Gu Wanying stared intently at the finished piece Lv Liu had produced in such a short time.
The hairpin artisan was perceptive enough to know that Lv Liu was a maidservant brought along by the Third Miss, and she gave her quite a bit of face, standing to the side and praising her:
“It really is very well made. The wire framework, the velvet singeing, the tip shaping—there are no major problems in any aspect. If this is her first attempt and she achieved such results, she truly has a gift…”
A cold sneer crept onto Gu Wanying’s lips. She herself still couldn’t even figure out the wire framework, yet her talent was inferior to that of a lowly Bedchamber Maid who had scrubbed chamber pots. She said sarcastically, ”My eldest brother certainly found himself a capable one—she even surpasses me by a few degrees…”
The legitimate daughter of the Second Household chimed in as well: ”That’s right. With this maid so impressive, it makes us young ladies look like pretty vases—all show and no substance…”
“Anyone who didn’t know better would think she was the young lady and we were the servants, so clumsy and foolish.”
“Oh dear, oh dear, I’m so dim-witted I can’t even manage the wire framework without fumbling. Never mind—servants’ work is something I simply cannot do. Little sister, I’ll be going now…”
The mocking remarks came one after another, practically roasting Lv Liu over an open fire. Now one young lady even rose from her seat on the spot, deliberately knocking the milk tea she had been given onto the floor.
Lv Liu was somewhat dumbstruck, her cheeks burning hot.
Just moments ago, these young ladies had been praising her cakes and saying how delicious her milk tea was. How could they turn on her so suddenly?
Only then did Gu Wanyue speak in a languid voice, “Third Sister, it seems my Second Brother’s eyes were poor before, letting Eldest Brother pick up such a bargain and find someone so outstanding and capable—even our young ladies of the inner chambers can’t compare. Really, we’re the foolish ones who can’t even learn to make a velvet flower. From now on, you should simply take Lv Liu as your teacher—it would be much more convenient for learning…”
Gu Wanying was used to being proud and haughty—how could she stomach such words? She immediately stood up and vented her anger on Lv Liu. “What are you still standing there for? Get out of here at once! Don’t shame yourself here, showing off before a master like an axe-wielding fool at Lu Ban’s door—do you not realize you’ve become a clown?”
Lv Liu’s face nearly turned green. With her head lowered, she left trembling.
The several maids nearby all felt a touch of schadenfreude. Baocui held back her laughter and secretly glanced at Youli, who shook her head at her, reminding her to restrain herself.
The masters were angry right now, so those serving below had best not draw attention to themselves, lest they be caught in the crossfire.
So Baocui restrained herself.
With her head lowered, Lv Liu left the waterside pavilion in a huff.
She suddenly understood what taboo she had violated.
Namely, daring to stand out and shine in front of the masters.
After leaving the waterside pavilion, Lv Liu looked across the lake and saw Youli still sitting quietly at the small round table, making velvet flowers…
A great hatred welled up in her heart.
Without realizing it, she had fallen into that lowly maid’s trap yet again!
Youli had been in the residence for many years and had always understood the rules of survival.
One of them was that standing out in front of the masters was a taboo.
It wasn’t that one couldn’t display one’s intelligence and talent—it was that one had to read the occasion and learn to do the right thing at the right time. This truly tested one’s emotional intelligence and perceptiveness.
On occasions like today, when the young ladies were the stars of the show, maids like them were there merely to liven things up, and to occasionally flatter the young ladies’ creations. At such times, one absolutely must not step up and steal their limelight. Otherwise, the masters would feel as if they were inferior to you maids—and to a master, that was an absolute humiliation.
Lv Liu had recently won the favor of the Marchioness and the Third Miss with her cake-making skills, and she had clearly gotten a bit full of herself, forgetting who she really was.
Youli had seized on this weakness of Lv Liu’s to teach her a proper lesson.
After the afternoon lessons ended, Baocui grabbed Youli, nearly dying of laughter. “She actually thinks she’s a mistress now just because she can make those treats! Seeing her so frustrated today, I almost burst out laughing…”
Thankfully, she’d held it in.
Watching the smug Lv Liu get put in her place by the Third Miss—who had been just as smug herself—was truly satisfying!
Youli chatted with her for a while, then took her hairpin-flower materials back to Songtao Court.
She had worked on it all afternoon without finishing her velvet flower. Instead, Gu Wanyue had given her a small velvet flower she’d made herself, and told her to take the materials back and keep practicing following the pattern sheets from the hairpin artisan. There would be more lessons tomorrow, so she could come learn more then.
The lessons would last three days—there was a lot to learn.
Not long after she returned, the Heir came back as well.
The Heir was a diligent sort; even on his way home, he often carried a scroll of books with him, never wanting to waste a moment of travel time.
Youli attended to him as he washed up. The Heir was observant, and he quickly noticed the velvet flower in her hair. “When did you get that?”
Youli explained, “Second Young Lady gave it to this slave-servant. This afternoon, the Old Madame invited a famous hairpin artisan to teach the young ladies how velvet flower hairpins are made. Second Young Lady also called this slave-servant to learn, but this slave-servant is too clumsy—couldn’t even finish a single one. Second Young Lady told me to bring the materials back and practice slowly following the pattern sheets…”
The Heir said, “It doesn’t matter if you can’t make these trinkets. Just don’t forget your daily lessons…”
“Yes.”
The hairpin-making lessons continued for two more days, but Lv Liu was nowhere to be seen. Youli found her mouth annoying anyway, so without Lv Liu around, all the better.
However, Gu Wanying was no pushover either, and would occasionally needle Youli with barbed remarks.
It wasn’t that there was anything about Youli worth targeting—rather, Youli was the Heir’s bedchamber maid, and the Heir was Gu Wanyue’s full brother. Gu Wanying naturally wanted to get under Gu Wanyue’s skin by bullying Youli.
Why, you ask?
Jealousy, of course.
Gu Wanyue was the Marquis’s Estate’s famously talented and beautiful legitimate daughter, while Gu Wanying was born of the second wife—also a legitimate daughter, but her birth mother had once been a concubine, so her standing was naturally a notch below the children of the first wife. People often compared the two, and after constant comparison, finding herself inferior to Gu Wanyue in every way, Gu Wanying’s mindset had grown unbalanced, and she was always looking for ways to pick at Gu Wanyue, both openly and in secret.
But Gu Wanyue was no soft persimmon to be squeezed. When Gu Wanying mocked Youli with her words, Gu Wanying mocked Lv Liu in return.
Leaving Lv Liu sitting innocently in her room while blame fell on her from the sky.
As for Youli, she stuffed her ears with two balls of cotton—what she couldn’t hear didn’t exist.
Let them argue; she focused on making hairpins, wondering if she could develop another side business in the future—selling hairpins for money!
Making money was what mattered most.
She loved the feeling of a plump purse (^▽^)
Although Lv Liu had recently been looked down upon for overstepping her bounds, some of the young ladies still loved her cakes and milk tea, and within a couple of days they were ordering her to make cakes for them to try. So Lv Liu threw herself into pleasing them with her skills.
Youli didn’t care about Lv Liu at all—she just focused on her studies and worked on improving her hairpin-making skills. But then Baocui came running over to gossip with her again. “Have you heard?”
Youli, who just wanted to study in peace: “…”
With an opening like that, it was impossible to keep her ears closed to the world outside.
She wanted to know so badly!
It was driving her crazy with curiosity!