The outcome has already been decided. Anyone who cares about his reputation should quietly put away his work and leave quietly. Why would he actively offer it to others to be slapped in the face? Is this Lin Xiu Niang too conceited or has she gone insane? As we all know, double-sided embroidery is the most profound and unique needlework of all embroidery techniques. If you can master it, other embroidery techniques are simply not worth mentioning. Meng Si was able to perform double-sided embroidery to such a superb degree that even Lin Dan, who was proficient in all kinds of needlework, was no match for her.
All the embroiderers present knew this, so they looked at Lin Dan with some pity. Some people wanted to persuade her to give up when she encountered difficulties, some people wanted to persuade her not to be stubborn, and some people wanted to persuade her to accept her failure calmly. But there were still many officials sitting in the hall, and even if they had a lot to say, they didn't dare to open their mouths at this time.
Meng Zhong covered his lips and laughed quietly, his eyes revealing contempt.
Li Xiudian frowned and glanced at Lin Dan, then looked at Du Rushong who was standing not far away and looking at her tenderly, feeling a little unhappy. "In that case, Lin Xiu Niang, please lift up the black cloth and let us open our eyes." He said sarcastically.
Lin Dan bowed in agreement, then lifted the black cloth.
"This, is this the legendary five-colored peacock?!" Lord Qian exclaimed.
The other adults even forgot to drink the hot tea in their hands, and all looked dumbfounded.
On the half-meter-tall folding screen was embroidered a life-size, colorful peacock standing on a branch. Its gorgeous tail feathers spread out naturally, and its slender neck tilted slightly, revealing its bright and lively eyes. The tail feathers appear green at first glance, then appear red when you look at them again, and from another angle they are light orange, light purple, and light blue. All the colors change like flowing light, extremely gorgeous and extremely beautiful. The feathers on its body are stacked one on top of another, one on top of another, without looking messy at all. What’s even more amazing is its eyes, which are actually twinkling with star-like light, as if it could come alive with a blink, and then it twists its neck, shakes its tail feathers, and flies into the sky.
Everyone was stunned by the lifelike and charming embroidery and was speechless for a long time.
"Hmph, no matter how gorgeous it is, it's just an ordinary single-sided embroidery. It's hard to compare with Miss Meng in embroidery skills." Li Xiudian put down the teacup heavily and spoke in a cold voice.
"Yes, yes, yes, we are here to find the embroiderer with the best embroidery skills, not the one with the best painting skills." Several officials finally came to their senses and quickly agreed.
Lin Dan said nothing and silently turned the embroidered screen around.
Everyone stood up suddenly, gasping in shock.
The old embroiderer exclaimed: "This is another double-sided embroidery, and it is the same painting but different colors on both sides! Strange, today is really strange!"
It turned out that there was also a peacock embroidered on the back of the cloth, with the same standing posture and the same size, but the color of the feathers was pure white, like snow, yet faintly flashing with five-colored light. If the previous peacock picture is a representation of gorgeous beauty and enchanting beauty, then the latter picture is a representation of tranquil beauty and holy beauty. Both kinds of beauty are so eye-catching and shocking.
Against the backdrop of such extreme beauty, Meng Si's "Maid Holding a Mirror and Dressing Herself" appears so ordinary and dull.
The officials looked at the two embroideries back and forth and already had the answer in their minds. Lord Qian clapped his hands slowly and said slowly: "Well, the reputation of Zhejiang Province's number one embroiderer is well-deserved! The quota for the imperial embroiderer..."
"Wait a minute!" Meng Zhong slammed the teacup on the table and said sternly, "This double-sided embroidery is a unique skill passed down from my Meng family. How could Miss Lin learn it? As far as I know, Miss Lin's ancestors were horse thieves, right? Miss Lin, if you can't give me an explanation today, I will sue you for theft and plagiarism!"
In the Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas, embroidery skills are inherited from the family and are highly valued by the locals. If a family has embroidery skills passed down from ancestors, they are usually only taught to the daughter-in-law, not the daughter. This is because daughters will get married sooner or later, which may cause the family skills to be lost. However, the daughter-in-law is a family member, so once she learns it, she can pass it down from generation to generation. Under the influence of this trend, embroiderers in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas hate people who steal other people's embroidery skills. If they report them to the government, they will definitely go to jail.
The Meng family has always been a weaving family, so it is easy for people to believe what Meng Zhong says. Looking at Meng Si's aggrieved expression, his credibility is greatly increased. On the other hand, where did Lin Dan, a little girl who was born a horse thief, learn such unique skills?
An official immediately slammed the table and asked sternly, "Mrs. Lin, why don't you tell the truth? How did you learn the embroidery skills passed down from the Meng family?"
Du Rushong stepped forward and sneered, "This gentleman is so arrogant that he put the crime on Miss Lin without even investigating. Does the ancient book record the origin of double-sided embroidery? Does it clearly state that it is the Meng family's unique skill? If not, how can the Meng family prove that they are the orthodox and not an accidental acquisition? If they already have this unique skill, why has it been passed down for five or six generations, and no one has used it? There are many doubts that need to be clarified. How can you make a random judgment!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the soldiers guarding outside walked in together, their hands on the hilts of their swords, as if they were ready to kill if they disagreed with him.
Today, Du Rushong has been promoted to deputy admiral of the navy. He has the final say in the army. Even Admiral Xu has to keep a distance from him. How can a small official in the Ministry of Internal Affairs compete with him? Even if Li Ran came in person, Du Rushong would not have to give him any face.
The official was so frightened that his face turned pale, his eyes flickered, his lips trembled, and he didn't dare to speak for a long time.
Li Xiudian winked at Meng Zhong, who immediately sent someone home to get the embroidery pattern, and then opened it for everyone to see. This embroidery book is old and yellowed, with loose pages. The title page contains words of encouragement from the ancestor of the Meng family to the younger generation, and the last page contains a list of outstanding embroiderers in the Meng family, which shows that it has indeed been passed down from hundreds of years ago.
Meng Si wiped away her tears and said in a sad voice: "Although this embroidery manual has been passed down in my family for several generations, the needlework is too difficult and the most critical pages are missing. No one has ever learned it since then. I also studied it very hard since I was a child to learn it thoroughly." In fact, the current embroidery manual was copied by Meng Zhong, and the most critical pages were deliberately cut off to prevent it from being stolen. He secretly hid the original work somewhere, and even Meng Si didn't know the exact location.
After seeing the embroidery pattern, everyone had complete faith in the Meng brothers and sisters.
"Ms. Lin, do you have anything else to say?" Li Xiudian sneered.
Du Rushong protected Lin Dan behind him and was about to start a fight, but she picked up a pair of scissors and cut open her own embroidery with a few clicks, and then cut open Meng Si's embroidery. She said slowly, "I have nothing to say. The needlework of the two is different after all, you will know after you have seen it."
The quickest way to find out whether two needlework techniques have the same origin is to cut the embroidery thread and check the needle marks. Many experienced embroiderers came to the scene. With their experience and eyesight, they would definitely not make a mistake.
Du Rushong immediately waved his hand and said, "Please come and check the stitches. Of course, if Miss Meng is worried, she can come and see for herself."
"Please." Lin Dan stretched out his arm and made a gesture of invitation.
"Go check it out!" Li Xiudian felt a little uneasy when he saw the two of them were so calm. But things had come to this point and he couldn't back down, so he had to continue investigating.
The embroiderers could no longer wait and quickly gathered around, examining it eagerly. If they can figure out the rules of needlework, they will be able to understand some techniques of double-sided embroidery. How can they not be excited?
Meng Zhongwan didn't expect Lin Dan to do this. He was so angry that his face turned blue, but he couldn't say a word of "no". Meng Si looked at her own tattered work, and then at the embroiderers who were trying to learn double-sided embroidery, and hatred appeared in her eyes. Why does Lin Dan always go against her? Wasn't it obvious that the Lin family was the first to let down the Meng family?
The embroiderers watched for a full half an hour before retreating under Li Xiudian's scolding, "Have you seen enough? These two needle techniques have the same origin?"
The knowledgeable old embroiderer stepped forward and said firmly: "Master Li, these two needle techniques are completely different and do not have the same origin."
Before Li Xiudian could speak, Meng Zhong gritted his teeth and said, "How is it possible? Are there two kinds of double-sided embroidery in the world?"
Du Ruyan pushed through the crowd and stepped forward, cursing angrily, "It's ok that you are ignorant, but why do you treat others as fools? I don't know where Meng Si stole the double-sided embroidery from, I only know that my Dandan's double-sided embroidery is based on the double-sided kesi technique of Nishijin weaving, and she figured it out bit by bit with her smart mind and superb needlework! Dandan is smarter than Meng Si, she can teach herself without embroidery manuals; Dandan is better than Meng Si, she can surpass her in embroidery skills without years of practice, so what can you do if you are not convinced? Meng Si is stupid and incompetent, and can't afford to lose, so she puts the blame on my Dandan, how shameless!"
Meng Zhong didn't dare to offend the Du brothers and sisters, and couldn't find any words to refute, so he looked at Meng Si and asked: "Si Si, did you see clearly? Your needle techniques are really different?"
Meng Si could no longer even raise her head, and said in a low voice: "Brother, our acupuncture methods are indeed different." And this was not the most unbearable point for her. Just as Du Ruyan said, she was able to restore the double-sided embroidery with the help of the embroidery manual, but Lin Dan was able to gradually master the double-sided embroidery with only the existing kesi technology, and her needlework was more delicate and lighter than hers. Thinking more deeply, she has been learning embroidery since she was a child, while Lin Dan is a latecomer. It is obvious who is smarter and who has more outstanding talent.
Feeling the contemptuous looks from the other embroiderers, Meng Si shrank her neck and finally shed two lines of tears of humiliation.
Lin Dan showed no expression at all. She covered her embroidered screen with a black cloth and said slowly, "Now that the truth is clear, we will take our leave. If anyone wants to learn double-sided embroidery, please come to Danyan Embroidery Shop to find me. The prerequisite is that you must exchange with me a needlework inherited from your family."
She cupped her hands and said in a casual manner: "You all can decide for yourselves. I won't stay any longer!" In this way, she could learn more embroidery skills and integrate the embroiderers in Zhejiang Province to form an industry. This is a good thing for Danyan Embroidery Shop and even for the development of Suzhou embroidery. On the contrary, if Meng Zhong wanted to regain a foothold in Zhejiang Province's weaving market by relying on double-sided embroidery, his dream has been shattered and is no longer possible.
Although Lin Dan has a calm personality, she is not a tolerant person. If Meng Zhong wants to frame her, she will completely block his way.
Looking at Lin Dan's receding back, the embroiderers immediately started talking, with expressions of doubt and expectation on their faces. At this moment, who would care about the position of the imperial embroiderer, or pay attention to whether Meng Si was crying again. Anyway, she has never won once since she met Miss Lin, so she should be used to it.
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