Chapter 245: Pearls and Jade, New Wedding Dress
In the courtyard of the Fang Mansion, the refreshing fragrance of plum blossoms seemed to still linger on Xiao Jian and Qing'er's fingertips. Meanwhile, in the embroidery room of the western warm pavilion of the Shufangzhai in the Forbidden City, a completely different scene of festivity and bustle unfolded.
The fireplace burned brightly, dispelling the last vestiges of winter's chill outside and filling the room with a cozy, fragrant aroma of silk and satin. Bright crimson brocade, shimmering golden satin, and shimmering Suzhou embroidery lay stacked on tables and embroidery frames, filling the room with a festive atmosphere. Little Swallow sat cross-legged on a low couch covered in thick brocade cushions, clutching a wedding dress for the prince's wife, just delivered by the Imperial Household Department. Her brows knitted tightly.
The wedding dress was exquisitely elaborate and ornate: a base of crimson kesi silk, embroidered with gold thread, depicting a phoenix with wings spread, ready to fly, and a scene of numerous children and grandchildren. The stitching was so fine and precise that it was almost invisible. The hem was layered, with a wide, rippled train, and the edges were embellished with tiny rice beads, creating a shimmering brilliance as she moved. Yet, when Xiaoyanzi carried it, she felt it weighed down, like a suit of soft, golden armor.
"Ouch!" She weighed it, her face wrinkled, and poked the stiff material with her fingertips in disgust. "This material is as stretched as a drumhead! The gold thread is embroidered too densely, it hurts my hands!" She tried to shake the hem of her skirt, but the heavy train didn't budge, and instead made her wrists ache. "How can I walk in this? I'm afraid I'll need someone to carry me! Not to mention..." Her eyes rolled around, and she muttered in a low voice, remembering something, "Not to mention stretching my muscles!"
As soon as she finished speaking, she suddenly raised her head and waved at Mingyue, who was sorting colorful silk threads beside her. Her eyes were surprisingly bright: "Mingyue! Quick! Go get me the scissors!"
"Princess!" Mingyue was so startled by her shout that her hand trembled, and the spool of silk thread in her hand rolled to the ground. She didn't even bother to pick it up. She rushed forward, her face drained of color, her voice trembling. "You absolutely can't do that! Princess! This is a phoenix robe that took dozens of top embroiderers from the Suzhou Weaving Bureau three full months to embroider! Every stitch and every thread was made according to the regulations of the Imperial Household Department! Using scissors... using scissors is extremely disrespectful!" Her eyes were red with anxiety, and her eyes were fixed on Xiaoyanzi, afraid that she would actually touch the scissors.
Xiaoyanzi pouted nonchalantly, "Oh, don't worry, I know my limits! I'm not going to cut it into rags!" She pointed at the cumbersome water-ripple tail and gestured at the overly wide cuffs. "Look here, it's so heavy and in the way. Cut this off, and you'll feel lighter when you walk. And these cuffs, if they were narrower, they'd be easier to make a sword flower!" As she spoke, the silver fox cloak Yongqi had given her suddenly flashed through her mind. The snow-white fur collar made her look energetic and warm. She quickly added, "Oh, and sew a circle of white fox fur around the collar! It'll be warm and impressive! It'll go perfectly with my cloak!"
"This..." Mingyue was in a dilemma, rubbing the corner of her clothes, and looking for help at Caixia who was holding a delicate and small pomegranate red baby jacket next to her. On the jacket, a cute little tiger was embroidered crookedly with silver thread. Although the stitching was not perfect, it exuded a fresh childlike charm. Caixia put down the jacket, walked over to look at the wedding dress, and then looked at Xiaoyanzi who looked determined. She couldn't help but smile: "Mingyue, don't worry. The princess knows what she is doing. It's not the first time she has altered clothes. When the emperor saw the riding and shooting uniform last time, he praised it for its uniqueness and neatness, and said that our princess is smart and clever, right?"
As he was speaking, a slender hand lifted the curtain of the warm room, and the corner of a bright yellow robe swept across the threshold, bringing a gust of cold air from outside. Qianlong, dressed in bright yellow casual clothes, with a face that looked a little tired after handling state affairs, walked in casually. His sharp eyes instantly caught the little calculation on Xiaoyanzi's face and the gorgeous wedding dress that was slightly deformed by her pulling. He raised his eyebrows slightly, but a knowing smile appeared at the corner of his lips. His voice was indistinguishable from joy or anger: "My dear Princess Huanzhu, are you dissatisfied with the phoenix robe I gave you again? Do you want to take it off and change it into a neat and powerful outfit?"
"Your Majesty!" Xiaoyanzi was startled. She quickly put her wedding dress on the couch, jumped off the couch, and walked a few steps to Qianlong. A sweet smile appeared on her face, and dimples on her cheeks were faintly visible. "Why are you here? You didn't even tell anyone to come!" Her eyes rolled, and she had an idea. She turned around and pulled the wedding dress on the couch, held it in front of Qianlong, pointing to the stiff material and the wide cuffs, and complained with a bit of coquettishness in her tone: "Your Majesty, look! Feel this material, it's so hard and stiff! It feels like a big dumpling when I put it on, and I can't even lift my arms! I want to modify it to make it softer and neater! This way, on the wedding day, when I kowtow to you to thank you, my movements will be more agile and standard, right? I won't be clumsy and embarrass you!" She blinked her big eyes, with a sincere look on her face that said, "I'm doing this all for your sake."
Qianlong looked at the lively, bright, and slightly cunning face before him, and his heart softened. He reached out his hand, his fingertips brushing over the lifelike golden phoenix and the exquisite painting of hundreds of children and grandchildren on the wedding dress with great cherishment. His eyes became incomparably gentle, as if through the gorgeous fabric, he saw a little girl in another time and space wearing an ill-fitting wedding dress, crying in the sedan chair with red eyes. He couldn't help but laugh, raised his hand and gently tapped Xiaoyanzi's forehead: "You girl, you always have a lot of crooked logic." He paused, his eyes fell on the circle of water ripples that Xiaoyanzi pointed out, and nodded, "But... this tail is indeed too cumbersome. It's better to cut it off so that you can move more easily."
"Really? Father Emperor, you are so kind! I knew you loved me the most!" When Xiaoyanzi heard that Emperor Qianlong had agreed, she immediately cheered and jumped for joy, like a happy little bird, with her eyebrows and eyes curved into crescents.
Qianlong, moved by her frank joy, smiled and patted the back of her hand, his gaze fixed on the heavy, quaint red gold bracelet on her wrist—a gift from her mother, Fang, for her coming-of-age ceremony, which she had worn ever since. A wave of mixed emotions welled up within him, and his voice softened unconsciously. "Marriage is a major event in life. I can wrong anyone, but not my Princess Huanzhu." Turning to Mingyue, who stood by with her arms draped, he said gently, "Mingyue, go to my private vault and fetch a box of the finest Hepu Dongzhu."
"Yes!" Mingyue quickly knelt down and responded. She glanced at the wedding dress with lingering fear and hurried out.
Qianlong continued to give instructions, his tone full of unquestionable doting, "Send the embroiderers here and make changes according to Princess's wishes. The collar should be trimmed with a circle of the best white fox fur as Princess requested. It should be thick and warm." He pointed to the shoulders and front of the wedding dress, "Also, use the oriental pearls you brought to add some tassel pendants to the wedding dress. Adorn it on the shoulders and front. Make it smart and delicate so that it can sway gracefully when walking." He imagined Xiaoyanzi wearing such a light and smart wedding dress, and looking as light and lively as a real swallow on the red carpet. The smile in his eyes deepened.
Caixia's eyes lit up as she listened. She took the opportunity to pick up the red tiger-shaped jacket she had just been gesturing at and respectfully presented it to Emperor Qianlong, saying with a smile, "Your Majesty, this is the soft, newly imported brocade from Jiangnan that Princess Ge asked me to find the other day. She said she wanted to make a casual jacket for the future young prince. Princess Ge even drew the pattern herself."
Qianlong took it and looked at it. He saw that on the bright red brocade jacket, embroidered with silver thread was a small tiger with a round head and a tail that stood high. However, the tail was embroidered in an unusually fluffy and curly pattern, more like a fox's tail than a tiger's. He couldn't help but burst out laughing, pointing at the tail and jokingly saying, "Look, how come the tiger's tail is embroidered like a little fox? It's quite unique."
"Oh! Father Emperor!" Xiaoyanzi snatched the little coat and held it tightly in her arms. Her face flushed red instantly. She felt embarrassed and anxious, and she stiffened her neck to argue, "This is called... this is called being unconventional! Do you understand? My son... uh... the future little prince must be different from other children! He must be so majestic and cute!" As soon as she said this, she felt embarrassed. Holding the little coat, she turned around and ran to the inner room like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, leaving only a trembling voice behind her, "I... I'll go see if the embroiderer is here! Caixia, help Father Emperor pour tea!"
Watching her blushing, fleeing figure, Qianlong's eyes nearly overflowed with laughter. Resignedly, he shook his head and said to Caixia, "Did you hear that? Princess can change it however she likes. There's no need to be bound by those rigid rules. As long as she's happy and comfortable wearing it, that's all that's fine." He paused, remembering Xiaoyanzi's fear of cold, and added, "Also, have the Imperial Household Department prepare some of the softest cotton and add an extra layer of quilting to the bridal gown. She's afraid of the cold."
"Yes, I've got that in mind." Caixia replied with a smile and went to prepare tea quickly.
Qianlong walked to the window and half-opened it. Outside, the snow in the Shufangzhai courtyard had long since been swept clear. The branches of a few bare crabapple trees trembled in the breeze, as if silently rejoicing in the impending joy. He gazed toward the inner chamber where Xiaoyanzi had fled, listening to the faint sound of her instructions to the embroiderer, "Cut here," "Narrow there," and a warm and soothing feeling filled his heart. Finally, his wedding dress in this life could be re-cut to her specifications: light, warm, and embellished with shimmering pearls and jade.
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