It has been three months since Empress Du returned to the capital. Lin Dan's brocade was also selected as a tribute and transported to the palace. Maybe she is wearing it now. It is said that the emperor doted on her very much and put the best palace, the best jewelry, and the best brocade clothes in front of her.
But Empress Du remained unmoved. She built a Taoist temple in the Qiwu Palace and practiced meditation every day, never stepping out of the palace. The concubines who wanted to visit her were blocked by the guards sent by the emperor. Once, she summoned Concubine Min, who brought up her past events, such as her suicide by hitting her head against the pillar and her banishment to the cold palace. Her heart, which had been slightly warmed, froze into ice immediately. She refused to eat or drink or sleep for three consecutive days, just to force the emperor to send her away from this cannibalistic place.
The Emperor was so angry that he nearly lost his mind. He ran to Concubine Min's palace and scolded her, and also called her a foot-washing maid. If it weren't for the Empress's support, she wouldn't be where she is today. Not only did she not know how to be grateful, she also made things difficult for the Empress everywhere. She was truly a lowly person who forgot her roots once she gained power!
The Ninth Prince, who was strangled by the palace maid and cried loudly, was unable to appease the emperor. After he left, an imperial decree came down immediately, demoting Concubine Min to a concubine and stripping her of her title. She was confined to the palace from then on. What Li Jiarong said that day planted a seed of "suspicion" in the emperor's heart. It would have been fine if Concubine Min had just kept it dormant, but she couldn't control her temper and went to provoke Queen Du. This hit the emperor's sore spot, and made his suspicion of Concubine Min and the Li family reach its peak.
Concubine Li had a hard time, and Li Ran's life was even harder. Everyone in Lin'an Prefecture was laughing at him. No one implemented the decrees he issued, no one supported the initiatives he put forward, and he became a complete figurehead.
On the other hand, Du Rushong rose rapidly from a centurion to a thousand-man rank, and then was promoted to general. It seems that before long, even Admiral Xu will have to bow down before him. But others just couldn't find any mistakes in him because he was both civil and martial, daring and hardworking, and was always the first to rush into the battlefield to kill the enemy. The merits he got were all due to his own abilities, without any falsehood. He was also extremely good at winning people's hearts. He remembered the names of all the soldiers who had followed him. From time to time, he would go to the barracks to drink and chat with them without putting on airs at all. He never neglected his superiors and his style of doing things was truly flawless.
"A golden scale is not something that lives in a pond. Once it encounters wind and clouds, it will turn into a dragon." This sentence is the most appropriate to describe Du Rushong. He was no ordinary man. He had managed to make a name for himself despite being maliciously suppressed by the Li family in the past. Now, with the care of Empress Du and the Emperor, he would naturally soar to the top.
Under Lin Dan's leadership, Du Ruyan's silk business flourished. After the reputation of embroidery spread, not only the ladies and celebrities in Lin'an Prefecture would come to Danyan Embroidery Shop to buy cloth, but people from several surrounding cities also came and rushed to buy it. Embroidered brocade was a tribute and they could not buy it, but the silk brocade, which was of the next best quality, was not bad either and was good enough to surpass the Shu brocade produced by Meng's Embroidery Shop.
"Dandan, more and more people are buying cloth recently. How about we go find a few more weaver girls and expand the production?" Du Ruyan stood at the railing on the second floor and looked down, her face full of sighs. The downstairs was crowded with people, some were buying cloth, some were buying embroidery, and some were just here to join in the fun. On the other hand, the Meng's Embroidery Shop across the street, although not deserted, could not compare with the Danyan Embroidery Shop.
"If you hire a few more weavers, can you guarantee that they won't pass on the techniques of brocade weaving and Nishijin weaving after learning them?" Lin Dan waved his hand and said, "We already have enough cloth to sell now. We don't need more. If we have more, it will be worthless. We choose to produce less but better, not something that is sold everywhere."
In order to ensure that the technology would not be leaked, Lin Dan bought female slaves from human traffickers to weave cloth. Female slaves who signed a contract to sell themselves generally would not run away. Even if they did, they could be brought back by reporting to the authorities, and the people who harbored them could also be punished. With Empress Du in charge, the cloth merchants in Lin'an Prefecture would only try to snatch Lin Dan's Weaver Girl if they had nothing better to do.
Du Ruyan thought so too and couldn't help but give a thumbs up: "Dandan, you said I can do business, but in fact you are better than me, you just can't bear to deal with these trivial matters."
Lin Dan smiled and shook her head, then continued embroidering. Just at this moment, Xu Qian went upstairs with a maid, followed by the attentive female shopkeeper. Miss Xu is a distinguished guest of Danyan Embroidery Shop, and everyone in Lin'an Prefecture knows about it. Lin Dan rarely embroiders clothes for others now, but as long as Xu Qian asks her, she will agree. After all, Xu Qian is a loyal customer of Danyan Embroidery Shop and will never change her attitude towards her because of her ups and downs. They were friends from the beginning, regardless of status or interests.
"Oh, Qianqian, you're here. Your clothes are ready. I'll get them for you." Du Ruyan immediately dropped the abacus in her hand.
Lin Dan also put down the embroidery needle and said gently, "Go try it behind the screen first. If there is anything that doesn't fit, I will change it for you."
"Thank you, Dandan." Xu Qian covered her mouth and smiled, looking bright and charming. Although her appearance was only 70%, her temperament was unique enough that she would not look inferior when standing with a group of ladies. Now she wore the fairy dress made by Lin Dan all day long. She was truly the most beautiful scenery in Lin'an Prefecture and was the focus of attention wherever she went. Although the eldest prince did not express his intention to accept her, he warned Admiral Xu and General Li before leaving, temporarily resolving her crisis, so she is now living a very comfortable life.
After being watched many times, Xu Qian's self-confidence has increased. Her temperament is still calm, but there is also a hint of charm that makes people unable to look away. She slowly walked to Lin Dan's side, staring at her unfinished embroidery, her eyes full of admiration.
Xu Qian was looking at the embroidery, but the distinguished guests on the second floor gathered around, ready to see what kind of dress Lin Dan had made for her today. Now she is the fashion trendsetter in Lin'an Prefecture. Whatever she wears today can be seen on the streets tomorrow.
It’s not that everyone wants to pull her down and become Lin Dan’s exclusive guests. But Lin Dan is taciturn and cold-tempered, and is definitely not someone who is easy to please. If they had known that Lin Dan would end up like this, when the Lin family was in trouble, these guests would have helped her and established a good relationship with her.
Seeing Xu Qian go upstairs, more and more guests came to join in the fun. They needed to see the dress Lin Danxin had made clearly as soon as possible, and then ask the embroiderer at Danyan Embroidery Shop to copy it. Although the work done by others was not as fairy-like as Lin Dan's, at least the style was similar and he would not be ridiculed as being outdated by others.
Du Ruyan only needed to turn around and pick up something before the second floor inside and outside was crowded with eager guests, causing the corners of her mouth to twitch for a while.
"Make way, make way." She squeezed out of the aisle with difficulty.
"What style is this dress today and what fabric is it made of?" a customer asked excitedly.
"The fabrics we use are available in the store. You can find them yourself later. But the patterns on the fabrics were embroidered by Dandan herself, so I'm afraid you won't be able to restore them." Du Ruyan said with a sense of evil humor.
The guests immediately sighed. Now everyone knows that Lin Dan’s embroidery skills are the best in the entire Lin’an Prefecture. It is simply impossible to restore her embroidery! Sure enough, when Xu Qian changed her clothes and walked out from behind the screen, the guests couldn't even sigh and could only stare at her in amazement.
This is a chest-length skirt with a pink ribbon passing through the armpit, forming a rose shape on Xu Qian's chest, which fully outlines her plump breasts and makes her legs look particularly slender. The pure white skirt was natural and fluffy, floating in the air as she walked like a cloud. It seemed nothing special, but when Xu Qian walked to the window, she suddenly discovered that this pure white cloth was actually embroidered with pink roses using a single silk thread. The silk was so thin that it was completely invisible in the backlight and only glowed faintly in the sun.
With every step Xu Qian took, the pink roses changed with the light and shadow, and the feeling was truly dreamy. The inner shirt is made of pink organza, which is covered by the cardigan, with only a little bit exposed at the neckline, cuffs and hem of the skirt, which has the effect of adding the finishing touch.
Everyone stared blankly at the ethereal Xu Qian, holding their breath and thinking to themselves: Lin Xiu Niang really never disappoints people, and the skirt embroidered by her hands is unique in the world.
However, Lin Dan was not satisfied. She walked around Xu Qian twice, then took out a few feet of pink gauze, cut it into a shawl, and used gauze of the same color and texture to make a lifelike rose, and asked Xu Qian to wear it.
Wearing a shawl and silk flowers, Xu Qian looked different from her previous elegant and plain appearance. She seemed to have added a touch of color and a bit of cuteness.
"Dandan, your craftsmanship is getting better and better!" Xu Qian pulled her skirt and looked at her for a while, praising her sincerely.
Before Lin Dan could say anything, the noble ladies and celebrities who were standing by the door had already shouted hopefully, "Ms. Lin, are you free recently? Please make me a skirt like this! You can name the price!"
"My Tandan is busy studying embroidery skills and has no time to take orders. What's more, she never makes exactly the same skirts." Du Ruyan pushed these people out and said, "You can find someone else to do it. Don't block us here. We still have business to do." Ever since her brother's official position was promoted and her aunt returned to the imperial city, her previous arrogance has returned. If anyone offends her, she will confront them without giving them any face. But these women in Lin'an Prefecture did not dare to provoke her at all and had to treat her with great care. Her old enemy Li Jiarong hasn't appeared for a long time. I heard that one of her calves was broken by Li Ran and she is recuperating at home.
The crowd dispersed reluctantly under Du Ruyan's scolding, but at this moment, a group of soldiers broke in and started to search the store without saying a word. Du Ruyan and the shopkeeper joined forces to stop them but failed, so they hurriedly sent someone to find Du Rushong.
Lin Dan urged Xu Qian to leave quickly, and pulled Du Ruyan behind him, frowning deeply.
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