Flowery Hair: A Maidservant

Chapter 13 People from the Tang Family Arrive

Ju Chang looked much more haggard these past few days. First, her son Li Da had escaped and hadn't been found yet. Then, Zhao Di died a violent death, which took her a lot of effort to resolve. Finally, she sold Meng Shu and the other two to Chunfeng Tower, and with her savings of many years, she finally paid off her gambling debts.

When Fu Anju came to deliver the message, she realized that there might have been some oversights, since taking people away from the estate wasn't exactly done discreetly. However, she composed herself and didn't panic. Firstly, her husband had saved her master's life, and secondly, the people brought from Jinan County were under a private contract, which hadn't yet been formally registered with the Lin'an government.

No matter what, she had already returned the indenture money for those four maids to the manor's public account, which totaled only thirty taels of silver.

Therefore, as soon as she stepped into the courtyard of Fu'an Residence, her expression immediately changed to one of grief. After bowing to the old lady, she confessed her guilt before being questioned.

Ju Chang knelt on the ground, tears streaming down her face before she could speak: "Please forgive me, Madam. My unfilial son has caused a great deal of trouble. As his mother, I have no choice but to clean up his mess. I did sell four of my maids for some money, but I also transferred all the accounts on the private contract with the Zheng family to the public account."

"Please, old lady, have pity on my heart as a mother. If I don't raise the money in time, I don't know what kind of torment my son will suffer."

Grandma Tang's face darkened, she held the prayer beads in her hand and stared at Ju Chang for a long time without saying a word.

Guangbai interjected at the right moment, knowing that this matter was not serious in a strict sense, but that little girl named Meng Shu had some talent to leave an impression on the old lady.

"Manager Jushang, I wonder where those three little maids were sold to?"

Ju Chang tensed up instantly, realizing something was wrong. How did Guang Bai know there were three? After a moment's thought, she could only stammer, "They were resold to a passing human trafficker, and now we don't know where they've ended up."

Everyone at Fu'an Residence secretly shook their heads. Old Mrs. Tang, who was always kind-hearted, threw the teacup on the low table to the ground in anger and said, "You forced an innocent girl to her death and then sold her to such a filthy place. Do you think you can hide this from anyone?"

"My Tang family has been in Lin'an for over twenty years and has never mistreated our servants. Yet today, you have driven someone to their death."

Ju Chang's face turned pale. She knew that what she had done had been investigated and found out. She could only keep kowtowing and begging the old lady for forgiveness.

While the case was being heard, Meng Shu was summoned by Huan Yun, and the two were talking.

Huanyun leaned back on the soft couch, examining a very delicate purse closely. "Your hands are indeed very skillful. At such a young age, your embroidery skills are far superior to those of the seasoned embroiderers in the brothel."

Meng Shu was somewhat grateful. In the past two days, Huan Yun had exempted her from serving her in the evenings, citing her illness as the reason, and only allowed her to do some needlework. She hadn't said anything about Meng Shu visiting Chun Ya.

"If you like it, Miss, I'll embroider some more. I heard from Sister Dingxiang that you like the lotus flower pattern."

Huanyun smiled and looked up at Meng Shu. "Don't tire yourself out. You are indeed good-looking, but ending up in this Chunfeng Pavilion is a disaster. Fortunately, you are still young. Staying by my side for a year or two may be fine. The rest is up to you to manage."

Meng Shu's heart skipped a beat. She meant she could protect her for a year or two. In a place like this, this was already an immense favor.

"Thank you for your care, Miss. I am deeply grateful."

Huanyun didn't care about the gratitude of a young maid. Her family had fallen on hard times, and although she had ended up in a brothel, she had received a lot of help from others. Now that she had the ability to help others, she was happy to do them a favor.

After observing her for several days, she realized that this girl was definitely not the kind of person like Dingxiang who just drifted along.

The two chatted for another half hour, then told Meng Shu to go do her work.

After the incident with the erotic picture book, perhaps because Mother Wei was also wary, she didn't arrange any new lessons for the afternoon, only letting the boys roam around in the backyard.

When Meng Shu had free time, she would hide in her room and do embroidery. Now she had nothing of value and this was the only skill she had. She embroidered for an hour by the sunlight and then got up to sit for a while to rest her eyes.

Just as she was thinking of going to see Chunya before dinner, Dingxiang hurriedly came to find her to go to the front yard, saying that Wei Mama had summoned her. Meng Shu's heart sank and she followed Dingxiang out of Tingyunfang, stumbling along behind Dingxiang.

The small dagger was hidden under the shoe. Meng Shu made her own shoes, always with two extra layers on the sole to make the heel higher. That day in the woodshed, she sheathed the dagger and hid it underneath. Fortunately, the old women didn't find it during their search.

As she walked, her mind raced, fearing that Mother Wei might be asking her to meet the guests.

Fortunately, as soon as Meng Shu arrived at the front yard, she passed a flower bush and saw Huan Yun standing there, seemingly waiting for someone. Huan Yun did not speak when she saw Meng Shu, but as she passed by, Meng Shu saw that Huan Yun gave her a reassuring look.

Only then did she feel a little more at ease.

She entered Chunfeng Tower through the side door. The tower was bustling with people, and the girls all stood by the railing, each holding a handkerchief and smiling warmly as they solicited customers. Dingxiang led her directly to the flower hall on the second floor.

Wei's mother completely changed her demeanor, her face overflowing with flattery. When she saw Meng Shu arrive, she warmly pulled her arm and led her to a middle-aged man who looked like a butler.

"Take a look, Steward Tang. This girl has not been mistreated at our Chunfeng Pavilion. Miss Huanyun has been very kind to her."

As soon as Meng Shu entered the room, she saw Fu Zi and Chun Ya in the flower hall. She also saw that Wei Mama was calling out to Steward Tang. She immediately felt relieved and her mind was at ease.

When Manager Tang received Guang Bai's message, he knew that Meng Shu was the most important person. After observing them for a moment, he saw that all three of them were still innocent, but it didn't matter that one of them had gone mad.

“Mother Wei’s business is quite extensive; she even dares to covet our Tang family’s maids. From now on, our Tang family will not dare to cooperate with the girls in the brothel.” Manager Tang was very dignified, and his words carried some weight.

The Tang family's business interests are extensive, encompassing cloth shops, cosmetic shops, jewelry stores, embroidery shops, and other industries related to women. They all have intricate connections with brothels and entertainment venues. Moreover, the Tang family is most renowned in the business world for its innovative ideas. Take cosmetic shops, for example; every season's new products are sure to sell well in several of the most famous prefectures of the Great Zhou Dynasty. Therefore, brothels and similar establishments are the kind of places that should be avoided at all costs from antagonizing the Tang family.

Upon hearing this, Wei Mama broke out in a cold sweat. Chunfeng Tower's background wasn't particularly strong. They had chosen Meng Shu and the other maids this time because their indentures hadn't ended up in the Tang family. But they never expected the Tang family would come knocking on their door for a few maids!

She could only force a smile and say, "Manager Tang, you're being too kind. Our establishment was unaware of the situation. Please be lenient. You can take these three maids back today, and later..."

Mother Wei's voice trailed off as she stepped forward and pulled Steward Tang by the arm, leading him to a chair in the flower hall. Turtle Claw, observing their expressions, immediately switched to a polite smile and led Meng Shu and the other two to wait outside the flower hall.

But when he walked up to Chun Ya, she looked terrified, and Meng Shu quickly stepped forward to comfort her.