The activity of selecting the imperial embroiderer ended in such a hasty manner. Due to some unexpected events, the officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs did not announce the result on the spot, but everyone took it for granted that Lin Dan would win this round.
Although Meng Si's double-sided embroidery is exquisite, the stitch order is a bit messy and stitches are occasionally skipped, resulting in messy threads on the pattern on the other side. Although she later modified and repaired it with flat embroidery needles and hid the tangled threads, these crude features could be seen as soon as the embroidery thread was cut. After all, her double-sided embroidery technique is only ingenious, and is not as exquisite as it appears on the surface.
However, Lin Dan's double-sided embroidery is improved based on the technology of double-sided kesi silk. The stitches must be embroidered in sequence, the stitches must be strictly counted, and there must be no tangled threads or knots. The embroidered surface is flat and smooth, but not thick and clumsy, which is far better than Meng Si's family embroidery skills.
However, three days later, Du Ruyan walked into the embroidery shop and said indignantly, "Dandan, I just received news that Li Xiudian actually took Meng Si to the capital. Meng Si was selected as the imperial embroiderer to embroider formal dresses for the young emperor and the two empresses! It was you who won the selection, why did they do this!"
Lin Dan was carefully repairing the double-faced peacock painting that she had damaged with needle and thread. Without even looking up, she said, "You don't have to be angry. I don't really care about the position of the imperial embroiderer. It would be best if I can be selected, but it doesn't matter if I can't."
These days, many embroiderers came to learn double-sided embroidery. Lin Dan herself also learned dozens of new needlework techniques. Just studying and mastering these needlework techniques was enough to keep her busy, and she had no time to do anything else. After all, those false names are just shortcuts to success. If you want to reach the top, you still have to rely on real strength.
"What are you talking about? If you lose, we won't go, but the problem is that you won! You won but they let Meng Si replace you. This is clearly bullying!" Du Ruyan was so angry that she stamped her feet. "That Li Xiudian is so shameless. In order to prevent others from gossiping about Meng Si, he secretly took Meng Si to the capital at night and didn't announce the news to the public. Bah, this pair of dogs will get their comeuppance sooner or later!"
"What's there to be angry about?" Du Rushong came in carrying a cute little bamboo basket, and said with a smile: "Dan'er, this is the embroidery thread I bought for you, do you like it?"
"Thank you, Brother Du." Lin Dan and Du Rushong had become more and more familiar with each other, so he changed his address. She was concentrating on checking the embroidery thread, while Du Rushong stared at her intently and said with a smile, "Dan'er, would you like to go to the capital with me tomorrow? I have sent a letter to my aunt, asking her to appoint you as the imperial embroiderer to embroider the phoenix robe for her. Let Meng Si embroider the formal dresses for Li Min and the little emperor, and we don't have to worry about it."
Before Lin Dan opened her mouth, Du Ruyan clapped her hands happily, "Great, this is a great suggestion! Aunt is now the most noble woman in the world, and her dress should be embroidered by the best embroiderer in the world! Go ahead, Dandan, and wait until you embroider the most beautiful phoenix robe. I want to see how proud Li Min will be at the coronation ceremony!"
After hearing this, Lin Dan finally raised his head and smiled faintly: "Okay, then let's go back and pack our luggage."
Du Rushong didn't know why, but he felt that his beloved's smile was a bit naughty and cute. He couldn't help but shake his head and smiled. Then he pointed at the peacock screen and said, "Dan'er, take this with you. You can slowly repair it on the boat. When we get to the capital, I will use it."
"Okay, it will be completed in a few days." Lin Dan didn't ask the reason and nodded in agreement.
The group arrived in the capital by ship, but before they were settled in, they were summoned into the palace by Empress Dowager Du.
Compared with the last time, Empress Dowager Du's appearance and temperament are different. When she had just had her forehead tattooed, she was so stunningly beautiful and flamboyant, but now, she just sat at the table with her eyes lowered, like a mountain that was difficult to climb, or an ocean that was bottomless. A group of palace servants knelt at her feet, expressions of awe on their faces.
In fact, not only the palace maids, but even the civil and military officials were cautious and fearful in front of her. A person who is too gorgeous and too majestic will naturally be frightening.
But Lin Dan was not affected by her aura at all. He bowed neither humbly nor arrogantly, then sat on the futon. Du Rushong and Du Ruyan sat on either side of her with solemn expressions.
"It's been a long time since we last met. Miss Lin, you seem to have not grown taller at all?" Empress Dowager Du personally poured tea for the little girl.
"Cough, cough, cough!" Lin Dan choked on the tea and his cheeks turned red from coughing. Du Rushong and Du Ruyan quickly reached out and gently patted her back.
Seeing her nephew and niece taking care of Lin Dan like a baby, Empress Dowager Du was not annoyed. Instead, she laughed softly: "That's right. That's how a little girl should act. When you walked into the palace with a stern face, I thought you were some old lady coming to pay your respects."
Lin Dan's cheeks turned even redder, and a rare look of embarrassment appeared on her face. Du Rushong and Du Ruyan both turned their heads away and tried to hold back their laughter.
The atmosphere in the palace suddenly became lively, causing the palace servants to look sideways frequently. They had never seen Empress Dowager Du look so amiable, let alone smile so cheerfully. She is beautiful, but like the sun in the sky, you are in danger of getting burned just by looking at her from afar. But now, she seemed to have fallen from the sky and turned into an ordinary, flesh-and-blood person.
This shows how much she values and dotes on these three people. It is easy to understand that Du Rushong and Du Ruyan are her relatives, but who is that Miss Lin that Empress Dowager Du treats her like a junior and takes such good care of her?
While the palace maid was daydreaming, Empress Dowager Du had already dismissed her attendants and asked Lin Dan to measure her size. Du Rushong went to the outer hall to wait, while Du Ruyan took a small notebook to record the data.
"The waist circumference is 1.7 feet, the hip circumference is 2.4 feet..." Lin Dan measured and counted at the same time.
"Aunt, you have a great figure!" Du Ruyan sighed.
Queen Mother Du smiled but said nothing. She turned around and asked Lin Dan to measure her shoulder width. Then she casually said, "I heard from Rusong that you were almost forced to become pirates?"
"Yes! Someone hid the zeylanicum and bright yellow silk in our embroidery shop and framed us! Dandan was not panicked at all at that time, but I was almost scared to death!" Du Ruyan patted his chest in fear.
Lin Dan's tone was very calm: "When people are pushed into a corner, what can't they do? In the end, staying alive is the most important thing. As long as you're alive, you won't be afraid of starting over again."
Empress Dowager Du's eyes dimmed slightly, and she nodded and said, "You are right, as long as people are alive, they are not afraid of starting over. There is always something weighing on my mind, but I don't know whether I should do it. Dan'er, how about you give me some advice?" For some reason, she liked the little girl in front of her very much, and she trusted her very much.
Lin Dan said without even looking up: "You know you shouldn't do it, but you keep it in your heart, which shows that you want to do it. I wonder if you have heard of this saying?"
"What?" Empress Dowager Du lowered her eyes and looked at her with an unfathomable expression.
"Nothing in the world is impossible, it just depends on how one can strengthen himself." Lin Dan raised his head and looked at her, saying word by word.
This proverb comes from Zhu Xi's "Answer to Xu Shunzhi" by Zhu Xi, a great Confucian scholar. It means: If a person has a determined mind, he can accomplish even the most difficult task.
Empress Dowager Du was slightly stunned, then she slowly smiled and said, "Great, great! Nothing is impossible in the world." She pondered for a moment, then clapped her hands, looking as if she had suddenly understood something and all her worries had disappeared.
Du Ruyan quietly pulled Lin Dan's sleeve and asked silently, "What's wrong with aunt?"
Lin Dan shook her head and said nothing. After taking the measurements and leaving Qiwu Palace, she whispered to Du Rushong, "Aunt Du looks like she wants to be an empress."
Du Rushong was just about to help her into the car, but his face suddenly changed when he heard this. Du Ruyan, who was already halfway up, immediately fell off the shaft of the cart, fell on her butt, and screamed in pain.
Du Rushong didn't care about his sister at all. He just gently rubbed the top of his beloved's head and said carefully: "Don't say this anymore. Just bury it in your heart. No matter what your aunt wants to do, it has nothing to do with you. After you finish embroidering the dress, I will send you back to Lin'an Prefecture. Try not to come back if you have nothing to do in the future."
"I want to stay in the capital," Lin Dan showed an eager expression for the first time and said in a low voice, "I want to see how far Aunt Du can go." This was the first time she had such a strong interest in a person's fate. To carve out a niche in a patriarchal society, or even reach the top, is undoubtedly a miracle.
"Do you think you are watching a show?" Du Rushong's nervous mood instantly dissipated, and he knocked on his sweetheart's head with a mixture of anger and amusement.
Du Ruyan, who was frightened out of her wits, had already climbed up from the ground. She patted her skirt and murmured, "After hearing what Dandan said, I'm not afraid at all. Instead, I'm very excited. Brother, what do you think is going on?" If her aunt failed, this time, she and her brother would not just be exiled to Lin'an Prefecture, but would more likely be executed by slow slicing. However, if her aunt succeeded, the Great Zhou Kingdom would welcome its first female emperor in history, and all civil and military officials would prostrate themselves at her feet and cheer her long live her... Just thinking about that grand scene made Du Ruyan's blood boil and her heart surge.
"Let's talk when we get back. Things are not as simple as you think." Du Rushong held Lin Dan in one hand and held his sister's collar with the other, stuffed them into the carriage, then looked in the direction of the imperial city and rubbed his brows in distress.
If what Tan'er said was true, then he would have to find a way to transfer back to the capital as soon as possible so that he could help his aunt. Even Dan'er was not afraid, nor did she distance herself from him and stay away from him, so what was he worried about? It sounded like a fantasy for a woman to become an emperor, but he knew that his aunt had the courage and ability.
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