Flowery Hair: A Maidservant

Chapter 7 Changes

After tomorrow's parting, the two may never see each other again.

"Be more clever in the future, and live well." Meng Shu didn't know why she gave this advice.

Chen Lin clutched the hem of his clothes, as if he had made a great decision, before taking out a small object from his pocket. Meng Shu took it; it was a wooden carving shaped like a rabbit.

"So cute, why is it sitting down?"

Meng Shu placed the wooden rabbit carving in her palm. The rabbit was squatting on its two hind legs, with its two front legs folded together at its chest. Its little head was tilted back, and its two long rabbit ears drooped down its back all the way to its tail.

"It is worshipping the moon, wishing that Sister Shu's wish will be fulfilled." Chen Lin's voice was still soft.

Meng Shucai realized that the rabbit was her zodiac animal, and she had mentioned the matter of finding her uncle unintentionally when teaching him to read.

"Thank you. In return, I also have a gift for you."

Meng Shu carried the wooden rabbit carving into her pocket and walked into the room. When she came out, she was holding a small purse made of ordinary coarse cloth, but a little finger-length green bamboo was embroidered on one corner of the purse, and the words 'Chen Lin' were embroidered next to it.

The embroidery thread was given to me by Granny Zhou.

May you remain evergreen through all seasons, undaunted by wind and rain.

Chen Lin carefully took it, his eyes showing joy and shyness. He ran his fingers over the pattern, he really liked the name.

The next day, while it was still barely dawn and Meng Shu was still in bed, she heard a noise coming from the corner courtyard, followed by footsteps, and then silence. It was Chen Lin and his group leaving.

Before the newcomers entered the room, Meng Shu did not get up. She took out a dagger from under her pillow. The handle was engraved with the character "Bai," her uncle's name, Zhou Bai.

Before her death, her mother was most worried about her, and also about her uncle Zhou Bai. He didn't like studying since he was a child, but he was very enthusiastic about business, which once displeased her maternal grandfather.

Four years ago, my uncle said he was going to the south with a friend to do business, but he has been missing ever since.

This dagger was left at home four years ago when he came to Mengjiazhuang to celebrate Meng Shu's birthday, after getting drunk. Meng Shu has been living with her stepmother all these years, but being young and a girl, she cannot go out to look for him, and she doesn't know if her uncle has ever been to Lin'an.

With these thoughts in mind, Meng Shu drifted off to sleep again.

Before setting off, Meng Shu took several embroidered handkerchiefs to thank Granny Zhou. Coincidentally, Zheng Dongjia was also there. "You are a grateful person."

Meng Shu bowed and said obediently, "Thank you for your kindness, Master Zheng, which has given me a good place to go."

Granny Zhou took the handkerchief, chuckled, and patted Meng Shu's head. "The master only did it because you're so well-behaved and couldn't bear to see you end up in such a dirty place. Once you're at the Tang residence, work with peace of mind, and that will be a way of repaying the master's kindness."

Master Zheng also looked at the handkerchief with interest and gave a rare comment: "The embroidery is acceptable. You don't need to worry. Among the masters of the Tang family, there is only one young master, who is already sixteen or seventeen years old and is a rare and upright gentleman."

Finally, she couldn't help but offer a word of kindness: "If you are assigned to the sewing room, the head housekeeper is a nice person. She comes from our Zheng family's sewing shop, and they never make things difficult for us."

"There's another matter. The old lady of the Tang family has been selecting maids for her eldest daughter in recent years. Whether you can be selected depends on your good fortune."

He seemed very familiar with the personnel arrangements in the Tang family, so Meng Shu quickly and sincerely thanked him.

Three days later, as usual, a nanny came to give them a lecture, and then Meng Shu and the others went to the dock with Aunt Jushang.

The journey to Lin'an will take about half a month by boat from Jinan Wharf. The Tang family has two ships, one of which is a cargo ship. The laborers at the wharf are loading goods onto the cargo ship. Once Meng Shu and the others board the ship, they will be arranged to stay in the passenger ship's cabin.

The cabin wasn't large, and it felt quite crowded to accommodate about thirty people. Meng Shu wasn't familiar with the others, but Dunzi had gotten to know a few people from helping out in the kitchen, though they clearly weren't close.

So Dunzi stayed with Meng Shu. She didn't have much luggage, except for a coarse cloth garment given to her by the brokerage firm and a set of clothes she had worn before. (They were supposed to be thrown away by the brokerage firm, but she couldn't bear to part with them, so she begged them to keep them, and after carefully washing them, she took them with her this time.)

On the first day of the voyage, most of the people were seasick, and the cabin smelled really bad. Fortunately, Meng Shu and her companion were fine. The two of them went to the deck together to get some fresh air. Ju Chang did not restrict their activities and fed them a bowl of porridge and a coarse flour bun every day.

Meng Shu stood at the stern of the ship, while Dunzi sat on the deck, lost in thought.

The green hills and houses along the shore receded into the distance, with only the sound of rippling water soothing to the ears, and occasionally a few fish could be seen swimming on the water not far from the boat.

After another day of travel, all that could be seen was a vast expanse of water. As night fell, Meng Shu looked up at the sky and saw countless stars.

Sorrow, tinged with fear of the future, seeped into her heart little by little. Meng Shu simply lay back on the deck, tears falling silently. She wondered if her mother had transformed into a star, also gazing at her from afar.

Just before docking, Xiahe, the sister beside Aunt Jushang, came to the cabin and gave a brief reminder about the personnel relationships in the Tang family.

The main branch of the Tang family is the Marquis of Huai'an in the capital. The branch in Lin'an is a collateral branch of the Marquis's family, but this collateral branch is very powerful because the branch in Lin'an is extremely good at business and is almost as rich as a country.

The Tang family ancestors were credited with "being the first to ascend" when the country was founded and were enfeoffed as the Marquis of Huai'an. The family has now been passed down for five generations, and the Tang family in Lin'an is the third son of the current Marquis of Huai'an's half-brother.

These three households were also born out of wedlock, and were actually branches of a collateral branch of the Marquis's mansion.

In truth, the Marquis of Huai'an's mansion has long since declined. During the reign of the late emperor, it was involved in the struggle for the throne, made the wrong bet, and was purged. Its title was almost stripped away, and now the Marquis of Huai'an holds a sinecure in the Ministry of Rites.

Therefore, the Marquis's mansion relied heavily on the branch in Lin'an for all its expenses.

There are ten proper masters in the Tang family in Lin'an. The old master has passed away, and the old lady has given birth to one son and two daughters. The daughters are all married in Lin'an and only come home to visit the old lady during festivals. The person in charge is Tang Xian, who is also the famous God of Wealth of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Next came Tang Xian's principal wife, Lady Yun, who gave birth to one son and three daughters. He also had three concubines who gave birth to four daughters in total.

The concubine was not considered a proper mistress.

Half of the maids bought from Zheng's brokerage firm would be retrained in etiquette and then assigned to serve in their masters' courtyards. The rest would be assigned to other tasks, such as sweeping, sewing, or cooking in the inner courtyard.

After hearing Xia He's introduction, a few of the older children's eyes lit up when they learned that there was only one legitimate son, who was now sixteen years old. Some visibly breathed a sigh of relief, while most were numb, tinged with fear of the future.

Xia He was clever. She glanced around and stopped talking, only secretly noting down the obviously restless ones. When she saw Meng Shu and the other person in the corner, she was surprised for a moment.

The two were rather comical: one was thin and small, with a face that hadn't fully developed yet but already looked like a beauty, while the other was quite burly and dull-witted, staring blankly at a purse.

Neither Meng Shu nor Dunzi took any of this to heart. Meng Shu didn't care where she served; she had embroidery skills to support herself, so she didn't care where she worked. She was only thinking about earning enough money to redeem herself. Dunzi, on the other hand, was definitely going to work in the kitchen.

"This purse is really beautiful. Meng Shu, the plump ingot you embroidered is so fitting for the occasion. When we get to the Tang residence, we'll definitely have to use this purse to carry our money."

Meng Shu chuckled after hearing this, wondering if Dunzi thought they were going to the Tang family to pick up silver.

However, this seemingly safe destination suddenly took an unexpected turn when the ship approached the Midu Bridge Canal Wharf in Lin'an.