Chapter 20 White Porcelain Rabbit A plain porcelain rabbit, white as snow, with a charming and endearing appearance. ...

One of my kindred spirits has departed, and I feel Chang'an is now empty.

On the sixth day, near noon, Su Jinxiu finally finished the embroidery she was working on. She deftly tucked the needle back into the edge of the fabric frame, stretched, and her knuckles cracked softly twice.

After spending half a day hunched over my desk, the sudden relaxation left me feeling somewhat empty. The tangible sensation of the threads binding my fingertips vanished, and my heart felt empty as well, as if something was missing.

She turned to look at the embroidery frame next to her and saw Manshu bending down to thread the needle. She then raised her voice and said, "Sister Manshu, the color scheme of this peony is much brighter than the previous one. It's so eye-catching."

Upon hearing this, Manshu raised her eyes and smiled slightly: "Indeed. I just got the thread yesterday and was thinking of trying it on with this cinnabar color. It was quite unexpected."

The two chatted idly for a while, discussing the density of the stitches and the subtle variations in the silk threads. Su Jinxiu then got up and paced around, her feet involuntarily leading her to An Chisu's bookshelf. The shelf was piled with books of poetry and prose, mostly borrowed by the embroiderers in the pavilion to pass the time, which suited her perfectly at the moment.

My fingertips glide lightly over the spines of a row of books, and I casually pick up a booklet that's a little soggy from being turned over.

The pages unfolded in my palm, and my gaze swept over the title slip. By sheer coincidence, it was Zhang Jiuling's "Ode to the Departure of My Lord".

Leaning against the bookshelf, holding the booklet in one hand, she wanted to cultivate her mind through poetry, so she read aloud: "Since you left, I have not tended to the broken loom."

As soon as she finished speaking, Manshu, Linlang, and the other embroiderers all suddenly turned to look at her.

Su Jinxiu was stunned for a moment, then quickly looked down at the interpretation in the book. It turned out that this sentence meant that after her husband went far away, the woman's heart was filled with thoughts of him, and she no longer cared about the broken loom.

Her heart skipped a beat. She hurriedly closed the book, turned around and stuffed the booklet back into the depths of the bookshelf, then quickly sat back down at her embroidery table.

But Manshu and Linlang just laughed and surrounded her to tease her. Su Jinxiu wanted to explain that she had just happened to flip through the book and recited it casually, but the more she tried to speak, the more incoherent her words became.

Finally, she simply shut her mouth, blushed, lowered her head, picked up the embroidery needle, and tightened the plain cloth again.

Suddenly, footsteps came from outside the pavilion. It was Danli carrying a blue cloth bundle on her back. Her eyes were fixed on Su Jinxiu, and she said, "Second Master."

Su Jinxiu looked up and saw a stiffness between her brows, so she put down the silk thread and stood up: "What's wrong?"

The surrounding embroiderers stopped their work and all eyes turned to them, instantly silencing most of the room.

Danli gripped the bundle strap tightly, her voice flat: "I'm here to resign."

Su Jinxiu wasn't too surprised. She already knew that Danli's family was better off than her peers. A few days ago, she had heard Manshu mention that her brother had recently been appointed as a ninth-rank registrar. Now that she thought about it, Danli probably felt that working in the embroidery workshop was no longer worthy of the new official title her family had acquired.

Without asking any further questions, she turned to the accounting table, picked up the abacus, and calculated the monthly wages according to the work schedule. She then took out two extra strings of cash from the box as a bonus from the department, wrapped them in an oil paper bag, and handed it over: "The monthly wages and bonus are here. Please check them carefully. If you have time in the future, you can come back to the department to visit."

Danli took the oil paper bag, gave a curt reply, turned around and left without a trace of regret.

Only after the pavilion door closed again did hushed whispers begin to circulate, but Su Jinxiu simply picked up her embroidery needle and said:

"Let's get back to work."

It was late summer, and the petals of the paulownia tree, carrying fragments of sunlight, drifted down from the banks of the Hulong River, skimmed over the green tiles of the houses, and finally gently knocked on the vermilion doors of the Zhang residence.

The Zhang family mansion's vermilion gates were shrouded in a solemn atmosphere, and the shadows of the trees outside the screens were deep and heavy.

Ying Bumei stood by the desk in the study for more than three quarters of an hour, watching the incense smoke swirling around the plaque on the wall, and seeing the fifty taels of gold stacked into square ingots on the desk, their golden light gleaming.

Since the day the emperor bestowed gold upon him, Zhang Mingxu had always used the excuse of being overwhelmed with work to make it difficult to see him again, and it has been delayed until now that they have finally met.

Suddenly, the sound of footsteps came from below the steps, gradually approaching the door.

"Brother Ying, I have kept you waiting for a long time. There is an important matter that has delayed me."

With a light click of the door hinges, Zhang Mingxu, dressed in a purple-gold official robe, stepped in, his steps radiant. He raised his hand to remove his outer robe and handed it to a servant standing at attention, his imposing presence spreading with each step.

When his gaze swept over the gold on the table, the smile on his lips vanished instantly. He raised his hand to straighten his jade belt, then slowly walked to the table, lightly tapping the gold ingot with his knuckles, and asked in a low voice, "Why did you send back Miss Su's betrothal gifts?"

Ying Bumei raised her eyes to meet his scrutinizing gaze: "Miss Su has recently become quite famous, and orders are pouring in from all over the neighborhood. I suppose this task for Lord Zhang is not something she can take on right now."

Zhang Mingxu's expression suddenly darkened, but he said nothing more, only looking at the wall of the study.

There hung a colored painting of a lady, her hair piled high in the clouds, exuding a gentle and graceful charm. Upon closer inspection of her features, she bore a striking resemblance to Su Jinxiu, only lacking a touch of liveliness.

Zhang Mingxu's gaze softened: "Ten years have passed, and we are separated by life and death... I try not to think about it, but I can't forget it..."

The profound meaning behind those words was like a heavy stone thrown into water. Ying Bumei's hand, which was hanging by her side, suddenly clenched. She then said, "Xuanxu is now in power. There are so many beautiful women in the world to choose from. Why be so fixated on a mere seamstress?"

"Brother Ying, you're usually quick to understand, why are you pretending to be stupid today?" Zhang Mingxu suddenly became stern. "Or is it that you no longer care about that secret decree?"

Ying Bumei calmly met Zhang Mingxu's gaze: "Don't pursue a desperate enemy. If you, Lord Zhang, leave no room for maneuver and both of us perish, what benefit will you gain?"

Ying Bumei gripped the folding fan in his hand tighter and tighter, almost letting it fall off his face.

Zhang Mingxu lightly touched the gold on the table with his fingertips, his voice deep and slow: "Starting next month, I will be ordered to go to Liangzhe Circuit to supervise the transport of grain and investigate the accumulated malpractices of autumn taxes in various prefectures. It will take about a year before I return."

"When I return, I hope Brother Ying can have Miss Su enter my Zhang residence wearing that embroidered phoenix coronet and wedding gown, so that I won't have to go through any more trouble."

After Zhang Ming finished speaking, he raised his hand and gently patted Ying Bumei's shoulder, pressing lightly on his shoulder bone with his fingertips. The force was not heavy, but it seemed to carry immense pressure.

“When the matter is settled, I will return the secret decree, and Brother Ying will be able to rest easy and no longer be troubled by the court turmoil.”

The vermilion doors of the Zhang residence slowly closed behind them, shutting out all the plans and schemes within.

As Ying Bumei stepped out of the mansion, he felt the scorching sun suddenly burning his eyes. His previously strained spirits suddenly collapsed, and he felt as if he were walking on clouds.

They had no idea how they boarded the carriage, how they let the wheels and hooves roll over the bluestone alleys of Bianjing, or how they finally arrived at Huayun Pavilion.

The sound of wheels ceased for a moment, but Ying Bumei did not get out of the carriage. He only lifted a corner of the curtain and focused his gaze on the familiar beaded lintel.

As fate would have it, at that very moment the pavilion door opened slightly, and a beautiful woman stepped out gracefully, her purple dress fluttering in the breeze. She was talking to the embroiderer beside her, their laughter ringing out like a spring stream gurgling over stones.

Ying Bumei froze, her hand holding the curtain hanging in mid-air.

Before she could look away, Su Jinxiu seemed to sense something, looked up, her eyes lit up, and then raised her hand to wave lightly in the direction of the carriage.

Ying Bumei abruptly lowered the carriage curtain, but her laughter could already be heard outside.

"Master Ying, how have you been? What brings you to Huayun Pavilion today?"

The soft whispers brushed against my ear, and I couldn't sleep, so I unconsciously clenched the white rabbit porcelain figure in my palm.

The white rabbit, with its warm, smooth porcelain body and exquisite, snow-white appearance, was something I found by chance in a porcelain shop in the West Market after our first encounter in spring. At that time, I saw that its droopy ears and round, innocent eyes made it look like her in a cute and endearing way, so I decided to buy it.

From then on, it was hung inside the car every day, so they could see each other morning and evening.

Su Jinxiu stared at the tightly sealed carriage curtain. It was so quiet inside, as if a silent gourd had been sealed shut. She tapped the carriage wall and teased, "Haven't seen you for days, Master Ying, are you acting like a big shot, not even bothering to show your face?"

After a long while, Ying Bumei's low complaint drifted from the carriage: "I heard that a few days ago you invited the embroiderers from the pavilion to go to Fanlou for wine. You were thanking this person and that person, but you completely forgot about me, the one who was drinking the grain wine with you."

Su Jinxiu didn't think much of it, assuming that he was annoyed by the matter by keeping the carriage curtain tightly closed, and couldn't help but laugh out loud: "You still care about this meal? Daoist Ying eats delicacies every day, would he miss this meal of Fanlou wine?"

Silence filled the car for a long time.

"Or perhaps tomorrow..."

Before Su Jinxiu could finish speaking, Ying Bumei had already ordered the coachman to whip the carriage, and the carriage sped away.

She stood there, stunned, watching the car disappear into the distance, and muttered to herself, "Tsk, what a temper."

The wheels rolled over the bluestone slabs of the countryside, leaving shallow tracks in the thin dust. With a short "whoosh" from the driver, the carriage finally came to a steady stop under the shade of willows.

The carriage curtain was gently lifted by a delicate hand, revealing a pair of lotus-colored embroidered shoes. They landed steadily, and Su Jinxiu and Linlang stepped out of the carriage.

Before us stood the largest embroidery workshop in Bianjing, its courtyard built along the Bian River, its gray walls stretching for several meters, exuding the grandeur of a country gentry estate. Two awning boats were moored at the dock outside the courtyard, their cabin doors half-open, revealing neatly stacked spools of Shu brocade and Suzhou embroidery thread, clearly indicating that they had just brought back embroidery materials from the south by waterway.

Stepping through the main gate, one sees embroiderers sitting around bamboo baskets under the eaves, their fingers flying as they sort through gold and silver threads, occasionally a piece of embroidery cut into the shape of butterfly wings falling into the basket. From the direction of the storeroom, one can hear the sound of wooden ladles scooping water, as artisans prepare new dye pastes; a faint fragrance mingles with the steam, quietly drifting through the courtyard.

The farmhand who was leading the way was already waiting by the door. When he saw Su Jinxiu, he smiled and bowed: "Madam Jinxiu, you've arrived? The manager is in the inner room managing things."

Su Jinxiu nodded in agreement, lifted the curtain and went inside. She saw Nan Huaiyue looking through the account book, so she got straight to the point: "Aunt Huaiyue, I want to order some special-supply Yanxia velvet thread. It can't be found locally, so I'll have to trouble you to get it from the south."

Nan Huaiyue looked up and was taken aback, then sighed, "Oh dear, Lady Jinxiu is late! A few days ago, the ship that delivered Yanxia velvet from the south had just arrived at the dock, and as soon as the goods were unloaded, they were all ordered by the people of Huamanzhu, leaving not a single piece."

Hua Man Zhu was a renowned embroidery workshop in Bianjing, specializing in custom-made pieces for royalty and nobility. Many of the clothing items worn by the families of the capital's nobles were made by them, making it difficult for ordinary embroidery workshops to compete with them.

Linlang asked urgently, "Aunt Huaiyue, is it really true that there's not a single bit left?"

"Oh, do you think I would lie to you?" Nan Huaiyue put down the ledger and lowered her voice. "I heard from the people of Hua Manzhu that they took on the clothing work for the coming-of-age ceremony of Princess Qingping County. They wanted to make a set of cloud phoenix court bead skirts. The velvet is so lustrous and it goes perfectly with the gold thread. They bought the whole batch and didn't keep a single piece for themselves."

Su Jinxiu is now in charge of Huayun Pavilion. She only hopes to work hard for another six months, take on more jobs, and complete the tasks assigned on the system pages so as to become the number one embroiderer in Bianjing and live a peaceful life until she is twenty years old.

But heroes are as numerous as carp crossing a river, and Hua Manzhu's exquisite embroidery skills and high reputation far surpass his own, making them worlds apart.

Thinking of this, her previous expectations dimmed like a candle flickering in the wind, and she felt that the road ahead was long and uncertain.

They came full of enthusiasm, but left disappointed.

A note from the author:

Note:

"With one heart gone, I feel Chang'an is empty" is a quote from Bai Juyi's "Farewell to Yuan Jiu, and a Poem of My Feelings".

"Ten years have passed, and we are separated by life and death; though I try not to think of you, I cannot forget you." This line is quoted from Su Shi's poem "Jiang Cheng Zi: A Dream Recorded on the Night of the Twentieth Day of the First Month of the Year Yi Mao".