Chapter 37 Dumbfounded

She was happy at the thought of finally making Yu Qingci lose face.

"How could that be? If you want to see it, that's easy enough."

Then he asked Tong'er to bring out the needlework she had recently embroidered.

She was embroidering an indigo blue shoe upper with moon-white lilac flowers. The lilac flowers were embroidered so vividly that it looked almost finished.

Yu Qingci pointed to her needlework and said, "This shoe upper is being made and will be finished soon. The other pieces were also recently embroidered. They were done in a bit of a rush and are a little rough, but they're passable."

Yu Qingyan and the others took it and examined it closely, silently comparing it with what they had received. Soon, they felt disgusted again. Was this what she meant by "mediocre craftsmanship"?

Yu Qingying asked incredulously, "Did you really embroider these yourself?"

Yu Qingci: "Of course. When we first returned to the manor, didn't I give each of you a handkerchief? You can take them out and compare them, and you'll know."

Yu Qingying was speechless, and unconsciously began to rub her hands together vigorously.

Tong'er quickly snatched the embroidery from her hand and said with heartache, "Fourth Miss, please be careful. This was embroidered by our young lady with great difficulty, stitch by stitch."

Yu Qingying was suddenly pulled by Tong'er, and she immediately lost face and wanted to get angry again, but Yu Qingyan quickly blocked her and said with a smile, "Third sister's needlework skills are really good. I think third sister has almost finished preparing here. How about showing us?"

Yu Qingci didn't care and got up to lead everyone to the compartment where things were stored.

The dowry prepared for her by the Earl's family was kept in the public hall and managed by Madam Qiao. It would not be delivered to her courtyard before the wedding. However, the daughter herself should also prepare some personal items in advance, such as needlework and embroidery items to give to her husband's family, which were the most important.

As soon as they entered the cubicle, they were stunned by the items piled up inside. A sea of ​​bright red silks appeared before their eyes, interspersed with finished products of other colors, such as fragrant satin brocade quilts with gold thread and crabapple blossoms, embroidered shoes with twin lotus flowers and pearls, pillowcases with bright red soles and delicate flowers, and veils embroidered with peonies on bright red brocade. All sorts of items covered the soft couch in the cubicle, and there were many more in the mahogany boxes on the side. The embroidery was so skillful that one did not need to look closely to see that they were all made by highly skilled embroiderers.

The three sisters were dumbfounded. They never expected that this girl would have so many good things. Just a few pieces of her embroidery would be enough to shut people up. The needlework that the sisters had sent over could only be thrown away because it was far inferior.

Yu Qingyan looked on with envy, but pretended to regret it, saying, "I didn't expect my sister to have so many good things. It's just a pity that all this red stuff will probably have to be stored away in the future."

Yu Qingci: "These were all prepared by my mother herself. She said that she couldn't handle my wedding herself, so she prepared more dowry so that people wouldn't look down on me. Even if I don't need them in the future, they are still my mother's good intentions."

Yu Qingying was so angry that her cheeks ached when she looked at the exquisite embroidery. After thinking hard, she realized that her second sister was right. No matter how good the items were or how rich the dowry was, it was a pity that she was marrying a dead man. After the marriage, she would have to endure the days alone. All these bright and beautiful things could not be used and could only be put away.

Thinking of this made her feel a little better, and she wanted to say a few more sarcastic remarks, but Yu Qingyan secretly pinched her hand, so she had to shut her mouth.

Yu Qingyan knew exactly what her sister wanted to say. In fact, she had the same thoughts. If it were a normal wedding, these exquisite embroideries would indeed be tempting to look at. Unfortunately, for someone who would become a widow after marriage, even if she brought these dowries with her, she couldn't display them or use them. It would be better to have none at all.

After they left the Wisteria Courtyard, Yu Qingying said angrily, "How annoying! They prepared so many nice things. Why should she, a lowly concubine, have such a large dowry?"

Yu Qingyan reminded her, "Shut up, don't say anything more about 'illegitimate daughter,' have you forgotten your mother's instructions?"

Yu Qingying muttered in a low voice, feeling wronged: "She's clearly an illegitimate daughter, but she thinks she's a legitimate daughter just because she's on the family tree. I'm going to say it!"

Yu Qingyan shook her head helplessly. She had been envious when she saw the dowry, but then she realized that it was just bedding and everyday trinkets. The real dowry was in her mother's hands.

I used to think that I was the one who was going to marry into the family. My mother was not sure if the marriage in my place would be successful, so she prepared a very substantial dowry for me. But now that it's Yu Qingci, how could my mother possibly give her such a grand dowry?

There are many rules about how to prepare a daughter's dowry in a prominent family. Some dowries may seem incredibly lavish on the surface, but you should never look at them closely. She's just waiting for Yu Qingci to cry after she gets married.

In the afternoon, as usual, Yu Qingci took Tong'er to the study in the outer courtyard to deliver nourishing medicinal meals to her father and younger brother.

Lifting the lid of the porcelain bowl, a steaming aroma wafted out. Yu Qingbai sniffed it exaggeratedly like a puppy, then sat down and waited for his sister to serve him a bowl.

Yu Jingsheng looked at his daughter with affection and said, "Qingci, how are you preparing things these days? If you need any help from the embroiderers in the manor, just let me know, and I will personally instruct them to do it."

Also, don't always think about sending us these things. Qingbai and I have gotten fat lately because of your feeding."

Yu Qingci served her father a bowl and placed it on the table in front of him, saying, "Today I made rock sugar, goji berry, and bird's nest porridge. It's quite light, so eating a little won't make you fat."

She served her younger brother another bowl before sitting down on the other side of the table, resting her chin on her hand and watching her father and brother enjoy the meal.

Yu Jingsheng took a couple of bites and was about to praise the porridge he had made when he noticed that his daughter looked a little downcast, as if she had something on her mind. So he put down his spoon and asked, "What's wrong? Have you run into some trouble?"

Yu Qingci quickly perked up and said obediently, "It's nothing. I'm just a little sad because I'm thinking that once I get married, I won't have the chance to make medicinal meals for you and your brother anymore."

Upon hearing this, Yu Jingsheng and his son felt a little sad. Although Yu Qingbai was not old, he had come to understand why his sister was getting married so soon. He put down the soup spoon in his hand and looked at his sister with red eyes.

Seeing this, Yu Qingci quickly changed the subject and asked Yu Qingbai about studying with Mr. Li.

Yu Qingbai explained in detail that he was only in the probationary period and could not yet be considered a true disciple of his teacher. Therefore, his teacher stipulated that he should go to his teacher's place once every other day and spend the whole day there. He would study in the first half of the day and spend the second half tending to the small plot of land in the backyard with his teacher.