The young maid was not yet grown, with a slender figure. A water - green cotton belt cinched her waist, which was so slender that it could be encircled by one's hands.
She covered her face with a somewhat worn handkerchief. As she passed by the two of them, a faint smell of medicine wafted through the air.
Both of them involuntarily fixed their eyes on the maid's face.
People came and went in the medical hall, most of them women. A young maid was not particularly noticeable.
But Song Wanchu and Cheng Simian both sensed something unusual about this maid.
"She's a maid from the Duke Rongxiang's Mansion," Cheng Simian spoke first.
Song Wanchu was quite surprised. "Do you know her?"
"I don't. But I saw Qin Xuanyan at the Queen's banquet. All the maids around her wore a water - green belt around their waists. I assume it's the standard attire for the maids in the Duke Rongxiang's Mansion."
The two walked into the medical hall and spotted Shen Yuhe.
She was sitting behind the consultation desk, extremely busy.
There were seven or eight people in line, including young girls, women, and old ladies.
Song Wanchu and Cheng Simian quietly found a secluded corner and sat down.
Only then did Cheng Simian ask, "You've noticed something too, right?"
She often sought advice from Wanchu.
In terms of managing the inner courtyard, overseeing maids and servants, and running manors and shops, Wanchu had more experience than her.
In the future, when she entered the Eastern Palace, although she would only be a nominal Crown Princess for the time being, she still had to manage all the palace maids and eunuchs.
Wanchu was also very patient and willing to pass on her experience to her.
Song Wanchu frowned slightly and slowly said, "That maid has delicate features, but her dressing is so plain. There isn't even a single embroidery on her skirt. She should be a menial maid below the third rank."
What she noticed was far more than what she said.
But she didn't want to show off her experience as a mistress in front of Simian.
Based on this hint, Cheng Simian carefully and boldly began to speculate.
"Normally, in a noble family, pretty maids would be promoted to the first or second - rank maids to serve the master closely. They would be taken out to show the family's dignity. Only girls with ordinary looks would do the menial tasks like sweeping. But the Qin family does the opposite. The two maids I saw with Qin Xuanyan that day were both plain - looking. They didn't even have a silk flower in their hair, let alone gold and silver ornaments."
She and Song Wanchu exchanged a knowing look.
Cheng Simian was like a good student, giving the perfect answer after deduction. "It shows that Qin Xuanyan is jealous. She won't even allow her maids to dress up, let alone be more beautiful than her. If a maid is prettier than her, she'll take her anger out on her."
Although she had only met Qin Xuanyan once, during the banquet, they had several confrontations, and she had already figured out Qin Xuanyan's personality.
Today, through this maid, she had a deeper understanding of Qin Xuanyan's character.
She liked this feeling of being confident.
With the Crown Prince's promise, the position of Crown Princess must be hers.
But she was also prepared to live under the same roof as Qin Xuanyan and serve the same man.
She always thought that the imperial edict for the marriage could be issued only because the Crown Prince had compromised and allowed Qin Xuanyan to enter the Eastern Palace as a side consort.
And Qin Xuanyan was naturally arrogant. Relying on her noble birth, how could she be willing to be inferior to her?
The two of them would never be able to get along peacefully.
The more she knew about her, the more accurately she could hit her weak points in the future.
Song Wanchu liked Simian, this diligent, motivated, and extremely intelligent "good student".
She added a bit more. "With Qin Xuanyan's personality, she would usually disdain to even look at a menial maid like this. But why did she damage the maid's face today?"
Cheng Simian suddenly realized. "Qin Xuanyan must have heard that the Crown Prince is going to marry me as the Crown Princess. She must be extremely indignant."
Actually, Song Wanchu felt a bit guilty.
The new stories of the storytellers were written by her.
Liang Yuzhou was responsible for distributing these stories to the storytellers, asking them to tell the stories day and night to speed up the spread of this beautiful love story.
They were working secretly to help the Crown Prince achieve his happy ending as soon as possible.
Simian was smart and perceptive. Maybe she had already guessed.
She didn't ask, and Song Wanchu didn't say. The two of them maintained a tacit understanding.
Song Wanchu had always been a responsible and dedicated teacher. Seeing that Simian didn't seem to want to continue speculating, she asked further, "Do you think there's anything else about that maid?"
"Anything else?" Cheng Simian really couldn't think of anything for a moment.
She grabbed Song Wanchu's hand and shook it coquettishly. "Sister Wanchu, you're more familiar with the ins and outs of the inner courtyard than me. Please tell me."
She had never acted coquettishly like this even with her mother.
With her cold - natured personality, in front of outsiders, she was like a person shrouded in cold mist, making it difficult for others to figure out her thoughts or peek into her heart.
But Wanchu's sincerity was like a little sun warming her, and she unconsciously became a bit more approachable.
Song Wanchu raised her eyebrows. "We're of the same age. You haven't even married into the family yet, and you're already calling me sister like the Crown Prince does?"
It was just an off - hand joke, but Cheng Simian suddenly remembered the way the Crown Prince had held her waist and whispered in her ear.
For some inexplicable reason, her face flushed.
She didn't want to be seen through, so she quickly corrected herself seriously. "No, in terms of age, I'm one year older than you. It's quite appropriate for me to call you sister."
The smile on Song Wanchu's face grew broader. "Naturally. In terms of seniority, I should even call you sister - in - law."
"Didn't we talk about that maid from the Qin family? Why are you teasing me now?"
Cheng Simian pretended to be angry.
Song Wanchu didn't tease her out of boredom.
When it came to her marriage with the Crown Prince, Simian rarely showed a bit of a young girl's charm.
It was just like when a girl was teased by the man she liked, she would unconsciously feel shy and pretend to be angry.
Did Simian herself realize this?
She regarded this marriage as a political game and was just playing along with the Crown Prince.
But had she noticed that the Crown Prince was gradually stepping into her heart?
Song Wanchu saw through it but didn't say it out loud.
The topic returned to the maid.
"Qin Xuanyan taking her anger out on that maid should not be a one - time or two - time thing. In any family that values rules and upbringing, they would never allow their mistress to beat and scold the servants and act arrogantly. If such things got out, it would damage the family's dignity. In a noble and respectable family, even if they wanted to punish a servant who had made a mistake, it would be the steward who would do the beating and scolding. Even someone as mean and vicious as Yu Huiyan never beat or scolded Caidie in front of everyone. A mistress getting into a fight with a servant would lower her own status and would be criticized.
With Song Wanchu's guidance, Cheng Simian was suddenly enlightened.
"Qin Xuanyan's mother allows her daughter to beat and scold the maids to vent her anger, which shows that she dotes on and indulges her. Such things happen frequently, which means that Qin Feng is busy with state affairs and doesn't care about the inner courtyard at all. He is also negligent in disciplining his daughter."
Qin Feng had both a noble title and a position in the court. He must have attached great importance to his face and reputation.
If he knew that Qin Xuanyan was beating and scolding the maids, he would surely not tolerate it.
So there was only one possibility. Qin Xuanyan's arrogance in the inner courtyard was suppressed by the mistress of the family.
That was why Qin Xuanyan's jealous and cruel personality was encouraged.
After Cheng Simian finished speaking, she couldn't help but sigh. Wanchu was really amazing.
People who didn't know might think that Wanchu had an informant in the inner courtyard of the Qin family.
"Is there anything else?"
"Anything else?"