Flowery Hair: A Maidservant

Chapter 197 Three Important Gifts

Before Consort Zhen's carriage had even returned to Prince Jin's residence after leaving the palace, the area around Longshou Canal outside Tonghua Gate in the capital was already filled with indignation.

The Longshou Canal is located at the foot of Luojia Mountain, only a hundred feet away from the gate of Guangci Temple. At this moment, several hundred people have gathered, about half of whom are the families of soldiers guarding the border.

During times of war, on the first and fifteenth of each month, these families would come to pray for their fathers and brothers who were far away on the frontier. This was not only because Guangci Temple was built under the supervision of twelve generals, but also because of the General Cypress in Jingchen Courtyard within the temple.

This tree was planted by the founding general of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

After offering incense, ordinary people would tie red ribbons to the branches to pray for the safety of their relatives, while royalty would tie yellow ribbons to pray for the soldiers. The interweaving of red and yellow has become one of the eight scenic spots in the capital, which is also a model of the royal family's closeness to the people. This tradition has continued for a hundred years.

(General Bai is mentioned in Chapter 138)

Zheng Shan, along with several others, hid in the crowd and incited the people; this was the third grand gift that Hua Yan had prepared for the princess.

"Guangci Temple has always been known for its efficacy and has never lacked distinguished guests. However, there has never been a precedent of closing the temple on the first and fifteenth of the lunar month in the past ten years. Today's distinguished guests are truly making quite a grand entrance."

"Last year on the Double Ninth Festival, a distinguished person visited the temple to climb the mountain. Not only were tea stalls set up in advance at the Longshou Canal for people to rest and wait, but it was also stipulated that no one should enter the Guanyin Hall before 9:00 AM to disturb the distinguished person..."

The young man speaking was a shop assistant from the Tang family business in disguise. He was describing the scene when Prince Jin visited Consort Hui to offer incense last year.

An elderly woman, her face etched with wrinkles, clutched a red cloth tightly in her hand and struggled to the outer perimeter, supported by a young woman. She gazed anxiously at the guards standing watch outside the mountain gate.

"Lian'er, I'm afraid we won't be able to pray for Dazhuang's well-being at the auspicious time today."

The young woman murmured softly, "Mother, what should we do?"

Zheng Shan gave the waiter a wink from afar, and the waiter immediately stepped forward, "Auntie, I'm afraid we can't enter the temple today. Why don't you come back tomorrow?"

The old woman looked worried. "It's very far from home. The old woman and her youngest daughter-in-law set off yesterday and arrived just before noon today..."

The gathered people were mostly in similar situations to the old woman, and everyone sighed upon hearing this. Some of the more impatient ones, deliberately incited by Zheng Shan, had already rushed to the vicinity of the mountain gate. However, the Jiang family guards were nearby, and the leader was about to speak when he was driven away by a drawn sword.

Seeing that a conflict was about to break out, the waiter quickly pulled the old woman to a less crowded place nearby, and the young woman followed closely behind, afraid that her mother-in-law would be caught in the crossfire.

Inside the Jingchen Courtyard, the General Cypress stands tall and majestic.

Despite her discomfort, the princess handed the yellow cypress to Granny Gui to tie to a branch. Since moving from the southwest to the capital, the Jiang family had often visited Huangjue Temple in the inner city to offer incense. This time, they came to Guangci Temple because of this General Cypress.

Although the Zen master in Guangci Temple was knowledgeable in medicine, he did not feel comfortable taking the princess's pulse. Based solely on the princess's expression, he advised her not to get angry, to rest and recuperate after returning home, and to summon a doctor to examine her pulse as soon as possible.

Madam Jiang was filled with unease and was about to persuade the princess to return to the mansion when she suddenly saw Zhixue rushing in.

"Your Highness, something terrible has happened! Banu has sent word that a large number of people have gathered outside the mountain gate. We should return to the manor as soon as possible."

Song Chenghui and his mother exchanged a glance, both feeling a sense of foreboding.

After a moment's thought, Madam Song stepped forward and advised, "Your Highness, why not send someone to welcome the people into the temple immediately, so as not to cause any disturbance to Your Highness when they leave the temple later?"

Madame Chiang nodded repeatedly, “That’s right. Let’s rest in the meditation room for a while. The monastery is a peaceful place, and any dissatisfaction from the people will be resolved. It will be safer for us to leave the temple this way.”

Seeing the princess's gloomy expression, Madam Shen quickly flattered her, saying, "Madam Song is overthinking things. They are just ordinary people. Once they see the royal procession, they probably won't dare to act rashly."

Granny Gui's eyes twitched incessantly, and she also advised, "What Madam said is absolutely right. Why don't we wait for the people to come in before we go back to the mansion?"

The princess had a splitting headache and said coldly, "Father is fighting for the Great Zhou. Should I, as his wife, pray for his and my brother's well-being and avoid these unruly people?"

Song Chenghui's expression was solemn. Although he sensed something was amiss, he remained silent.

At the Prince of Jin's residence, Wei Mama presented a visiting card. The gatekeeper of the residence dared not neglect her and hurriedly sent someone to Yunyi Hall to report the visit.

Not long after, Aunt Mei came out quickly and said to Mama Wei with a smile, "Is Madam coming tomorrow? The concubine will surely be delighted."

Madam Wei instructed: "Tomorrow, when Madam arrives at the Prince's Mansion at Chenshi (7-9 AM), she should pay her respects to the Princess Consort first, as is customary. Xiangmei should remind the Consort to act as usual and not to cause any trouble."

"I understand, Madam Wei, please rest assured."

Less than half an hour after Wei Mama left, Consort Zhen returned to the mansion with Hua Yan Mengzhu.

As the three of them stepped into the courtyard of Yunyi Palace, Aunt Mei mentioned that she had received the news and was waiting at the gate. Consort Zhen was delighted to hear that her mother was coming.

"I wonder if Mother will bring Xiao Wu and Xiao Qi when she comes tomorrow. It's been four or five months since I last saw Xiao Qi."

"Seventh Miss and Second Young Master are receiving their early education at the manor, with teachers personally hired by the eldest young master. I'm afraid Madam won't bring them along." Aunt Mei was actually hoping that if Seventh Miss came, she could also see her daughter, Qiao'er.

Ruizhu said, "It wasn't mentioned in the invitation, but I thought our Fifth Miss would definitely pester Madam. Donggua is already preparing drinks and snacks for tomorrow. If the Fifth and Seventh Misses don't come, I'll have Wei Mama bring them to the two young ladies."

Consort Zhen smiled and said, "Donggua is very thoughtful. Mengzhu, please reward her for me. You will all have a share too."

Hua Yan and the others thanked her with smiles, while Dong'er, who was weeding in the backyard, heard the laughter coming from the front and angrily slammed her hoe on the ground.

The visiting card naturally wouldn't mention any important information. Hua Yan laughed and joked with Rui Zhu for a while, then held the card and pondered to herself. The war in the Northwest had lasted for nearly three months. Could it be that there was news of her uncle?

Thinking this, Hua Yan's heart instantly jumped, filled with both anticipation and worry, and even fear of hearing bad news.

Mingyue brought the tea into the flower hall. When Huayan saw Mingyue, she had no choice but to put aside her thoughts and wink at Mingyue. Then, she found an excuse to take Mingyue to the bedroom.

Mingyue's face was flushed as she poured Huayan a cup of tea and reported the results: "Everything went smoothly. Master stayed behind in the back mountain to finish things up, as you instructed."

Dried and ground datura flowers are mixed with spikenard to mask their aroma, and then blended with sandalwood. Adding musk lilies growing outside the window creates a mixture that can cause pregnant women to experience turbulent blood flow; prolonged exposure can even lead to miscarriage. Musk lilies are also believed to induce fainting and cause "fainting headaches."

(This is a fabrication; "Jue Ni" refers to the phenomenon of disordered Qi and blood.)

This was the first gift that Hua Yan had carefully prepared for the princess. The princess was less than three months pregnant, and even if she was in good health, there would still be hidden dangers.

Zhou Niangzi finished by disposing of the musk lily and sandalwood powder.

Mingyue, filled with doubt, asked softly, "How did you know that the Princess would be going to Guangci Temple to offer incense?"

"General Cypress is one of the eight scenic spots in the capital. With the Princess Consort now qualified to pray for blessings at Huangling, it wouldn't be difficult for her to anticipate this. Moreover, Consort Shen had inadvertently mentioned Guangci Temple several times during her previous visits to pay her respects."

Mingyue asked again, "Then why did you make me stop Master, and then suddenly stop releasing the snake?"

According to the original plan, the non-venomous rat snake was supposed to be the second gift.

"Firstly, I didn't expect Song Chenghui to come along. She has practiced martial arts since childhood, so the snake probably won't be of much use. Secondly, this was originally a last resort. I was also hesitating between doing it and not doing it."

Hua Yan had Ming Yue secretly add a little bit of the snake-bed flower powder she had found to Gui Mama's clothes while she was getting summer clothes. She originally planned to have Zhou Niangzi release a few rat snakes when the princess was in a daze... It was a way of using someone else's methods against them. However, since there were innocent people around, it was not convenient to use poisonous snakes.

However, what Hua Yan didn't know was that Cnidium monnieri had another effect: it could not only attract snakes and other poisonous insects, but also aggravate "sudden headache".

As for Zheng Shan and others inciting the people, that would be considered the third layer of punishment. If the princess could send someone to appease the people and allow them to enter the temple before leaving, then all would be well.