"I haven't even come to settle accounts with you yet, but you're already so scared. It seems like you know something." Li Min had completely regained her composure and asked slowly, "The embroiderer surnamed Lin is also from Lin'an Prefecture. You two should know each other, right? Tell me, how does her embroidery skill compare to yours?"
"Your Majesty, I have only heard of Lin Dan's name but am not familiar with her. I don't know how good her embroidery skills are." Meng Si didn't dare to tell the truth.
Li Min chuckled, but her eyes became colder. "Not familiar? How dare you lie in front of me? Who gave you the courage? How could an embroiderer with such outstanding embroidery skills and exquisite painting skills not be able to make a name for herself? Not to mention Lin'an Prefecture, even in the entire Great Zhou Kingdom, I'm afraid there is no second embroiderer better than her. How could you not be familiar with such a person? Your embroidery skills are simply unbearable when compared with hers! Tell me, what means did you use to sneak into the palace?"
Meng Si felt extremely aggrieved, and said with tears in her eyes: "Your Majesty, I did not use any tricks, I, I..." She originally wanted to say that she was selected based on her real ability, but then she thought of Lin Dan, and she couldn't utter a word. Indeed, if it weren't for Li Xiudian's assistance, she would have no right to stand here.
"What? You don't dare to say anything, right? Your hands have made me lose face, so what else do I need them for? Come here, cut off her fingers for me!" Li Min waved her hand slightly, and two palace maids came forward with pliers, put Meng Si's hands into them, and pulled hard.
Meng Si screamed in pain, then cried and begged Li Min for mercy. Li Min turned a deaf ear to everything and just closed her eyes and fanned herself as if she was listening to some heavenly music. If others don't let her have a good life, she will repay them a hundredfold or a thousandfold.
At this moment, several eunuchs came in carrying a huge screen covered with silk cloth, and one of them held a small screen in his arms. They bowed respectfully and said, "Your servant greets the Empress Dowager. Your Majesty, this is a gift from my master, Concubine Xian, to wish you a glorious ascension to the throne."
The position of the Queen Mother is also the throne of the Phoenix, so it is not surprising that someone comes to send gifts and congratulate. But what is strange is that the mastermind behind the downfall of the Third Prince is Li Min, and the Dowager Concubine Xian is the biological mother of the Third Prince and has an irreconcilable feud with Li Min. Is she so kind?
Li Min opened her eyes and looked at the small screen and the large screen, without noticing Meng Si's increasingly paler face.
"What kind of gift is so mysterious that it's covered with cloth?" Li Min said with a smile.
The leading eunuch knelt down and replied, "Your Highness, it was Concubine Xian who instructed me to cover it with a cloth to avoid scaring the sacred bird away."
"Oh?" Li Min became interested, walked over and lifted the silk cloth, then was stunned. I saw that there was a colorful peacock embroidered on this huge screen, with its gorgeous tail feathers dragging on the ground and emitting colorful divine light.
Li Min originally thought that Du Fangge's phoenix robe was a masterpiece of exquisite craftsmanship, and it would be difficult to find similar embroidery in the world, but the peacock picture in front of her was not inferior to it at all. No wonder Concubine Dowager Xian ordered people to cover the screen, it was to prevent the spiritual energy of the embroidery painting from leaking out.
Li Min took two steps back and admired it in fascination. Although the embroidered screen was sent by her mortal enemy, she was completely unable to suppress the love she felt for it.
The eunuch turned the screen half a circle and said, "Please look, Madam. This screen is embroidered with a single piece of cloth. There are patterns on both sides. It requires very high embroidery skills."
Li Min stepped back again, looking surprised. I saw that there was an identical peacock embroidered on the back of the screen. Its feathers were white, but they emitted a faint five-colored light under the sunlight. It looked very holy and luxurious. The embroidery technique and style were exactly the same as Du Fangge's phoenix robe.
"Could this embroidered screen also be the work of Miss Lin?" Li Min guessed.
"Your Highness, this is indeed the work of Lady Lin. The embroidery technique used is a long-lost double-sided embroidery, which is very rare in the world."
Li Min clapped her hands and said, "It's her!"
Lin Dan's embroidery style is too strong, emphasizing elegant beauty, bright colors, and changing light and shadow. Even an amateur who knows nothing about it can see it at a glance.
The eunuch pointed to the long-forgotten small screen and said, "This embroidery is also double-sided, but its technique is completely different from that of Lin Xiu Niang. It is the work of Meng Xiuniang. On that day in Lin'an Prefecture, two embroiderers simultaneously submitted these two works for selection. Whoever won could enter the palace to embroider a dress for the queen. Later, Meng Xiuniang won and Lin Xiu Niang lost, but the works of the two embroiderers are peerless, and there are only two in the Great Zhou Kingdom at present. They are very worthy of collection. That's why my master ordered someone to buy them and give them to the queen."
"Really? Then thank your master very much. Come here, take a look at the reward." Li Min waved her hand slightly, and a palace maid handed a bag of silver melon seeds to several eunuchs and asked them to divide it. At this point, how could Li Min not know the real intention of Concubine Xian in giving her a gift? But even if she was almost furious inside, she couldn't let an outsider laugh at her. After all the fuss, the reason she was embarrassed was because of her own family!
After the few people left, Li Min picked up the small screen and looked at it with a sneer on his face. This is Meng Si’s work, this is the double-sided embroidery that Li Xiudian praised so much? Compared with Lin Xiu Niang's works, what is it?
Thinking of this, Li Min smashed the screen hard on Meng Si's head, causing her head to bleed and she almost fainted. Her ten fingers had been pinched off long ago and were hanging limply, with skin and flesh rolled up and blood oozing out. The scene was extremely tragic.
When Li Xiudian followed Li Ran in, he saw this scene. He even forgot to be polite and rushed forward, hugged Meng Si into his arms, and said in a trembling voice: "Aunt, what are you doing? Why are you torturing Sisi?"
Meng Si's voice had long been hoarse from shouting, and his hands had no strength left. He could only look at him helplessly and sadly.
"Sisi? You call me so affectionately, what is your relationship?" Li Min asked very keenly.
Li Ran waved her hands quickly: "She is just a lowly embroiderer, how could she be related to Xiu Dian?"
"It doesn't matter which one is better!" Li Min pointed at the two screens and said, "Brother, come and take a look at these two embroideries. Which one do you think is better?"
Since Li Ran was not a Beijing official, he was not eligible to attend the young emperor's coronation ceremony. He could only rush back and wait at home. Therefore, he did not know that his sister was severely overshadowed by Empress Dowager Du at the ceremony because of her phoenix robe. He only took a quick look and pointed at the large screen and said, "Of course this one is better."
"Okay, okay, anyone with eyes can see that this embroidery is much better than this one. Then I want to ask my good nephew, you were personally present at the review, but why did you choose this painting of ladies and suppress this painting of peacocks! Do you still remember what I told you when you took on this job? I asked you to send the best embroiderer in the world to the palace to embroider the most gorgeous phoenix robe in the world for me. But you sent such a thing for your personal feelings! Do you know that because of your selfishness, I made a fool of myself in front of all the civil and military officials! Obviously, I am the real phoenix, but I was outshined by Du Fangge, the fake phoenix! And the embroiderer she chose is exactly the one you don't want!"
Li Min pointed at the tip of Li Xiudian's nose and said word by word: "I originally hoped that you would help my son more in the future, but you are so good that you value your personal feelings more than my son and the interests of the family! If you can't even handle such a small matter, what use do I have for you? What big brother, what nephew, I have many big brothers and nephews, I don't need you two!"
Li Xiudian’s face turned pale and he was unable to refute. Ever since he learned that Lin Dan had also entered the palace and started embroidering Empress Dowager Du's dress, he had expected this day to come. If he had known this earlier, he should have crippled Lin Dan's hands when he was in Lin'an Prefecture to prevent future trouble.
Li Ran then realized what had happened. He glared at his son, then knelt on the ground and begged for mercy from his sister. Cold sweat instantly wet the back of his clothes. He relied on the fact that he was the Empress Dowager Cixi's biological brother to get the full support of his family. If the Empress Dowager Cixi turned to support her other brothers, he would no longer have a place in the family or in the court!
"Your Majesty, what you said is too serious..." He tried to defend himself, but he hit Li Min's sore spot.
"What? Don't you think what happened today is not serious? I was stepped on harshly by Du Fangge in front of all the civil and military officials. She compared me to a phoenix with its feathers plucked. If this is not serious, then what is serious? Breaking this bitch's hand is serious, hurting your interests is serious, and everything else doesn't matter, right? Okay, Li Ran, you're great! Get out of here, get away from me, I don't want to see you again!" Li Min was extremely angry. She waved her hand to summon several guards and drove the three out.
Li Ran had never been so embarrassed before, and all this was thanks to his good son. After he walked out of the palace gate and boarded the carriage, his long-suppressed anger finally erupted. He slapped Li Xiudian in the face and scolded him, "You useless jerk! What are you doing with her? Throw her out of the carriage!"
Li Xiudian hugged Meng Si tightly and begged, "Dad, she is already so injured, please let her go!"
"I let her go, but your aunt will not let you go! I originally wanted your aunt to help you get you into the Hanlin Academy, but now it seems that it is impossible. Have you thought clearly about your future path? If your aunt changes her mind to support your cousins, how will you cope with it? For a little bit of personal affection, you have trapped yourself in a quagmire. Are you satisfied now? Since you can't bear to leave this bitch, then go down with her!" Li Ran said in an extremely cold tone.
Li Xiudian has always been the most outstanding among the brothers and is also the one Li Min likes the most. But now, he has severely offended Li Min, and naturally he has lost his support. His future is really bleak. What was even more unbearable to him was that those cousins and half-brothers who had once been looked down upon or even bullied by him would climb over his head and act tyrannically. How humiliating and difficult would those days be?
In just a moment, he felt timid and slowly loosened his arms around Meng Si...
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