Flowery Hair: A Maidservant

Chapter 444 Yu Nu'er

The Marquis of Lin'an's official residence only made two overt reactions to the news that Meng Shu had given birth to the eldest prince.

First, after the court session ended that day, Tang Xian used the pretext of the imperial jade pendant to publicly challenge Song Di. The Court of Judicial Review took the case and, after investigation, could only petition the Emperor for a final decision. Ultimately, Song Di was demoted and fined a year's salary for "damaging an imperial gift." After this, no one in the court dared to mention the matter again, as no one wanted to offend the Marquis of Lin'an and suffer the same fate as Song Di.

Secondly, at the young prince's third-day celebration, Lady Yun personally entered the palace, presenting not only generous gifts such as a longevity lock and a filigree gold necklace, but also personally holding the young prince.

Madam Yun was very respectful. When she went to the Cuiyu Hall to pay her respects to Meng Shu, she handled the situation with great care and appeared completely at ease.

The Empress, the concubines, and the noblewomen and ladies-in-waiting who came to observe the ceremony couldn't discern anything amiss.

Of course, no one dared to show any of their doubts at this moment.

After all, Lady Yun's reputation in the capital was even more prominent than that of Tang Xian, the Marquis of Lin'an.

Unlike ordinary mistresses, she was not only knowledgeable in business and good at socializing, but also handed over the management of the household affairs to others early on after her daughter-in-law entered the family.

Families in the capital who wish to arrange a marriage with her could stretch from the gates of the Marquis's mansion all the way to Zhuque Street. The most favored fifth daughter of the main wife is now seemingly being preempted by the second young master of the Wuxing Earl's mansion, Wu Er Gongzi. In the past few days, invitations from the mistresses of various mansions have been arriving at the Marquis's mansion like snowflakes, all hoping to find an excuse to meet Madam Yun, even if it's just to exchange a few words.

If all else fails, the sixth young lady of the Marquis of Lin'an's family, who was born out of wedlock, has reached the age to marry. Although true aristocratic families would not allow their legitimate sons to marry a daughter born out of wedlock, even though the sixth young lady and Consort Chun have always had a good relationship.

But which family doesn't have a few illegitimate sons?

......

The news of Consort Chun's pregnancy also reached the palace on the day of the eldest prince's third-day celebration.

The reason for choosing this time was twofold: firstly, Consort Chun's pregnancy had been going on for more than three months and the pregnancy was becoming more stable, so it would probably be impossible to hide it any longer; secondly, by taking advantage of the birth of the eldest prince and the day when the palace was holding the baby's third-day celebration, this joyous event could be mixed in with the occasion and would not attract too much attention all at once.

This was Meng Shu's idea, and Madam Yun agreed after only a brief consideration upon receiving the letter.

The emperor's acting was truly impressive. When he heard the eunuch come to report the good news, he was playing with the baby prince in his swaddling clothes. He immediately pretended to have just learned of the news and said "good" three times.

Immediately afterwards, a stream of gifts were sent to the imperial palace. Finally, an imperial decree was issued, allowing Consort Chun to rest and prepare for childbirth at the imperial palace. The Shanggong Bureau was also instructed to select four experienced nannies to go there and take care of her.

One joyous event after another occurred in the palace, and the Imperial Observatory seized the opportunity to submit a memorial to the throne.

The Imperial Censor said: "...Auspicious clouds linger around the Purple Star, which is a sign of good fortune from heaven and a blessing upon the Great Zhou. During the time when Consort Chun served the Empress Dowager, she copied scriptures and prayed for blessings every day. Her sincere filial piety moved heaven. Recently, good news came from the northern frontier. The epidemic was effectively controlled, and the soldiers were able to rest and recuperate in peace. This is all due to the blessings of the Consort."

This flattery was both eloquent and righteous, but whether it was at the behest of Marquis Tang Xian of Lin'an is unknown to outsiders.

However, the Marquis of Zhenbei's residence and the Duke of Qing's residence have been in quite a predicament these past few days.

The spies in both mansions sent out messages one after another:

Marquis Zhenbei remained calm and continued to attend court and handle affairs as usual. However, the two young generals in his household could not contain themselves. The two brothers submitted a petition together the next day, requesting the emperor's permission to go to the northern frontier to participate in the war. After reading the petition, the emperor pondered for a moment and then granted it.

The Duke of Qing's mansion was even more lively. In the past few days, the Duke of Qing hadn't even stepped into his mistress's courtyard, and had even brought two concubines into the mansion in succession.

In a message sent by Madam Yun a few days later, she specifically mentioned that the concubine Zhao who was brought in later bore a faint resemblance to Xiu Yun...

After delivering the message, Green Willow carefully considered her thoughts before speaking: "Your Highness, according to the information, the eldest daughter of the Duke of Qing's mansion is indeed not a legitimate child. However, despite the long investigation by the Madam, no solid evidence has been found. Furthermore, it seems that the Duke's mansion has covered up her cause of death. Madam Zhou arrested a former servant who left the Duke's mansion before the incident, but even under severe torture, she couldn't get any information out of him."

After listening, Meng Shu pondered and said, "...I'm afraid we can only start with Granny Yu. But Xia'er subtly inquired with Granny Yu and found that she never suspected the cause of death, saying that she had a sudden illness."

The mysteries surrounding the Duke of Qing's mansion will be left aside for now.

Aside from the somewhat noisy day when many people came to the palace for her postpartum confinement, Meng Shu's confinement period was relatively peaceful. The Emperor visited her from time to time, and various gifts were sent over almost every two or three days.

During this time, Consort Qi brought Lingyi over several times and shared many practical postpartum experiences with Meng Shu.

Perhaps it's because winter melon always carries the sweet scent of candied fruit that children like it. Back when she was in the Marquis's mansion, the seventh young lady in the mansion loved to stick to her. Although Lingyi is not yet a year old, she also seems to like winter melon quite a bit, and her little fists are always rubbing against winter melon's sleeves.

Consort Qi was genuinely happy for Consort Chun's pregnancy, showing her gratitude for past kindness.

After sitting in the Cuiyu Hall for most of the hour, Consort Qi teased the baby Lingyi in her arms and casually asked, "Will the Crown Prince's name be announced on the day of his full moon? I heard that His Majesty has come up with quite a few names."

Consort Chun sent over a pair of tiger-head shoes embroidered by hand. Meng Shu was overjoyed and was examining them closely when she heard this. She nodded and said, "The official name hasn't been decided yet, but I've given him a nickname, Yu Nu'er."

Consort Qi paused for a moment, then softly uttered a few words of Yu Nu'er, "Why does it sound like a delicate princess's name at first glance?"

He realized his words were inappropriate as soon as they left his mouth, and quickly tried to salvage the situation: "However, it does suit the place where Your Highness lives. It contains the character '粹' (cui), which is related to jade. This nickname sounds quite intimate."

Meng Shu smiled and said, "It's just a nickname after all, so it's more comfortable to be casual about it."

Before they knew it, it was early June. Meng Shu was about to finish her confinement in less than half a month. At this time, the Empress sent Zhi Xue to deliver the ceremonial robes that Meng Shu wore on the day she was conferred the title of Consort. As for the ceremonial crown and jade ornaments, the Emperor had already sent them over to Jing Ming.

Green Willow stepped forward to inspect and hand over the items as per the rules, and Aunt Mei, still worried, also stepped forward to take a closer look.

The imperial concubine's robes were extremely luxurious and exquisite. They were made entirely of bright red with gold trim and consisted of an upper garment and a lower garment, namely a long robe with a cross-collar and wide sleeves and a long skirt. Seven pheasant patterns were embroidered on the center of the robe and on the arms, with cloud patterns and floral patterns such as peonies and lingzhi filling the gaps between the bird patterns.

After meticulously examining every detail, from the fabric threads to the embroidery patterns, ensuring there were no errors or omissions, Green Willow accepted the gift list, stamped it with the small seal of Cuiyu Hall, and officially received the gift.

After finishing her task, Zhixue curtsied respectfully and said, "This servant congratulates Consort Jin. Due to the urgency of the matter, the upper garment under this imperial robe was worn by Consort Chun on the day she was conferred the title of Consort. Several embroiderers from the Imperial Wardrobe have been working on it for days to rework it..."