Flowery Hair: A Maidservant

Chapter 238 Streams and Mountains Showcase Beauty

The next morning, Lady Min personally led a group of palace servants to Huining Palace, bringing with her all the provisions for a talented woman.

Two sets of autumn and winter palace attire, a box of pearl and jade jewelry, one bolt each of cloud satin, plain satin, and Peng satin, one bolt each of palace silk and Lu silk, and one bolt each of gauze, damask, and spun silk. In addition to the clothing fabrics, there are eight porcelain plates of various colors, one lacquered tea tray, ten porcelain bowls of various colors, four porcelain dishes of various colors, six porcelain cups of various colors, one silver-plated iron cloud-shaped corner table, and one ram's horn-handled lamp. This is the annual allowance for the talented woman's rank, and does not include festival gifts and rewards.

The Emperor also bestowed upon him a set of the Four Treasures of the Study, as well as a set of twenty-four colors of paint, clearly because of the painting depicting the four seasons.

“These fabrics can be used by Consort Meng to make clothes, or they can be sent to Consort Cui of the Imperial Clothing Bureau. Consort Cui’s embroidery skills are exquisite, and even the Empress Dowager has praised them.”

After pointing to the rewards in front of her, Min Shangyi said, "A few days ago, Nanyang Prefecture presented several pieces of fine Dushan jade as tribute. His Majesty has ordered the craftsmen of the Imperial Household Department to make seals for the talented women. They should be delivered in a few days."

Hua Yan thought of the seal on the Four Seasons Painting, and a rare look of embarrassment appeared on her face. She then bowed and thanked him, instructing Xia'er to make a record and store it in the side hall storeroom.

Hua Yan was neither a young lady from a prominent family nor a scholar, so naturally she didn't have a seal. When signing her painting, she casually asked Dong Gua to get a few radishes from the kitchen...

After accepting her share and rewards, Hua Yan changed into a light blue palace dress and went to Renming Hall to pay her respects with Chunfei, who was dressed in a pale yellow dress. The two women were beautiful in their own way, and from a distance, they looked like hibiscus and chrysanthemums bathed in the warm morning sun, a sight to behold.

When Consort Qu was absent due to illness, Hua Yan knelt down to express her gratitude. The Empress did not make things difficult for her and offered a few words of praise as usual. Perhaps due to her poor health, she dismissed the guests in less than half an hour.

Five or six days had passed since Consort Chun's birthday. After Hua Yan was promoted from a selected concubine to a talented woman, the people in the harem looked around with a sense of relief, because the emperor was still in mourning and would not favor his concubines for the next hundred days.

One day at noon, Princess Yongping and Mr. Lin came to Huining Palace. Consort Chun had not seen Mr. Lin for many days. Seeing Mr. Lin's serious and unsmiling demeanor, she felt uneasy and a little nervous.

Princess Yongping and Mr. Lin have been friends since childhood. At this moment, she pointed at Mr. Lin and said with a smile, "Qiaoyin is usually too serious. Her Majesty must have remembered the time you punished her by making her copy books. She looks a bit tense."

Qiaoyin is Mr. Lin's maiden name.

Lin Qiaoyin couldn't help but smile as she recalled, "When Your Highness was young, she was diligent and ambitious in her studies and quite accomplished in playing the zither. However, her handwriting was clumsy and lacked strength in its gentleness. When she tried to be lively, it lacked any vigor. It was truly unbearable. Madam Yun supervised her closely and indeed punished her quite a bit."

Consort Chun looked ashamed, but when she thought of the times she studied with her sisters when she was young, she felt a lot of nostalgia.

"It has been quite a while since I last saw Your Majesty's calligraphy, since it was the last poetry gathering. Today is a good day to test it out."

Lin Qiaoyin, in high spirits, finished a cup of Bi Tan Piao Xue (a type of tea), then rose and walked towards her desk. She was dressed in a gray-blue robe, and her movements exuded an ancient and dignified aura.

I came to the palace today specifically to bid farewell to Consort Chun, as I will soon be leaving the capital to pursue my spiritual cultivation at Qingxu Temple in Zhending Prefecture.

Upon hearing the master's words, Consort Chun straightened her back. The fear from her childhood returned after many years. She got up as instructed and went to the desk to take down two booklets. One was the Lotus Sutra, which was bestowed by Empress Dowager Zhou, and the other was a copy she had made in the past two days.

Lin Qiaoyin casually flipped through the pages, glanced at them briefly, and then praised, "This handwriting is excellent, strong and unadorned. The first stroke is like a blunt axe splitting a mountain, carrying a steady and resolute momentum."

Princess Yongping, unable to contain her curiosity, approached for a closer look. After a while, she wondered, "Why do these characters look so familiar? It's as if I've seen them somewhere before."

Lin Qiaoyin continued to flip through a few more pages and felt a sense of familiarity. She said to Princess Yongping, "There is a painting of orchids in Aunt's room, and the inscription on it looks just like this handwriting."

"No wonder it looked so familiar. It was written by Yun Yue, the only daughter of Minister Yun. Yun Yue's talent was once unparalleled in the capital. That orchid painting was a gift from Madam Yun many years ago."

Princess Yongping sighed for a while, then suddenly said, "Extreme intelligence is bound to bring harm, which is truly regrettable. This is true of Yun Yue, and also of Zhi Tong of the Duke of Qing's mansion."

Hua Yan listened for a while, and when Princess Yongping mentioned Qing Zhitong, she was about to ask a few questions when a palace attendant from Funing Palace came to deliver a message that the Emperor had summoned Hua Yan.

Hua Yan was somewhat taken aback when she received the news. Consort Chun raised her head and said, "I've boiled winter melon and strained it into pear juice. It's just what we need now. Hua Yan, take some with you when you go."

Princess Yongping stared at Consort Chun, who was still discussing calligraphy with Mr. Lin. She didn't know what to say for a moment, so she could only sigh, "Your Highness's temperament is just like my sister-in-law's."

When Tang Yu'er, the eldest daughter of the Marquis of Huai'an, married into the Prince Rui's mansion, the princess sent many people to their branch of the family. Tang Yu'er endured it all, but fortunately, the third young master dismissed them all in one go.

When it came to Consort Chun, it was even more extreme than with Tang Yu'er; even the concubines around her seemed to genuinely support her...

Hua Yan apologized to Consort Chun and Princess Yongping, and then took Xia'er to Funing Palace.

Inside the Funing Palace, the Emperor looked with great interest at the several seals on his desk, each with a different shape. Among them was an oval seal with the two characters "Meng Shu" written by the Emperor himself.

This was Hua Yan's first time meeting the Emperor alone, and it would be a lie to say she wasn't nervous. After entering the hall, she knelt down to pay her respects in strict accordance with the rules. As soon as she raised her eyes, she hesitated slightly when she saw the Emperor's outstretched hand, and had no choice but to reach out and let the Emperor help her up.

Their hands touched, and the sensation was like an electric shock. Hua Yan felt completely at a loss. The Emperor's series of actions also made Hua Yan somewhat puzzled, and a sense of unease arose in her heart.

"On that day, Lady Meng shielded her master from the wind and rain behind the Guangci Temple, and her words and actions were measured and appropriate, making her unforgettable."

Hua Yan: "...Your Majesty, I did not know that I was the Emperor that day and was very offensive. I hope Your Majesty will forgive me."

The Emperor asked bluntly, "On the Double Ninth Festival, did the Consort truly not know my identity?"

That day, noble ladies from all over the capital flocked to Jingchen Courtyard. Wei Ying, disguised as Prince Jin, made a great detour before finally escaping. At that time, the Emperor was still Prince Jin, and he watched coldly from the sidelines. Only the people from the Tang family stayed outside the Guanyin Hall, but they never expected to run into him in a secluded place in the back mountains.

The master and two servants strolled leisurely through the mountains, their charming smiles attracting his attention. It was the first time the emperor had seen Hua Yan; her clear features and radiant spirit immediately caught his eye.

Hua Yan was speechless for a moment, but fortunately the Emperor did not press her further. He showed her the seals, and Hua Yan calmed herself down and carefully accepted them.

Dushan jade, also known as Nanyang jade, has long been hailed as one of the "Four Great Jades." Hua Yan had read about it in a landscape chronicle and knew that Dushan jade has a variety of colors and a tough, dense texture. The seal she held in her hand at that moment had three colors: green, blue, and yellow. The craftsman had cleverly designed the design based on the color distribution, carving a cluster of orchids that were about to bloom.

Then look at the words engraved on the seal: "The streams and mountains are beautiful."

The four characters were engraved in running script, with vigorous and powerful strokes, yet also possessing a lively and elegant charm. As Hua Yan admired them, she heard the Emperor jokingly say, "How does this seal compare to the radish seal?"