"What is this?" That afternoon, Qiu Yinong was sitting in the yard, decorating the feathers with kingfisher feathers. The feathers were parrot feathers that she had bought before.
The sky blue, boxwood green, and turquoise fur are very bright.
They are all starched fur. I bought a lot of them at the time, including pink, red and orange-pink.
The blanks used are all pure silver plated with gold. She plans to order a set as a gift for her future sister-in-law.
Qiu Yinong didn't look up, still fiddling with the things in her hands: "I'm making a betrothal gift for my future sister-in-law, why are you out here? Why don't you rest well?"
"It's been more than 20 days. Didn't you remove all my stitches?" Chu Hongyun said indifferently and sat down on the rocking chair beside her.
"This is quite nice. What is it called?" It was the first time that Chu Hongyun saw such jewelry.
Qiu Yinong picked up a feather with tweezers, trimmed it, and applied glue with a small brush, while sticking the feathers on.
“This is the kingfisher feather technique.”
"Well, can feathers from any kind of bird be used?" Chu Hongyun asked.
"Not really. In fact, this Cui actually refers to a bird called the kingfisher. However, taking the kingfisher's feathers is too cruel."
"These feathers of mine are from a bird called a parrot. This bird is very rare."
"It was given to my father by a merchant from the Western Regions. Inside the fur was a blueprint that described how to inlay kingfisher feathers. My father gave it to me."
"I've always been curious, but I've never tried it before. This time, Big Brother is going to propose marriage, so I'll give it a try."
Chu Hongyun nodded and kept her words in mind.
The two stopped talking. One lay in the rocking chair, leisurely enjoying the early summer breeze, while the other was concentrating on painting.
The scene is quite harmonious, and the pear blossoms are almost withered.
When the breeze blows, some petals will occasionally float down.
"Xiao Liu, Xiao Liu, hurry up and get ready. Your third brother is back, and A Yan has passed the exam."
Suddenly, a sound of surprise came from outside the door. Qiu Yinong's face lit up with joy. She stood up with such a big movement that she almost knocked over the glue.
Fortunately, Chu Hongyun held the small porcelain jar and only spilled some liquid outside.
"Uncle Yougen, is my third brother back too?" Qiu Yinong looked at the person who came. It was Chunhua's father.
Qiu Yougen smiled and said, "I'm back. The bailiffs who brought the good news are almost at the door. These are the firecrackers the village head asked me to bring. Where's your mother?"
"I'm resting in the house."
"Mom, mom, my third brother passed the imperial examination and is back." Qiu Yinong ran to Qiu's mother's door and knocked.
Soon there was a sound from inside the house, and then the door was opened.
Mother Qiu asked in surprise, "Yier, is everything you said true?"
"Well, Uncle Yougen said that the bailiffs who are bringing the good news are almost at the door." Qiu Yinong replied with a smile.
Chu Hongyun also said, "Aunt, we're at the door."
Mother Qiu looked over and saw a yamen runner get off the mule, pick up a gong and start beating it.
"Congratulations, congratulations, my lady, congratulations, my lady, your noble family's third son has won the first place in the imperial examination. He will surely have a bright future and become a prime minister."
"Good." The villagers who came to watch cheered, and Qiu Yougen lit the firecrackers.
There was a crackling sound, and everyone had a smile on their face.
"Father and Mother, please accept my son's greetings." Qiu Hanyan came out of the carriage, walked up to Mr. and Mrs. Qiu, lifted up his clothes and knelt down.
After receiving the greeting, Mr. and Mrs. Qiu quickly helped San'er up.
"Thank you for your hard work." Father Qiu patted Qiu Hanyan's shoulder.
Qiu Hanyan smiled and looked at Qiu Yinong, with a gentle smile in his eyes.
"Thanks to the stamina pill my sister gave me, I didn't suffer during the exam days."
"That's good, that's good. What about the future? Should we take it as a reference this year or wait three years?" Father Qiu asked Qiu Hanyan.
Qiu Hanyan was silent for a moment and then said, "I've decided to give it a try this year. If it doesn't work, I'll try again in three years."
"My son has received a letter of recommendation from the county school."
Father Qiu nodded with satisfaction: "Then let's go. Don't worry about your family. Go study hard on your own. When the autumn exam comes, our whole family will accompany you to the provincial capital."
Seeing that his family members supported him, Qiu Hanyan smiled even more happily.
On the other hand, Qiu Yinong gave the yamen runner two taels of silver as money for wedding tea.
The yamen runner noticed Qiu Yinong and then recognized her: "Miss Qiu, the one who helped capture that gang of bandits earlier?"
"Sir, do you recognize me?" Now it was Qiu Yinong's turn to be curious.
The yamen runner said happily, "I also went with Lord Guo that day. It was a chaotic time, so it's normal that the young lady didn't remember me."
"My master will come to Taohua Village in two days to look for the girl in person."
"You have performed a great service. The court has awarded you twenty taels of silver and a plaque, which you are to pass on to the young lady."
The village head was delighted when he heard this. He stepped forward and introduced his home address before asking again, "Is what you said true?"
"Of course it's true. That day I felt that Miss Qiu was beautiful, kind-hearted, skilled in martial arts, and chivalrous."
"Coming to Taohua Village today, I feel that it is a place of outstanding people and beautiful scenery. No wonder it can raise pillars of society like Miss Qiu and Scholar Qiu."
The yamen runner also went out as if his compliments were free, and the village head happily stuffed a tael of silver into his hand.
"You have really worked hard, sir. This little gift is not enough to show your respect."
"This is a small gift from us. Please take it, sir. This is the snack we just baked. Our Xiaoliu also taught us how to make it."
"Don't be polite, sir. Take these."
After a while, the yamen runners had a lot of thank-you gifts in their hands.
There were a lot of things carried up the Mule Mountain, and the yamen runners were a little confused for a moment. The people in Taohua Village were too united.
Although the neighboring villages would be happy if a scholar emerged, there would always be a few jealous people.
Not only was there no one who was jealous in Taohua Village, but everyone was smiling and handing him gifts.
The Qiu family is really extraordinary. It seems that they have great prestige in this village.
"Thank you very much, fellow villagers. I still have to go and announce the good news, so I'll leave first."
The yamen runner happily clasped his fists and expressed his gratitude, and with the enthusiastic farewell of the villagers of Taohua Village, he went to the next scholar's house.
Father Qiu said happily, "Set a table to celebrate for my son in two days. It's time to celebrate since our family has had three great things happen to them."
"That's not right, Uncle Baishun. Han Sheng's engagement is already a double blessing, so where does this third blessing come from?" someone asked curiously.
Father Qiu said cheerfully, "It is also a joy to have my son Yi'er come home."
"That's right. It's the Four Joys Festival, and it's also a big happy event for our village. How about we have a buffet, with the whole village contributing money to make it more lively."
The uncles of the same generation as Qiu's father spoke up and soon got the consent of the whole village.
Qiu Yinong raised her hand and said, "Don't be too extravagant. Wait until Third Brother passes the imperial examination before we hold a banquet to celebrate."
"So as not to cause envy."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
