Lanqin lay on the cool couch in the main room, several delicate pastries arranged within easy reach on small plates adorned with blue branches and flowers. She held the jade pendant given to her by the Fourth Master, examining it from all angles. This jade was truly peculiar; in summer, it felt cool as ice to the touch, seemingly radiating a constant chill. Even in the sweltering June heat, holding it in her palm made her feel refreshed. According to the Fourth Master, this jade could also gather heat in winter, so instead of feeling cold in her hand, it would warm her entire hand.
Damn, this jade is a bit magical! It works even better than an air conditioner? Lanqin thought to herself, and suddenly remembered a precious jade that she had read in a historical document.
Nianxue looked at it and smiled, "Princess, is there anything special about this jade pendant that the master bestowed upon you? You seem to love it so much." As she spoke, she placed a few lotus flowers that she had just picked on a tall stool in front of the octagonal lattice window.
Lanqin loved lotus flowers, so she took the jade, slipped on her shoes, and went to the window to admire the newly picked lotus flowers.
These few lotus buds, with their milky-white bodies and pink tips, had morning dew rolling on their tips. Before long, a faint fragrance of lotus filled the room.
"Did the little eunuchs in the garden send this over?" Lanqin asked, stroking the delicate pink lotus leaves with her fingers.
“Yes, Xicha and I went to ask if we could pick some lotus flowers for the princess, and the little eunuch guarding the garden volunteered to pick some for us every five days,” Nianxue replied. “Princess, Xicha and I are very well received wherever we go these days, which shows how much the princess is valued by the master. These people are all snobbish opportunists who follow the crowd, and they naturally fawn over the princess because she is favored.”
Lanqin glanced at Nianxue and said softly, "You should warn the others not to make a fuss about it outside, lest they see it and it become a topic of gossip."
Nianxue nodded in agreement. Lanqin looked through the octagonal window and saw Li Shubao leading a man in his forties into the house. She quickly put down the lotus flower and walked to the door of the main house.
When Li Shubao saw Lanqin come out, he quickly took two steps and led the man to bow to Lanqin, saying, "Princess, this is Carpenter Wang. He made two copies of the two drawings you made. Please give him your feedback."
Carpenter Wang was the furniture repairman in the mansion, receiving a monthly salary of two taels of silver. Normally, no one bothered him, but a few days ago, Uncle Li from Princess Niu's courtyard approached him, asking him to make two items. Carpenter Wang dared not refuse; he was actually hoping a favored master would come to him. After carefully examining the two designs, Carpenter Wang gathered materials and spent three days and three nights working in his small wooden hut before he felt he could show them to the princess.
"This servant greets Princess Niu!" Carpenter Wang knelt down respectfully. He was also excited. So many years had passed, and he had never had the chance to show his face in front of his favored master.
"Get up, quickly bring out what I asked for and let me see it," Lanqin said impatiently.
Carpenter Wang quickly brought a small basket he was carrying in his left hand to his front and untied the piece of floral cloth covering it. A shoe sole made of bamboo and a small half-glove made of bamboo strips and cloth were revealed.
Li Shubao immediately took the two items out of the basket and handed them to Lanqin. He glanced at them quickly and recognized only one: a long, shoe-like thing that looked like a shoe sole. As for the other thing that looked like a glove, he didn't know what it was.
"You've done a very good job; it's almost exactly what I wanted." Lanqin examined the bamboo soles and gloves from both sides.
"Thank you for your praise, Princess Niu!" Carpenter Wang replied, bowing slightly. He had ruined countless attempts before finally creating these two items, which he considered perfect. To receive a compliment from Princess Niu was well worth it.
"I might have something for you to do in the future, would you be willing?" Lanqin immediately felt a sense of goodwill towards this person. Although since she came to the Fourth Master's residence, all the servants had treated her with respect and flattery, it was all because she was favored by the Fourth Master. Only this carpenter Wang did not have that kind of flattering and fawning look. He stood there obediently and bowed his head to answer questions from beginning to end.
"Yes, yes, serving the princess is a servant's duty." Carpenter Wang was overjoyed, feeling as if he had received a tremendous reward.
After Li Shubao saw Wang the carpenter off, several maids gathered around, looking at the things in Lanqin's hands and chattering amongst themselves.
"Princess, what are you doing?" Huanbi, quick to speak, couldn't help but ask first. Nianxue then helped Lanqin back into the house, poured her a cup of jasmine tea, and then came over to look.
"I want to make 'sandals' for you, and then 'nail guards' for the First Prince and the Third Prince," Lanqin said with a grin to the bewildered maids.
"What are sandals? And what are finger guards?" Xi Cha noticed that Lan Qin's forehead was slightly sweaty, so she took out a round fan to fan her. Zi Ran and Huan Bi then placed some delicate snacks on the table.
"The weather is getting hotter and hotter, and you're all still wearing thick socks and cloth shoes. It's really too hot. Princess, I'll make you some lightweight sandals out of bamboo strips," Lanqin said proudly, looking at the soles that Carpenter Wang had polished with fine bamboo strips. She used to be eager to wear sandals as soon as summer arrived, but in the Qing Dynasty, where women were expected to keep their feet bare, Lin Mengyao, who was sensitive to the heat, was quite troubled.
After two nights of thinking and drawing, she finally drew a picture of the sandal sole and asked Li Shubao to find someone to make one.
As for the finger guards, she wanted to give them to the eldest prince and the third prince. Seeing that they practiced horseback riding and archery for an hour every day at the training ground, which was very hard, especially since their small hands had to pull such a big bow, Lanqin immediately thought of making a set of finger guards for them so that their fingers would not hurt so much.
So, our Comrade Lanqin desperately tried to recall what the archery competitors wore on their hands when she watched archery competitions on TV before, and then drew a sketch of the finger guards from memory.
"Nianxue, go to the Fujin's courtyard and inform the embroiderers in the manor to come over. These sandals require their skillful hands to make." Lanqin smiled mysteriously and said to the maids, "Once you wear them, you'll know how good these sandals are."
Following Lanqin's instructions, Nianxue arrived at the main courtyard. Chunliu was watering the best roses for the Fujin in the courtyard. Nianxue followed the old woman at the gate to her, bowed slightly, and said, "Greetings, Sister Chunliu."
Upon seeing Nianxue, Chunliu quickly put on a smile and said, "What brings you here, Sister Nianxue? Is there something you need, Princess Niu?"
With a smile, Nianxue slowly said, "My lady wishes to invite an embroiderer to make a few pairs of shoes, and has sent me to inform the princess."
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