Chapter 172 Sister Li’s Choice
Fan Hui tightened her grip on Cui Qingyi's hand and moved her lips as if she wanted to say something, but Qi Yuan interrupted her: "Master, I want to go myself."
Cui Qingyi looked at the little girl in surprise. She was only eleven years old and her face still had the childishness typical of her age. However, it might be because children in the feudal era generally matured earlier, so Qi Yuan sometimes acted more maturely than some adults.
After all, she was her first disciple, so Cui Qingyi treated her like an independent adult. "You're going on a long journey, with uncertain futures. You might not see your parents or brothers for five or ten years. Have you really thought this through?"
Qi Yuan looks like Fan Hui, with beautiful eyebrows and eyes. When I first met her, I felt that she was as smart as a deer and a little timid. But in just two years, the timidity had disappeared from this girl, and her eyes had a different look.
Qi Yuan smiled, his face full of determination: "Master, I have made up my mind. I want to go to the capital to have a look. Daddy always said that the capital is where the dragon vein is, with outstanding people and beautiful scenery. The imperial palace is a collection of all the best things in the world.
I thought that since the best things in the world are in the palace, if I go there, I might be able to meet more great embroidery masters.
I asked Master Konjac before, and she said that you were very serious in learning embroidery back then, and never slacked off regardless of the cold or heat. It was only many years later that you created the double-sided embroidery technique.
If I meet more talented people and learn more and better embroidery techniques, maybe one day I will be able to create a set of embroidery techniques that are unique to me.
Master, I want to go to the capital and the palace, please let me go."
After Qi Yuan finished speaking, Cui Qingyi was shocked. She really didn't expect Qi Yuan to think this way. At this moment, compared with this eleven-year-old girl, she felt that she was really shallow.
Fan Hui wiped her eyes, and finally had the chance to speak, "I don't want her to go. The capital is so far away. If she goes, it will be difficult for her father and I to see her even if she wants to.
But this child....”
It had only been a few hours since the children in the girls' school received the news, and Qi Yuan's family was the fastest to arrive except for Chen Yingchun, so they probably had no chance to discuss it properly.
"Sister Fan, why don't you go home first and sit down as a family to discuss this. If you choose to enter the palace and not see each other for many years, this is no small matter. You should think about it carefully."
Fan Hui was about to nod. At first, she was very excited when she learned that the palace was recruiting embroiderers for women. After all, it was the palace. The most distinguished people in the Jin Dynasty were all there. If a family could have an embroiderer who could serve in the palace, it would be an unparalleled honor.
But after the journey here and what Cui Qingyi just said, Fan Hui hesitated. After all, the capital is not Dongping County. Qi Yuan goes to the girls' school every day and goes home in the evening. They can still sit together and talk about their inner thoughts.
She couldn't bear to think about not being able to see her daughter for ten years.
Seeing her mother's hesitation, Qi Yuan went to see Qi Moxuan anxiously, but she felt that she probably would not get her father's support. After all, at home, her mother had the final say in all her matters.
Qi Moxuan received Qi Yuan's gaze, sighed silently in his heart, and reached out to pat Fan Hui on the shoulder: "Let her go. At worst, we can go to the capital to see her every two years."
This time, not only Qi Yuan but also Cui Qingyi looked at Qi Moxuan in surprise.
Being stared at, Qi Moxuan pretended to be relaxed: "Let's talk about it when we get home. Let's register the child first."
In this way, Cui Qingyi wrote Qi Yuan's name on the roster, and the first one was Chen Yingchun.
While waiting for the Qi family of three to leave, several more families came to register their daughters. Cui Qingyi informed them of all the possible risks in the future, just as she did with Qi Yuan.
What Cui Qingyi didn't expect was that seven or eight people actually signed up. It seemed that she had underestimated the appeal of imperial power.
Only three embroiderers were selected to enter the palace. Since the number of applicants exceeded Cui Qingyi's, she thought of treating this as an assessment and finally selecting the three most outstanding people to report.
After dinner, Sister Li knocked on the door of Cui's house, followed by Li Miao with red eyes.
The Li and Cui families had always had a good relationship, visiting each other frequently, and the Li family was also familiar with the Qiao family across the street. Sister-in-law Li was still very polite when she visited the Cui family, but she was no longer as cautious as before.
Seeing Cui Qingyi and Konjac, he smiled helplessly and apologized first: "Miss Cui, Master Konjac, please don't blame me. It was me who didn't agree to register Xiao Miao."
Li Miao pouted and glanced at Konjac, tears still visible on her face.
Konjac pulled the person inside to wash his face, leaving Cui Qingyi to talk to Mrs. Li.
Cui Qingyi: "Sister-in-law, tell me why you don't want Xiao Miao to go to the capital?"
Sister Li's lips forced a smile, then she pursed them into a straight line: "Her father and grandmother at home wanted her to go. They thought it was such an honor to serve the nobles in the palace, but I forced them to give up.
How could I not know how respectable the palace was, how many people tried their best to get in every year? But everyone wanted to be respectable. For example, I heard that a girl of Xiao Miao's age wouldn't be released until she was at least 25 years old.
We are just an ordinary family and cannot afford to go to Beijing to see her every year. As a selfish mother, I don’t want to be away from my daughter for more than ten years. I just want her to learn embroidery well, have a skill to rely on in the future, get married, have children, and live the rest of her life in peace.
Even if Xiao Miao hates me in the future and thinks that I, as her mother, have hindered her future, I will accept it."
Cui Qingyi... is truly a loving parent who plans for his or her child in the long run. The same is true for Mrs. Li and Qi Moxuan, but their ways of loving are different.
To be honest, Cui Qingyi was surprised by the choices made by both the Qi and Li families. She had originally thought that the Li family would be the most active in this matter.
I don’t know what Konjac said to Li Miao in there. When Li Miao came out, his face was washed clean and he had put on ointment.
She has been pampered by her family in the past two years because she is learning embroidery. Not only have her hands become delicate and white, but even her face, which used to be a little rosy, has become white and rosy, making her very attractive.
Cui Qingyi stretched out her hand and called people over. Although they were all masters, Cui Qingyi seldom got close to the children in the girls' school. When she was suddenly pulled to her, the distance was so close that she could smell the scent of soapberries on their clothes, Li Miao suddenly felt a little embarrassed.
"Your mother is against your father and your grandmother, and is preventing you from going to the palace. Are you angry with your mother?"
Hearing this, Li Miao shook his head violently. "No, I won't be angry with my mother. Although I don't know why, my mother must be doing this for my own good."
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