Chapter 164: Doubts about Shouping, Sisters’ Unity
Dusk, like a piece of ink-soaked velvet, slowly covered the glazed tiles of Shufangzhai. Ziwei sat at her embroidery frame by the window, silver needles in hand, examining the nearly completed longevity screen by candlelight. Embroidered across the screen were pine and crane designs symbolizing longevity. Hidden among the emerald pine needles were a few pink and white cranes. The stitching was so fine that even moonlight could barely penetrate.
"Princess, have a bowl of lotus seed soup. I just brought it from the kitchen." Jinsuo walked in with a gilded porcelain bowl. Seeing Ziwei staring at the longevity screen in a trance, she couldn't help but smile and said, "I've been embroidering this for half a month. The Empress Dowager will definitely like it when she sees it."
Ziwei brushed her fingertips against the crane's wings, and suddenly she cried out, "Ah!" The silver needle nearly pricked her finger. She pointed at the crane's tail feathers, her voice trembling, "Jinsuo, look here." In the candlelight, the tips of the feathers, which should have been pure white, were embroidered with a few stitches of extremely light gray thread, forming a sloppy shape similar to the character for "sorrow." Without close inspection, it was impossible to detect.
Jinsuo took a closer look and her face turned pale. "Who embroidered this? I clearly saw you finish it!"
"Someone must have tampered with this." Ziwei put down the silver needle, her fingertips cold. "In the past few days, apart from us, only Xiao Luzi came in a few times, saying he was helping to clean the dust." She suddenly remembered what Xiao Yanzi had said about the sword tassel mechanism during the day, and her heart sank. "Oh no, Xiao Yanzi is right, someone really wants to harm us!"
Just as he was speaking, Xiaoyanzi rushed in, still in her moon-white outfit, clutching a freshly picked pomegranate in her hand: "Ziwei! I'm telling you..." Before she could finish her words, she saw the gray lines on the longevity screen, and the pomegranate fell to the ground with a "thump". "What's going on?!"
Ziwei explained the whole story, and Xiaoyanzi stamped her feet in anger. "That little Luzi again! I knew there was something wrong with him! He hadn't been taught a lesson for falling into the water during the day, and now he dares to act like a scoundrel in front of the Queen Mother!" She picked up a pomegranate from the ground and took a big bite, the juice dripping from the corners of her mouth. "If the Queen Mother saw this, wouldn't she think she was cursing you?"
"What should we do now?" Ziwei's eyes were red, and her voice was filled with tears. "It's definitely too late to embroider it again. The Queen Mother's birthday is the day after tomorrow."
Xiaoyanzi spat the pomegranate seed into her palm. Suddenly, her eyes lit up and she slapped the table. "Got it!" She took Ziwei's hand and pointed at the gray thread. "Look, it's light in color. Can't we just add a few stitches?" She turned and picked up a strand of gold thread from the sewing basket. "Change this unlucky thing into auspicious clouds. It will be both beautiful and auspicious!"
Ziwei looked at her blankly: "Is it possible?"
"Why not?" Xiaoyanzi snatched the silver needle and gripped it like a sword. "Have you forgotten my handkerchief embroidery skills? I'm not as good as you, but adding a few clouds is no problem!" She sat down in front of the embroidery frame and tried to imitate Ziwei in straightening the silk thread, but her clumsiness made the thread tangled into a knot. "Oh, how come this needle is harder to use than a sword?"
Ziwei was amused by her and burst into laughter. She took the silver needle and said, "Let me do it." She picked up the gold thread and embroidered a few floating auspicious clouds around the gray thread. The golden thread covered the gray thread. From a distance, it looked like a crane flying with auspicious clouds in its beak, which was even more exquisite than the original one.
Xiaoyanzi watched from the side with her chin in her hand, and suddenly leaned close to Ziwei's ear: "Yongqi and Erkang will be here soon, it's a good opportunity for us to discuss this. How dare you do something in Shufangzhai? Do you really think we are soft persimmons?" Her eyes rolled, and she grabbed the pomegranate peel on the table and threw it out of the window, hitting the top of a small stool passing by.
"Ouch!" Xiaodiaozi ran in, rubbing his head. Seeing the table full of needlework, he grinned, "Are the two princesses still busy? Xiaowenzi just said he was going to tell you about Sun Wukong's three fights with the White Bone Demon to entertain you!"
"Stop talking," Xiaoyanzi beckoned him over and lowered her voice, "Little Stool, do me a favor..."
As soon as the gong struck midnight, Yongqi and Erkang walked side by side into Shufangzhai. Yongqi carried a food box filled with freshly bought osmanthus cakes; Erkang held a collection of poetry, evidently seeking a scholarly discussion with Ziwei. As they entered the Moon Gate, they were struck by the sight in the courtyard—Little Swallow was practicing a handstand on a stone table, her moon-white skirt drooping, revealing her slender ankles, as she shouted, "Look at my shadowless kick!"
"Xiaoyanzi! Come down quickly, be careful not to fall!" Yongqi quickly put down the lunch box and went to help her. As soon as his fingertips touched her waist, Xiaoyanzi jumped down with a "bang" and almost fell into his arms.
"You're here!" Little Swallow patted the dust off her hands and smiled like a cat stealing fish. "Just right, we need you for something!"
After entering the house, Ziwei pointed out the modified longevity screen to them. Erkang saw the gray line under the auspicious clouds and his face suddenly became solemn. "This method is very vicious. If it is exposed at the birthday banquet, the consequences will be disastrous." He looked at Yongqi and said, "Fifth Prince, this matter must be thoroughly investigated."
Yongqi frowned. "Xiao Luzi has confessed that it was Nanny Li who ordered him to do it, but he insisted that he never touched Shouping." He suddenly remembered something. "Oh, Nanny Li is Concubine Gao's confidant. This was most likely Concubine Gao's order."
"I knew it was her!" Xiaoyanzi slammed her palm on the table, shaking the candlelight. "She was pretending to send me snacks a few days ago, but it turns out she had no good intentions!" She suddenly grabbed Yongqi's sleeve, a sly glint in her eyes. "Yongqi, how about we put on a show for her at the birthday party the day after tomorrow?"
On the day of the birthday banquet, the Cining Palace was festooned with lanterns and filled with the aroma of sandalwood incense. The Empress Dowager sat in the main seat, wearing a phoenix crown inlaid with red gold and pearls. She looked at the people kneeling below to pay their respects. Her gaze lingered on Xiaoyanzi and Ziwei for a moment, and she nodded slightly. "Rise, please. I heard you prepared a birthday gift for me?"
Ziwei came forward holding the longevity screen and said in a gentle voice: "Your Majesty, this is a longevity screen embroidered by me. I wish you good fortune as vast as the East Sea and a long life as long as the Southern Mountains." The palace maid unfolded the longevity screen, and the pine, crane and auspicious clouds sparkled in the candlelight, attracting everyone's praise.
The Queen Mother squinted her eyes and looked closely. Suddenly, she pointed at the crane's wings and asked, "Whose idea was it to embroider these auspicious clouds so beautifully?"
Ziwei was about to reply when Xiaoyanzi laughed and said, "Your Majesty, Sister Ziwei was embroidering halfway when I saw the lonely crane, so I encouraged her to add a few clouds. Do you think it looks like a crane carrying clouds to celebrate your birthday?" As she spoke, she secretly winked at Ziwei.
Ziwei quickly agreed: "Exactly, thanks to Xiaoyanzi's reminder, we have these auspicious clouds."
The Queen Mother was amused, and the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes smoothed out. "You two sisters are so thoughtful. Your craftsmanship is better than that of the embroiderers in the palace. Reward!"
Concubine Gao, standing by, had a grim expression on her face, her nails digging deep into her handkerchief. Nanny Li whispered in her ear, "Don't worry, Madam. There's a backup plan."
Halfway through the banquet, a young eunuch suddenly ran in in a panic, holding a piece of cloth in his hand: "Empress Dowager! This servant found this in Shufangzhai, and it's embroidered with an unlucky pattern!"
Everyone's eyes turned to her. Xiaoyanzi sneered inwardly, but pretended to be surprised. "What rag? Let me see it!" She snatched it and shook it, deliberately revealing the word "sorrow" on it, then threw it to the ground with a "bang". "Whose dirty thing is this? How dare you frame me!"
Yongqi immediately stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, the stitching on this piece of cloth is completely different from the one on the longevity screen. It must have been forged. I have already found out that Xiao Luzi confessed that he was instructed by Nanny Li to tamper with the longevity screen and the sword tassel, and also to forge this piece of cloth!"
Nanny Li was so frightened that she fell to her knees: "Her Majesty, spare me! This servant didn't do it!"
Xiaoyanzi picked up the scrap of cloth and walked over to Concubine Gao, smiling innocently, "Sister Concubine Gao, this scrap of cloth looks like the brocade you often use in your palace."
Concubine Gao's face was pale, her lips trembling, unable to speak. The Empress Dowager was so astute that she had already seen the clues and snorted coldly, "Investigate! Investigate carefully for me! You dare to make trouble at my birthday banquet, you are very brave!"
After the banquet, the candlelight in Shufangzhai was still bright. Ziwei peeled an orange for Xiaoyanzi, her eyes full of gratitude: "Luckily you were prepared, otherwise something really bad would have happened today."
"That's right!" Xiaoyanzi swung her legs proudly. "To deal with such a villain, you have to be more clever than her!" She suddenly leaned close to Ziwei's ear and lowered her voice, "But this matter is not over yet. Concubine Gao will definitely not let this go."
Yongqi was pouring tea for Erkang when he heard this and said, "I've already had the guards keep an eye on Nanny Li. If she dares to make a move again, we'll catch her red-handed." He looked at Xiaoyanzi, his eyes full of tenderness. "From now on, wherever you go, always bring guards with you. Don't take risks on your own."
Xiaoyanzi responded vaguely with an orange in her mouth. Suddenly, she caught a glimpse of a dark shadow flashing outside the window and a smile appeared on the corner of her mouth - she had expected that Concubine Gao would be desperate and had specially asked Xiao Jian to guard nearby. Now, there was going to be some fun to watch.
Moonlight streamed in through the window lattice, illuminating the faces of the four people. Despite the turbulent times, the warmth of their mutual support was even more apparent. Ziwei looked at Xiaoyanzi beside her and suddenly felt that no matter how treacherous the palace was, as long as she had family and friends like her, there would be no hurdle that she couldn't overcome.
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