Youqing summoned Zhu Qiaozheng.
"Go to the Imperial Household Department and see if they have any wool yarn. If not, ask around and see if they can get some. Bring some silver with you."
Wool yarn?
Zhu Qiaozheng really didn't listen to what he was saying.
"This servant will go to the Imperial Household Department to inquire immediately."
In fact, Zhu Qiaozheng didn't need to ask to know that there shouldn't be any. The Imperial Household Department was responsible for purchasing for the palace, so how could they possibly have something like wool yarn? The masters in the palace had no use for such a thing.
Upon inquiry, it turned out that there was no such thing as wool yarn. Zhu Qiao then gave them silver and asked the Imperial Household Department to help procure some.
Wool yarn is quite troublesome.
Generally, cotton is woven into yarn first, and then spun into cloth. Wool can be woven into yarn as well, but since wool comes from sheep, it is naturally not as clean as cotton and has an unpleasant smell. Not to mention, it is extremely time-consuming to process. Therefore, almost no one uses wool to weave yarn or cloth.
Although it was troublesome, the Imperial Household Department accepted the money and agreed to help.
The Imperial Household Department acted quickly. Zhu Qiao went to the Imperial Household Department on the fourth day, and on the tenth day, the Imperial Household Department personally delivered wool thread, along with a small piece of wool cloth.
Putting aside the wool yarn, the wool fabric itself was extremely soft, and Youqing quite liked it.
The silks and satins sent by the Imperial Household Department are of good quality, but they are not warm enough to wear close to the skin in winter. If wool fabric were used as an undergarment, it would be much better.
"This wool cloth is skillfully made; thank you for your trouble, Father-in-law."
The eunuch who brought the items quickly smiled and said, "Your Highness, Consort Shu, you are too kind. It is all the duty of the Imperial Household Department. If you need anything, please do not hesitate to ask.
Youqing smiled too. Although she knew he was flattering her, he was really good at talking and it sounded very pleasant. However, she didn't take it seriously.
"There is indeed something I need to ask my father-in-law."
"Your Majesty, please give your orders."
"This wool fabric feels very soft to the touch. Do you still have any?"
That's really no longer available.
The idea for wool cloth came from an official in the Imperial Household Department. It was much easier to spin wool yarn into cloth after it was produced. The main problem was cleaning the wool, which required multiple rinsings and deodorizing. In this weather, the Imperial Household Department used charcoal fires to slowly dry the wool in order to make it dry quickly, which was quite troublesome.
We rushed through the process and managed to get some, but that's all we had.
"If Your Majesty needs it urgently, the Imperial Household Department does not have any wool yarn on hand, and the wool cloth is newly made. It's cold now, so that's all that's available. If Your Majesty needs it, you'll have to wait a while longer."
"Oh, I see! I'm not in a hurry. Could you make some more wool fabric and send it over?"
She wanted to make some inner garments that would surely be very warm. In ancient times, the population and technological development were limited, so the carbon dioxide emitted into the air would not have exacerbated global warming. In addition, other factors also contributed to the fact that winters in ancient times were much colder than those in modern times.
They mostly wore cotton clothes underneath to keep warm, and when they went out, they always had to wrap themselves up like a fat gourd to keep warm.
"Alright, when it's ready, this servant will personally deliver it to Your Highness."
"Then I'll have to trouble you, Father-in-law."
"Your Majesty is too kind. This is merely my duty."
Finally, Youqing had Zhu Qiaozheng see the people from the Imperial Household Department off.
With the wool yarn in hand, Youqing took out a wooden stick that had been polished smooth beforehand and began to knit.
Back in college, knitting scarves was all the rage. Some guys knitted them for their girlfriends, and some girls knitted them for their boyfriends. Youqing didn't have a boyfriend or girlfriend, so when she went to choose yarn with her roommate, she bought some and learned some knitting techniques. She knitted a scarf that wasn't particularly successful, and she never wore it out.
She knew how, but wasn't very skilled. So she bought a skill book from the farm store. She wasn't particularly stupid. She was a little clumsy at first, but as she kept knitting, she got faster. In three days, a decent scarf was finished.
Youqing knitted a modern scarf, which Sangzhu and Chengying didn't quite understand its purpose.
Sangzhu asked directly, "Master, what is this for?"
Youqing wrapped the scarf around her neck and tucked it around a few times: "Wrap it around your neck so it doesn't get cold."
Modern people know to wear scarves when it's cold around the neck, and ancient people weren't stupid either; most of them wore neck warmers. However, they never wore woven ones. The neck warmers used in the palace were mostly made of fine leather, so this one woven from wool yarn is the first time I've ever seen one.
Sangzhu and Chengying both found it very novel.
Cheng Ying smiled and said, "Why don't you weave one for His Majesty as well, Your Majesty?"
Among the concubines in Emperor Kangxi's harem, there were those who were particularly skilled in needlework. Consort De liked to send Emperor Kangxi small gifts she had made herself, which he used to appreciate.
These days, Emperor Kangxi hasn't visited the inner palace much, but the inner palace has sent quite a lot of things to the Qianqing Palace. Chengying was sent to Youqing by Liang Jiugong. Although the master is currently favored, something still needs to be done to let His Majesty know that the master is thinking of His Majesty. Between men and women, reciprocity is the only way to ensure long-term harmony.
Youqing thought for a moment and shook her head: "My cooking skills are not good. His Majesty has people to take care of his food, clothing and daily necessities. I won't cause any trouble."
Upon hearing this, Cheng Ying sighed inwardly and did not continue to persuade him.
Youqing's perfunctory attitude towards Kangxi was something that not only Kangxi himself could sense, but Chengying also felt.
"I haven't had much to do lately, why don't you learn to knit a scarf with me? Once you learn the technique, maybe you can even knit clothes!"
The two agreed.
Inside the Qianqing Palace, the secret guards sent by Emperor Kangxi to investigate Consort Chun received news that there was nothing unusual about her.
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