The woman's eyes moved slowly down along Du Ruyan's round shoulders, and when she saw the tail of the blouse, her eyes darkened again. The ginkgo leaves at the tail are embroidered most densely, one leaf on top of another, one layer on top of another, and the shape of each leaf can be seen clearly without being confused at all. Seeing the embroidery on the tail is like seeing fallen leaves all over the ground, so real, yet so beautiful and dreamy.
The woman had never seen such magical embroidery skills, which displayed the changes in brightness and darkness of colors and light and shadow vividly, as if real fallen leaves were bound on the gauze by the embroiderer's magic. Fortunately, she walked over and took a closer look, and then she discovered the secret. If she had just glanced at it from a distance like Meng Si, how could she have appreciated the superb skills of this embroiderer?
Based on Meng Si's pride and arrogance today, she will definitely lose miserably in the future!
The woman thought so and introduced herself, "Miss Du, my father is Xu Shao, the admiral of the Zhejiang Navy. I am Xu Qian, the sixth daughter of the Xu family. If you have time in the future, can we come out for tea together?"
"Ms. Xu Liu, nice to meet you." Du Ruyan nodded with a smile. The admiral of the Zhejiang Navy was in charge of Zhejiang military affairs and had been stationed here for six or seven years. He was known as the local emperor of Zhejiang Province and was not comparable to Li Ran, who had just arrived. It would also be beneficial for Du Ruyan to have contact with his young lady.
The two had a pleasant conversation and the atmosphere was harmonious. Before leaving, Xu Qian said, "If I want to make new clothes in the future, please ask Miss Du to introduce me to Lin Xiu Niang. Her embroidery skills are amazing, and I like her very much."
"Of course. Our two families are neighbors and live in Mayi Lane in the western suburbs. If you need anything, you can send a maid to find you." Du Ruyan refused to admit defeat in front of Li Jiarong, but she was able to bend and stretch in front of others and handle things with ease. After all, Concubine Min was able to enter the palace thanks to Empress Du's connections, with the goal of consolidating Empress Du's favor. However, she did not expect that the wealth and splendor in the palace would foster this dog's ambition, and she ended up biting her master. Even if Du Ruyan's spine was broken, she would never bow her head in front of Li Jiarong.
Xu Qian silently wrote down the address, then said goodbye and left. Returning to Li Jiarong's table, she was naturally ridiculed by her sister, the eldest daughter of the Admiralty's Mansion. She said that paupers really like to stay with paupers, and they are all mean at heart and cannot change.
Xu Qian never argued with her younger sister. She just quietly stepped aside and blended into the crowd.
But no matter how unsociable or taciturn Du Ruyan is, she can't hide it. Wherever she sat, the light shone, blending with the dancing ginkgo leaves in the sky, like a goddess of trees. The other noble ladies were all dressed more luxuriously than her, and the silks and satins they wore were all embroidered with the most beautiful patterns by the best embroiderers. But for some reason, compared with Du Ruyan's simple ginkgo leaf, they looked so gaudy.
Even the hibiscus flowers embroidered by Meng Si herself seemed too complicated, and people felt bored after just a few glances.
Gradually, no one paid attention to Li Jiarong anymore, and all the talented people focused their attention on Du Ruyan, who was alone and lonely. The loose blouse made her look even thinner and frailer. The more silent she was, the more people felt sorry for her. When thinking of her rough life, the previous neglect and contempt disappeared, and only pity remained.
Many talented men were touched, and they spread out their pens, ink, paper and inkstones, praising this beauty with poems and depicting her with paintings. For a time, inspiration flashed and excellent works emerged one after another. With just one Buddhist meeting, Du Ruyan's good name spread throughout Lin'an Prefecture. Even though she was no longer the daughter of a marquis, she had become the goddess that many young talents dreamed of.
Li Jiarong was so angry that her face was twisted, but she couldn't lose her temper in public. She planned to find trouble with Du Ruyan after the Buddhist meeting, but found that she had left long ago. She really came on the fallen leaves and left on the breeze, taking away the infatuation of many talented men. After arriving in Lin'an Prefecture and becoming a poor person, she was still able to outshine all the other beauties and suppress her former rivals.
Let’s not talk about how angry Li Jiarong was. On the other side, Du Ruyan had returned to the Du Mansion in high spirits. She was about to jump off the carriage, but when she saw the beautiful clothes on her body, she quickly restrained her movements, lifted up the hem of her skirt, and walked down carefully with the help of her maid.
"Lin Dan, are you home?" She knocked on the back door.
"Come on, my lady is embroidering in the backyard." Cuilan opened the door with a smile and said in amazement: "Oh, Miss Du, you look so beautiful today!"
"Thank you, many people said so." Du Ruyan ran into the back garden holding her skirt and said happily, "Lin Dan, let me tell you, I was in the limelight today. Those talented people wrote poems one after another, praising me as a goddess transformed from a thousand-year-old tree. Seeing their obsessed looks, I felt ridiculous and annoyed. I only stayed for two quarters of an hour and then came back. If everyone only looked at appearance and family background like them, I really don't want to get married."
Lin Dan was embroidering an orchid and said without raising her head, "Then don't get married. It's nice to stay at home and be free."
"Yes, when I stay at home I am the aunt, and when I go out I am the young wife. The aunt can act arrogantly, but the young wife has to swallow her anger. I don't want to be a young wife." Du Ruyan giggled, with a bright expression.
"Miss, this is the silver you asked me to take." As she spoke, her maid hurried in, holding a heavy wooden box in her arms.
When Lin Dan heard the word "silver", he immediately raised his head and looked over with burning eyes. The Lin family is really poor now. They have to eat thin porridge for three meals a day, and Zhang Hui has to pawn her dowry every few days to make a living. If Lin Dan couldn't make any more money, the family would be unable to make ends meet. The firewood-chopping servant had been dismissed long ago, and the only servant in the family was Cuilan. The third and fourth concubines often helped others mend clothes in exchange for a meager income.
This family seems fine on the surface, but everyone is having a hard time. Only Lin Dan doesn't feel it at all, because Zhang Hui leaves the best things to her daughter and makes sure she lives the same life as before the family went bankrupt. Your daughter wants the best embroidery thread, the best dye, and the best embroidery cloth? Then buy it! As long as her daughter can grow up, Zhang Hui will never be stingy with money.
"How much are you going to pay me?" Lin Dan put down her needle and thread and rubbed her hands unconsciously.
"The blouse is made of organdy, which is quite expensive. You can buy one piece for fifteen taels of silver. I cut three feet for you, and the cost was about two taels of silver. The skirt is made of mulberry silk and pleated. It has five layers inside and outside. It took me a whole piece of cloth, and the cost was about ten taels of silver. There are also silk threads and pearls. These were originally the dowry my mother left for me." Lin Dan said while fiddling with an abacus, fearing that he would lose money.
Du Ruyan was amused by her money-grubbing appearance, but she also found her straightforwardness cute.
"Forget it. Although I am also a poor man, I just lost my status as the daughter of a marquis. The dowry my mother left me is still here. Here, this is one hundred taels of silver. Take it." Du Ruyan placed the heavy wooden box on the table.
Lin Dan looked at her with an indescribable expression and said slowly, "Last time I spent 100 taels of silver to buy a pottery jar. Guess how many times my mother spanked me?"
"How many times?" Du Ruyan asked with a smile.
"More than one hundred and eighty. If you spend one hundred taels of silver to buy a skirt, your brother might whip you two hundred and fifty times." Lin Dan's tone was very serious.
Du Ruyan was stunned for a long time before she asked tentatively, "Lin Dan, are you mocking me for being stupid?"
Lin Dan answered her question with silence, then opened the wooden box, took out two silver ingots, and said, "I'll take twenty taels of silver from you, plus the five taels of deposit your brother gave me, a total of twenty-five taels, enough for the capital. You can take the rest of the silver back, use it sparingly, don't spend it all, your brother is fighting the Japanese pirates on the seashore, it's really not easy."
For some reason, Lin Dan was particularly respectful to soldiers and would never let their families suffer any loss.
Du Ruyan stared at her for a long while, then suddenly rushed over and hugged her, saying with emotion: "Lin Dan, Dandan, you are so nice! Will you be my friend?"
"If you don't call me Dandan, we can still be friends." Lin Dan frowned.
Du Ruyan was about to act coquettishly when she heard a hoarse laugh coming from the top of the wall. The two looked up and found Du Rushong, whom they had not seen for a long time, sitting there with a smile in his eyes and a gentle expression.
"Miss Lin's craftsmanship is truly amazing. She has dressed up my wild monkey-like sister into a goddess. In the future, my family's door might be broken down by the matchmakers from Lin'an Prefecture. You should accept this hundred taels of silver. If my sister can be married off, Miss Lin will surely have made an indelible contribution." Du Rushong waved his hands lazily. Although he tried his best to hide it, he still looked a little tired.
"Okay, next time Miss Du comes to my place to make clothes, her wages will be deducted from this one hundred taels. Mr. Du, you should go back to sleep. I see that you can hardly open your eyes." Lin Dan accepted the wooden box without saying a word. She knew that if she refused to accept it, Du Rushong would persuade her again, which would delay his rest time.
Du Rushong smiled faintly, and his expression became more gentle. He was about to jump off the wall and go back to his room to rest, but he suddenly stopped and asked tentatively: "Miss Lin, can you sew leather armor?"
"Is this the leather armor you wear on the battlefield?" Lin Dan looked up at him.
"Yes."
"This is military supplies. The quartermaster should distribute it to every soldier, right?"
"Maybe I have offended some big shot. I have been in the army for more than half a month, but I don't have a piece of leather armor. I have to find someone to make it for me." Du Rushong shook his head and smiled bitterly.
Du Ruyan's happy expression was instantly replaced by worry.
Lin Dan nodded and said, "I can do it, but since you're paying for it yourself and hiring someone to make it yourself, why bother making leather armor? You can just make a set of armor."
"In the army, only generals above the rank of centurion can wear armor. How can I, a newly enlisted soldier, dare to be the first to take charge?" Du Rushong explained, shaking his head.
Lin Dan patted his forehead and said, "That's right. We need to keep in tune with the new soldiers and have a good relationship with them so that we can take care of each other on the battlefield. I was thinking wrong. Don't worry, I can make leather armor. You just need to prepare the leather." She needed to learn how to sew clothes from scratch, but when it came to cutting leather armor, or even armor, she had an inexplicable confidence - in the Great Zhou Kingdom, no one was probably better than her.
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