The Story of Yanxi Palace, Chapter 25: The Master Embroiderer

   The Story of Yanxi Palace《延禧攻略》Yanxi Gonglue

   The Story of Yanxi Palace, Chapter 25: The Master Embroiderer

   Things are hard to predict.

   Earlier she had also repeatedly advised Jinxiu not to try to get close to the palace Royal Guards, especially Fucha Fuheng.

   Unexpectedly, fate had played a great joke on her.

   “Sister Yingluo, who are you looking at.” Jixiang asked softly from beside her.

   On the opposite side of the tunnel was a line of palace Royal Guards patrolling, six in all, front and back, Fucha Fuheng, Qingxi were in it.

   The court maids were not the only ones who had the idea of becoming a phoenix but no one dared to do what she did, most of them only dared to stop what they were doing and look at the work from afar and talk about it, one saying that this one was tall and the other calling that one handsome and in the end, their faces turned red and their hearts fluttered.

   “Not looking at anyone, let's go...” Wei Yingluo withdrew her gaze, smiled at Jixiang and said, “Come on, let's go back to the Embroidery Workshop, I heard that the embroiderers are busy making the Empress Dowager and His Majesty's regular clothes and it so happens that in another month, it will be the Empress's birthday gift. In a month's time, it will be the Empress's birthday and all the palaces and workshops will be preparing birthday gifts for Her Highness Empress. We at the Embroidery Workshop, in accordance with the old custom, have to present the Empress with a phoenix robe but we do not know who the embroiderer is ...”

   One hour later, everyone in the Embroidery Workshop is here.

   Zhang Momo looked around at the crowd and said slowly and deliberately, “The main embroiderer is--”

   Everyone looked expectant, especially Linglong, who even stood on her tiptoes as if this would make her stand out from the crowd and attract Zhang Momo's attention.

   Zhang Momo's gaze was drawn to her and Linglong looked ecstatic but the smile soon stopped as the gaze slowly moved away from her and finally settled on Wei Yingluo.

   “--Wei Yingluo!”

   Zhang Momo announced.

   Tiptoeing back into place all at once.

   Linglong, after holding back a sigh of relief, finally asked: “Momo, you always think of Yingluo, what about us?”

   Zhang Momo turned her gaze to her and asked rhetorically, “Are you thinking I'm biased?”

   Linglong was startled and said, “I wouldn't dare ...”

   “You dare, not no.” Zhang Momo shook her head and then said to the crowd, “Tell you what, you or anyone else, if anyone feels that it is unfair and that they can embroider better than Yingluo, then you come forward and I will give you the job!”

   The crowd looked at you and I looked at you.

   If only the embroidery work were good, there would be many ambitious people who would dare to compete with them but Fang Gu was expelled from the palace only the day before and even Jinxiu, who was second in the Embroidery Workshop, was sentenced to the Xinzheku Labor Bureau. But even Jinxiu, who was second in the Embroidery Workshop, has been sentenced to the Xinzheku Labor Bureau and with Manager Wu's appreciation, Wei Yingluo is now in the ascendancy.

   And so, until the end, no one dared to come forward.

   After the work at the Embroidery Workshop was finished, she thought that everyone had gone home, so she approached Zhang Momo alone and said with a sigh: “Embroidery takes time and effort, Wei Yingluo is only old and her work is limited. Yingluo is too old to be a good embroiderer but the Embroidery Workshop maids and the masters we have hired are better than me... Momo, you are too kind to me.”

   “It is customary among the ladies of the palace for the Empress and Noble Consort to have the newest court ladies in the palace prepare the ceremony for the thousandth anniversary of their arrival. Most of the Zhuzi will be rewarded if they are in a good mood on that day and if they do not do well, they will not be overly critical. This is to give you something to look forward to, a chance to make a name for yourselves.” After Zhang Momo had finished her official speech, she suddenly winked at her and said, “Besides, your silly sister is my most favored apprentice, so even for her sake, I will take care of you a little more.

   Wei Yingluo was moved and wanted to say something but searched her heart but could not find a suitable word.

   “Come on, court maids don't cry, they have to smile at all times, come on.” Zhang Momo laughed and said, “Show me a smile.”

   Wei Yingluo stared at her for a long time, like a baby just learning to smile and tentatively curled her lips into a youthful, even slightly stiff smile.

   Such a smile, naturally, cannot be called beautiful.

   But the only smile at this moment is not to please noble ladies, not to paralyses her enemies but a smile from the heart, from the heart.

   It was also the first time she had really smiled since hearing of her sister's death.

   After a few days, the materials for sewing the phoenix robe arrived at the Embroidery Workshop.

   There was a great deal of silk, the most interesting of which was the box of peacock feather thread in Zhang Momo's hand.

   It may look like a bright tail feather just plucked from a peacock's tail but in this palace, everything is a matter of refinement and especially when it comes to what is to be offered to Noble Ladies, there is no stinting on labor or materials.

   “Peacock feather thread is woven together with peacock feathers and gold and silver threads and a very skilled weaver can only weave one meter a day.” Zhang Momo handed the box to Wei Yingluo with great care, instructing, “You must use it well and be careful not to make mistakes, there is no extra for you.”

   Wei Yingluo quickly took the box.

   Just as a ray of sunlight folded into the box, the box held as if it were a precious jewel instead of a woven fabric and actually folded out in a colorful glow, like a dream, like a floating mirage.

   The crowd was enthralled by its beauty but to their surprise, an untimely voice rang out.

   “What would happen if something went wrong?”

   The person who spoke was hidden in the crowd and was speaking in a strangled voice and Wei Yingluo did not catch the person, although she immediately followed the sound.

   Zhang Momo's face was extremely ugly, as such demoralizing words were most taboo in the palace and she immediately said in a stern voice: “Who is it? Come forward?”

   She called out three times in a row but still no one would come forward.

   Zhang Momo sneered at this and said: “This is a gift to Her Highness Empress, if anything goes wrong in the middle, we will all lose our heads!”

   That's something some people believe and some people don't.

   But Wei Yingluo doesn't care what people think.

   All she cares about is the opportunity in front of her.

   “I can't approach Fucha Fuheng, there are many people watching him and many people watching me, too much initiative will only lead to a fallout.” In front of the embroidery, Wei Yingluo picked up a peacock feather thread from the box and played with it, thinking, ‘The only way to start now is to start with the people around him ... Momo must have thought the same thing and given me the task. If I do a good job, I will be able to make an impression on Fucha Fuheng's sister, Her Highness Empress.

   How many people's strides begin with leaving an impression.

   Wei Yingluo concentrated on her embroidery work, so intent that she lost track of time, until she was shaken by someone on her shoulder and turned her head, it was dark outside the window, Jixiang stood beside her holding an oil lamp complaining: “Three times and you keep ignoring me.”

   “Sorry, got caught up in the embroidery.” Wei Yingluo laughed, then raised her hand to rub her sore eyes.

   “It's so dark and you don't even hold a lamp, don't you want your eyes?” Jixiang placed the oil lamp in front of her and when the lamp shone, the peacock feather threads in the box shone brightly, expelling the darkness around her, making Wei Yingluo's surroundings feel like daylight and even a simpleton like Jixiang, who only had eyes for food, could not help but be attracted by it. Wei Yingluo said, “Are you hungry, let's go eat together.”

   Wei Yingluo's belly was already rumbling but she smiled and said, “No, I'm not hungry yet, why don't you just bring me something to eat and I'll eat later.”

   You can't harm people, you can't prevent them. That untimely voice today made her realize she was being envied.

   Jealousy is like a knife; one never knows when it will come, stabbing from behind.

   Wei Yingluo suspects that someone will lay their hands on the Phoenix Feather Threads, such as by secretly taking a few and there is no other alternative to such a precious material once it is missing.

   So, the best way to deal with it is to use up the feather thread first, finish the phoenix robe and hand it over to Zhang Momo before the other side does.

   “You ... You don't want to continue working, do you?” Jixiang frowned, her eyes turned to the peacock feather thread and instead of her previous fondness, she said with disgust, “It will take at least a month to finish embroidering this phoenix robe, so you're rushing every day, you don't want to die! I'll help you embroider for a while!”

   Although she had good intentions, Wei Yingluo would not dare to put anything in her hands, for this was a master who could embroider a phoenix into a straw chicken ...

   “Anyway, it's just two choices, either let me help you with the embroidery, or come to dinner with me!” Jixiang shook Wei Yingluo's shoulder and said, half brutally, half petulantly, “It's only half a column of incense, come on, come on!”

   “Hey, hey, okay!” Wei Yingluo was really pestered by her and had no choice but to get up and leave with her.

   The food tonight was very rich, the pumpkin congee was sweet and delicious, the cold cucumber was fresh and tasty, the rice noodle meat was fatty but not greasy but unfortunately Wei Yingluo was so preoccupied with the Embroidery Workshop that she picked up some vegetables and finished the rice in three or two bites, then put down her chopsticks and said: “I'm full. I'll go back first.”

   “So, soon?” Jixiang, her mouth still stuffed with a mouthful of rice noodle meat, looked at the barely touched dishes on the table and mumbled in a slurred voice, “What a waste ... Wait for me! I'll finish it in a minute!”

   Wei Yingluo hurried to the Embroidery Workshop.

   On second thought, that statement was by no means unwarranted.

   “What would happen if something went wrong?”

   “What would happen if Wei Yingluo was deliberately allowed to make a mistake?”

   “The kitchen makes rice noodle meat once in a while and I still have half a plate left to eat... hey, what do you think you're in such a hurry for? It's not like things are going to fly ...” The complaint suddenly choked in her throat as Jixiang stood dumbfounded at the door of the Embroidery Workshop, staring over Wei Yingluo's shoulder at the scene inside.

   Wei Yingluo took a few steps forward and saw that several holes had been cut into the robe. Wei Yingluo took a few steps forward, only to see that several large holes had been cut into the phoenix robe, which had only just been started, black as a mocking mouth, intent on devouring her, her future.

   “... Oh no!” Wei Yingluo suddenly turned pale and rushed towards the box where the Phoenix Feather threads were kept.

   The candlestick was still in its place and the box was still in its place, with the lid open--there was nothing inside in a black hole.

   Peacock feather thread ... No longer seen.

  

   The Story of Yanxi Palace《延禧攻略》CHAPTERS