Kou was relieved to hear that her daughter was going out to find an embroiderer. But when she heard that the embroiderer she hired was Lin Dan from the bankrupt Lin's Embroidery Shop, she was so angry that she almost jumped up and down: "Why did you look for such a poor woman? If Lin Dan's embroidery skills could surpass Meng Si's, would Lin's Embroidery Shop still go bankrupt? Tell me where she lives, so I can get the five taels of silver back. We can go to Meng's Embroidery Shop and find an embroiderer who is better than her!"
"Auntie, don't worry about it." Xu Qian seemed gentle, but in fact she had a very righteous mind. She said firmly, "I want Lin Dan to embroider clothes for me, don't interfere. Even if you hire another embroiderer to make clothes for me, I won't wear them. Don't waste your money."
Although the mother and daughter lived in the governor's mansion, they had no savings because they were not favored. A set of clothes that cost ten or twenty taels of silver was just ordinary for other ladies and girls in the governor's mansion, but it was a luxury for them.
Xu Qian knew that in order to marry her own daughter into the royal family, the lady would certainly try her best to suppress the other concubines' daughters. When everyone's clothes are made, the seventh one's will definitely be the most beautiful, and the rest will only serve as foils. Xu Qian didn't want to be a foil, so naturally she wouldn't want the clothes made for her by the lady.
Kou didn't understand her concerns and said anxiously, "Who is Lin Dan? I've never heard of this person. Are the clothes she makes ok to wear? Although we can't hire Meng Si, we can hire her embroiderers. You should know that the top embroiderers in Meng's embroidery shop all came from the palace, so their skills are definitely not bad! Tell me the address of the Lin family quickly, so I can get the deposit back!"
Xu Qian picked up a book and slowly flipped through it, completely ignoring her angry mother.
Kou glared at her fiercely, panted for a while, then lifted the curtain and went out.
Xu Qian said without raising her head: "If you secretly inquire about the Lin family's address and cancel my order without permission, I will claim to be ill and not attend the Mid-Autumn Festival dinner. The embroiderers you find are definitely not as good as Lin Dan, I trust her." Rather than saying that she believed in Lin Dan, it would be better to say that she trusted her own judgment more.
Kou paused for a moment, then slammed the door and left angrily.
The dispute between mother and daughter soon reached Mrs. Xu's ears. She said with a half-smile: "Ling'er, look, even your honest Sixth Sister has some little thoughts!"
"She can play her own little tricks, why should I be afraid? Who is that embroiderer she found? Compared with Meng Si, she is nothing?" Xu Ling, the eldest daughter of the Xu family, curled her lips in disdain.
A maid replied quickly, "Madam, Lin Dan is the daughter of Lin Dafu. She has never learned embroidery before and is a novice. She embroidered a ginkgo leaf blouse for Du Ruyan that day, which really attracted a lot of attention. But Miss Meng has already said that those ginkgo leaves were embroidered with the simplest needlework. The apprentices in her embroidery shop can easily make them. It's not surprising."
Madam Xu closed her eyes slightly and said lazily, "Du Ruyan looks good in anything she wears. It's not the embroiderer's credit. Since she's a novice, let her do it for the sixth girl. We don't need to worry about it."
Xu Ling said with a smile: "I want to see what kind of clothes she will make for Sixth Sister. Last time it was embroidered with leaves, this time it will be embroidered with small flowers? That would be fun!"
All the maids laughed, their eyes full of mockery. Floral fabrics have long been out of fashion and only the servants in the mansion wear them. Does the Sixth Miss still want to compete with all the maids for beauty? If she had been obedient, the lady could have made her a set of clothes that were not too bad. But she insisted on having her own way and went against her will. It was no wonder that the lady made her look bad.
…………
In order to make Xu Qian's clothes and Du Rushong's leather armor, Lin Dan really risked her life. She even conscripted her two concubines and Cuilan into the army and locked them in the room all day long to cut cloth for her. The day before the Mid-Autumn Festival, she failed to deliver the goods on time, and Xu Qian sent someone to urge her again. She apologized again and again and stayed up all night before finally finishing the clothes. Looking at Cuilan's hurriedly leaving back, she finally let out a breath.
The Governor's Mansion was located in the city center, some distance away from the suburbs. Cuilanhua hired an ox cart with money and managed to deliver the clothes before sunset. At the same time, Xu Qian was welcoming wave after wave of sisters who came to watch the show.
"Sixth sister, your clothes are not ready yet?"
"Sixth sister, why are you so careless as to give the clothes to an unknown little embroiderer to make?"
"Sixth sister, if you really have nothing to wear, I have a new dress that I can lend you. Or should I ask the maid to bring it over right away?"
Xu Qian had long been accustomed to the open and covert struggles between sisters, and dealt with them one by one with great patience. Seeing that she was not in a hurry at all, everyone felt bored and left quickly.
Kou came running in hurriedly carrying a package. "Hurry, hurry, this is the clothes I asked the embroiderer from Meng's Embroidery Shop to make for you. I've long expected that Lin Dan is unreliable, so I spent money to make you an extra one. Change quickly, the distinguished guests are coming soon!" As she spoke, she unfolded the package and took out the clothes, shoes and socks.
"No hurry, wait a little longer." Xu Qian waved her hands with a determined expression. For some reason, she felt that Lin Dan was not the kind of person who spoke without thinking and was irresponsible, so she was willing to give her some more time.
"You dead girl, what are you waiting for? Xu Ling has been dressing up in the room since noon, and your other sisters have also put on their new clothes and are ready. Only you haven't wiped your face, put on makeup, or even a decent piece of clothing. Do you really want to marry that old bastard and be beaten to death?" Kou began to wipe away her tears as she spoke. Who is she doing this for? Why doesn’t my daughter appreciate it?
Xu Qian was touched, so she put down the book in her hand and went to look at the newly made clothes. A light red skirt with a white blouse and a few hibiscus flowers embroidered on the hem. The style is quite ordinary, not outstanding, but definitely not ugly.
"Change your clothes quickly so I can comb your hair." Kou urged again.
Xu Qian stood up and was about to take off her clothes when she saw her personal maid hurried in and said, "Miss, Lin Xiu Niang has brought the clothes. Please take a look."
"What are you looking at? You don't want her dress anymore, return it and wear mine! It took you more than half a month to make the dress, and it almost delayed our important event. I must get the five taels of deposit back..." Kou fell silent as she spoke, staring at the skirt in the maid's hand for a long time, and then uttered a low cry of astonishment.
Xu Qian also held her breath, her eyes filled with fascination.
"Miss, please change your clothes quickly!" the maid reminded anxiously, and the mother and daughter came back to their senses from their astonishment.
Kou threw the clothes in her hand to the ground and hurried to take the clothes made by Lin Dan. Then she remembered that she seemed not to have washed her hands, so she stood there and dared not move forward. The dress was so delicate and beautiful that she didn't dare touch it at all.
Xu Qian immediately took off her clothes and carefully put on a new dress.
Two quarters of an hour later, the eldest prince and his entourage arrived at the Governor's Mansion as scheduled and took their seats in the garden. The stage had already been set up, and the male and female guests sat at the east and west ends, watching the show while eating. When the moon reached its zenith, they could look up and admire the moon. The old lady, who had just recovered from an illness, also came and was talking to her granddaughters with a smile. Mrs. Xu and several sisters-in-law sat beside them, behaving gracefully.
The eldest prince had a handsome appearance and a stern temperament, and he hardly even glanced at the female guest. Several young ladies looked at him from time to time, and no one knew what they were thinking about, but their faces turned red with embarrassment.
"Why didn't the sixth girl come?" The old lady looked around and asked in a low voice.
"My daughter-in-law will send someone to check it out right away. Maybe something happened and he was delayed." Mrs. Xu said.
"Sixth sister's new clothes are not ready yet, and she is anxious now." Lao Ba said with a smile.
"How come on the day of the banquet, even the clothes are not ready?" The old lady looked at her daughter-in-law deeply.
Madam Xu explained softly, "I had already told the embroiderers at Meng's Embroidery Shop to work overtime to make clothes for the girls in the mansion, but the sixth girl refused and insisted on finding an embroiderer from outside to do it for her. That embroiderer is the poor girl from the Lin family. She had just learned embroidery not long ago and her hands were not very good, so she delayed the work. I have made the clothes without telling the sixth girl and asked Aunt Kou to deliver them. Mother, don't worry, the sixth girl will be here soon."
The old lady's stern expression softened a little, and she sighed, "I didn't expect that the Sixth Old Man is also such a troublesome person." After she finished speaking, she looked at Xu Ling and couldn't help but praise her, "The Seventh Girl is so beautiful today, she's almost dazzling my old eyes!"
Xu Ling lowered her eyes and covered her mouth, looking shy, then quickly glanced at the eldest prince, only to find that he was also looking at her.
The eldest prince has never been interested in women. The reason he paid attention to Xu Ling was because her outfit was too dazzling. She was wearing a double-breasted half-sleeved skirt today. The top was made of white tulle with wide cuffs, which looked very elegant and soft. A belt inlaid with pearls and jade outlined her slender waist, which was barely slender enough to be held in one hand. The lower skirt was made of crimson satin, which was embroidered with large blooming peonies. The pistil of each peony flower was made up of tiny rice-grain pearls, and the petals were woven with silver-red silk threads wrapped in horsetail hair, which sparkled in the setting sun and looked elegant and luxurious. The peony flowers and leaves were made up of jade flakes of varying sizes, which were jade-colored and had a very textured feel.
This technique of stringing jewels on silk threads for embroidery was originally created by embroiderers in Guangdong Province. It was later brought to Zhejiang Province by Meng Si and developed further. She seldom uses this embroidery method, firstly because it is too expensive and most people cannot afford it; secondly because it is too bright and gorgeous and most people cannot afford it.
But Xu Ling didn't need to worry about these two points at all. She was already very beautiful, and now she was wearing the dress that Meng Si had tailored specifically for her. She was truly so beautiful that she could make fish sink to the bottom of their chests, geese fall to the ground, the moon hide in shame, and flowers blush. Even someone as cold and indifferent as the eldest prince was also attracted by it.
Mrs. Xu was very satisfied with this, and thought that she would give Meng Xiuniang a generous gift later.
Just at this moment, Xu Qian walked over slowly, quietly and unhurriedly as usual, but everyone couldn't help but look at her. The eldest prince just glanced at her casually, and then his eyes fixed on her. An indescribable burning sensation poured out from his dark pupils.
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