Since they had already begged, it would be unkind of Qu Fulan to refuse. Anyway, they had already been seen, so it didn't make a difference whether they looked at them or not.
She took out the box and showed it to them.
When the box was opened, everyone's eyes lit up.
"Wow, it's so beautiful."
"Sister Hai Tang is so lucky!"
The two girls each held an earring and spoke very carefully. They couldn't help but praise it.
Hai Yue looked on silently from the side. The joy she had felt when she saw that she had obtained an item that was more colorful than others had now turned into ashes and disappeared.
Thinking about how she wanted to show off earlier, it now turned into embarrassment and humiliation.
Seeing that everyone else was praising and laughing, Hai Yue also forced a smile. "It's indeed a good thing. One look and I can tell that it's a top-grade tribute. It's said that there's only a small amount of tribute every year. Other than the women in the palace, only a few noble families who have made contributions can have it. The young ladies in our residence have never had it. I'm afraid that the Prince only has these two pairs and has given them to Hai Tang."
"And this kind of earring doesn't depend on clothes. It can be worn no matter what you wear."
The two maidservants immediately sighed in shock.
"Hai Tang, the Prince is too good to you!"
"It's just that you're too lucky to be treated so well by the Prince!"
Qu Fulan, however, did not feel any sense of luck. She had already felt that something was amiss when she was at Hua Hao and Yue Yuan's place. If they had not checked and said that there was no mistake, she would have definitely thought that someone had given the wrong things when they were distributing them.
She actually didn't understand why Prince Pei would give her such a good thing. It was obvious that the old lady didn't need to take medicine anymore, but the one who was serving the old lady was Hai Yue.
Why?
She couldn't understand, so she could only use the excuse of the Prince being filial to the old lady to brush others off.
Hai Yue didn't let her fool her. "Speaking of which, the doctors in the residence have treated the old lady more than once, but I've never seen the Prince give them anything good."
The other two maidservants agreed with her, "That's right. Take Sister Hai Yue as an example. You've been serving the old lady with all your heart every day. Why doesn't the Prince reward you with such a good thing?"
Hai Yue's tone was bitter. "I don't think I have the right to this..."
She really couldn't understand why the Prince would treat her so differently. If they were to talk about merits, she should be the one who contributed the most.
In the end, the things she had obtained were completely incomparable to what Hai Tang had.
When Hong Tao learned of this matter, she also felt very indignant for Hai Yue, but she wasn't stupid enough to say anything bad about the Prince.
"It must be Hai Tang, that girl, who schemed behind the scenes and took away what originally belonged to you."
Hai Yue also thought the same. Perhaps Hai Tang had bribed the people working for the Prince and had tampered with the things.
Otherwise, she really couldn't understand why the Prince would make such an arrangement.
Wasn't the Prince the most clear-minded person?
Although this reason was the most convincing, Hai Yue knew that it was impossible.
The people around the Prince were all well-trained. How could they be bribed so easily? Moreover, the Prince had just returned not long ago, and even the old lady could not place anyone by the Prince's side. How could a maidservant have this kind of ability?
If that was not the reason, then what was it?
Hai Yue was so insistent on getting the answer that she was about to go crazy.
However, Hong Tao thought of another possibility. "Could it be that the Prince has taken a fancy to her?"
Hai Tang was born beautiful. Since ancient times, heroes had fallen for the charms of a beauty. It would not be strange if the Prince liked her.
If that were the case, it would make perfect sense.
However, Hai Yue firmly rejected the idea. "That's impossible. The Prince would not like such a superficial person."
Although she denied it verbally, she was actually feeling uneasy in her heart.
It wasn't just Hai Yue who felt uneasy, Qu Fulan didn't feel at ease either.
She couldn't understand Prince Pei's actions.
Today, the Prince had given her a precious pair of earrings, and everyone in the room had seen it. It wouldn't be long before the other maidservants would know.
If even Hai Yue was so envious, one could only imagine how the other maidservants would react.
Had she offended Prince Pei, and he wanted to use this kind of method to punish her and make her the target of public criticism?
She didn't seem to have offended Prince Pei in any way, so why did he want to make her famous?
Those involved could not see clearly. Hai Xia heard about this very quickly. As a bystander, the key was that she was afraid of Prince Pei. Without that layer of filter, she would be able to see things more objectively.
"As the master, it's all up to the heart to give the servants things. It's normal to give this good thing and that inferior thing on a whim. It's not like this has never happened before. The others are making a big fuss out of it."
Qu Fulan heaved a sigh of relief. "Has something like this happened before?"
"Hmm... I think so," Hai Xia replied. "But I can't remember... Hehe, but I think there should be."
Qu Fulan's heart, which had just calmed down, tensed up again. She then asked Hai Xia a question without changing her expression, "Did the Prince give you anything? "
She recalled how they had previously discussed Prince Pei behind his back and compared him to Prince Xiao.
Could it be that Prince Pei didn't say anything at that time, but he was actually unhappy and wanted to take revenge?
This was the only possibility.
If Prince Pei wanted to kill her, her 'accomplice' Hai Xia should not be able to escape either.
If Hai Xia's situation was similar to hers, that would be the reason.
Hai Xia replied, "How can that be? I'm just a third-rank servant girl. I can't even get close to the old lady. No matter how fair Prince Pei is in his rewards and punishments, he won't reward me randomly."
Qu Fulan was instantly stumped.
Hai Xia continued to speak indifferently, "You don't have to think too much. Just take it as the master's grace."
As for people saying that the Prince would like Hai Tang, she didn't believe it.
It wasn't that she didn't think Hai Tang was good enough. Hai Tang looked like a flower bud waiting to bloom. She was delicate and alluring at the age where people would love her the most. Who wouldn't like her?
The only exception was the Prince.
This was because Prince Pei was not like the Third Young Master, whose eyes would light up at the sight of a beautiful maidservant. He was also not like the Eldest Young Master, who seemed to be pure-hearted and had few desires, but in fact, he also needed a tongfang.
Prince Pei really didn't get close to women. How could such a person like him easily like a girl?
Qu Fulan was still trying to figure out Prince Pei's motive.
However, Hai Yue had already made a move.
She felt that she was too stupid. She was always doing things in silence and foolishly behind the scenes. Her masters were so used to it that they didn't even realize her importance.
It was to the extent that the Prince would give someone else something valuable and ignore her.
Now, she would show her masters her importance.
Wasn't the old lady used to having her meridians massaged to feel comfortable?
Hua Hao and Yue Yuan couldn't compare to her massage skills. If she pretended to be sick, the old lady would naturally realize her importance when no one massaged her.
At that time, the Prince would definitely know and might personally come to visit.