Chapter 17: Embroidered Manor Opens for Business

  Before leaving, Xu Mingjin said seriously to Fan Yicheng: "Uncle, you should hurry up and find an aunt for me!"

  Fan Yicheng was fully immersed in his grand ambitions when he suddenly heard this sentence, and immediately opened his eyes wide.

  "Cough, don't worry, don't worry." It took a long time for Fan Yicheng to find his voice.

  Xu Mingjin smiled slightly and then said seriously: "Uncle, don't make me wait until the flowers have all wilted!"

  Fan Yicheng said: “……”

  Xu Mingjin returned from Xiu Zhuang with a mood that was better than before by a mile.

  Although the journey to the capital is uncertain, staying in Liu City also carries great risk. Since mother wants to go, she'll accompany her then! After all, father is in mother's heart. Xu Mingjin secretly said: Mother, don't worry, I will definitely protect you and little brother well!

  After returning from the embroidery workshop, Xu Mingjin was unexpectedly invited to Lady Fan's pear garden. At this time, Lady Fan usually stayed alone and did not allow anyone to disturb her. Since she had just finished visiting her uncle and returned, it was likely that Lady Fan had summoned her because of her uncle. Xu Mingjin understood this in her heart.

  As expected, Mrs. Fan had called her over precisely to ask about Fan Yuanchen's affairs.

  "Girl, don't worry, Uncle will take care of the Zhuang's estate properly. His own body has long since recovered." When Xu Mingjin went to see Fan Yicheng, she originally wanted to ask about his physical condition, but as soon as she saw Fan Yicheng, she swallowed back the words she had planned to say. Because Fan Yicheng was truly like a new person, no longer with the previous decadent and sloppy appearance, but instead full of spirit and vitality, standing there with an air of elegance.

  "That's good, that's good." Madame Fan muttered to herself several times before smiling and saying: "Jin'er, it seems we don't have to worry about your uncle anymore. He will definitely be fine."

  "Yes, mother."

  Time flies quickly, and before you know it, the day of the embroidery shop's opening has arrived.

  Xu Mingjin coaxed and pleaded for a long time, finally resorting to tears, before Madam Fan reluctantly agreed to let her go to the embroidery workshop to watch the excitement.

  "Jin'er, just sit in the sedan chair and take a look from afar, but whatever you do, don't go forward!" Madam Fan agreed to let Xu Mingjin go, but she was still worried and repeatedly instructed Xu Mingjin with these words.

  "Mother, Jin'er knows! Do you want to say it a few more times? If you keep talking, the sky will be dark soon, and then my daughter won't have to go!"

  Madam Fan heard this and scolded, "This child! Alright, I won't nag you anymore. Hurry up and go!" Then she instructed Old Lady Xu, "Take more servants to protect Miss, absolutely don't let anything go wrong."

  "Yes, master."

  After half a response, Xu Mingjin finally got ready to go, trying to ignore the group of people following behind her. Although it was Mrs. Fan worrying about her performance.

  They finally set off. Sitting in the sedan chair, they had only traveled half a mile when Xu Mingjin felt unbearably hot. The sedan chair was airtight and stuffy, making her feel suffocated. She couldn't help but lift up the curtain, and a gentle breeze blew in, making her feel more comfortable. However, just a second later, the curtain was quickly pulled back down by someone's hand. Xu Mingjin turned around to see that it was Permitted Auntie, who had a disapproving look on her face. "Miss, have you forgotten what happened last time we went to White Cloud Temple?" Xu Mingjin listened and suddenly remembered the encounter with that wicked man - their first meeting was when he opened the curtain of her sedan chair while riding his horse alongside... Xu Mingjin suddenly felt uninterested and didn't say another word, silently acquiescing to Permitted Auntie's actions.

  Xu Mingjin suddenly missed the modern life, without all sorts of constraints and frameworks that bound women. She could laugh heartily, cry with abandon, without having to worry about showing her teeth or being gentle and elegant. She didn't have to worry about facing those with ulterior motives, nor did she have to sit in this stifling sedan chair!

  However, she can now only sit in this sweltering sedan chair and cannot go out for a breath of fresh air.

  All the way without a word, until they arrived at the street of Xiu Zhuang, from afar, they heard the bustling voices of people, and at the same time, the horse carriage slowed down. Zhang Shuozi said outside, "Miss, there are too many people ahead, our horse carriage can't get through." Xu Mingjin was already used to Zhang Shuozi handling things for her. This time coming to Xiu Zhuang, how could he be left out? Zhang Shuozi was sitting with the coachman Xiao Dongzi outside the horse carriage.

  Xu Mingjin said to Xu Nian, "Niangniang, can I lift the curtain and take a look now? Otherwise, wouldn't it be a waste of coming here?" Xu Nian nodded, and Xu Mingjin said to Zhang Shuozi, "Stop the carriage here." Outside the carriage, Zhang Shuozi and Xiao Dongzi responded in unison and jumped down together, waiting aside.

  Xu Mingjin lifted the curtain and found that the carriage was stopped right in front of Xiu Zhuang, only about ten meters away from the entrance. She looked out of the window and could see the scene in front of the door of Xiu Zhuang clearly.

  "Embroidered Embroidery Mansion?" Xu Mingjin was speechless as soon as she saw the sign on the door with these few words. That day, she went to the embroidery mansion to visit Fan Dichen, and during their conversation, they mentioned the name of the mansion. He told her that he had named it "Embroidered Embroidery Mansion". At that time, Xu Mingjin strongly despised this name, thinking it didn't sound good at all! She protested strongly against this name, but Fan Dichen said that this embroidery mansion was originally hers to open, and if it weren't for her, there wouldn't be this mansion. That's why he gave it such a name. Xu Mingjin thought she had protested enough, and Fan Dichen would consider her feelings and change the name of the mansion. Unexpectedly, she overestimated her influence, thinking that she had successfully won Fan Dichen over and boosted his morale, and he would definitely listen to her opinion and give the mansion a more elegant name. But unexpectedly...

  Xu Mingjin gazed at Jinxiuzhuang with a sorrowful and resentful look, her eyes filled with accusation. It was unclear whether she was accusing the humble name of Jinxiuzhuang or blaming Fan Yicheng for not taking her opinion seriously. This, however, remained unknown.

  It wasn't enough to just look from the sedan chair, so Xu Mingjin suggested to Madam Xiu that she wanted to go take a closer look at the embroidery workshop. However, this was met with refusal from Madam Xiu: "Miss, didn't you promise Madame before leaving that you would only take a look from the sedan chair? Have you forgotten?"

  Xu Mingjin pouted: "This thing, you don't say, I don't say, nobody says, how did my mother know?"

  "Miss, if anything unexpected happens, I'll go back and tell the mistress about it!" Madam Xi anxiously advised: "Miss, aren't you afraid of worrying the mistress? The mistress was worried that you'd get into trouble, that's why she had me follow you!"

  "Mother, look, those who go to the Embroidery House are all ladies and young misses, and there are no men. I won't bother them, so what could possibly happen? Xu Mingjin looked in the direction of the Embroidery House, then turned back to Mother Miao with tears in her eyes: "This is my last wish before returning to the capital. If I miss it, I will regret it for the rest of my life. Mother, please don't let me have any regrets, okay?" Mother Miao was defeated by her tearful attack and had no choice but to surrender: "Alright, we'll just take a look inside and then come back, okay?"

  Xu Mingjin nodded in agreement, and the group got off the car and headed towards Xiu Zhuang. Xu Mingjin turned his head to look at the crowd following him, feeling a mix of emotions. Wasn't Madame Fan being overly anxious? She wasn't stupid, how could she be bullied in her own embroidery workshop? She wasn't a child either. However, Xu Mingjin was still moved, someone had taken care of him meticulously, it's not something anyone can say no to! Xu Mingjin forgot, he was only an eleven-year-old kid, not some adult.

  Xu Mingjin led a large group of people through the crowd and into the Jinxiu Zhuang, attracting many sideways glances. People whispered to each other, wondering which family's young lady this was, so young yet already showing signs of being an extraordinary beauty. Because Xu Mingjin had never attended any gatherings before, no one recognized her. Xu Mingjin ignored the whispers around her and began to stroll slowly through the embroidery shop as if no one was there.

  Xu Mingjin's eyes landed on the huge "Qingming Shanghe Tu" hanging on the wall, which was filled with people gathered in front of it. The crowd couldn't stop admiring and praising it. Many people were seeing such a large embroidery for the first time and couldn't help but gasp in amazement. As they walked closer to take a look, they discovered that the embroidery technique used in this piece was unprecedented. More and more people gathered in front of "Qingming Shanghe Tu", Xu Mingjin also squeezed forward, carefully examined the stitches, and smiled with satisfaction. Indeed, the embroidery done by those embroiderers exceeded her imagination.

  After finishing the Qingming Shanghe Map, Xu Mingjin squeezed out of the crowd and came to the counter with a dazzling array of embroidered goods. There were also many people gathered there. At a glance, Xu Mingjin saw Fan Yicheng standing behind the counter. He was wearing a clean Confucian shirt, although he was dressed as a shopkeeper, but he had a smile on his face and looked even more elegant. Fan Yicheng had been a beggar for so many years, always with a dirty and disheveled appearance, people had forgotten what he originally looked like. He suddenly became so elegant, which was vastly different from his frivolous appearance when he was young. For a moment, the crowd didn't recognize him.

  Xu Mingjin had noticed this the last time she visited him. At that time, she and Fan Yicheng discussed it, her intention was to change his name to avoid being discriminated against. After all, his reputation in the past was really bad, and everyone disliked him. It might affect the business of the Embroidery Workshop. But Fan Yicheng disagreed, his expression heavy as he said: "Uncle has been discriminated against for half his life, doesn't want to be discriminated against anymore, Uncle wants to use his own hands to make everyone look at me with new eyes!"

  Xu Mingjin said, "It was my oversight, I neglected Uncle's feelings. However, Uncle, I can understand your emotions, but how are you going to explain to everyone that you're not a beggar and suddenly became the boss?"