Four Seasons Brocade – CH 132

Chapter 132 ☆、

“In your dreams,” Chu Mao sipped his hot tea. “Please sit down and have some hot tea.”

Ah Wu was already freezing. Hearing Chu Mao say this, she sat down opposite him, held the teacup with both hands, and took a delicious sip, finally feeling a bit better. This Bingxue Forest, just like its name, was so cold it made one shiver, and Earth dragons would not thrive here.

“Why are you in such a hurry to see me today?” Chu Mao asked again.

Ah Wu blushed slightly, a little embarrassed, and said, “Your Highness, I did not discipline that girl well. Yesterday, I…”

“You think I did not return to Yulan Hall last night because I was angry with you about this?” Chu Mao asked, looking at Ah Wu.

Ah Wu replied with some surprise, “Is that not it?”

“I did have something to do yesterday; an old friend came back unexpectedly.” Chu Mao looked intently at Ah Wu, a slight smile playing on his lips. “However, some things were my fault. I want to entrust the twelve maids around me, including Mei-Ying and Mei-Meng, to you, Ah Wu. I wonder if you would be willing to do so?”

Ah Wu looked at Chu Mao with some surprise. She had not expected him to be willing to entrust the twelve maids to her. It seemed that Mei-Ying and Mei-Meng had crossed Chu Mao’s line this time.

“Your Highness is too kind. This is simply my duty.” Ah Wu happily accepted this pleasant surprise.

Li Yanguang brought over a small box containing the indentures of the Twelve Meis. Chu Mao had originally kept these indentures for himself because they were his close attendants, and he could not allow anyone else to control them. Now that they were in Ah Wu’s hands, it meant that Chu Mao’s trust in Ah Wu had reached a new level.

Ah Wu was naturally delighted.

After Ah Wu returned to Yulan Hall, Mei-Ying and several others, having already received the news, came to Yulan Hall to pay their respects. Mei-Ying and Mei-Meng appeared calm, while the others behind them looked somewhat uneasy.

Ah Wu smiled and said, “His Highness means that you twelve no longer need to serve in Bingxue Forest. However, when His Highness is in Yulan Hall, he still needs your service. You will still be responsible for what you were responsible for before. I’ve already had Nanny Gong arrange accommodations for you. All the maids and servants in my courtyard are under Nanny Gong’s care, and you are no exception.” Ah Wu turned to look at Nanny Gong beside her. Nanny Gong rose and curtsied to Ah Wu, allowing the Twelve Meis to recognize her.

After the Twelve Meis filed out, Ah Wu thoughtfully kept Zi-Shan behind. “Be careful of Mei-Ying and Mei-Meng these days. I think they are desperate and might do something rash. You need to be extra careful when you are with Cai-Mei.”

“This servant understands. Cai-Mei has been incredibly kind to me since I saved her that day, so overly enthusiastic that it makes this servant uncomfortable,” Zi-Shan replied.

Ah Wu glanced at her. “It’s good that you know.”

After settling the Twelve Meis in, Nanny Gong brought three more people to report to Ah Wu. These were the three remaining of the original Four Beauties.

Before Nanny Gong could speak, the three knelt before Ah Wu and kowtowed three times. Ah Wu glanced at Nanny Gong for a questioning look. Nanny Gong replied, “Let them speak for themselves.”

Of the three, Xiu-Yi, the most beautiful, looked up and said, “We servants wish to serve the Princess. Please grant us permission. We know why the Princess bought us. Qin-Mei was disrespectful, but we have no such delusional thoughts. We only wish to serve the Princess.”

Ah Wu was immediately pleased by Xiu-Yi’s straightforwardness. “But my allowance of maids is already full, and the Prince has assigned me twelve more.”

“Even as a lowly maid, I will do it.” Xiu-Yi knelt and kowtowed again. Behind her, the quiet and refined Ke-Zhi followed suit, and finally, Yan-Zhao hesitated for a moment before kowtowing as well.

“You two are not young anymore. What use are you for menial tasks? I truly no longer need maids. If you want to remain as servants in the Prince’s Mansion, you will likely have to go to the Hongyao Villa. We were once mistress and servant, so I will provide your dowries. How about I arrange your marriages now?”

Yan-Zhao was clearly tempted, while Xiu-Yi and Ke-Zhi replied in unison without blinking, “We do not wish to be married off. We only wish to serve the Princess.” Whether their intentions were genuine or not, these two were intelligent. They knew Ah Wu had no real affection for them and that marrying now was merely a casual arrangement. Once they gained respect from the Princess, their future marriages would be completely different.

Ah Wu was not afraid of intelligent people but rather of disloyal ones.

“Yan-Zhao, what about you?” Ah Wu looked at Yan-Zhao.

Yan-Zhao whispered, “This servant will follow Your Highness’s arrangements.”

“Good.” Ah Wu turned to Nanny Gong and said, “Nanny, please choose a suitable young man for Yan-Zhao to marry. As for Xiu-Yi and Ke-Zhi, keep them with you for now, and let them fill in wherever there’s a place.”

Nanny Gong nodded in agreement.

Ke-Zhi and Yan-Zhao turned and followed Nanny Gong out, but Xiu-Yi lingered. Finally, she walked up to Ah Wu, knelt, and said, “This servant has one more thing to report to Your Highness.”

Ah Wu nodded.

Xiu-Yi said, “Qin-Mei did not have that much courage at first, but after Yong-Mei contacted her a few times, she started frequenting the garden.”

Ah Wu nodded and said, “I understand. You can go now. If you see anything suspicious again, just report back to me.”

Xiu-Yi then left.

“Your Highness, I did not expect Yong-Mei to have gotten involved, too. They are a den of snakes and rats,” Zi-Shan said indignantly.

Although all twelve Mei maids served Chu Mao closely, it was clear that only Mei-Ying and Mei-Meng could get close to him. The other ten were under their control. Yong-Mei’s involvement was not surprising at all.

“But the snakes and rats are not a true den,” Ah Wu sneered. “I do not believe these twelve are a fortress. Since they dared to make a move, we naturally are not afraid.”

Ah Wu was more concerned with having too few than with having too many.

The next day, Ah Wu bypassed Mei-Ying and Mei-Meng and summoned Yong-Mei and Yi-Mei directly.

The two maids stood before Ah Wu, completely calm and composed. Ah Wu liked these capable maids. “You all know that now that the Prince is back, he does not need many people to serve him. I was thinking of arranging you twelve into shifts, two people per shift, to serve the Prince in rotation. I just want to know, in the bathing room, can you two handle serving the Prince?”

Yong-Mei and Yi-Mei exchanged a glance, both showing the same surprise. They never expected the Princess Consort to summon them for this matter. Yong-Mei remained unmoved, but Yi-Mei was tempted. She, along with Mei-Ying and Mei-Meng, had come to serve at the Prince’s palace. Why should she always be under their control? They were not exactly mistresses.

Besides, those two had always forbidden them from getting close to the Prince, but Chu Mao’s devastatingly handsome appearance was already etched in Yi-Mei’s heart. She was willing to do anything to get closer to him. Yi-Mei had not thought about becoming a phoenix, but she could not help wanting to be infinitely closer to Chu Mao.

Ah Wu could tell from Yi-Mei’s expression that she was tempted. Actually, she did not care whether the two women could actually serve him; if they could not, it would be a convenient excuse to get rid of them. Yulan Hall was now crowded and annoying with twelve extra people.

Afterwards, Ah Wu met with the other pairs of Mei-Mei separately, explaining the rotation system for serving Chu Mao. They were all eager to try.

Finally, Ah Wu met with all twelve women at the same time in Yulan Hall, having the palace matron explain the rotation order to them. Mei-Ying clenched her fist tightly in her sleeve, while Mei-Meng clearly lacked the patience for such a task.

“Your Highness, it’s always been Mei-Ying and me who serve the Prince. The other women do not know the Prince’s temperament; what if they anger him…?”

Hearing Mei-Meng say this, Mei-Ying quickly tugged at Mei-Meng’s sleeve.

Ah Wu pretended not to notice her little gesture. “You’ve been serving the Prince for so many years. If you still do not understand his temperament by now, then you’ve served him in vain. It would be better to replace you with some clever people sooner rather than later. Besides, you and Mei-Ying are not young anymore. You cannot stay by the Prince’s side forever; they will need to serve him in the future. I was just about to talk to Nanny Hao and ask her to find suitable matches for you.”

Upon hearing this, both Mei-Ying and Mei-Meng turned pale.

That evening, when Chu Mao returned, it was Mei-Ying and Mei-Meng’s turn to be on duty. The two followed him into the bathing room and did not come out for a long time.

When Chu Mao came out, he asked Ah Wu, “What did you say to Mei-Ying and Mei-Meng? They are trembling with fear whenever they mention you.”

Ah Wu thought to herself that these two were quite cunning, knowing how to subtly complain. However, in front of a clever person like Chu Mao, Ah Wu decided to be straightforward. “I just told them that they are getting old and that Nanny Hao should find suitable partners for them so that their service to the Prince will not be in vain.”

Chu Mao looked at Ah Wu without speaking. There was an unspoken understanding throughout the mansion that Mei-Ying and Mei-Meng would eventually become Chu Mao’s bedmaids. Even Chu Mao himself thought so. Although he had no intention of touching them, they had served him closely for so many years, and it would be awkward for them to marry out.

“Or perhaps Your Highness would take them in. They’ve been your servants for so many years, and I could arrange for them to be elevated to ladies of your harem?” If Chu Mao agreed, Ah Wu would be extremely pleased. As maids, she could not easily touch them, but as ladies of the harem, their fates would be entirely at the mistress’s discretion.

Chu Mao thought for a moment, seeing the cunning in Ah Wu’s eyes, and knew that Mei-Ying and Mei-Meng would certainly suffer if they fell into her hands. “Fine,” he said. “After all, we were master and servant. Tell Nanny Hao to send them away and increase their dowries.”

Ah Wu looked at Chu Mao in surprise. She had not expected someone like him to actually have some affection for these two girls. She felt increasingly happy; if she did well, Chu Mao would likely tolerate the Imperial Princess a little more out of consideration for their past relationship.

However, although Chu Mao was acting in Mei-Ying and Mei-Meng’s best interests, the news was like a bolt from the blue for the two girls. To be separated from Chu Mao was worse than death for them.