Chapter 109: Embroiderer (31)
Chapter 109: Embroiderer (31)
It has been three months since Empress Du returned to the capital city, and Lin Dan's Zhuojin was selected as a tribute and sent to the palace, perhaps already worn on her. The man heard that the emperor loved her so much that she was presented with the best palaces, the best jewelry, and the best brocade clothes.
But Empress Du remained unchanged and set up a Taoist temple in Qiwu Palace, which was praying every day without stepping out of the palace. Once in a while, she met Concubine Min, who was sent by the emperor. But Concubine Min in her face lifted up her unpleasant past, which had made her slightly warmed up and immediately frozen to the ice for three consecutive days without eating or sleeping, just to force the emperor to send her away from this place.
The emperor was so angry that he almost lost his mind. He went to the palace of Concubine Min and scolded her severely, and then scolded her as a maid. If it weren't for the help of Empress Du in the past, how could she be today? She not only didn't know how to be grateful but also put Empress Du in an awkward situation all the time. What a bitch! She forgot her origin as soon as she gained power!
The ninth prince, who was choked and crying by his maids, couldn't calm the emperor down. After he left, he immediately issued an imperial edict to demote Concubine Min as Fei, deprive her of her noble title, and grounded her in the palace from now on. What Li Jiarong said that day had planted a seed of suspicion in the emperor's heart. It would be fine if Concubine Min was hidden, but she couldn't control her temper and went to provoke Empress Du. This hit the emperor's sore spot, and his suspicion of Concubine Min and the Lis reached its peak.
Fei Li (once called Concubine Min ) was having a hard time, and so was Li Ran. Everyone in Lin'an was laughing at him. No one executed the political order he issued, and no one echoed his proposal. He was completely a decoration.
On the other hand, Du Rusong was vigorous and vigorous, from centurion to chiliarch, and then was promoted to the chief soldier. Presumably, not long after, even the commander Xu would have to bow in front of him. However, others couldn't find his flaws, because he was good at both Kungfu and literature. He also dared to fight. When they fought against the enemy, he was always the first one to rush. The merits he obtained were all up to his own ability. He was also good at winning over people's hearts. He had once worked with his soldiers, and he remembered their names. From time to time, he would go to the camp to drink with them and have a good chat, without putting on airs. He didn't neglect his performance at all. His way of doing things was impeccable.
"Is the golden scale not a thing in the pond? It will turn into a dragon as soon as it meets the wind and clouds."() This sentence was suitable to describe Du Rusong. He was not a mortal. He could stand out when he was bullied by Lis maliciously in the past. Now with the care of Empress Du and the emperor, he was able to rise to fame.
Under the leadership of Lin Dan, Du Ruyan made a successful silk business. After the news of Zhuojin spread, not only the ladies and debutantes of Lin'an would come to the Danyan Embroidery House to buy cloth, but also people from several cities around would scramble for it. Zhuojin was a tribute that they couldn't afford, but it was not inferior to Zhuojin, which was enough to compare with the brocade produced by the Meng's Embroidery House.
"It's okay. More and more people are buying cloth recently. How about we find a few more weaving women to expand the production?" said Ruyan, standing beside the handrail on the second floor and looking down, with a sign on her face. There were a lot of people crowded downstairs. Some were buying cloth, some were buying embroidering, and some were coming to join the fun. On the contrary, the Meng's Embroidery House in front of them was not as full as the Danyan Embroidery House.
"If we hire a few more employees, can you guarantee that they won't spread the Zhuojin after learning the techniques?" said Lin Dan, waving her hand."Now the cloth was enough for sale. There was no need to produce more. If there was more, it would be worthless. We just make the top quality article"
To keep her skills secret, Lin Dan bought slaves from others to make cloth. Generally speaking, female slaves who had signed contracts wouldn't run away. Even if they ran away, they could report to the government and bring them back and also punish the people who hid them. Lin Dan knew Empress Du. So the cloth merchants in Lin'an would only rob Lin Dan's slaves if they were fools.
After thinking for a while, Ruyan gave a thumbs up and said, "You said I could do business, but in fact, you are better than me. You are just impatient to deal with these trifles."
Lin Dan shook his head with a smile and continued to embroider. At this moment, Xu Qian took a maid to the second floor, followed by the attentive female shopkeeper. Miss Xu was a distinguished guest of the Danyan Embroidery House, which was known to all the people in Lin'an. Now, Lin Dan seldom embroidered clothes for others, but as long as it was asked by Xu Qian, she would agree. After all, Xu Qian was a loyal customer of the Danyan Embroidery House, and she would never change her attitude towards her because of the ups and downs of Lin Dan. They were friends from the very beginning.
"Oh, Qian, you're here. Your clothes are ready. I'll go get them for you." said Ruyan, dropping her abacus immediately.
Putting down the embroidery needle, Lin Dan said gently, "Go to the back of the screen and have a try. I'll change anything that doesn't fit you."
"Thank you for your kindness," said Xu Qian with a bright smile on her face. Although she only had a common face, because of her unique temperament, she didn't look inferior when standing with a group of young ladies. Now she was wearing a fairy dress made of Lin Dan all day long, which was the most beautiful scenery in Lin'an. Wherever she went, she was the focus of the crowd. Although the eldest prince didn't express his intention to accept her before he left, he warned commander Xu and General Li to temporarily solve her crisis, so she lived a comfortable life now.
After being watched many times, Xu Qian's self-confidence also increased. Her temperament was still calm, but there was also a trace of disdain in it. She walked slowly to her side and stared at her unfinished embroidery, her eyes full of admiration.
While Xu Qian was looking at the embroidery, the guests on the second floor all gathered around to see what kind of dress Lin Dan had made for her today. Now she was the trend of Lin'an. What kind of clothes she wore today could be seen all over the street tomorrow.
They wanted to pull her down and be Lin Dan's exclusive guest. But Lin Dan was silent and indifferent. She was by no means an uneasy target to please. If they had known that the Lins would end up like this, these guests would have reached out their hands to her and made her a friend when the Lins were down.
Seeing that Xu Qian went upstairs to the two floors, more and more guests came to join in the fun. They needed to see the dress made by Lin Dan's new work clearly as soon as possible, and then ask others from the Danyan Embroidery House to copy it. Although what others did was far from being as immortal as what Lin Dan did, they were of the same style and wouldn't be ridiculed by others.
As soon as Ruyan turned around to take something, the two floors were crowded with guests, which made her mouth twitch.
"Step aside, step aside." she squeezed out of the passage with difficulty.
"What style and cloth is this dress today?" a guest asked excitedly.
"There are all kinds of cloth used in the shop. You can find them yourself later, but the pattern on the cloth is Dan embroidered by herself. I'm afraid you can't restore it."Ruyan said.
The guests sighed. Now everyone knew that Lin Dan's embroidery was the best in Lin'an. It was impossible to restore her embroidery! Sure enough, when Xu Qian changed her clothes and walked out of the screen, the guests could not even sigh. They could only look at her in astonishment.
It was a slip dress with a pink silk ribbon going through her armpit, forming the shape of a rose on her chest, outlining her full and soft chest, and making her legs particularly slender. The pure white dress was naturally and fluffy, and the way she walked was as ethereal as a cloud, which seemed to be normal. But when she walked to the window, the man suddenly found that the pure white cloth was embroidered with a pink rose with single silk. The silk was so thin that it could not be seen in the light, and it would flicker in the sun.
With every step, Xu Qian took, the pink rose would change with the light and shadow. It felt so fantastic. The blouse was covered with pink cicada-wings-like gauze, and only a little exposed at the neckline, sleeves, and the end of the skirt, which made the finishing point.
The crowd stared at the ethereal Xu Qian, held their breath, and thought, "Miss Lin has never let me down. With the dress embroidered by her hands, I can't find the second one in the world."
However, Lin Dan was not satisfied. She walked around Xu Qian for two circles, and then took out a few feet of pink gauze, which was cut into a silk cappa, and made a fake rose with the same color and quality of gauze. She asked Xu Qian to put it on.
After putting on the silk cappa and silk flowers, Xu Qian looked different from her previous elegant and plain appearance, as if she had added a touch of glamour and a little prettier.
"Wow, your skills are getting better and better!" said Xu Qian sincerely after looking at the hem of her dress for a while.
Before Lin Dan could say anything, the ladies and debutantes surrounding the door shouted with hope, "Miss Lin, are you free recently? Can you make a dress like this for me? The price is up to you!"
"My Dan is too busy to receive orders. Besides, she never makes the same dress," said Ruyan, pushing them out. "You can find someone else to do it. Don't block here. We still have a business to do." Since her brother's promotion and her mother's return to the Imperial City, her arrogance and willfulness had returned. If anyone got in her way, she would fight back and show no respect. But the women in Lin'an didn't dare to provoke her at all. They had to hold her carefully. Li Jiarong, her rival, hadn't shown up for a long time. It was said that one of her shins was broken by Li Ran and she was recuperating at home.
The crowd dispersed reluctantly under the reproach of Du Ruyan. At this time, a line of officers and soldiers broke in and wanted to search the shop without saying anything. Du Ruyan and the shopkeeper tried to stop them but failed. They were so anxious that they sent people to look for Du Rusong.
Lin Dan urged Xu Qian to leave as soon as possible and pulled Ruyan behind her, frowning.
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