This servant just went to check outside Consort Qu's palace and heard from the nearby palace maids that Consort Qu's face is swollen... and her appearance seems to be damaged."