Flowery Hair: A Maidservant

Chapter 569 Countless Moves

Qu Renshao comes from a distinguished family. In his early years, when he served in the Hanlin Academy, he was a loyal minister of the Ninth Prince's faction. After the current emperor ascended the throne, he was also driven by the emperor's favor and once submitted a memorial advocating the abolition of the imperial examination system. Now he has been promoted to Doctor of the Imperial Academy, and by all accounts, he can be considered a close minister of the emperor.

Unfortunately, he had a good-for-nothing daughter who hindered his career advancement.

Unable to get his own daughter, he went to great lengths to send his niece into the palace. His niece did indeed give birth to a prince, but in the end, she left the palace in sorrow and lived in a temple.

This time, he swallowed his pride and pleaded for the Third Prince, ostensibly for the sake of the imperial heir, but in reality, he was trying to find a way for his niece to return to the palace.

If it were truly only for the sake of the imperial bloodline, one should advise the emperor to consider his own flesh and blood and bring the young prince back to the palace to be raised properly.

What is the point of advising the emperor to bring the imperial palace here?

It was all calculated—only in this way could Qu Qingge be moved into the imperial palace and settled there in a logical manner.

Sure enough, no sooner had he finished pleading than an imperial censor couldn't contain himself and said sarcastically, "Lord Qu, what a brilliant idea! If you truly care about the Third Prince, you should petition the Emperor to bring him back to the palace to be raised. Why are you instead advising him to come to the temporary palace?"

Upon hearing this, Qin Jianzheng of the Imperial Observatory immediately intervened, bringing up the old incident and effectively blocking the Third Prince's path back to the palace.

The Emperor listened for a long time. He was not a heartless person. After all, the Third Prince was his bloodline. After a moment's thought, he nodded and agreed: "I will do as Minister Qu says."

He turned his gaze to his side, "Jingming, you will oversee this matter. Three days later, bring the Third Prince to the palace and settle him in a side hall of Huaqing Palace. As for Lady Qu..." He paused, "she will also be moved in, and she can quietly worship Buddha in the small Buddhist hall within the palace."

Qu Renshao was overjoyed and prostrated himself on the ground, saying, "Your Majesty, I thank you for your great favor!"

......

got windy.

Inside the open pavilion, Madam Yun's face was slightly pale, and a cool breeze lifted a few strands of hair from her temples, making her look even more lonely.

She stared intently at the person before her, her heart filled with indescribable emotions.

In a corner of her heart, she felt that Meng Shu was more like her daughter, both in temperament and in the resilience and decisiveness beneath the surface.

Therefore, she gave her a chance and tacitly allowed her to grow. But when she actually saw her break free from the support and emerge from her cocoon step by step, her demeanor calm and composed, no longer the naive girl who needed to rely on the protection of the Marquis's mansion, she still couldn't help but feel a trace of melancholy.

So this is what it feels like to watch a kite you released yourself fly away on the wind, never to return.

Madam Yun smiled faintly. "What makes you say that, Your Highness?"

She paused, then lowered her voice further, "Your Majesty may have misunderstood. Placing Chen Lin before the Emperor was not to hinder Your Majesty, but rather... to provide an extra pair of eyes and an extra layer of protection when necessary."

The night breeze swept through the open pavilion, carrying her voice slightly away before it settled heavily in Meng Shu's ears.

Meng Shu remained silent for a moment, then met Madam Yun's deep gaze and said in a deep voice, "Madam, you and the Marquis have made countless moves over the years to achieve your goals. Have you ever considered that every move you make changes a living, breathing life?"

"Today it's Chen Lin, but who will it be tomorrow?"

"If Donggua leaves the palace in the future, will you, Madam, also think that one day you might be able to use her to keep me in check?"

Meng Shu looked directly at the other person, her eyes clear and cold. "Madam knows my temperament best. I am protective of my own, and the people I can't bear to part with the most are those around me."

She leaned forward slightly, her breath brushing against Madam Yun's ear, "My thoughts have never changed. It's not easy for Wan'er to have been dragged along to this point. Haste makes waste, so I hope Madam and the Marquis... won't push her too hard or too cruelly."

At this point, the rift was already there, and it couldn't be mended with just a few words. Meng Shu simply left her words behind, like a pebble thrown into a deep pool; how the ripples spread was no longer under her control.

She slowly straightened up and glanced at Madam Yun. Her eyes held understanding, a sigh, and a hint of estrangement.

Green Willow had quietly returned to Meng Shu's side without her noticing. She turned around and saw her, finally feeling relieved.

"Your Majesty, I've made a hangover soup with winter melon. Please have some."

Meng Shu held her hand, a bitter smile tugging at the corner of her lips: "You really are a little drunk."

As they passed by the Fifth and Sixth Misses, the Fifth Miss slowly curtsied without speaking. The Sixth Miss followed closely behind and said softly, "Qing Shu greets Consort Jin."

Meng Shu stopped in her tracks.

The sixth young lady's name is Qing Shu.

"The incense recipe that Sister Shu sent before the New Year is excellent; I've been thinking about it ever since," Meng Shu said gently, her gaze sweeping over the girl's slightly lowered neck.

The sixth young lady is of marriageable age. Although she comes from a marquis's family and has an imperial concubine sister in the palace, her status as an illegitimate child makes her somewhat awkward in marriage matters.

Meng Shu's heart stirred slightly. She reached up and took a white jade hairpin from her hair. The hairpin's head was carved into the shape of a magnolia in early bloom, elegant yet precious. She gently inserted the hairpin into Qing Shu's hair: "This hairpin suits you. May you, in the future, be like this magnolia, with your own fragrance and your own beauty."

Tang Qingshu was slightly taken aback, her fingertips unconsciously touching her temples, and when she looked up, she met Meng Shu's gentle gaze.

She quickly looked in the direction of Madam Yun, and after receiving her mother's approval, she bowed deeply and said, "Shu'er thanks Your Majesty for the reward."

Although Meng Shu came from a humble background, she was a favored concubine of the Emperor, and with the eldest prince by her side, her every move attracted attention, let alone the Mid-Autumn Festival palace banquet. The scene of her adorning the sixth young lady's hair caught the eye of those who were paying attention, and their gazes toward Qing Shu immediately changed.

The matriarchs who had initially hesitated because of her status as an illegitimate child now subtly changed their minds, becoming increasingly satisfied with the quiet and elegant sixth young lady. From today onward, it's highly likely that no illegitimate sons will be considered for marriage proposals for the sixth young lady.

The Fifth Miss saw all of this and knew that Meng Shu was deliberately praising the Sixth Sister. She was happy for the Sixth Sister and grateful for her thoughtfulness.

She stepped forward and respectfully curtsied to Meng Shu: "On behalf of my father and mother, Qingyi thanks Consort Jin for her favor."

Once back at the table, the ladies who had been exchanging pleasantries with Consort Chun finally dispersed.

Consort Chun let out a soft sigh, took Mengzhu's hand, and rose to her feet, walking slowly to Meng Shu's side. Seeing a bowl of hangover soup in front of her, she naturally picked it up and drank it down in small sips.

"Why do you look so pale?" She put down the empty cup and then noticed Meng Shu's complexion, gently pressing her fingertips on the back of her hand. "Did Mother... say something to Shu'er just now?"

Not far away, Madam Yun watched quietly through the passing figures as Consort Chun and Meng Shu sat side by side.

......