Flowery Hair: A Maidservant

Chapter 20 Such Scheming

Meng Shu wasn't afraid of offending Granny Wang; she had given her due gifts when things were convenient. This was how she made money by taking advantage of others, unafraid of offending a greedy person like Granny Wang. If Granny Wang were to make things difficult for Meng Shu, the first to object would be her fellow women who worked with her.

As for Huanyun's matter, it's unclear whether it was a coincidence.

Meng Shu started learning embroidery in elementary school and was influenced by her mother. Her needlework is different from that of other embroiderers, which a careful person might notice.

Regardless, Meng Shu had once again incurred Huan Yun's favor, and she could only keep it in her heart, hoping to have the opportunity to repay it in the future.

Two days before the head managers were to move in, Meng Shu went to the side gate to see Li the peddler again. This time, the two talked for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea. Before leaving, in addition to a handkerchief and a new type of tassel, Meng Shu also took a few purses to consign.

After returning, she stayed in her room and pondered carefully. She inquired about the three managers from Li the peddler, focusing on the servants who served the managers. Regardless of the information or preferences, Li the peddler told her everything he could find out.

Among them, the pawnshop clerk is the most talked about, simply because there are too many stories about this old man circulating in the streets.

After processing this information, Meng Shu focused intently on the dagger in her hand, carefully recalling her uncle Zhou Bai's appearance and preferences. Four years had passed since they last met; her uncle was now twenty years old. Before leaving Haijin Town, his maternal grandparents' family ran a general store, but one detail remained vivid in her memory.

The last time they met was on Meng Shu's sixth birthday. Her uncle had mentioned that he was going to the south with his close friends to sell tea, and he was willing to sell his general store to raise the capital.

Lin'an's tea is famous throughout the Great Zhou Dynasty. To entertain the managers this time, Manager Cao specially brought two kinds of tea from the warehouse: Tianmu Yunwu and Yulin Hongqing.

At that time, Manager Cao said that of the seven teas of Lin'an, these two kinds accounted for two.

If her uncle were to start a tea-selling business, Meng Shu was certain that she would have no choice but to go to Lin'an.

There are two reasons. First, Lin'an is a major tea-producing area with numerous tea gardens. Second, transportation is convenient. Although Haijin Town has no ferry crossing, Jinan County is located in the middle of the Grand Canal connecting the north and south. By simply taking a boat south, it takes only half a month to reach Lin'an.

I had roughly sketched out my uncle's physical characteristics in my mind, so I could ask people for information later.

My maternal grandfather was an old scholar who, after failing the imperial examinations, devoted himself to nature and collected many books. Among the books he left behind were treatises on mountains and rivers, pharmacopoeias, and other miscellaneous books, many of which were part of my mother's dowry. Meng Shu was intelligent from a young age and had a photographic memory, so she had already read them all.

Coming back to her senses, Meng Shu coldly gazed in the direction of Haijin Town. After leaving home, she had no chance to feed Meng Chengwen the food mixed with Chutian Stone powder, but he was already deeply poisoned and would not live past this Mid-Autumn Festival.

Chutian stone has a symbiotic relationship with a herb called *Polygonum aviculare*, which is listed in the pharmacopoeia. If Chutian stone is ground into powder and mixed into food, the powder, being hydrophobic and oleophilic, will stick to the stomach wall, eventually causing vomiting blood and death over time. (Don't believe it, I made this up, haha.)

Meng Chengwen has been taking it for a year.

Meng Shu shook her head. She was thinking too far ahead. None of that mattered. What mattered was that the pawnshop's second uncle was a tea connoisseur. He frequented various teahouses in Lin'an. His second uncle also had an old servant who often went to various tea gardens to find tea for him.

This is a breakthrough point. If my uncle has ever been to Lin'an, as long as it is related to tea, he will leave traces no matter what.

While Meng Shu was making plans, the scene at Fu'anju was quite different.

Grandma Tang was looking at the purse and handkerchief in front of her with great interest, while Guangbai and her maids were curiously admiring the tassels.

"The patterns are interesting, but the needlework is ingenious. It looks different from the needlework of the embroiderers in the south. When I went to the Marquis's mansion in the capital, I learned that there were several special embroidery methods that were circulating in the north."

The old lady turned the purse over and, looking at the needlework inside, suddenly said, "I never expected that such a talented person would emerge from our household."

Guangbai handed a star-shaped net to the old lady for her to look at, a serious look flashing across his face, as he reminded her:

"He is indeed clever, but perhaps too clever."

The young girl, new to the place, already knew how to do business and build connections within the household by recycling scraps of cloth, thus drawing many people into doing favors... and she was only ten years old after all.

The maids present all realized what was going on. Yes, she was only ten years old and yet she had such cunning and skill. They knew they were far inferior to her at the same age.

However, Old Madam Tang did not care. "Our Tang family does not interfere with the property of the people in the mansion, nor does it stipulate that the servants cannot find ways to earn money for their household expenses. Her actions are justifiable. If her character and temperament remain unchanged, she can be described as a clever and insightful person."

Hearing this, Mother An felt a little more at ease, after all, she had helped Meng Shu sell her embroidery many times.

Steward Cao, standing nearby, cautiously spoke up: "Reporting to the old lady, ever since this old servant warned her that a death contract is not easily redeemed, I have been watching closely as Meng girl seems to be climbing the social ladder, and in the past few days she has been in frequent contact with the peddler outside the mansion."

Grandma Tang casually placed the tassel in her hand on the couch and waved for Suwen to come forward.

Suwen's father was the head steward of the Tang family, so Meng Shu's actions at the side gate naturally did not escape the steward's notice.

"It's fine for the little girl to do business with the peddler, but she used the guise of doing business to inquire about the whereabouts of several big shopkeepers."

Mu Jin, who was in charge of the old lady's needlework and shoes, suddenly felt a sense of crisis when she saw the old lady praising Meng Shu earlier. So, she twisted her handkerchief and said in some shock, "Could it be that she's trying to curry favor with the head managers?"

Guangbai looked up at her but didn't say anything. Although she was shocked by the mature demeanor of a ten-year-old, she wouldn't make malicious assumptions or slander because of it.

Hua Ying spoke softly. She was usually the most naive person in charge of jewelry, and she retorted in a gentle voice: "How can a ten-year-old child curry favor? He probably just wants to do his job well and take good care of the head managers. Isn't that a merit? In the future, he will also have the opportunity to be transferred to serve the master. What do you say, old lady?"

The old lady smiled and nodded, "Judging from the little girl's actions, that should be the case. Knowing how to strive for improvement is not a mistake."

Since she wasn't trying to find out about her masters, the old lady turned a blind eye to things she was already planning. If someone was eager to prove themselves and could achieve results, she was always happy to give them a chance.

The old lady dismissed the head maids, leaving Guangbai and Steward Cao alone. "No matter how Meng tries to scheme during the council meeting, observe carefully before reporting back. Also, tell the two second-class maids who were transferred there not to cause any trouble."

This is because the old lady was afraid that the unruly maids in the inner quarters might offend the head manager. The Tang family has always treated the head managers with great courtesy; otherwise, they would not have specially reserved several courtyards to entertain them.

Langya Courtyard, the rear-facing room.

Meng Shu propped her chin up and racked her brains for a few ideas, but in the end she could only sigh helplessly. She wanted to use tea as an excuse to get close to the old servant serving her, but alas, she didn't know anything about tea. She couldn't help but wonder if her grandfather didn't like tea, otherwise why didn't he leave behind a few books on tea?

However, in the end, she racked her brains and came up with a new solution.

Before it got dark, Meng Shu left Langya Courtyard and headed towards Fu'an Residence, politely asking the old woman to go to the small kitchen to call for Donggua.

While waiting for the winter melon to arrive, Meng Shu stood obediently in the corner, her eyes fixed anxiously on the doorway.

I wonder if winter melon will work!

"Meng Shu, what brings you here at this hour?"

Donggua must have rushed out of the small kitchen, his sleeves still covered in flour.

Meng Shu happily pulled Donggua aside, "My dear Donggua, you're learning how to make desserts in the small kitchen, do you think it's possible to make a dessert using tea leaves?"