Yang Qianqian felt a warmth in her heart and her eyes welled up with tears. This feeling of having someone to support her and protect her felt both unfamiliar and warm.
"I understand." Yang Qianqian nodded, holding back her tears.
“You are Miss Yang now. The old you is gone. I took you away from that place so that you could start a new life and forget the past. You are just Miss Yang now. Do you understand what I mean?” Qu Qingxi gently patted Yang Qianqian’s shoulder.
Yang Qianqian could no longer hold back and began to cry. She entered a brothel when she was ten years old. Even though she had a beautiful appearance, life in the brothel was not easy. There were many people in the brothel who fawned over the powerful and flattered the weak.
Even though she is being groomed for success, many people still feel that she will negatively impact their businesses when she grows up.
Although she wouldn't be harmed in front of Madam Rong, she would be subjected to a lot of insults as soon as Madam Rong left. Madam Rong had said that she was not allowed to suffer any damage to her face or body. There were many dirty tricks in the brothel that could humiliate someone to death without leaving any scars.
She had thought about ending her life many times, but she always felt that her father would never do such a thing. She always felt that as long as she was alive, there was hope. She also knew that brothels were a mixed bag of people, and that the background of the Misty Rain Pavilion was not simple.
It was the largest brothel in the capital, frequented by many high-ranking officials and nobles. She wanted to use her own methods to gather evidence to seek justice for her family.
Hard work pays off. Over the years, she endured what she shouldn't have, and at the same time, she did collect some useful evidence. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been willing to come out when Qu Qingxi disguised himself as a man to redeem her.
To seek justice, she needed an identity, but the status of a courtesan was too low; she couldn't do anything about it.
She had endured humiliation and hardship for so many years, with everyone around her eyeing her covetously and having suffered countless schemes behind her back. She knew that in this kind of place, she could only rely on herself, so she dared not trust anyone.
The feeling of having someone genuinely willing to protect her right now is so rare that it feels like an illusion, too unreal.
At first, she did have doubts about Qu Qingxi's purpose in redeeming her, but after Qu Qingxi settled her here and sent people to take care of her, he didn't ask her anything or ask her to do anything.
She knew that Qu Qingxi really had no other purpose.
"Don't cry, there are still many good days ahead for you." Qu Qingxi didn't know how to comfort Yang Qianqian, so she could only say this dryly.
"Thank you so much. If it weren't for you, I really wouldn't know what to do." Yang Qianqian cried, her face streaked with tears, a sight that saddened everyone who saw her.
"You're welcome." Qu Qingxi couldn't bear to see a beautiful woman cry, so he could only stay with her and listen to her cry.
Yang Qianqian cried for a while before she gradually calmed down. Her eyes were red and swollen, like a red lotus standing in a pond during a rainstorm, making her even more beautiful and delicate.
"I'm pretty good at needlework. Recently, I asked Qingzhu to help me buy some embroidery items. I embroidered some handkerchiefs and other embroidery products, and they sold for a good price."
"I will save money and pay you back the money you used to redeem me." Yang Qianqian had never forgotten this incident, and she had been working very hard during this time.
"Really? That's amazing! I don't know any embroidery at all." Qu Qingxi's eyes lit up, and she smiled with envy. She really hadn't learned it before.
However, as long as Yang Qianqian has something to do, that's good. Life has hope, and with goals, she can live a better life.
Yang Qianqian thought that Qu Qingxi was pretending to be strong because she had been abused in the Prime Minister's mansion and no one had taught her these things. She had just mentioned it by accident, so she pretended to be strong and said that she didn't know anything at all.
The more she looked, the more she felt that Qu Qingxi's smile was forced.
"Then you'd better work hard." Qu Qingxi didn't feel that Yang Qianqian was pitying her at all, but instead encouraged her.
"Do you really like this?" Yang Qianqian asked curiously. Since Qu Qingxi is the Princess Consort of Nanqing, she is surrounded by many talented people and has seen all kinds of things. Why would she like embroidery so much?
"Maybe it's because I'm not very good at this, so I'm a little envious." It's not that she likes it, but Qu Qingxi just thinks that people who can do these things are quite capable.
Upon hearing Qu Qingxi's words, Yang Qianqian felt even more sorry for her. She then walked to the side, took out her half-finished embroidery from the cabinet, and handed it to Qu Qingxi.
Qu Qingxi reached out and took it. When she saw what was on it, her eyes widened instantly. It was double-sided embroidery!
Qu Qingxi turned it over and looked at it again. Although it was not finished yet, it was very obvious that Yang Qianqian was embroidering a little fox, with one side red and the other side snow-white.
The little fox was embroidered so lifelike. Qu Qingxi had seen many double-sided embroideries, but it was obvious that Yang Qianqian's skills were very high. The little fox looked real, cute and endearing.
It's said that it's half-embroidered, but actually only the tail is left unembroidered; the rest is already finished.
"It's double-sided embroidery? You're amazing!" Qu Qingxi looked at Yang Qianqian with surprise. She had thought that Yang Qianqian only knew ordinary embroidery, but she didn't expect that it was double-sided embroidery, and that she embroidered it so well.
“When I was little, I liked this. My mother…” Yang Qianqian said, then suddenly stopped, looked up at Qu Qingxi, then lowered her head again, her voice gradually becoming softer, “My mother saw that I liked this, so she specially asked someone to teach me.”
"I see. Madam is so kind to you." Qu Qingxi nodded with a smile. Generally, young ladies from official families learn housekeeping and etiquette from a young age.
Things like embroidery are usually done by servants. Even if daughters of officials learn it, they only learn simple patterns. Things like double-sided embroidery, which are extremely difficult to learn, are almost never chosen by anyone. It takes too much effort and time, and it is not easy to learn. It is better to use that time to learn something else.
"Miss Qu, don't you want to ask about my past? I mean, my family." Yang Qianqian hesitated, sensing that Qu Qingxi meant no harm.
Moreover, she was very honest with herself, but she had always kept her background a secret and had never even told her her own name. Yang Qianqian felt a little ashamed.
“Miss Yang, if you want to talk about it, then talk about it; if you don’t want to talk about it, then don’t. These are your private matters, and you have no obligation to tell everyone, including me.” Qu Qingxi shook her head. Although she knew these things in her heart, she still wanted to wait for Yang Qianqian to confess herself.
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