Chapter 81 The mission assigned by the county government
Cui Qingyi didn't know that Chen Linan came to see her later. She was immersed in the stable and peaceful life in Dongping County and quickly forgot about the surname Chen.
A few days after returning from the seaside, Cui Qingyi received a document from the county government.
Looking at the young clerk in front of him, he pointed at himself speechlessly and said, "Are you sure the person above is talking about me?"
The little clerk from the county government office had a harmless smile on his face, but the words he said almost drove Cui Qingyi crazy.
"Of course it's you. Look at this person who is kind-hearted and skillful, isn't he Mr. Cui?
Your double-sided embroidery is now well-known in our Dongping County. Even I, who spends all day sorting documents, know about your deeds.
It's the Empress Dowager's birthday, and our county magistrate wants to choose some unique things to celebrate her birthday. Your craftsmanship is unique in our Dajin, so it's just right.
If your craftsmanship pleases the Empress Dowager, then our entire Dongping County will benefit from it. I'm afraid that the door to your girls' school will be broken down by others in the future.
Oh, this scene, just thinking about it makes me excited.
Mr. Cui, please do not refuse. I will take my leave now."
The young clerk smiled and said a lot of things. Then he stuffed the document with the official seal of the county government into Cui Qingyi's arms and walked away.
The resistance on Cui Qingyi's face was obvious. He was afraid that if he walked a little slower, the other party would push the document back to him.
Cui Qingyi was holding a hot potato in her arms, feeling speechless and depressed.
Presenting a gift to the current Empress Dowager on her birthday might be considered an extremely honorable and glorious thing for the family in the eyes of others, but Cui Qingyi was not happy at all.
If she had the ambition to make a name for herself, she would have tried her best to squeeze into the capital a few years ago. She wouldn't have to wait until now to hide in a small place like Dongping County.
She really just wants to live a quiet life, and she can't do anything like trying to curry favor with rich and powerful people.
But in this era, the imperial power was above everything else. Refusing to offer a gift to the Empress Dowager on her birthday was something that one had to think carefully about in their heart, not to mention saying it out loud.
Konjac was a little excited when she heard that someone from the county government had come to ask the young lady to prepare a birthday gift for the current empress dowager. But when she saw that Cui Qingyi's expression was not very good, she began to feel uneasy.
After waiting for the county clerk to leave, Konjac lowered his voice and asked, "Miss, is there something wrong here? Are we going to be in trouble?"
The ancients had a deep-rooted awe and desire for imperial power, and Konjac was no exception. However, compared to these, she was more worried about whether there would be any accidents in the lives of the girl and herself.
Sensing the worry in Konjac's tone, Cui Qingyi forced a smile and said in a casual manner:
"It won't be a problem, but we can't be careless when making a birthday gift for the Empress Dowager. We have to put in a lot of effort."
Konjac didn't understand Cui Qingyi's true worries. Hearing this, he clenched his fists and said, "Don't worry, young lady. I will do it very seriously."
Ever since she took in an apprentice and opened a school, Konjac has become more and more confident in embroidery. Even now, she has no intention of backing off even when it comes to presenting something to the royal family. Cui Qingyi thinks that this is probably the confidence that absolute professionalism gives people.
She was also infected by Konjac's attitude and clenched her fists and said, "Let's work hard together."
The Queen Mother's birthday was before the Mid-Autumn Festival, so there were only three months left. The gift for the Queen Mother couldn't be a small embroidery; a large piece of embroidery was the keynote.
At the same time, it must also conform to the theme of the birthday and the meaning of the beautiful country, so choosing the right picture is a brain-racking task.
What makes Cui Qingyi feel even more difficult is that she has to use double-sided embroidery, which is extremely difficult.
But since the matter has fallen on their heads, Cui Qingyi is not the kind of person who will only complain about everything. What she should do most is to find a way to solve the problem.
The next morning, Konjac went to the girls' school as usual, while Cui Qingyi went to the county government office alone.
Since this was a task assigned by the county government, Cui Qingyi thought that instead of staying at home and thinking about it, it would be better for her to go directly to see the county magistrate and ask for his advice. This would also allow her to determine in a small circle what the embroidery she wanted to make would look like.
Dongping County has been peaceful recently, and Zhou Yanxiu is still reading the Qingtian Diary as usual.
In fact, he had read this book several times, but he still couldn't understand some of the contents. When he heard that Mr. Cui from the women's school was coming, he thought of the task he had just assigned him, so he put down the book and asked someone to invite him in.
Cui Qingyi never expected that she had actually met the local official before, and that he was the strange man who came on the day of the girls' school enrollment.
Then he thought about it and felt that it was very reasonable. The girls' school was located in the back alley of the county government office. It was possible that the county magistrate took a stroll there when he had nothing to do.
When he saw Cui Qingyi again, Zhou Yanxiu no longer felt the same fluctuations as that day. In fact, he was an emotionally indifferent person. He thought of Ming Shi frequently because he really owed Ming Shi a lot, which was why he lost his composure for a while.
After that period, everything returned to normal.
"Show Mr. Cui a seat."
Zhou Yanxiu wasn't used to having maids, so the brothers Zhou Wen and Zhou Wu were always there to serve him. Upon hearing his instructions, Zhou Wen quickly moved a chair to Cui Qingyi's side and then turned back to make tea.
Cui Qingyi bowed to Zhou Yanxiu and happily sat down. She didn't want to waste any more time in the county government office, so as soon as she sat down, she quickly explained her purpose of coming:
"Sir Zhou, I'm here to ask if there are any special requirements for the birthday gift presented to the Empress Dowager?
To be honest, this double-sided embroidery is quite complicated. With the Empress Dowager's birthday only three months away, I'm afraid it would be too late to do something too complicated."
Cui Qingyi had come not only to discuss ideas with Zhou Yanxiu, but also to lay out her own difficulties in advance. She feared that this Lord Zhou was someone who only cared about showing off in front of the Empress Dowager and didn't care about her life or death. If he asked her to create a several-meter-long "Wanli Jiangshan Tu" within three months, she and Konjac would be dead.
Fortunately, Zhou Yanxiu was still rational and did not intend to make things difficult for others.
He thought for a moment and said, "Time is indeed tight. Then I can ask Mr. Cui to make a longevity painting using double-sided embroidery. I believe three months is more than enough time.
However, I would also like to remind Mr. Cui that celebrating the Empress Dowager's birthday is a novelty, so don't be greedy and harbor inappropriate thoughts, as this will only backfire."
When Cui Qingyi came, she thought that the county magistrate would definitely make some difficult requests, but she didn't expect it to be just a picture of a hundred years of longevity.
As the name suggests, the Hundred Longevity Picture is composed of one hundred longevity characters in different fonts. Even if it is double-sided embroidery, it took her and Konjac one and a half months to complete it.
As for Zhou Yanxiu's seemingly warning words later, Cui Qingyi would rather regard them as kind advice.
Imperial power, the people of this era may not even know the title of His Majesty the current emperor throughout their entire lives.
Anyone who gets this job would be so overwhelmed that it's inevitable that some people would have bad intentions and do something inappropriate.
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