Unparalleled Beauty

Chapter C039

At this time, Mei Wuxia and Old Madam Mei were unaware that people had arrived, not only those sent from the palace, but also an official from the Ministry of Rites.

Mei Zong, his attire neat and proper, invited the group into the main hall to speak.

The official from the Ministry of Rites, with a jovial smile, roughly explained his purpose. The gist was that the Directorate of Astronomy had already calculated an auspicious date for the grand wedding, the eighth day of the tenth month, which was deemed a propitious day. His Majesty had also reviewed the date and found it agreeable. Although there were only four months until then, with some haste, it could be managed.

There were also some wedding customs, such as the betrothal and the presentation of gifts, which would be arranged by people from the Ministry of Rites in due course. His visit was to inform them of these matters in advance and to discuss the details with the bride's family, so that the subsequent proceedings could go smoothly.

What objections could Mei Zong have? He had none. He only said that everything should be done according to the rules.

Cao shi was also present. Logically, a woman should not show her face in such a scene where men discussed serious matters. However, this situation was special, as it concerned marriage negotiations. Cao shi, as the Madam of Marquis Changyang and an elder of Wushuang, being present could not be faulted.

Once the matters with the Ministry of Rites were concluded, Mei Zong saw the official off. Next were the matters from the palace.

The palace matters were also simple. This time, the palace was sending people. According to the chamberlain who came to deliver them, due to the special status of the Princess Consort of Prince Wei, the palace would generally send teaching grannies and palace maids to reside in the bride's home before the wedding. Besides instructing the Princess Consort in palace etiquette, from this point on, it also signified that the Princess Consort was different from ordinary people.

Although the chamberlain did not explicitly say the latter part, that was the general implication.

A total of six people were sent: two teaching grannies and four palace maids. Mei Zong did not examine them closely and simply had them sent to Wushuang's courtyard.

When the chamberlain left, it was natural that he received some benefits. After everyone had left, Cao shi complained, "They aren't even married yet, and we've already given away so many benefits. What did that chamberlain mean? Are we supposed to treat her like a deity?"

Mei Zong was annoyed by her complaints and rebuked, "You are so short-sighted! You only think about how many benefits you've given away, but you don't think about how many benefits you've gained? Which family wouldn't be overjoyed to have a Princess Consort? Only you are so short-sighted, always calculating the gains and losses of a little silver."

"How am I calculating the gains and losses of a little silver? A decree was delivered, then a discussion, and now people are sent. Just these few times, we've given away two hundred taels. It's said that people from the Ministry of Rites will come again later. When they do, should we or should we not provide tea and meals, and give them tips?"

Cao shi's face flushed red with anger, feeling wronged and aggrieved. "If we don't give, we'll lose face. You say I'm short-sighted and unwilling to part with silver. If we do give, where will we get the silver? We've raised her for so long, and haven't seen a single benefit. Now we have to pour so much silver into it. Just now, listening to that person, it seems we also have to prepare her dowry?! Is that something a few hundred taels can cover? Where do you expect me to conjure silver to meet these expenses? You're just a reckless spendthrift!"

The previous quarrels with Cao shi had made Mei Zong aware that the family's finances were not abundant. However, he always felt that a Marquis's mansion should not be so poor. Cao shi was accustomed to crying poverty and acting aggrieved, surely because she felt that Wushuang was not her own and was unwilling to contribute effort or silver.

"In the past, the estate used to send several thousand taels every year. It's impossible that Wushuang spent all of that. There must be some left over. If you really like to calculate these things, then calculate how much is left over each year. Add it all up, and you should be able to put together a dowry for her. It wouldn't do for the Marquis Changyang's mansion to lose face in the palace."

Cao shi finally understood. So, he thought that she had been greedy and pocketed all that silver? Did he not consider that such a large family, with daily meals, expenses, and the need to maintain appearances when going out, all required silver?

And add it all up to prepare a dowry?

"Mei Zong, let me tell you…"

***

Wushuang was unaware of the quarrel happening here.

She was currently busy meeting the people sent from the palace.

Upon hearing that they were teaching grannies and palace maids sent from the palace, she was still doubtful. Ji Yang had not mentioned these matters to her yesterday when he came. That was until she met these people.

Among them, two were familiar faces: Granny Gong and Linglong.

In her previous life, both of these people had been given to her by Ji Yang. Granny Gong was older and more experienced. It was said that she had served in the palace for decades. Later, she followed her and helped her manage the internal affairs of the Lady Fengtian's mansion. She was very capable and never caused her any worry about the affairs of that mansion.

As for Linglong, she seemed like an ordinary palace maid, but Wushuang knew that she was not ordinary because Linglong knew martial arts.

Wushuang felt relieved and guessed that they must have been sent by Prince Wei's mansion.

Indeed, when the group introduced themselves to Wushuang, Granny Gong and Linglong did not change their titles. Another granny, surnamed Wang, introduced herself as a teaching granny, specifically there to teach Wushuang palace etiquette. As for the remaining three palace maids, they had no other special characteristics, so they will not be detailed here.

Overall, among these six people, it was clear that Granny Gong was the leader.

These people were to reside there, accompanying Wushuang until her marriage, and perhaps even staying by her side afterward. The most pressing matter was to arrange accommodations for them.

Logically, such matters should be arranged by the elders of the family, such as Cao shi. However, Cao shi was currently busy quarreling with Mei Zong. She also did not usually manage the affairs of Wushuang's courtyard, so Wushuang had to arrange these matters herself.

Granny Gong's eyes were sharp and discerning; merely from the fact that no one had arranged accommodations for them, she understood Wushuang's situation in this mansion.

She said with a smile, "Princess Consort need not concern herself with such trifles; this old servant will handle them."

Wushuang was also quite curious as to how Granny Gong would handle things, so she had Xiaohong and Jianjia follow along, and left the rest unattended.

***

Granny Gong moved with great efficiency.

First, she gathered all the servants in the yard, then she asked Jianjia how many people there were in the Princess Consort's yard, what each person did, who served the Princess Consort in the morning, who served her meals, who kept watch at night, and how they rotated.

While other courtyards might have some order, Wushuang's yard had never been divided so meticulously.

It was also because Wushuang had been unable to manage it before, and recently there had been too many matters, so she had not had time to manage it. The main reason was that the servants in her yard were of mixed backgrounds; who knew which little maid might have a father or mother acting as a steward. Wushuang did not want to create unnecessary trouble, so she only had Meifang and Xiaohong temporarily protect her, and later added Jianjia. She did not pay much attention to the others.

Now that Granny Gong had arrived, the rules would naturally have to change.

Indeed, before long, Granny Gong had already clarified most of the matters in the yard, and she even reallocated duties to everyone.

What you did before, you still do now, but the vague duties of the past were now clearly defined, and there was even a series of standards for punishment. Although Granny Gong had not yet gone into the details, the general meaning had already been revealed.

Xiaohong, Meifang, and Jianjia still served by Wushuang's side, and Granny Gong also promoted Linglong, temporarily using her as one of the four great maids. However, Granny Gong said that Xiaohong and Jianjia's manners were not up to standard and they would have to be retrained before they could be used.

Wushuang had dealt with Granny Gong in her previous life and understood her character. She planned to secretly open a back door for Xiaohong and Meifang later; she absolutely wanted to keep these two maids by her side.

As for the issue of accommodations, Granny Gong also had a plan.

She planned to go to Marchioness Changyang later and mention the matter of accommodations to her. Moreover, the Princess Consort's yard was too small, and Granny Gong also planned to bring this up.

Also, if the Princess Consort were to travel, she would inevitably need escorts. In fact, this trip was not just the six of them; there were also four guards assigned by Prince Wei's mansion, but it was unknown if there was a place to settle them here, so they would arrive later. All of these matters had to be discussed with the person in charge of the mansion.

When Wushuang heard that there were so many trivial matters, her head ached. She no longer paid attention and left everything to Granny Gong to handle.

But just at this moment, a small accident occurred.

Someone from Changqing Hall had arrived.

What was the difference between a head maid and a lower maid?

Besides having a pleasing appearance, the main thing was whether you could fulfill your master's wishes.

This phrase 'fulfill your master's wishes' seemed simple, but in reality, to learn it, one needed not only to be clever and quick-witted, but also to be understanding.

Like Yanxia, who could serve as a head maid by Old Madam's side, she was naturally no ordinary person.

Therefore, when Old Madam became angry in Changqing Hall, saying that Third Miss had not come to pay her respects for many days, she sent Yanxia on an errand. From the master's mouth, it might only be said, 'Go on an errand,' but could you go and do nothing, then return blankly? Or go and repeat the words verbatim?

Naturally not!

You had to understand your master's intentions, and you had to embellish according to your master's intentions, embellishing the unspoken subtext. You had to learn to modify, judging how to behave based on the situation. Helping your master to be both kind and stern was not enough; you also had to learn how to quell your master's anger and how to keep yourself out of trouble.

In short, it was not a task that an ordinary person could handle.

Yanxia had already thought it through on the way. This time, she could not give Third Miss a pleasant face, but she could not be too disrespectful either, after all, Third Miss was not what she used to be. It would be best if she could make Third Miss understand her helplessness, and also make her understand Old Madam's anger, letting her know how to deal with Old Madam when she went later, which could be considered a favor.

Overall, the maids were also living people; they would also assess the situation and would not act recklessly. After all, they were just maids, and even if they were sold into servitude, they still sought to live, didn't they?

Yanxia had thought it through quite well, but she was stopped at the door.

At this time, Granny Gong had just finished reporting back to Wushuang and had also reprimanded the lower maids.

Chan'er, who usually only ran errands and delivered messages, could no longer freely run out to play. She had to take shifts with others to guard the door, ensuring that anyone who came to the entrance was stopped and their message relayed inside. If the Miss needed to send a message, she also had to be present at all times, instead of being nowhere to be found.

If she violated the rules, she would be punished with a beating.

Chan'er believed Granny Gong's words, because in the eyes of little maids like her, the grannies in the palace were all extraordinary figures. Just looking at Granny Gong's attire and bearing, it was clear she wouldn't deceive a little girl like her.

Therefore, Chan'er very dutifully stopped Yanxia.

Yanxia's expression was somewhat unpleasant. As the Old Madam's head maid, she could enter any courtyard directly, without having to wait outside the door for a message to be relayed before entering.

But Chan'er, with tears in her eyes, was clearly stopping her for a reason. She couldn't lose her temper, so she let Chan'er go inside to relay the message.

The person who came out was Granny Gong.

She introduced herself as a granny sent from the palace to serve the Princess Consort. This one sentence alone was enough to make Yanxia's expression change.

"May I ask, Miss Yanxia, what brings you to seek an audience with the Princess Consort?"

Yanxia stammered, 'The Old Madam said that Third Miss hasn't gone to pay her respects for several days...'

She didn't dare say that the Old Madam was in a great rage, partly because Granny Gong's status and imposing manner had intimidated her, and partly because she hadn't yet figured out how to respond.

Granny Gong smiled and said, "Paying respects, is it? In principle, the Princess Consort should pay her respects to the Old Madam, after all, the Old Madam is an elder. But the Princess Consort is the Princess Consort Wei, bestowed by His Majesty. Although she has not yet officially married into the family, she has already entered the imperial household. Miss Yanxia is young, and probably doesn't understand, but before the order of seniority, there is also the distinction between ruler and subject. Once one enters the imperial household, one becomes a ruler, and naturally cannot be treated the same as before."

"However," Granny Gong's tone shifted, "the Old Madam is, after all, an elder, and our Princess Consort has always followed the path of filial piety, not daring to be negligent. It's just that the Princess Consort was injured a few days ago, which the Old Madam should know. Now that her injuries have not yet healed, the Princess Consort fears she cannot fulfill her filial duties. Once the Princess Consort's injuries have improved, she will certainly not forget to pay her respects to the Old Madam."

This explanation left Yanxia speechless. She could only respond with a meek agreement before hurriedly leaving.

Inside the room, Xiaohong said to Wushuang, "Miss, this Granny Gong is so formidable."

Wushuang said smugly, "Of course Granny is formidable. You should listen to her more in the future."

Xiaohong naturally noticed that the Miss's attitude was different. Logically, someone sent from the palace would be treated with some reserve for a few days, but the Miss trusted her so much. Could it be that—

The meaning in Xiaohong's eyes was too obvious, making Wushuang feel a little embarrassed. She whispered, "She was sent by him. Granny Gong can be trusted."

Which 'him'?

Naturally, that 'him'.

Xiaohong went out with a smile, making Wushuang so ashamed that she couldn't face anyone for a long time. Meanwhile, Granny Gong was still acting decisively. After dealing with Yanxia, she had someone take her to find Cao shi.

Cao shi had just finished arguing with Mei Zong and was still furious. Suddenly, a granny from the palace came, complaining about the lack of accommodation and the small size of the living quarters. Cao shi was seething with anger!

However, she still held back. She wasn't stupid; she knew she couldn't afford to offend these grannies from the palace.

They were people from the palace. If you offended them, wouldn't they go back to the palace and complain?

So what if there was no accommodation, or the living quarters were small? She would resolve it for them.

Cao shi thought for a moment and gave up the Ruyi Pavilion.