Chapter 77 Chapter 77 June 10th Day Clearing...

Early morning of the tenth day of June, at the Qingjiangju main store.

With a quarter of an hour left before the renaming ceremony began, the shop was already packed. Branch owners, renowned craftspeople, celadon and embroidery enthusiasts, and wealthy businessmen had all gathered, and the second-floor seating was already fully occupied. The renowned craftsmen at the antique appreciation banquet were especially impressed by Jiang Wan, and upon receiving the invitation, they arrived early to grab front-row seats.

Except for Zhao Youtie. The second and third floors were open only to those with invitations, but the first-floor exhibition hall was open to the general public. Jiang Wan spotted him immediately—he was so conspicuous. Without an invitation, he casually dragged a chair in and sat down on the first floor. Two servants followed behind him, carrying in a large rectangular object covered in silk cloth. The three men, with stern faces, stood there, looking like they were about to challenge the establishment, scaring the surrounding crowd away.

Jiang Wan held his forehead. "No, you're a blacksmith, I'm a porcelain maker. What kind of gym are you playing in?"

But since he was already here and hadn't done anything out of the ordinary, Jiang Wan couldn't just chase him away in front of everyone. He could only deal with it head-on and keep a close eye on him.

She said to the shopkeeper Zhou at the main store, "Have all the distinguished guests in the third-floor private room arrived?"

"Boss, several nobles who often buy celadon from us have arrived. They are from the Qinghe County Princess's Mansion, the Ministry of Justice's Mansion, the Jing'an Marquis' Mansion, the Wenyuan Earl's Mansion, and the Wen Guojiu's Mansion." Manager Zhou replied.

Jiang Wan was stunned. "Did the Marquis of Jing'an buy celadon from our store? I've looked through the purchase records of aristocratic families, and there's no mention of the Marquis of Jing'an."

Shopkeeper Zhou touched his nose and said, "Ahem, this old marquis is close to his former boss, so he usually doesn't keep accounts for his purchases."

"No accounting?" Jiang Wan was shocked. "The amount of celadon purchased by aristocratic families every year ranges from over a thousand taels to two or three hundred taels. What kind of relationship do they have that they can give it all away for free?"

Thinking of what He Wanrong had said some time ago, a thought occurred to her: Was Liu Guang's constant harassment of her in Dunhuang Prefecture at the behest of the Marquis of Jing'an? If so, then the Marquis of Jing'an must have been monitoring her movements and was probably aware of their plot to overturn the verdict.

Jiang Wan's heart sank, and he subconsciously said, "Tell Uncle Wen about this—uh, forget it, let's not tell him for now."

Why would he tell outsiders about his family's account books? Jiang Wan shook his head, secretly lamenting that his vigilance was really getting lower and lower.

Shopkeeper Zhou mumbled, "Okay, okay. By the way, Uncle Wen asked you to keep the empty box on the third floor. Lord Shen might need it."

"You didn't say what it's for?" Jiang Wan said, "Alright, then keep it. It's almost time, are you ready for the ceremony?"

Seeing Shopkeeper Zhou nod, Jiang Wan said, "Then let's get started."

The renaming ceremony of the Da Zhou store was similar to an opening ceremony. First, the store owner gave a speech, introducing the new store's history, featured products, etc. This was originally Jiang Wan's responsibility, but she wanted her brother to show more face, so she pushed it to Jiang An.

The event was followed by a congratulatory speech by a special guest, the unveiling of the Qingjiangju plaque, and the display of featured merchandise. Two celadon pieces, a colored glaze jar and a transparent glaze four-legged incense burner, were sold for over a hundred taels of silver.

As planned, it was time to display Chen Xi's embroidery. Although she had experienced auctions with her master, Chen Xi was still a little nervous when it came time to put her own work on display.

She directed two staff members to carry the embroidery to the center of the exhibition hall. As soon as it was placed, Zhao Youtie, who had been silent until then, stood up.

The shop suddenly became much quieter. The earlier confrontation between Jiang Wan and Zhao Youtie at the antiques appreciation banquet had been heard by everyone in the industry with a few connections. So, when Zhao Youtie stood up, many of his colleagues cast a somewhat excited look at him.

Zhao Youtie, however, changed his previous disdainful expression and said with a smile, "Boss Jiang, we had some misunderstandings before. It was all my fault for being too reckless and causing discord. I feel bad about it, so I wanted to take advantage of today to apologize. This is a gift of apology, I hope you don't mind."

He waved to the shop assistants behind him, and the two shop assistants lifted the silk cloth, revealing a five-foot-long embroidery.

The moment Jiang Wan saw the embroidery clearly, she turned back to look at Chen Xi. Chen Xi's face was pale, and his big eyes were filled with shock, panic, and fear.

This embroidery is almost exactly the same as the one Chen Xi and I are about to show you!

"Sunrise and Phoenix," Zhao Youtie said, "I hired the best embroiderer, who spent half a month on this piece. Is Boss Jiang satisfied?"

The store was suddenly filled with the whispers of the audience.

"Didn't Master Zhao say he hated Boss Jiang?"

"Yes, I heard he even threatened to bankrupt Qingjiangju. Why did he suddenly change his mind?"

"This embroidery is obviously of great value. It seems that Master Zhao is sincerely seeking peace."

Looking at Chen Xi again, she probably hadn't recovered from the shock just now and was still standing there blankly.

Jiang Wan sighed secretly. She certainly believed that her apprentice would not plagiarize, but the bad thing was that Zhao Youtie's embroidery appeared in front of everyone first, and everyone would have a preconceived notion that it was the original work of the embroiderer he hired.

In the embroidery industry, skill is one thing, but creativity is even more important. The two pieces are identical; it's no coincidence. Besides, Zhao Youtie is a vindictive man, so why would he bow down to her for no reason? Jiang Wan speculated that someone might have seen Chen Xi's unfinished embroidery in advance.

This is the first time that Chen Xi's embroidery has been publicly auctioned at Qingjiangju. If it is determined to be plagiarism, it will probably become a stain that she will never be able to erase in her life.

Jiang Wan clenched her fists, regretting that she was not a professional and could not see any tricks. She could only try her best to create opportunities for Chen Xi.

She forced a fake smile and said, "I'm an outsider. I just think the embroidery is very beautiful, but I can't see the secrets. My apprentice knows a thing or two. Xixi, go take a look at this embroidery and learn from other embroiderers in the future."

She patted Chen Xi's shoulder and lowered her voice using her body to shield him: "Don't be afraid, Master is here."

With Jiang Wan's comfort, Chen Xi's complexion gradually returned to normal. He nodded, walked to the embroidery with somewhat stiff steps, bent down, and observed it carefully.

"How's it going? Little girl, is this painting well done?" Zhao Youtie leaned forward, his gaze like a cold arrow shooting straight at Chen Xi. The latter shuddered with fear and stepped back involuntarily.

Jiang Wan couldn't allow him to bully others right under his nose. He stepped forward and said, "The child hasn't even had a chance to see it yet. Why are you so anxious, Master? By the way, I wonder which embroiderer in Lin'an made this? She took so much trouble. Jiang Wan should thank her in person."

Zhao Youtie quickly touched his nose and pointed to the southeast corner of the second floor, saying, "This is the masterpiece of Boss Lin."

Looking in the direction of his finger, I saw a beautiful woman about 30 years old walking out from the seats on the second floor and bowing to Jiang Wan from a distance.

Everyone's attention in the store shifted to the second floor. Chen Xi breathed a sigh of relief and his body was no longer tense.

Seeing that the apprentice began to concentrate on studying the embroidery, Jiang Wan quickly attracted the audience's attention and chatted with the beautiful woman:

"How long did it take Boss Lin to embroider such a magnificent piece?"

The beautiful woman subconsciously looked at Zhao Youtie before answering, "Master Zhao paid double the price and asked me to make it as quickly as possible, so I worked day and night and finished it on the 15th."

The invitations to the renaming ceremony were sent out on the 15th. Could it really be such a coincidence? Furthermore, Chen Xi, with her reckless dedication, embroidered for a full 20 days, finishing only last night. Could double the price make Lin Xiu Niang even more reckless than Chen Xi?

Seeing her look of doubt, Zhao Youtie quickly interrupted, "Haha, Boss Lin is really fast. Oh, and by the way, didn't they say that one of the items for auction today is also embroidery? Hurry and show it to everyone."

Jiang Wan and Chen Xi exchanged a glance, and the latter nodded, looking confident.

Chen Xi lifted the silk cloth covering her embroidery, revealing an identical picture of a sunrise and a phoenix.

A low exclamation came from the audience.

Zhao Youtie feigned shock. "How could it be...how could it be the same? Little girl, you're a beginner in embroidery and lack inspiration. It's normal for you to imitate others, but how can you claim that this is your own original work?"

Chen Xi raised his eyebrows: "Master, how can you be sure that I plagiarized Boss Lin?"

"What else could she do? Boss Lin is the best embroiderer in Lin'an City. Would she plagiarize a novice like you?" Zhao Youtie glanced at Jiang Wan. "Boss Jiang, you're not teaching well."

Zhao Youtie's words were euphemistic, but his words had already determined the nature of the matter. Many onlookers, influenced by him, looked at Chen Xi with strange eyes.

Jiang Wan smiled without saying anything, her left hand softly pressing down to signal the audience to be quiet. He was already a well-known figure in Lin'an City, and the audience subconsciously obeyed her request and became much quieter.

Chen Xi held up her embroidery with both hands and said loudly, "This embroidery of mine is not a sunrise and phoenix painting, or rather, it is only half a sunrise and phoenix painting."

Amidst the gazes, she turned the embroidery over, revealing a completely different color on the other side.

The sun was embroidered on the spot where the moon was, replaced by a cold full moon, the phoenix turned over to become a jackdaw, and the color of the green mountains became even darker. The front and back have the same outline, but different colors, forming two different scenes of day and night in the same place.

The chattering stopped abruptly. A few seconds later, someone cautiously asked, "Is this... double-sided, different-color embroidery?"

Fourteen years ago, Su embroidery masters became famous throughout China for their still-improved double-sided embroidery. Unfortunately, at that time, their technique was limited to monochromatic embroidery, meaning the colors on both sides matched. Su embroidery masters also experimented with hybrid embroidery, but disappeared before achieving success. Thus, this immature double-sided embroidery technique remained largely forgotten for fourteen years.

"That's right," Chen Xi said, "The front of this work is called Sunrise Phoenix, and the back is called Moon-Rested Jackdaw."

After saying this, she turned to Zhao Youtie and said, "Master Zhao, I embroider this piece for nine hours a day. I started on the 21st and it was not completed until last night. I don't understand why the embroidery that Boss Lin started on the 15th is so similar to mine."