Chapter 144: Embroidery Needle Hidden Edge, Warm Room Tailoring Clothes
As the morning light filtered across the glazed tiles of Shufangzhai, the charcoal fire in the warm room was already burning brightly. Freshly steamed rose cakes were delivered from the kitchenette, their sweet aroma mingling with the fragrance of winter plum blossoms drying in the corridor, swirling softly through the carved window lattices. Little Swallow sat cross-legged on a soft couch covered with a white tiger-skin mattress, clutching the collar of her aquamarine cheongsam dress, her brow furrowed like a small animal caught in the rain.
"There are so many pearls embroidered on this collar that it's hard to turn around!" She reached out and tugged at the tassels at the collar, and the golden lotus embroidered on the aquamarine satin trembled with her movements. "Wearing such heavy clothes for the enthronement ceremony is more enjoyable than wearing a martial arts suit and practicing boxing."
Ziwei sat at the dressing table across from her, her long hair being combed by Jinsuo. Her glossy black hair draped over her moon-white gauze sleeves, like silk stained with ink. She turned her head, the new magnolia hairpin swaying gently at her temples. "Just bear with it. The Emperor had it specially embroidered in the Jiangnan style. Look at the lotus heart, adorned with pearls the size of rice grains. How delicate!" She reached out and touched Xiaoyanzi's sleeve. "I heard the Empress had fleece added to the lining, so it won't be cold."
"Can exquisiteness be eaten?" Xiaoyanzi curled her lips, suddenly turning over and jumping off the soft couch. The hem of her bright red skirt swept across the charcoal basin, sending up a string of sparks. "I'm going to practice sword fighting! Practicing sword fighting in this dress is a good way to see if I can climb walls and fly!"
"Hey, stop it!" Yongqi saw this scene just as he stepped over the threshold and quickly reached out to stop it. Xiaoyanzi grabbed the sleeve of his royal blue formal attire. As they tugged, a pearl fell from Xiaoyanzi's collar and rolled to Yongqi's feet. He bent down to pick up the pearl, his fingertips touching the slightly cool pearl surface. When he looked up, he met Xiaoyanzi's angry eyes and couldn't help laughing. "You're so grown up, and you're still messing around? The embroiderer spent half a month working on the dress, and if you mess it up, the emperor will punish you by making you copy the "Instructions for Women."
"If you want to copy it, copy it!" Xiaoyanzi snatched the pearl and stuffed it back into her collar, but Yongqi held her hand. He pulled a small brocade box from his sleeve and opened it. Inside lay a red gold brooch inlaid with kingfisher feathers. The butterfly wings were inlaid with tiny sapphires. "Pin it on you. It will cover the patch on your collar so the emperor won't see it."
Little Swallow's eyes lit up and she looked closely at the brooch: "This butterfly's wings move! Where did you get it?"
"I had it made by the Imperial Household Department a few days ago." Yongqi took her hand and carefully pinned the brooch to her collar. His fingertips accidentally brushed against her neck, and they both froze. He quickly withdrew his hand, his ears red. "It looks good on you."
Footsteps were heard outside the warm room, and Erkang walked in holding a roll of rice paper. There were some ink stains on his blue-gray brocade robe. "Ziwei, this is the prayer for ancestors that I asked a scholar from the Hanlin Academy to copy. Please take a look at the words and see if they are appropriate." As he handed the rice paper over, his eyes fell on the magnolia hairpin in Ziwei's hair, and his Adam's apple moved slightly. "This hairpin suits you very well."
Ziwei took the prayer letter, and when her fingertips touched his hand, her cheeks flushed instantly. She lowered her head and whispered, "Thank you." She unfolded the rice paper, and the beautiful handwriting fell on it. "'In memory of my late mother, whose grace and kindness are enduring'... It's written so beautifully."
"As long as you like it." Erkang stood behind her, watching her lower her eyes as she read the prayer. The sunlight shone through the window lattice onto the top of her hair, casting a light golden halo on it. He couldn't help but want to reach out and brush away the strands of hair on her cheek, but he forced himself to hold back.
Little Stool came in with a copper basin to change the water. Seeing this, he secretly poked the little mosquito next to him: "Wow, the sweet smell in this warm room is about to turn the charcoal fire into candied fruit!" Little Mosquito covered his mouth and laughed. Little Swallow glared at him, and he quickly pretended to tidy up the tables and chairs.
Meanwhile, a tense chill permeated the embroidery room of Jingren Palace. Over a dozen embroiderers busied themselves around their frames, their silver needles weaving back and forth across the Shu brocade, making a subtle rustling sound. Nanny Li stood beside the frame, her hands on her hips, grimly scanning the room. The silver bracelets on her wrists jingled with each movement.
"Everyone, be careful!" She picked up an embroidery needle, pointing the tip at the Shu brocade in the sunlight. "This silver thread must be embroidered with the same thickness as the gold thread. If anyone reveals a flaw, watch your fingers!"
The embroiderer closest to the center shuddered, the needle piercing her fingertips, and blood instantly seeped into the sky-blue Shu brocade. She hurriedly wiped it with a handkerchief, but Nanny Li grabbed her arm and said, "You useless piece of shit! You can't even do this!" Nanny Li snatched the needle from her hand and stabbed it hard into the peony pattern on the Shu brocade. "See? You have to go through the petals. The silver thread is hidden under the gold thread, so no one can see it!"
The embroiderer turned pale with fear and replied tremblingly, "It's...it's my fault that I'm stupid."
Concubine Gao emerged from behind a screen, dressed in an eggplant-purple palace gown embroidered with dark bamboo. Her skirt swept across the balls of silk thread on the floor, her eyes cold as ice. She walked to the embroidery frame and traced the phoenix pattern on the Shu brocade with her fingertips. The phoenix feathers embroidered with gold thread shimmered brilliantly, and a closer look revealed that each feather was tipped with fine silver threads.
"The phoenix's eyes must be clad in pigeon-blood rubies," she said in a light, yet undeniably authoritative voice. "At the enthronement ceremony, I will personally place this phoenix hairpin on Princess Mingzhu, and reward Princess Huanzhu with a piece of the same Shu brocade." She turned to look at Nanny Li, a sneer playing on her lips. "Don't they enjoy the limelight? I'll let them prance about... in the most conspicuous places."
Nanny Li nodded and bowed hurriedly: "Your Majesty is wise! This Shu brocade looks gorgeous, but the silver threads are actually brittle and hard. They will snag and pill after being worn a few times, and will also hurt the skin if worn for a long time. The gem under the phoenix hairpin is hollow, and there is a fine needle hidden under it. As long as you apply a little force..." She made a stabbing gesture, and a vicious look flashed in her eyes.
Concubine Gao patted the Shu brocade with satisfaction and said, "Hurry up and finish it before Laba Festival." As she turned around, she caught a glimpse of the injured embroiderer and frowned. "Those with dirty hands and feet should be sent to the laundry department. Don't pollute my embroidery room."
The embroiderers were so frightened they dared not breathe. Only the rustling sound of the silver needles echoed in the room, like countless tiny teeth gnawing at something. The wind outside the window swept fallen leaves across the window frame, making a whimpering sound that blended with the chill in the embroidery room.
The bustle in the warm room of Shufangzhai remained undiminished. Xiaoyanzi was pestering Yongqi to teach her how to write the four characters "Cefeng Daji" (meaning "enfeoffment of great luck"). The brush dragged long ink marks across the rice paper, resembling a wriggling snake. Yongqi held her hand, adjusting it, the warmth of his palm filtering through his sleeve, and Xiaoyanzi's heart pounded like a rabbit.
"Look, the horizontal lines need to be level, and the vertical lines need to be straight," Yongqi said in a low, pleasant voice. "Just like your stance when practicing swordplay, it needs to be steady."
Xiaoyanzi turned her head to look at him. The sunlight fell on his thick eyelashes, casting a faint shadow. "It's much harder than practicing sword!" She suddenly put down her pen, grabbed the rose cake on the table and stuffed it into his mouth. "Shut your mouth, and you won't have to teach me how to write!"
Yongqi held a pastry in his mouth, smiled and shook his head, his eyes almost overflowing with doting. Ziwei watched them playfully, lowered her head to fold the prayer letter and put it into the brocade box. Erkang handed her a cup of warm almond tea without her noticing: "Drink some to warm yourself up, don't catch a cold."
Ziwei took the teacup, her fingertips touching his hand. They smiled at each other. The crackling charcoal fire in the warm room kept the chill out. No one noticed as the young eunuch with his ink-stained sleeves quietly retreated from the corridor. He had memorized every word of the laughter in the warm room and turned to walk towards Jingren Palace.
As dusk deepened, the lights in Shufangzhai lit up one by one, casting shadows of people swaying on the window paper like a warm silhouette. Meanwhile, the embroidery room in Jingren Palace remained brightly lit, silver needles flickering on the brocade, weaving cold calculations, stitch by stitch, into the gorgeous surface.
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