Flowery Hair: A Maidservant

Chapter 35 News about Uncle

Since the young lady was confined to her quarters and Green Willow came to Yunyi Academy, Meng Shu felt that life was peaceful and serene.

Occasionally, Mengzhu would eat the failed desserts she made with Donggua, chat with Steward Cao and Mama An about gossip, listen to the latest news in Lin'an City, use Lvliu's pitiful hair as a model, and comb all sorts of hairstyles with Ruizhu. Although Mengzhu was still serious and unsmiling, she had become quite familiar with Mengzhu.

The second young lady goes to Muyunzhai every day to read, play the zither, and play chess. Recently, she has also asked Meng Shu to teach her embroidery, preparing to leave everyone else behind on the path of becoming a well-bred young lady.

At the same time, this period of time is also enough to learn about Meng Shu's past ten years.

Fu An Ju.

The old lady sat at the head of the table, while the head steward and servants reported on Meng Shu's short life.

"Her mother died early, and her father remarried, but she was a celibate woman?"

A servant hurriedly replied, "In response to the old lady's question, it is indeed so. Meng Shu has a five-year-old half-brother. According to the timeline, Meng Chengwen had already started an affair with that person when her mother passed away six years ago."

The old woman sighed, "She's a pitiful one too."

The servant continued, recounting how the villagers of Mengjiazhuang spoke of Meng Shu. Most of them talked about how beautiful she was, how gentle her mother was, and how good her embroidery was. But when it came to Meng Shu herself, they all said she was extremely intelligent, and that was about it.

"Why is that?" The old lady had been observing for a while and had already decided that Meng Shu was the best choice, so she hurriedly asked.

"Since her mother passed away, Meng Shu has become somewhat withdrawn. Because she is beautiful and literate, she doesn't interact much with the villagers. Only a few families with daughters tell their children that Meng Shu is kind-hearted and has taught their children to read."

When Xiao went to inquire, his father was seriously ill. He heard that his stepmother had taken all the family's belongings and fled with her son overnight. Now, his father was barely able to eat a meal under the care of the village chief, but he had no money left to buy medicine and see a doctor.

I saw it from afar; it was a case of coughing up blood, and he probably wouldn't live past the end of the year.

Madam Yun asked, "Have you been to Zheng Shan's house? What did she say?"

"Sister-in-law Zheng said that this child is resolute and decisive. The reason that her stepmother sought medical treatment that day was that she took the matchmaker directly to Mengjiazhuang. Meng Shu made a request that her father and his family of three kowtow dozens of times in front of her birth mother's grave before she voluntarily sold herself and signed a death contract."

As for other relatives, his grandparents have passed away, and only one uncle is missing. His family background is considered clean, so his masters can use him without worry.

After the housekeeper and his entourage left, Madam Yun and the old lady exchanged a glance.

Madam Yun said, "Mother, this child is good. Whether it was working at Langya Courtyard or stopping Shuang'er at the poetry gathering, she did a great job. She handles things accurately and remains calm in the face of danger. Wan'er has also mentioned to me that she is willing to be close to her."

The old lady smiled and said, "Then let's settle on her. The governess sent by the Marquis's mansion will be arriving soon. You should also send people to search carefully for news of her uncle. If we can show her kindness, it will be even better for Wan'er."

"Yes, then when the people from the Marquis's residence arrive, we'll make arrangements at..."

Meng Shu, of course, had no idea that her background had been completely exposed at Yunyi Academy, and even if she did, she wouldn't care.

Today, Donggua came to bother her again. After the two of them developed the tea pastry last time, Donggua hoped that Meng Shu could have more ingenuity. If she could develop one or two more new pastries, the reward would be secondary. These would be obvious achievements, and she would be promoted to kitchen manager in the future.

"It's unreasonable for you to keep bothering me like this. You work in the kitchen, so you're more familiar with the ingredients."

Think about it: stir-frying involves pan-frying, braising, and deep-frying; making desserts is simply steaming or baking. List all the ingredients and methods, then see which combinations work, considering the texture as well. Also, remember that incompatible ingredients shouldn't be mixed. You're bound to be able to create a few dishes that no one has made before.”

While impatiently shooing away the winter melon, Meng Shu launched into a long-winded discussion of innovation.

Ruizhu rested her chin on her hand, looking at Meng Shu with bright eyes, thinking that she was omnipotent, not only combing hair well, but also being able to talk about the kitchen in great detail.

The three chatted idly by the window, while the second young lady listened intently as she fiddled with a chess manual in the side room. She was somewhat skeptical: "What she said seems to make some sense, but once you try it carefully, you'll know it's nonsense. Everything in the world has its counterpart; being able to make tea pastries is just a coincidence."

But the second young lady, though she was thinking about it, seemed to be deep in thought as she looked at the chess score.

Unable to bear the pestering any longer, Meng Shu had a sudden inspiration and suggested to Dong Gua, "It's hot today, so we can skip the snacks. Our Second Miss hasn't been into snacks lately, so why don't we make some drinks to cool her down?"

Winter Melon pouted and said with dissatisfaction, "Aren't there only a few kinds of drinks? What's there to think about?"

Ruizhu was unhappy. "Last time, the chrysanthemum drink that our second young lady sent to Fu'anju was praised by the old lady."

The second young lady in the side room was just figuring out a solution when she heard this and immediately felt that Meng Shu really understood her. If there were more kinds of drinks, that would be great. Thinking this, she nodded and subconsciously said, "Not bad."

Mengzhu seemed startled. She had served the Second Miss since she was a child, and in her memory, the Second Miss had always been dignified and composed. But ever since Meng Shu came, the Second Miss had been absent-minded from time to time, and now she even talked to herself? Ruizhu, that little maid, had also changed her personality. It seemed that I was the only one left who was the most dignified in Yunyi Courtyard.

Finally, the three girls ended their conversation with the goal of making even better drinks.

The second young lady finally put aside her thoughts and began to study the chess manual in her hand.

Just as she returned from Muyunzhai that day, a maid from the inner courtyard came to deliver a message to Meng Shu: someone was looking for her in the front courtyard. Meng Shu immediately felt that it must be a message sent by Uncle Song.

After saying goodbye to the second young lady, I hurriedly ran to the front yard, where, sure enough, there was a handsome young servant at the moon gate.

"You're Meng Shu?"

Meng Shu nodded hurriedly.

"Song Bo asked Manager Lu to investigate. Since four years had passed, there were many people from other places with the Tianjin accent coming to the tea shops and tea gardens in Lin'an, but they did not find anyone who looked like a young gentleman."

Meng Shu frowned, but she was already unsure whether her uncle had ever been to Lin'an, so she had anticipated the result of finding no such person, but she was still somewhat disappointed.

"In addition, Uncle Song asked me to pass on a message that the old lady of our mansion has ordered all parts of the Tang family business to keep an eye out, and there should be news soon, so don't worry."

Aside from salt and iron, industries controlled by the Great Zhou government, the Tang family had businesses in almost every other aspect of people's livelihoods. For example, Yongxing Restaurant had branches in every prefecture and county within the Great Zhou. This meant that news of the search could spread almost throughout the entire Great Zhou, which is why Meng Shu was extremely grateful to the Tang family.

After thanking the servant who delivered the message with several dozen coins, Meng Shu knew she couldn't rush things, so she returned to Yunyi Garden.

She took out her monthly allowance and reward money accumulated over the past few days from the cabinet under the bed, and carefully counted them. Apart from fabrics and jewelry, she had now saved more than fifty taels of silver. She took out thirty taels of it, picked out two festive pieces of jewelry suitable for gifting, and then hurriedly went to Fu'an Residence.

Since she was now working for the Second Miss and was familiar with the gatekeeper of Fu'an Residence, Meng Shu went directly to the small kitchen to find Manager An. She wrote down her uncle's address, appearance, and other details in Haijin Town on a piece of paper and asked Manager An to include it with the letter when he sent it to Zheng's brokerage next time.

In the letter, he asked Zheng Dongjia to send someone to keep an eye out for his uncle's return home, and also to keep an eye on Mengjia Village. In case his uncle went back, he would know the news as soon as possible.

Hearing that Madam An had a granddaughter who was about ten years old, Meng Shu gave Madam An two pieces of jewelry. Steward An did not refuse and accepted the letter and money, saying that he would deliver them to Jinan County the next day.

With a weight lifted from her mind, Meng Shu finally relaxed, just as Dong Gua knocked on the door.

When Madam An saw her, her face immediately fell. Pointing at Meng Shu, she said to Dong Gua in an annoyed tone, "Your good friend is here. Let her taste the swill you've been making. Your master is about to leave the manor."

After speaking, Mother An tucked Meng Shu's letter into her pocket, took two bolts of fabric from the wardrobe, and quickly left the room.