If the master wanted to see her, a servant had no reason to refuse.
Qu Fulan was pulled out of bed by the Hai Xia.
"It's my fault that I had to pass by that courtyard, and I was asked to help pass on a message. It was the young lady of the Zheng family, and she said she wanted to see you. I told her that you were sick, but she insisted on seeing you. I immediately came to find you."
Hai Xia was in charge of spreading the word throughout the residence today, so she had to run around everywhere. In the end, she ran into those noble ladies by taking a shortcut.
"How did they know about me? Did someone mention my name?" Qu Fulan could not understand.
"I don't know either. When I arrived, there were only young ladies I didn't know. I didn't see anyone else. I just came here to pass the message in a daze. I don't know what happened at all."
What Hai Xia did not know was that before she appeared, Hai Yue had already seen her using the perception advantage. She then gave an excuse that she had something to do with the old lady and asked Miss Zheng to find a servant girl to run errands for her.
That was why Hai Xia had been stopped when they passed by.
In the end, Qu Fulan had taken the medicine. Her body was a little weak, and her face also looked sickly.
Hai Xia offered to help her up, but she refused. If others saw her, they would think that she was a big shot.
When Qu Fulan passed through the courtyard and entered the waterside pavilion, a rich fragrance assailed her nose. She raised her eyes and looked inside. There was a formation of flowers and brocade.
About six or seven young ladies from big families were sitting in the attic, each holding a fan in their hands. They looked graceful and luxurious, but across the water and trees, they looked at the guests in the distance.
The waterside pavilion was located on a slightly higher ground, so it was possible to overlook the scenery in the mansion.
They covered half of their faces with the fan and whispered to each other. It was unknown what they saw, but they smiled shyly.
Qu Fulan interrupted their whispering. "This servant Hai Tang greets the ladies."
The young ladies turned around and looked at the person curiously.
Qu Fulan's current sickly state was very obvious. Other people's sicknesses might affect their looks, but in the eyes of others, Qu Fulan's state was that of a sick beauty.
"Her face is like a silver plate, her eyes are like water apricots, her lips are red without a dot, and her eyebrows are green without a drawing. I really didn't expect that even a servant girl in the Pei family would be so outstanding," one of the ladies said.
Hearing this, Miss Zheng frowned slightly. "You're the Hai Tang who won the calligraphy and painting from the Prince?"
Was it related to Prince Pei's appreciation of calligraphy and paintings?
Qu Fulan had a rough idea of what was going on. For a person like Prince Pei, there were definitely many young ladies who admired him. These young ladies had come to the Pei Residence with great difficulty and would definitely try to find out more about Prince Pei's situation. With one question, they would know about the calligraphy and painting.
"It's this servant."
"So you're saying that Prince Pei treats you well?"
"The Prince has always been kind to people."
A young lady couldn't help but laugh. "This girl really knows how to talk. Not a single drop of water can leak out. No wonder Prince Pei would give her calligraphy and paintings."
Miss Zheng said again, "Come and talk to me."
Qu Fulan started to cough. At first, she coughed a few times, but after that, she continued to cough. She looked very embarrassed, as if she was about to cough her lungs out. After she finished coughing, she slowly walked toward Miss Zheng.
At this time, the noble ladies all showed a look of disgust. When they saw the other party walking over, they subconsciously moved their bodies, afraid that they would get sick. Miss Zheng saw this and said, "Alright, you can just stand there."
Instantly, Qu Fulan was so weak that she could not move.
"Why would the Prince reward you with calligraphy and painting for no reason?" Miss Zheng asked.
"If this servant is happy serving the old lady, the Prince will reward her. It is not just this servant, the other servants can also be rewarded if they serve the old lady. The Prince rewards and punishes clearly."
Qu Fulan didn't mention the old lady's health condition. This kind of thing couldn't be spread out carelessly, at least not by a little servant girl like her.
When Miss Zheng heard this, she felt a lot more at ease. It turned out that it was just because the Prince was clear about rewards and punishments.
"It seems that you are very good at pleasing the old lady of the Pei family. How long have you served the old lady?"
"Half a year."
This included the time the original owner had entered the residence.
"Have you ever heard Old Lady Pei mention Prince Pei's marriage?"
No matter how thick-skinned Miss Zheng was, when she asked this kind of question, her cheeks also turned red. The other young ladies also took out their fans to cover their faces.
"No," Qu Fulan said.
Miss Zheng looked disappointed and said, "I want you to do something for me. If you do it, I'll reward you handsomely. Are you willing to do that?"
"This servant doesn't dare."
"It's just a matter of passing on a message. What's there to be afraid of?"
Without waiting for the other party's reply, she continued.
"Next month, my brother will be holding a banquet in the residence. At that time, he will definitely send an invitation to the Prince. I'm afraid that the Prince has too many invitations to deal with and will ignore the Zheng Residence's invitation, so I want you to pass on a message to the Prince. Just say 'the Zheng Residence's Eldest Young Master sincerely invites him to attend the banquet'."
This matter was not troublesome, not to mention that it was just a reminder about the post, which was originally a servant's duty.
However, Qu Fulan did not agree immediately. "I'm the old lady's servant girl. I'm not in front of the Prince. I can't see the Prince often either. If I have the chance, I'll remind him. If I don't, I can't do anything."
Miss Zheng was obviously not satisfied with this answer, but she had no choice.
She could not order Old Lady Pei's head maidservant around, and the other maidservants could not come into contact with the Prince. Only this maidservant had received a reward from the Prince, so she would probably have a chance to see the Prince.
"You just have to do your best. I'll reward you heavily after it's done."
"This servant doesn't dare."
Miss Zheng felt that this little girl was too timid and didn't dare to do this and that. She suddenly lost her patience and waved her fan. "Alright, you may leave."
That good sister of hers was also too worried. However, she was just a timid little girl who couldn't even get close to her master, so what was there to be afraid of?
Where was there a lack of sweet and fair ladies in this world? In terms of appearance, there were many in the brothels. In the end, she was still a pillow for ten thousand people.
A woman, ah, ultimately still had to look at her family background, or else she wouldn't be able to achieve much.
Qu Fulan left.
At this time, the wedding banquet in the Pei Residence was already halfway through. Many guests who did not drink began to wander around the mansion in groups of two or three, taking the opportunity to visit the garden of the Pei Residence to socialize.
If Qu Fulan wanted to avoid bumping into the guests, she would have to walk through the empty corridor.
Because of her weak body, she only felt that her head was dizzy. She just had to go back, take some medicine, and sleep. She would be fine tomorrow.
Her speed was not fast, but she bumped into someone just after turning the corner. The other party was in a hurry.
Qu Fulan didn't even raise her head and immediately lowered it to admit her mistake.
"This servant was busy working for master and was impolite, please forgive me!"
The other party did not move.
Qu Fulan lowered her head and felt a wave of uneasiness in her heart. Could it be that she had bumped into the plot?
As far as her eyes could see, the other party's luxurious white boots, and above it was the moon-white luxurious brocade clothes.
As she looked up, she met a pair of beautiful phoenix eyes.