Flowery Hair: A Maidservant

Chapter 125 The Replay of Fate

Madam Wei's eyes twitched slightly. She dared not speculate about her master. Madam Yun twirled her prayer beads, thinking of her father's cold-heartedness, and sneered: "He is probably staying at home and is currently advising my stepmother not to make any moves, lest she give others a handle to use against her."

The master and servant had already discussed this matter and then didn't bring it up again.

Because of her mother-in-law's close relationship with Madam Yun's grandmother, Madam Sun was most aware of the feud between Madam Yun and Madam Zou. She was outwardly cold but inwardly warm, and had a clear sense of right and wrong. After observing Madam Yun's behavior today, she felt even closer to her.

In the pavilion, the princess, contrary to her usual behavior, chatted and laughed with Madam Jiang, the Prime Minister's wife, and Madam Zhuang, among others. When her eyes glanced at Madam Lu Jiangjun, she quickly looked away.

Madam Yun and Madam Sun were enjoying tea and chatting by the window on the second floor. After a moment, they both sensed the atmosphere in the pavilion and their gazes turned to Madam Lu, who had been neglected by the Princess.

Madam Lu's family was also a family of military generals. Although she was not well-educated, she was meticulous despite her rough exterior. During the first half of the banquet today, the Princess deliberately distanced herself from the disaster relief efforts, even though the Lu family had contributed a lot. Her intentions were quite clear.

This was truly an undeserved disaster for the Lu family.

Madam Lu thought to herself, "The Seventh Prince is indeed good, but whoever wants him can have him. Our Zhenguo General's Mansion really doesn't care!"

If the Seventh Prince fails in his bid for the throne, his beloved daughter will inevitably meet a tragic end. However, if the Seventh Prince does ascend the throne, it will cause even greater anxiety for the Lu family. As the saying goes, the heart of a ruler is unfathomable. The Lu family has guarded the southwestern border for two generations and is already at the pinnacle of military power. How could the new emperor allow such a powerful maternal relative to exist?

Moreover, in General Lu's view, the Seventh Prince has not learned to bide his time in recent years and has been too obvious in his actions. If he tries too hard, his chances of winning will not be very high.

The most urgent task is to find a way to quickly cancel this marriage that has not yet been finalized; Madam Lu doesn't want to stay here for another second.

While everyone was chatting with the princess, Madam Sun said to Madam Yun, "It seems the Lu family has no interest."

Madam Yun smiled. The reason the Lu family had no interest in him was probably just because they didn't think highly of the Seventh Prince.

"After the Mid-Autumn Festival, the court should have reached a conclusion," Madam Yun said, then changed the subject.

Looking down from the second floor, I could see Hua Yan standing behind her daughter.

Although Hua Yan had learned makeup from Hua Ying and always tried to hide her beauty, the young girl was already quite graceful as she grew up. Just her presence alone was a sight to behold.

Madam Yun lowered her eyes, her thoughts unreadable.

"I really envy them; they're at the best time of their lives."

The speaker was Madam Jiang from General Xunhui's mansion. Madam Yun nodded slightly and said, "Madam Jiang is right."

"Mr. Lin has been away from the capital for the past few years, having gone to Lin'an to teach the second young lady of your household. Today, I can see that your young lady is indeed exceptionally talented and deserves the title of 'talented woman'."

Madam Yun said calmly, "Years ago, when Mr. Lin traveled to Lin'an, I was fortunate enough to have my daughter become his student because he did not reject her."

Madam Jiang hesitated for a moment, not believing Madam Yun's words at all. Why would Mr. Lin, with his status, be so eager to teach a merchant's daughter? These days, the General's Mansion has been paying close attention to the Tang family, and has also found out that Granny Gao has also been to Lin'an.

The Tang family's upbringing of their eldest daughter was evident, and Madam Jiang had to take it seriously, as Mr. Lin had often been with the princess in his early years and was also acquainted with the Ninth Prince. As for Granny Gao, she had no apparent connection to the Ninth Prince, but Madam Jiang knew that Granny Gao had received protection from the Ninth Prince's birth mother in her early years.

The two coincidences made it hard for the General's Mansion not to worry whether the Ninth Prince had made the same promise.

Tang Xian and his wife had been plotting for years. Madam Yun was well aware of Madam Jiang's probing, so she responded with feigned nonchalance, not afraid that Madam Jiang would see through her scheme.

The second half of the banquet proceeded smoothly without any major incidents. This was the first time the Tang family had appeared before powerful and influential families. Thanks to the princess's favor, they did receive some goodwill. However, since the Tang family only had one legitimate son who had entered officialdom, even if he was a third-ranking scholar, he was not much in the eyes of powerful families. Therefore, most families adopted a wait-and-see attitude towards the Tang family.

After the event, the Tang family's carriage slowly entered the city. Just as Mama Wei had said, at the city gate, they happened to encounter more than a hundred people from the Rongxing Earl's Mansion being sent out of the city.

Two groups of people, one going in and one going out.

Even Wei's mother suddenly realized that this scene seemed to be a replay of fate. More than 20 years ago, she accompanied her young lady to marry far away from the city, and she vaguely remembered that she also walked through Chunming Gate.

But once Miss passes through this gate, may her life be filled with happiness and prosperity, and may she and Master live in harmony, bearing children together. Now that Aunt Zou has left the city gates, it seems she will never return to the capital.

Through the car window, Hua Yan looked at the procession of exiles. The once high-ranking and self-proclaimed dashing Rong Xingbo was now dressed in prison clothes, looking disheveled. He probably still didn't know why he had ended up in such a state.

Aunt Zou, with her hair disheveled, followed the procession numbly, and seemed to go mad when she saw the carriages of the Tang family along the way.

"Yun Jin! It's the Tang family's carriage. I know you're inside. Why should you be the one to suffer this misfortune? You should have been the one to marry into the Earl's family in the first place!"

Aunt Zou screamed hysterically toward the carriage. Her face was contorted with resentment and fear. She had clearly won, and had been a duchess for over twenty years. How could she have ended up like this? She was inferior to her half-sister in every way, except that she had taken the initiative in marriage and succeeded in marrying a nobleman, while her sister could only marry a merchant in disgrace.

How could she have ended up like this? Aunt Zou's eyes were blazing with anger, and she was still roaring even though her voice was hoarse. The soldier escorting her rubbed his ears and lashed Aunt Zou's back with his whip.

Rongxingbo, fearing he would run into an old friend, had been covering his face with his hand. Upon hearing this, he suddenly raised his head, his expression one of shock. He had known since his marriage that his wife was not the eldest daughter of the fourth branch of the Yun family, but he had made a mistake and fallen into the trap himself.

The carriage from the Tang family did not stop, and the Marquis of Rongxing never saw the real Miss Yun.

Madam Yun sat upright in the carriage, oblivious to Aunt Zou's words, and said coldly, "Instruct Zheng Shan to take good care of the spies in the backyard of the Earl's mansion and those two concubines along the way."

"Yes, this old servant has already made the arrangements," Madam Wei replied.

"I hope my sister and brother-in-law don't fall ill on the way to their exile, and that they arrive at the mine safely."

Madam Wei said, "Don't worry, Madam, the master will definitely make the arrangements."

Madam Yun smiled gently. "He never breaks his word."