Flowery Hair: A Maidservant

Chapter 164 I've heard the princess is beautiful; I wonder how she compares to Hua Yan?

Meanwhile, at General Xunhui's residence.

Because Jiang Wei and his two sons were far away in the Northwest, Madam Jiang invited several elders from her clan to entertain Prince Jin in the front courtyard in advance.

Inside the flower hall of the inner residence, the princess sat opposite Madam Jiang, her face as cold as frost.

"My mother arranged for her niece, a member of the same clan, to be selected as a concubine in my palace, and I agreed. But my mother was wrong to choose such a shameless hussy to be an eyesore to me and the Prince of Jin."

Madame Chiang's eyes twitched, a hint of doubt creeping into them.

"My cousin from my maternal family wrote that Shuang'er has always been well-behaved. Although she has only been in our household for a short time, she is quite clever. Is she really as bad as you say?"

The princess, dressed in formal attire, remained silent with a cold and stern face, which made Madam Jiang feel uneasy and filled her with regret.

Unlike her two older brothers, her stepdaughter was deep-seated from a young age, and some things, even though many years had passed, were still unresolved in her heart.

Madame Chiang Kai-shek was born into the Lin family in Southwest China. Her name was Lin Qiao. The Lin family was in the medicinal herb business in Southwest China. Lin Qiao’s grandfather was a military doctor who accompanied the Lu Family Army in Southwest China. Therefore, the Lin family often had contact with the military camp.

Many years ago, during a battle on the southwestern border against the Western Rong, Jiang Wei, then serving as a military officer, made outstanding contributions but was unfortunately shot by an arrow. Fortunately, he was rescued by Lin Qiao's grandfather. Over time, Jiang Wei's wife, Wang (the birth mother of the princess), became acquainted with the ladies of the Lin family's inner quarters and also met Lin Qiao, who was still unmarried at the time. Although the two were a few years apart in age, they quickly became friends and treated each other like sisters.

Lin Qiao had met Jiang Wei several times. Jiang Wei was tall and imposing, with a dignified appearance, and was a hero praised by everyone on the southwestern border. Lin Qiao couldn't help but secretly fall in love with him, but she kept her feelings buried deep in her heart.

During the two years she spent with Wang, she treated Wang's children very well. Jiang Jie (the princess) was only five years old at the time, Jiang Wei's eldest son Jiang Feng was eight years old, and his second son Jiang Yong was seven years old.

Then, Wang suddenly fell ill with a strange disease, which Lin Qiao's grandfather was unable to cure. On her deathbed, Wang entrusted her children to Lin Qiao in front of Jiang Wei. It turned out that Wang had already seen through Lin Qiao's feelings for her husband...

Lin Qiao was willing, and in accordance with his late wife's last wish, Jiang Wei married Lin Qiao as his second wife after observing a year of mourning for Wang. After that, Lin Qiao followed her husband to Beijing and became Mrs. Jiang.

Having lost her birth mother at a young age, Jiang Jie was unable to accept that Lin Qiao had suddenly become her stepmother. As a child, she suspected that Lin Qiao had poisoned her mother. Therefore, even though her stepmother treated her well over the years, she only maintained a superficial relationship with her. Lin Qiao's heart gradually grew colder.

Getting back to the point, Madam Jiang knew that no matter how she explained, she couldn't dispel her stepdaughter's suspicions. Besides, she was indeed feeling guilty. Her family had sent a letter and pushed Yunshuang in front of her, so she didn't bother to investigate further and just went along with the arrangements.

Of course, she wasn't without other motives. If the Lin family's daughter pleased Prince Jin, perhaps her family would also have a stroke of good fortune...

Madam Jiang said, "It's fine to keep her, but Zhixue, Luwei, and Xingyu aren't exactly beautiful. How can you possibly compete with the Tang family in the Prince's mansion? Others may not know, but the Tang family has deep ties with the Prince of Jin..."

The princess snorted coldly: "Just be a good stepmother and be Mrs. Jiang. I have my own plans. What's so difficult about getting rid of a merchant's daughter in the inner quarters?"

Madam Jiang smiled bitterly, "Before my husband left, he was always worried about you. Well, it was your own choice to marry into the Prince of Jin's mansion, and I won't interfere with you anymore."

Finally, Madam Jiang added, "If anything happens, let Granny Gui instruct Banu to handle it. After all, Granny Gui and Zhixue are loyal to you. But when it comes to anything involving conflict, you need to be discreet and not leave any loose ends."

These words were quite candid, and even though the princess was still suspicious, her expression softened slightly.

“It is understandable that a mother cares about her own family. If her daughter succeeds in the future, I will help the Lin family daughters.”

Madame Chiang remained silent.

She is only in her thirties now. After marrying into the Jiang family, she became pregnant three times, but miscarried the first two times. She was not born until her last child was born safely. However, her son was born weak and died on the day he was one month old.

Out of consideration for her relationship with Wang Shi and for her sacrifices, she raised her stepson and stepdaughter, believing she had done her best. Jiang Feng and Jiang Yong treated her with some filial piety, but as for this daughter, there was always a distance between them...

Madam Jiang's eyes were calm and indifferent, her gaze not lingering on the princess's face. She looked out the window from several feet away, and after a long while, she sighed with a bitter smile.

The general has no concubines or mistresses, so even if he wanted to compete for power in the inner quarters, he had no other women. Now, he wastes his days away, and his heart is filled with neither hatred nor love, nor any attachment whatsoever.

But in the dead of night, I often find myself thinking about the choices I made when I was nineteen, and even now I don't know if they were right or wrong...

Fuqian Street, Tang Mansion.

The atmosphere in the flower hall was harmonious and joyful. The masters were having lunch, with Hua Yan attending to them.

The old lady was accompanied only by Huaying and Suwen. Among the others, one was a familiar face, a former second-class maid from Fu'an Residence, while the others were somewhat unfamiliar, clearly newcomers to the mansion.

Guangbai left the mansion to get married two days ago. Huayan didn't know her well and didn't think much of it. She only heard Huaying say that the old lady gave her a generous dowry and she got married in a grand manner.

Suwen got married a few days later; she married the eldest son of Gong Facai, the head manager of Yongbaolou Restaurant.

It seems that all the maids she knew have found their place. Hua Ying also got married to Mu Feng the day before yesterday. She was supposed to go to work at Yunqi Courtyard next door, but now it looks like she will probably have to stay with the old lady for a while.

"My brother-in-law's transfer order has come down. He'll be coming to the capital after the first month of the lunar calendar to serve as a captain in the Tianwu Army. How prestigious that is!"

The fifth young lady sat next to the second young lady and explained to her, "The eldest sister took her little nephew back to Jinan the other day. After the first month of the lunar calendar, the whole family will move to the capital. Aunt Liu has been looking forward to this for many years, and her wish has finally come true."

Aunt Liu was naturally not qualified to dine with them in the flower hall. The second young lady said, "Eldest sister must be overjoyed. Her husband's appointment in the capital is a promotion of three ranks. He truly deserves to have military blood."

The old lady ate a little and then lost her appetite. Hearing the second young lady's words, she said, "Being an official in the capital is not so easy. Fortunately, Shuang'er's temperament has been tempered a lot over the years."

After saying that, he said to Madam Yun, "Times have changed. Our Tang family should be more cautious. When the eldest son-in-law comes to the capital, you can pick a few steady girls from the family and send them to the Song family so that they can keep an eye on Shuang'er."

Lady Yun nodded in agreement.

Hua Yan stood quietly, secretly thinking that the young lady was really lucky. Although she had a meddlesome concubine mother, Liu was not a bad person. She was cared for by the head of the family and the old lady, and her stepmother treated her well. After she got married and had children, she heard that her eldest son-in-law, Song Chengrui, did not have any concubines.

As she was deep in thought, a maidservant lifted the curtain outside the door, and Donggua carried freshly steamed dumplings into the flower hall. Huayan quickly stepped forward and helped present them to the old lady.

At this moment, the fourth young lady suddenly rolled her eyes, feigning curiosity, and asked with a smile:

"Second sister, I've heard that the Princess Consort of Jin is extremely beautiful. I wonder how she compares to the beautiful concubine that Madam specially arranged?"