Chapter 123 The Queen Mother's Praise
There are many types of bamboo shoots. Cui Qingyi alone knows and has eaten at least three or four types. However, as an authentic northerner in her previous life, Cui Qingyi only knew that bamboo shoots were delicious, and she had never studied the types in detail.
So now she actually doesn’t know what kind of bamboo shoots are used to make sour bamboo shoots, or whether any kind of bamboo shoots can be used to make sour bamboo shoots. Anyway, she will know after trying it.
Moreover, bamboo shoots grow widely in Qinghe County and are not expensive, so it doesn't cost much to give it a try.
As October approached, Cui Qingyi began to think about the double-sided embroidery they had sent to the capital to celebrate the Empress Dowager's birthday. As the Empress Dowager's birthday drew closer, Cui Qingyi became more and more nervous.
Although she had tried her best to convince herself that the Hundred Longevity Painting was in accordance with the rules and did not violate any taboos, it was better to be safe than sorry. What if something went wrong during the process of sending the gift to the capital?
What if Zhou Yanxiu is unpopular and has made countless enemies in the capital, and someone wants to use the gift to trip him up?
In fact, Cui Qingyi's worries were somewhat justified, as Zhou Yanxiu had enemies in the capital.
But it was not so easy to trip someone up. Zhou Yanxiu sent the birthday gift to the empress dowager through his own channels, and it was escorted by trusted people around him throughout the journey. When it arrived in the capital, it was looked after by his people who stayed in the capital. With his badge, it could be delivered directly to the palace.
Except for people Zhou Yanxiu trusts, it is impossible for outsiders to have access to these things.
Although this does not conform to the procedure for officials from all over the country to congratulate the empress dowager on her birthday, Zhou Yanxiu is the nephew of the empress dowager's mother's family. Who would be so tactless as to find fault with him?
The gift that Cui Qingyi was always worried about was sent to the Empress Dowager's palace after being inspected by the Ministry of Internal Affairs on the eve of the Mid-Autumn Festival. After the final inspection, it was presented to the Empress Dowager.
I heard that the gift from Dongping County had been delivered, and the emperor went directly to the empress dowager's palace after leaving court.
When the emperor arrived, the empress dowager was holding the Hundred Longevity Picture and looking at it. The female official beside the empress dowager also came closer to take a closer look. The two were whispering about something, and there was a look of surprise on the female official's face.
His Majesty the Emperor just glanced at it and didn't take it seriously. An embroidered picture of a hundred years of longevity was nothing big.
The Queen Mother looked at him for a long moment, then smiled and ordered the court lady to summon Princess Shou. "She's always boasting about her embroidery skills. Today, I'll show her that there are always people better than you."
The female official responded happily and left. The Empress Dowager and Princess Shou were good friends when they were young. Now that she is old, she often asks Princess Shou to come to the palace to keep her company.
The Queen Mother's appearance actually aroused the Emperor's curiosity. "What good thing did the Queen Mother get?"
His Majesty the Emperor has seen all the good things in the world, but he is filial to the Empress Dowager and is willing to make her happy.
The Empress Dowager was genuinely happy and signaled the court lady to show the Hundred Longevity Painting to the Emperor. "Your Majesty, look, this is something Yan Xiu sent. This child is really thoughtful."
When mentioning Zhou Yanxiu, the emperor also said casually: "He has done a good job in Qinghe in recent years. I have seen it all. A few days ago, he sent a letter saying that he would give me a big gift for the New Year."
Hearing this, the Queen Mother smiled even more happily. She patted the Emperor's hand and said, "I know you love him, but don't indulge him blindly."
The emperor nodded in agreement, his eyes turning to the Hundred Longevity Painting in front of him. After a while, he commented, "This is the embroiderer that Yan Xiu found. The embroidery is indeed exquisite. He put a lot of thought into it."
The emperor has seen many good things. Two years ago, on his birthday, he received a screen embroidered by Princess Shou herself. It is now displayed in the imperial study. The fact that he praised it so much shows that this Hundred Years of Longevity Picture is indeed good.
The Queen Mother smiled again and motioned the Emperor to take another look.
The two palace maids switched positions, revealing the other side of the Hundred Longevity Picture.
After a while, the emperor laughed heartily: "Our Great Jin is truly full of talented people. This is cause for celebration."
After entering the palace, Princess Shou was also amazed by the double-sided embroidered picture of a hundred longevity paintings presented as tribute by Dongping County. She had devoted her entire life to studying embroidery techniques, and even after becoming the principal wife of Prince Shou, she did not stop practicing. Nowadays, every family in the capital is proud to have one or two of her embroidery works in their homes.
But she has been doing embroidery all her life, and she never thought that the embroidery could be made into something like this. It is no exaggeration to say that it is a work of art that is beyond compare.
Princess Shou was very excited: "Your Majesty, this embroiderer's skills are extraordinary. Why not summon her to the capital? Then I can shamelessly learn from her."
Princess Shou had no other intentions, she simply felt itchy to try her hand at such amazing skills.
The Queen Mother reached out and nodded at her: "Do you finally admit that there are people in this world whose embroidery skills are better than yours?"
Princess Shou waved her hand nonchalantly, "Queen Dowager, please stop teasing me. Under Your Majesty's diligent governance, our Great Jin is prosperous and prosperous, with talented people emerging in large numbers. As the saying goes, the back waves push forward the front waves, and I am that front wave."
Princess Shou not only had superb embroidery skills, but also had the art of speaking. With just a few words, she not only complimented the emperor and the empress dowager, but also always placed herself in a lower position. No wonder the empress dowager liked to summon her to the palace to talk.
After she had laughed enough, the Queen Mother continued, "I'm afraid it's impossible to let her come to the capital. Yan Xiu said that this embroiderer has opened a girls' school in Dongping County, specializing in teaching embroidery to girls. There's no shortage of embroiderers in the palace, so let her stay in Dongping County."
This is also what Zhou Yanxiu specifically mentioned in his private letter to the Empress Dowager. He thought that if the Empress Dowager liked this double-sided embroidery, she could pick two embroiderers from the palace to go to Dongping County to learn. As for Cui Qingyi, when the embroidery was completed, he asked if she was willing to go to the capital with the gift.
As the gifts were being presented, the Empress Dowager would likely keep her in the palace if she was pleased, but Cui Qingyi refused on the spot. The palace had so many rules and regulations, why did she have to go there and suffer for no reason?
Since Cui Qingyi was willing to teach double-sided embroidery to others, Zhou Yanxiu did not make things difficult for her. In order to protect the people under his rule, he spoke a few good words for her in front of the empress dowager.
Princess Shou was stunned. "This embroiderer is so generous that she is willing to pass on her unique skills to others."
Nowadays, people would like to keep their special skills to themselves. Even Princess Shou encountered many difficulties when she first learned embroidery from her master. If she had not been strong-willed and willing to use her brain to figure it out on her own, she would probably have achieved nothing in the end.
So this is why Princess Shou is still willing to meet those daughters of wealthy families who bring embroidery to her house even though she has reached her current status. She always thinks that what if someone is really willing to learn it?
They were all women, and the empress dowager wanted to do good to her nephew Zhou Yanxiu. With the suggestion of Princess Shou, an imperial edict of praise was drafted before the birthday banquet even started.
Cui Qingyi never dreamed that she would have the chance to meet the envoy from heaven in this lifetime even though she lived in Dongping County.
When Aunt Qin hurried back from the county government office and told her to get ready to receive the imperial edict, Cui Qingyi was completely stunned. If she hadn't seen Aunt Qin's expression and knew that it was at least not an edict that would cost her her life, she would have probably been completely paralyzed.
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