Unexpected disaster
After leaving Qingzhou County, An Hongdou did not return to Qingling County.
She changed her route and went to Qingyin County first, taking the maple tree with her.
When An Hongdou saw Li Lai'er, she was speechless and didn't know how to start the conversation.
He had promised Li Lai'er that the best would take the position, but he never expected that he would go back on his word in less than a year.
An Hongdou pushed the maple tree away, wanting to have a private conversation with Li Lai'er.
After hearing the whole story, Li Lai'er didn't do anything rash, which surprised An Hongdou.
“The situation is unavoidable; neither of us can make the decision. It’s just that some people are lucky and have good backgrounds!” Li Lai’er said proactively.
“I am grateful that you have allowed me to stay here. I don’t care about the manager’s position or reputation; what I need is money. I will do my job well, and you can give me the money I deserve.”
Seeing that An Hongdou wanted to say something, Li Lai'er shook her head.
"No need to comfort me, Third Sister-in-law. We're all family, and we need to support each other. Even prominent families understand the principle of shared prosperity; those of us without much wealth need to be even more united. Fighting over petty gains is just how life is." Li Lai'er saw things clearly.
"I'll go pay my respects to Maple Tree Girl later, since I'll be working for her in the future. Third Sister-in-law, this might not be a bad thing. By getting on the Feng family's side, we might be able to go far and achieve our goals."
“But your child is, after all, a descendant of the Xie family, and he has recently married a daughter from the Feng family.” An Hongdou hesitated before continuing.
“The Xie family neither acknowledges that he is their bloodline nor will they go back on their word. The Xie family is not short of a child. If the new bride of the Feng family is sensible, why should she lower herself, worry about the future and the past, and damage the harmony between husband and wife?”
Li Lai'er's tone was unwilling, but helpless.
"I only regret that I was so naive back then, thinking that I could change my fate by having a child! But who knows, if it weren't for the Xie family, and if I hadn't married into a well-off family back then, perhaps I would have achieved my wish today."
Even so, the two knew in their hearts that it was merely a romanticized version of the path they had not yet taken.
Although the court promoted the social hierarchy of "scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants," in reality, scholars preferred to marry women from families of equal social standing and took concubines from wealthy merchants.
Farmers' greatest hope is that a scholar will emerge from their family, bringing honor to their household one day.
Maple was efficient; she took over Li Lai'er's position in just a few days.
Although it was unknown what Fengshu was thinking, his words and actions did not reveal any contempt for Li Lai'er; on the contrary, he trusted Li Lai'er and entrusted her with important responsibilities.
Maple Tree also found An Hongdou and told her that Feng Qiang wanted to create momentum to spread the story of Jinxiu Pavilion throughout the capital.
"March is the birthday of the matriarch of the Feng family. Many prominent figures will be attending to offer their congratulations, making it a perfect opportunity to make a name for oneself," Maple Tree explained.
“My wife is the old lady’s own granddaughter, so it is only natural that we should present her with a birthday gift. This year, my wife would like Jinxiu Pavilion to embroider a birthday picture. It doesn’t need to be extravagant, but it must be ingenious.” Fengshu expressed Feng Qiang’s thoughts to An Hongdou.
Feng Qiang wanted to use the birthday banquet as an opportunity to make a name for herself and get her husband transferred back to the capital.
"So this birthday celebration painting is going to be related to the female apprentice she rescued?" An Hongdou pondered.
“Indeed. It would be most wonderful if the embroidery itself could reflect this ingenuity. I would be grateful if you could do so. If it succeeds, my lady will reward you handsomely,” Maple Tree said.
An Hongdou had some ideas in her mind; perhaps she could embroider a picture of a hundred women offering birthday wishes.
"When we explain the meaning to the old lady, we can point out why these 100 girls are grateful and want to embroider words to celebrate her birthday, and then we can naturally bring up this story."
An Hongdou asked Fengye for her opinion, and Fengye said she would need to consult Feng Qiang first.
An Hongdou decided to return to Qingling County to await news.
"Linglong is still in Qingling County. I'll go back and prepare the materials first, and wait for news from the young lady."
On the eve of his departure, Li Lai'er came to say goodbye.
Before leaving, she hesitated for a long time before finally speaking.
"Third sister-in-law, although Third Brother is the most outstanding in the Li family, he comes from a farming family and has no one to rely on. He is often not enough."
What do you mean by that?
"I overheard some things while I was at the Xie family’s house, about my third brother being transferred away from Qingyin County."
"Could you tell me about it?"
"It's alright to talk about it, but it's just a few words I overheard by chance, so it might not be taken seriously." Li Lai'er looked at An Hongdou, her eyes flashing, and remained silent for a while before continuing.
"I heard from the Xie family that the three prefectures of Jiangnan have been prosperous since ancient times. The court was short of money, so I sent an imperial envoy to inspect Jiangnan. I originally thought I would find some excuse to make the wealthy merchants of the three prefectures increase taxes to replenish the national treasury. I never expected that the imperial envoy would not leave Jiangnan alive."
"The court was furious and prepared to thoroughly investigate the three prefectures in Jiangnan. To this end, a special team was established, selecting officials with clean family backgrounds and short service years to join."
"A poor scholar who was sponsored by the Xie family came to ask for an introduction, but was ridiculed by the Xie family."
"The Xie family said that they couldn't even tell whether it was a ladder to heaven or a burial ground. How could the bookworms who came out of the imperial examinations compare to those recommended by the aristocratic families back then?"
"I came here to remind my third brother not to get involved in this matter and to protect himself. I didn't expect that he was no longer in Qingyin County when I arrived."
An Hongdou was shocked after hearing this, feeling a sense of disorientation spreading throughout her body.
"But Third Sister-in-law, there's no need to worry. Perhaps what the Xie family said isn't true, or perhaps Third Brother's departure has nothing to do with this matter. I see that you can still correspond with Third Brother, so I suppose his situation isn't dangerous."
An Hongdou began to recall the various unusual things that happened after Li Zeli left.
After Li Zeli left home, he rarely wrote, and when he did, he only wrote to let us know he was safe.
She was busy with the embroidery workshop at the time and assumed he was just preoccupied with official business.
Occasionally, when she had some free time, she would let her mind wander, wondering if Li Zeli had found a new lover and that was why he didn't say much in his letters to her.
But without any evidence, it would seem unreasonable for her to write to inquire, so she refused to reply out of spite.
I wanted to see when he would realize it and write to inquire, but I never received a letter.
The only letter she ever wrote home was when she left Qingyin County. She always wanted him to know where to send the next letter and where to look for her when she returned.
Looking back now, I wonder if he received it, and whether that letter caused him any trouble.
Thoughts swirled and turned, but reality was but a fleeting moment.
An Hongdou came to her senses and instinctively felt that Li Lai'er had not told her everything.
“You must have other reasons for connecting this matter with Li Zeli. I’m powerless to do anything about it, but if something really happens to him, I can’t just stay out of it!” An Hongdou grabbed Li Lai’er’s arm, her voice choked with emotion.
Li Lai'er's expression changed, she almost opened her mouth, but then swallowed, looking like she was struggling internally.
An Hongdou didn't miss the change in her expression and seized the opportunity to ask, "You once told me that family members should be united. Since you have already acknowledged Li Zeli as your third brother, why won't you say so?"
Li Lai'er sighed deeply, her expression a mixture of crying and laughing, quite unpleasant.
Xie An's father, Xie Qiao, mocked the student, saying that since he thought it was a good opportunity, he should let him have his way.
"He also said that he should bring along the Li family's son who passed the imperial examination, so that some unsavory characters wouldn't be dreaming of being Mrs. Xie."
“I thought that by joining the Xie family, I would sever all ties with the Li family, since I was just a stepdaughter. I never expected that I would still implicate my third brother.”
An Hongdou lost her strength and slumped onto the couch.
Later, Li Lai'er was sent home, and not long after, Li Zeli took a secret mission and left Qingyin County. If there was no connection, the timing was too coincidental.
“I came to Qingyin for this very reason. But when I arrived, my third brother was no longer here. I knew that it would make no difference whether I spoke or not, so I kept quiet.”
“If you resent me, I will not argue. I will go back to my hometown tomorrow.” Li Lai’er looked down at the floor tiles, not daring to look at An Hongdou’s expression.
After a long while, An Hongdou sighed softly: "Forget it, what's the use of blaming you? Even if you hadn't provoked the Xie family, Zeli might still have suffered this calamity. The lives and futures of insignificant people are nothing more than a game played by powerful figures."
"Now it all depends on Zeli's fate."
Despite saying that, An Hongdou was clearly caught up in her own emotions and hadn't come to her senses.
Li Lai'er was too ashamed to stay and went back to her room on her own.
An Hongdou didn't sleep all night, sitting alone until dawn.
As dawn broke, the maple tree delivered the message.
“Madam Li, my wife agrees with your idea. However, the birthday gifts need to be sent to the capital ahead of schedule, and we are worried that there will not be enough time. My wife has asked you to arrange for both sides to work on them at the same time.”
“Understood. I will send a message to Linglong. She will bring the embroiderers from Qingling County, and I will bring the embroiderers from Qingyin County. We will each embroider half of the work. We will meet in Qingzhou County in about a month to sew the pieces together and also show them to your wife.”
An Hongdou was in a state of confusion and lacked the energy to go to Qingling County. So she stayed behind to sort out her feelings.
After a short rest, An Hongdou began designing the pattern.
After staying indoors for several days, An Hongdou selected the most satisfactory one and sent it to Fengshu for inspection.
After discussing with Fengshu, the sketch was divided in two, with detailed instructions attached, and prepared to be sent to Qingling County to be handed over to Wu Linglong.
Filling her time with busyness is the only way she can stop thinking about Li Zeli.
Reason told her that overthinking was pointless; focusing on her own tasks was the best course of action. But she would still wake up in her sleep, calling his name.
That day, An Hongdou was discussing needlework techniques with the embroiderers.
She and Linglong lived in different places, making it inconvenient to exchange letters. And since time was of the essence, she decided to make the decision here and send it to them together, so that they could do as they were told.
Feng Nian suddenly stepped forward and whispered, "Madam, Lord Li has sent a letter."
An Hongdou was overjoyed and quickly made an excuse to go with Fengnian to see the messenger.
"Madam, I was carrying a letter for you, but when I arrived at the post station, I heard that the master had already left and his whereabouts were unknown. Your letter was not delivered." The messenger bowed and returned An Hongdou's letter.
An Hongdou reached out to take it, but lost her grip and the letter slipped to the ground.
The messenger bent down to pick up the letter, and then said, "However, when I returned, I found that the master had left a letter for the lady before he left, so I brought it with me this time."
"Where is the letter? Has it been opened by anyone else?" An Hongdou quickly asked.
"Madam is joking. How could I possibly open your letter without permission? It's quite a coincidence that my wife works in the kitchen of the post station, and my master asked her to pass it on to me."
"My husband and I are both tight-lipped; nobody else knows about my relationship with the new cook in the kitchen!"
The messenger smiled憨厚ly and explained.
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