Chapter 41 Yu Jiaojiao, who was stabbed by a boomerang
Consort Yu, the younger sister of Minister Yu, was one of the emperor's most favored concubines. She had been in the palace for over twenty years and had always enjoyed the emperor's favor.
Although she did not give birth to a prince, but only two princesses, the emperor did not distance himself from her.
As a high-ranking official of the third rank, Minister Yu was able to marry his two daughters into the Duke's Mansion and the Prime Minister's Mansion respectively, which may not be without the influence of Consort Yu's favor.
The Yu family has always been proud that they have produced a favored concubine.
In fact, if the emperor weren't old enough to be Yu Zhiyi's grandfather, and if the princes and dukes didn't already have principal wives, and even the concubines had no place, Minister Yu might have considered sending his two daughters into the royal family.
For Yu Zhiyi, not having any connection with the royal family was a stroke of luck amidst misfortune.
Yu Jiaojiao knew that Zhang Tianshun would become the king of the opposite sex in the future based on his military achievements, so she didn't care.
At that moment, Yu Jiaojiao blinked her eyes, which were glistening with tears, and looked aggrieved: "Sister, are you afraid that I will steal your thunder?"
A noblewoman couldn't stand it anymore: "Young Madam Du, don't be ridiculous. Third Young Madam Zhang is the true daughter of the Yu family, and is Consort Yu's own niece. Even without this incident, Consort Yu would definitely prefer Third Young Madam Zhang, not you."
Yu Zhiyi didn't care about the mockery, and just looked at Yu Jiaojiao with a smile: "If you don't believe me, just send it over now and see if Consort Yu will praise you or scold you for being stupid."
Her attitude was too strange, making Yu Jiaojiao uneasy, and the other noble ladies were also puzzled.
Zhou Xiuniang's heart pounded like a drum, her face filled with panic. Bai Tian'er could only hold her hand and keep comforting her: "It's alright, Mother. Young Madam Du and that bitch are in cahoots, and she's backing her up. But there's no way to prove it, they can't stir up any trouble."
Zhou Xiuniang still felt uneasy, but she had to force herself to cheer up and not let her emotions show too obviously.
Yu Zhiyi smiled and glanced at Zhou Xiuniang, but then said to Du Ziheng, "You are well-read, so you should understand what I'm saying, right?"
Du Ziheng is just a typical straight man; what insights could he possibly have about the things women like?
But now, he noticed something was off: "The pattern on this dress... doesn't match the name 'Golden Autumn'."
Yu Zhiyi chuckled and clapped her hands: "As expected of the great talent Du."
Du Ziheng blushed for no apparent reason.
He had been praised before and was immune to such compliments. Although he wouldn't arrogantly accept them all, he genuinely appreciated them.
But at this moment, he felt embarrassed, something he hadn't felt in a long time.
Yu Zhiyi didn't notice the awkwardness of the person opposite her, and just smiled at Hongluan: "Alright, stop keeping me in suspense."
Hongluan stood up, flicked a stray strand of hair from her chest, and curled her lip at Zhou Xiuniang and her daughter, her disdain evident: "You two idiots, where would you find wheat ears in autumn!"
As if a thunderbolt had struck her mind, Zhou Xiuniang's expression changed drastically, and Bai Tian'er could no longer maintain her fake smile.
Yu Jiaojiao was completely bewildered: "Wh...what do you mean?"
The pampered young lady didn't even know what wheat ears actually looked like, let alone that wheat ears actually ripened in the summer.
Only in the colder, more northerly regions will the wheat ripen in early autumn.
However, the wheat in Shengjing and the surrounding areas ripens in the summer.
Yu Zhiyi didn't know whether Consort Yu knew when the wheat ripened, but the Emperor certainly did. When his favorite concubine came to compete for his favor, wearing a dress embroidered with wheat ears but named "Golden Autumn," the Emperor would definitely think that this person was not very smart.
However, Consort Yu gained favor precisely because of her intelligence and insight.
"It means that there are wheat ears in summer and only corn in autumn."
Corn was introduced to the Central Plains from the border regions as early as a hundred years ago, even earlier than sweet potatoes.
Nowadays, the people of the Great Sheng Empire can barely make ends meet by relying on corn and sweet potatoes, as well as rice from the south and wheat from the north.
As Yu Zhiyi finished speaking, Hongluan stepped forward, took out the scissors she had prepared earlier, and began to clean the large ears of wheat on her skirt.
Before long, the excess embroidery thread was removed, revealing the original appearance of the skirt.
She looked at Zhou Xiuniang and her daughter triumphantly: "The original pattern on this dress was supposed to be a few unevenly distributed ears of corn with tassels. When I learned that someone was going to steal my clothes, I temporarily altered the pattern to ears of wheat."
It is difficult to clean up the covered threads, especially to distinguish which parts are original and which parts are newly added.
That's why Hongluan is considered the most skilled embroiderer. She memorized all the patterns and positions of the extra parts, so even though the clothes still had traces of embroidery after the excess threads were removed, it didn't affect the original exquisite pattern.
Moreover, anyone with a discerning eye can see the difference at a glance.
The original patterns were meticulously embroidered, exquisite and sophisticated in every detail. The original wheat ears, while indeed quite nice at first glance, paled in comparison to the corn.
Hongluan looked at Honggu: "These two people stole my embroidery and are going to sell the stolen goods to customers. What do you plan to do about it?"
Hong Gu was completely flustered at this moment.
It's important to know that the viewing banquet is the most important event in their building. Besides bringing in a lot of revenue on this day, the most important thing is that the clothes sold at the viewing banquet always create a craze, attracting more customers to buy the store's newest items.
Why are Jinxiuge's clothes able to lead the trend?
Besides the novel designs of the clothes, the most important reason is the high profile of the embroiderers.
In the past, everyone knew that the embroiderers at Jinxiu Pavilion were not only highly skilled but also very creative, and they would never resort to underhanded means to make money.
But today! On such an important day, Zhou Xiuniang actually stole the work of the most promising newcomer in the brothel, not only intending to ruin the other person, but also planning to use the other person's embroidery to promote herself!
How can the other guests trust her now? How can they trust Jinxiu Pavilion?
"Zhou Xiuniang, you're fired! Get out of here and go home!"
Zhou Xiuniang swayed and knelt down with a thud: "Manager, please, forgive me! I won't dare to do it again, I'll never dare to do it again!"
The person in charge remained unmoved.
Such a menace cannot be allowed to remain in this building any longer!
The light in Zhou Xiuniang's eyes gradually faded.
Yu Zhiyi suddenly laughed and said, "Otherwise, why don't you ask Madam Zhang for help?"
The light in Zhou Xiuniang's eyes immediately brightened again.
From the moment she left, Madam Zhang has been speaking out for the weak; she will definitely help me.
She scrambled to Yu Jiaojiao's feet, pleading, "Mrs. Zhang, please forgive me this time. I promise I will turn over a new leaf and start anew!"
Yu Jiaojiao's face twisted for a moment after hearing Yu Zhiyi's words.
Yu Zhiyi was delighted to see the real heiress pretending to be kind despite her obvious disgust.
You always pretend to be kind, and now you've gotten pricked by the boomerang.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com