Poor Lady Chapter 37: Snow Shadow (2)
What kind of strange embroidery is this...?
With the reflection of the palace lanterns, a pair of spreading wings faintly emerged among the cold snow and plum blossoms. Two agile white cranes leaped into view, raised their heads, and flapped their feathers in an elegant posture.
The coldness of winter snow, the pride of red plums, and the shadow of white cranes constitute a vivid picture scroll with a long artistic conception.
At this time, the attendant removed the palace lantern, and the embroidery returned to its original appearance. Then they turned the screen around, and this side was embroidered with two white cranes standing proudly in the snow, facing the cold wind and spreading their wings. The white snow and the white cranes seem to blend into one. The picture is cold and cold.
However, when the attendant raised the palace lantern again, behind the white crane, red plum blossoms immediately bloomed, the white snow reflected red, and a faint fragrance lingered in the nose. The amazement of that moment was unforgettable.
The entire embroidery only uses three tones of red, black and white, but it makes people feel that the picture is full and has distinct layers, reaching the realm of simplicity and complexity.
This embroidery seems to only use three colors, but actually uses eighteen kinds. Embroidery thread of the same color is dyed in different ways, and there will be differences in depth. Qi Surong skillfully made use of this point, using different shades of red, black, and white to compose this picture of winter plum snow and snow shadows.
What's more, she uses the thinnest embroidery thread. She usually only needs to sew ten stitches on the pattern. She needs to sew hundreds of stitches more. Combined with the shading of the fabric and the composition of the double-sided pattern, it is truly seamless. No trace is left, and its exquisite embroidery art can be seen.
Compared with colorful and complex patterns, the "simplicity" of this embroidery picture highlights its difficulty. Embroidered on such a thin silk cloth, only three colors are used to embroider the picture vividly. There is no trace of embroidery in the blank part, but it can reflect different scenery, which is really incredible.
"Well, it's amazing!" The envoy exclaimed, "Your country is full of talents and extraordinary."
The emperor said modestly: "The envoys are too famous." He was shocked inexplicably, he did not expect that the daughter of Qi's family had such superb skills. Seeing Lie Xinxi, I want her to embroider one.
"Your Majesty would like to personally thank this embroidery master, but I wonder if I can pay a visit?" the envoy asked.
The emperor looked at Feng Zhan, who immediately replied: "I'm very sorry, this embroidery master doesn't like to see guests, and I hope the envoy will forgive me."
The envoy looked quite disappointed, but when he saw the screen, his mood became clear again.
The next day, the emperor's decree came down to reward the embroidery master "Yun Rong" with a hundred taels of gold, a plum wreath, a night pearl, a gold plaque, and "Yun Rong" as a national embroidery master. The rest of Xiuzhuang also have their own rewards.
The emperor praised it: "Plum blossoms are fragrant, crane shadows and fairy trails, needles are like hairs, amazing skills."
Since then, Yunrong Xiuzhuang has become famous in one fell swoop.
Everyone in the state of Wei knows that there is a national embroidery master Yun Rong in the capital who is unparalleled in the world.
The picture of cold plums and snowy shadows presented to the envoys has also become a topic that everyone talks about. It's a pity that the embroidery has been collected by the envoys, and there is no chance to see it. Everyone who has seen it praises it, and the rumors about this embroidery picture are quickly spread.
The nobles who placed orders with Yunrong Xiuzhuang came one after another, and the orders quickly piled up like a mountain, and the price of double-sided embroidery continued to soar, and the minimum was thousands of taels. However, Qi Surong's manpower is limited, and he can only embroider one picture in two months.
Yunrong Xiuzhuang has become the smallest, best-selling and most prestigious store in the capital, and Qi Surong has no plans to expand the store. Firstly, the risk is too high, and it is easy to attract hatred and speculation; secondly, the Qi family is weak and does not have enough reliable manpower. The current scale is enough.
Qi Surong's biggest bargaining chip is in Gu Jinyun's hands, and he is also the way out for the Qi family.
Qi Surong is getting all the limelight here, but Liu Qianer and Luo Yanyi are troubled in their hearts. I wanted to use this to blackmail her, but I didn't expect her to save herself from danger and become famous all over the world. Although few people know that "Yun Rong" is Qi Surong, it is no secret among the nobles of the family.
"Yanyi, let's implement your plan from now on." Liu Qian'er's jealousy towards Qi Surong had reached its peak, and she couldn't bear it anymore.
Luo Yanyi smiled and said, "It should have been like this long ago."
She is still deeply concerned about the fact that she was scared away by Qi Surong before, and she regards it as a lifelong shame. After thinking about it, after all, Qi Surong has accumulated power for a long time, and she has been acting according to her face. When the Qi family was defeated, although she was happy, she was still afraid of her prestige. Now that his mentality has changed, the next time he faces her, he will never show mercy.
It doesn't matter how good the embroidery skills are, if you don't have enough strength, let's see who can keep those hands!
A cold light shot out from Luo Yanyi's eyes.
Qi Surong, who doesn't know the danger is coming, is sharing the joy with his family.
With the title of National Embroidery Master, the Qi family has re-entered the sight of the aristocratic family in the capital. It can be said that Qi Surong alone allowed the Qi family to gain a firm foothold again. At least for a short period of time, the emperor will not dispose of the Qi family at will, and the number of nobles who interact with the Qi family is gradually increasing.
With the help of Xiuzhuang, Qi Surong is like a fish in water in the noble circle. In the past, she thought highly of herself and was not popular with others. Later, when the Qi family was defeated, she dared not show her face easily. Now that she has the title of National Embroidery Master, even if the noble ladies look down on her in their hearts, at least they will treat her with courtesy on the surface.
Qi Surong took advantage of her advantages in clothing and embroidery to build up a lot of popularity among the nobles. By the way, she also attracted Zhuang Qiao'e and Miss Zhang (the wife of the fourth doctor Zhang Zhihuai) who was married. Enter the circle and expand their network without any trace.
Different from the previous arrogance, the reborn Qi Surong can not change his face in the face of ridicule and sarcasm.
Many noble girls are boudoir girls with pure minds. They may be spoiled or arrogant because of their family background, but as long as they follow their wishes and do what they like, it is not difficult to make friends.
The reason why Qi Surong dared to make such a high profile was because she was only a woman, no matter how famous she was, she would not be able to enter the court or hold real power.
The more high-profile she is, the more low-key Qi's father is; she keeps making friends with nobles, but Qi's father rarely interacts with people.
In this way, some villains with bad intentions will not be able to find fault with the Qi family.
One month later, the new wine brewed in Gu Jinyun's wine cellar was released. There are three types, white wine, rice wine and wine. Liquor has a relatively high alcohol content and is a moderate spirit, most popular among northerners. Rice wine has a low alcohol content and a mild taste, which is in line with the preferences of ordinary literati. Wine is an unheard of new wine. Many people tasted it out of curiosity, but they were somewhat disappointed. Except for the novelty of aroma and color, they were not quite used to this kind of taste.
However, the effect of wine is eye-catching, nourishing the body and beauty, and helping sleep. This is undoubtedly very tempting for women.
The purchasing power of noble girls in the capital is even greater than that of men. They can do everything for their appearance.
Although these effects have not yet been confirmed, they are eager to try them out.
To Gu Jinyun's surprise, wine became the first new wine to become famous.
"Rong'er," Mother Qi handed over an invitation, "This is an invitation sent by Miss Luo from the Sima family."
Qi Surong opened it and took a look, then said with a smile, "Mother, Miss Luo is celebrating her birthday tomorrow, and I would like to invite me to go to the house to help her as a counselor."
"Then you go, remember to act cautiously." Mother Qi urged.
"Well, my daughter will send someone to reply." She has been in contact with noble ladies on a daily basis, and generally would not refuse such gatherings.
It was night, Qi Surong quietly came to the courtyard next door, found Yuan Xi, and asked, "Do you know who will attend Miss Sima's birthday tomorrow?"
Yuanxi took out a list and handed it to her: "Look for yourself."
Qi Surong opened the list, and there were more than 20 names listed on it, one of which caught her attention.
Luo Yanyi? She will go too?
Qi Surong frowned and scanned the list again. There is Luo Yanyi, but no Liu Qian'er?
Although she often walks around in the noble circle recently, she has always avoided meeting people who have had a deep grudge. Even if it is unavoidable, she will find an excuse to leave as soon as possible. It's not that he's afraid of being ashamed, but that he's worried about being calculated.
In her last life, she suffered a lot, and her mother was also bullied, and died in depression. In this life, she had to guard against it.
At present, the most vigilant person is Luo Yanyi. This girl is very jealous, she will take revenge, and her methods are vicious, even a little reckless.
Qi Surong thought for a moment, but decided to take a risk, not only because he didn't want to offend the young lady of Sima's family, but also wanted to see what trick Luo Yanyi would use.
She returned home and prepared some chili powder, several bottles of ointment and a small willow-leaf dagger.
Afterwards, she took out another ring. She asked a craftsman to make this specially. The surface of the ring can be twisted, and a kind of poison is put inside. Using this poison, the body will immediately appear a red rash, as if suffering from an infectious disease. But there is no harm to the human body, and the rash will subside in two days.
Although I don't know if it can be used, it is always prepared.
No matter how tough Luo Yanyi is, she will not persecute her in public, she will only use sarcasm at most.
Qi Surong squinted her eyes, but even if she didn't deal with her, she didn't want to make her feel better.
The death of her mother in the last life is inseparable from her, and she hasn't recovered the debt from her yet.
The next day, Qi Surong dressed neatly, took Ping'er into the carriage, and headed for Sima Mansion.
Miss Sima's birthday party is relatively low-key this time, only a few aristocratic ladies in the capital who have not left the cabinet are invited, and Mrs. Sima entertains other officials' wives.
Qi Surong did not participate as a guest, and now she does not have the qualifications. She just went to dress up Miss Sima's family and provide some advice on clothing matching.
Although she was not popular in the past, her taste is well known in the aristocratic circle.
When they came to Sima Mansion, Qi Surong entered through the back door and was led into Miss Luo's boudoir.
At this time, there were no other outsiders in the room, only Miss Luo and two maids.
Seeing her coming in, Ms. Luo smiled slightly and said hello: "Surong, you are here, come here quickly, and help me see how this outfit looks like?"
Qi Surong bowed slightly and walked towards her slowly.
The author has something to say: There is still a follow-up to this picture of plum blossoms and snow shadows, and I will talk about it in a few chapters...