Re-embroidering life

Chapter 117 Giving Words

"Zimo, Meng Xiuniang and the others..." Shui Qinghua had mixed feelings. They were greedy, narrow-minded, and dishonest, but from the beginning to the end, they were all pawns played in the hands of the superiors. The chess players were unharmed, and only the pawns were destroyed.

"Their fate was determined from the day they left Jiangxia." Ji Zimo sighed.

The couple fell silent.

On this day, another eunuch from the Cining Palace came to Ji's house and summoned her to the palace to meet the Queen Mother in a few days.

Audience with the Queen Mother!

Even though Shui Qinghua frequently dealt with the prince's wife and the princess, the empress dowager was different. She was the highest representative of imperial power, and a behemoth like Princess Dihua could only tremble in fear and crawl on the ground in front of her.

Shui Qinghua took a deep breath. It was no big deal. She had done nothing wrong. Even if the Queen Mother blamed her for offending Princess Dihua, she would argue with her rights.

Shui Qinghua followed the nanny sent by the palace to cram on the rules and etiquette. She practiced the kneeling ceremony so many times that her knees were swollen. She secretly prayed that the day of the audience would come soon so that she could be rescued from this torture.

On the day of the audience, Shui Qinghua looked at her nose and her heart, never looking around, and followed the eunuch who led the way and walked quickly.

Entering the Cining Palace, the Queen Mother was sitting on the Phoenix Chair. She was wearing a gorgeous Phoenix robe and a Phoenix crown, and her royal demeanor was fully revealed in the swaying pearls and jade. Her face was marked by the traces of time, and her eyes were as deep as an ancient well, revealing the calmness and composure of having experienced many ups and downs.

Shui Qinghua only glanced at it and then lowered her eyes, not daring to look around, and performed the great salute as she had practiced day and night. The Queen Mother called her and smiled, "You are more neat than I thought, you are a smart person."

After saying this, the Queen Mother stepped down from the throne and came to the two folding screens placed in the hall. Shui Qinghua then noticed that these were the "Eight Immortals Celebrating Birthday" and "Amitabha Buddha" that she had presented.

The Queen Mother's face was full of admiration. Her eyes lingered on the details of the embroidery and she nodded slightly from time to time.

"I heard them say that Master Dong called you the Needle Saint, but I thought it was an exaggeration. Now that I've seen you, I feel that your reputation is well-deserved."

Every year on her birthday, the Empress Dowager would receive embroidery works from the Embroidery Bureau and the Crystal Embroidery Workshop, but year after year, there was nothing new. It was only this year when she saw these two folding screens that she was really impressed.

"Here, and here, what kind of silk thread did you use?" The Queen Mother pointed at the long eyebrows and eyelashes of Amitabha Buddha curiously.

"Your Majesty, the threads used in these two places are not silk threads, but the hair of the believer." Shui Qinghua replied.

The Queen Mother's eyes suddenly lit up: "Hair embroidery?"

The Queen Mother believed in Buddhism, so she knew the story of the previous dynasty using hair embroidery to show piety, but she never expected that the long-lost skill would be picked up again by the woman in front of her. If she summoned Shui Qinghua with a compensatory mentality at first, now she was truly impressed by her superb embroidery skills.

She looked at Shui Qinghua with surprise for a moment, then turned and walked to the rosewood desk beside her, took a wolf hair brush, dipped it in ink, and wrote the words "divine work".

Shui Qinghua's heart was pounding with nervousness. It was not until the Queen Mother personally handed the banner to her that she was sure it was real!

The Queen Mother considerately ordered the female official to escort Shui Qinghua out of the palace. Shui Qinghua held the gift word devoutly in her hand. Countless people saw the word "divine product" along the way. Renshoufang where she lived was shocked, and the Ji family was even more jubilant.

Shui Qinghua thought that the Queen Mother's bestowal of a name on her was already a great honor. A few days later, the court issued her the fourth-class "Merchant Star Medal". The medal was made of enamel, shaped like a five-petal peach blossom, inlaid with red and blue sapphires, and between the petals were five-pointed stars inlaid with turquoise grains. The craftsmanship was exquisite and the shape was unique. The business medal was established by the court in recent years to reward the development of industry and commerce. It is divided into five levels. Although the fourth level is not high, it is a great encouragement to Shui Qinghua.

Countless people flocked to the Ji family to congratulate, whether they were familiar or not, the crowd even exceeded the one when Ji Zimo won the top three prizes in the imperial examination. Neighbors said that the couple were both gods in heaven in their previous lives, one was Wenquxing and the other was Zhinu, so they had to come and get some of the gods' aura. The couple didn't know whether to laugh or cry after hearing this.

Princess Dihua had naturally received the news a long time ago. She was furious and pushed Shui Qinghua to participate in the embroidery conference. She originally wanted to destroy her, but in the end she seized the opportunity and made her successful! She had been able to call the wind and rain in her life, and anyone she liked was grateful. But she met this stubborn couple, which made her fall so hard.

The embroidery bureau and the embroidery workshops in the palace were also unhappy. They had worked for so many years and presented gifts to the empress dowager every year, but they had never received a word from the empress dowager. How could a foreigner who had only been in the capital for more than half a year be given a name and honors by the empress dowager? Where did she put them?

At this time, Shui Qinghua ordered Jinlan to prepare pen, ink, paper and inkstone as she wanted to write a letter.

"Master, who are you writing to?"

Shui Qinghua raised her head, her eyes surprisingly bright, "To Ye Jincheng, the time has come, I want to open an embroidery workshop!"

Jin Lan and Ji Fei had always hoped that Shui Qinghua would open the Shui Xiu Workshop in the capital so that they could show their skills and make a big splash. After hearing Shui Qinghua's words, they couldn't help but cheer.

Ji Fei's herbal incense shop has been doing very well since its opening. Her sachets are exquisite and unique, and the herbs inside are really suitable for the symptoms. I can't say that the medicine can cure the disease, but it has a significant effect of refreshing the mind and calming the nerves. Although the price is several times higher than that of ordinary sachets, it is still crowded with customers.

"Mom, if you open an embroidery workshop, can you merge my small shop into it? Medicine bags can be used as a separate product line." Ji Fei's eyes turned and a plan came to her mind. No matter how good the medicine bags are, they are just a small business and it is difficult to go further. Her dream is to become a big shopkeeper and a big businessman.

No one knows a daughter better than her mother. Shui Qinghua could tell what Ji Fei was thinking at a glance. "Shuixiufang only sells the best and unique things on the market. This is true in Jiangxia and even more so in the capital. If you can guarantee that there is no better medicine bag in the capital, then of course you can." Shui Qinghua explained to Ji Fei.

Ji Fei knew that this was a test from her mother, so she took a deep breath and said, "I understand, mother. I will go and investigate, and I will make sure that there is no one better than me in the capital, and I will not destroy the reputation of Shuixiufang!"

"I will not discredit the 'divine work' written by the Empress Dowager." Shui Qinghua said seriously.

Ji Fei suddenly felt a heavy weight on her shoulders. "Mother, is it good or bad for us if the Queen Mother gives us a name?"

"It is a supreme honor, but also a heavy yoke. The transition between the two is only a fine line, and it all depends on what we do." Shui Qinghua frowned, and his expression was not relaxed at all.

In the season of sweet-scented osmanthus, a man arrived at the gate of the capital in a carriage. He had a handsome face, deep features, and a pair of obsidian eyes staring deeply at the city wall in the distance.

This is not his first time to come to the capital, and he has failed in previous attempts. This time, he will definitely be able to create something and live up to the expectations of his ancestors.

It has been exactly two years since I first brought Lady Shui into that sweet-scented osmanthus courtyard.