Chapter Ten: The Embroidered Uniform

  The tree wants to be still but the wind will not stop.

  Liu Qingqing had just returned to her dormitory when Chen Xixi arrived. Chen Xixi didn't care that Liu Qingqing was lying in bed groaning, although Liu Qingqing was actually faking illness. Her mouth was groaning, but her ears were perked up listening to Chen Xixi's movements. Chen Xixi said proudly: "Ninth Lady, you've returned to the dormitory so quickly, I'm afraid it's because you're worried that Old Lady will check your embroidery? Haha!"

  Xiao Lian said: "You dare to be so presumptuous, have you forgotten your own identity? How dare you behave wildly in front of the Ninth Lady! Get out quickly!"

  Chen Xixi taunted: "She promised to compete with me, I'll leave! No need for you to hurry! Only afraid she dare not respond, is a useless ornament - looks good but useless!"

  Liu Qingqing was most afraid of being provoked, her blood boiling with excitement. "Tomorrow at sunrise, we'll have a competition in the main hall! Whoever doesn't go is a coward!" What nonsense. We can't help but admit that she's an expert at pretending to be a hot-blooded hero, speaking without thinking. She had clearly forgotten why she rushed back to her dormitory like an ostrich burying its head in the sand.

  Chen Xixi couldn't give up the opportunity to probe. She didn't believe Liu Qingqing, didn't believe she was the famous Jade-faced Weaving Maiden known throughout the country. Although she had seen Liu Qingqing's stunning beauty and the reputation of being a jade-faced weaving maiden wasn't fake, it didn't mean she was the real deal. Moreover, her own embroidery skills were renowned in the capital, earning her the nickname "Clever-handed Xishi". She must compete with Liu Qingqing to surpass her, defeat her, and win back Hu Zhongren's increasingly cold affections.

  What about Hu Zhongren's attitude? He was sitting on the mountain watching the tiger fight, crawling on the bridge to see the water flow. He knew Chen Xixi's thoughts in his eyes, which made him very proud of being sought after by others. Moreover, he also wanted to confirm whether Liu Qingqing was indeed the daughter of Liu Fangchun, the Jade-faced Weaving Girl. After all, he was willing to spend so much money not only to help Liu Fangchun repay his debts but also to give Liu Qingqing a sky-high betrothal gift and marry her, just to borrow Liu Qingqing's influence to make his silk store famous in the capital city and firmly occupy the position of the old master.

  Chen Xixi had already seen through Hu Shao's thoughts, so how could she give up this heaven-sent opportunity?

  But what's the truth? The truth is that Liu Qingqing really can't do embroidery, and she only used the excuse of not feeling well to slip back into her dormitory because she was afraid of her mother-in-law asking her to embroider. Although it's said that with enough effort, even an iron rod can be ground into a needle, but when holding an iron rod, she can rival Sun Wukong, yet when picking up an embroidery needle, it feels heavier than the Golden Hoop Rod. Not to mention embroidery, just looking at modern people's favorite cross-stitch makes her feel annoyed. Her mother is always there, stitching one line after another, and she finds it so frustrating that she's about to die! But now, she really wishes she had paid attention to her mother's embroidery, but things didn't go as planned, and now she's angrily wanting to slap herself a few times... Ah, ah, ah, after uttering a thousand and one sighs, finally, someone arrived. It was Xiaolian, bringing dinner. Liu Qingqing waved her hand, and for the first time, she lost her appetite for the delicious food.

  Xiao Lian is so clever. As soon as she saw her master's worried face, she knew what was troubling him. "Young Master," Xiao Lian said, "I have a plan that can help you win the competition." She continued, "You're afraid of being pierced by embroidery needles, aren't you? I can help you with that."

  "Cut it out, you little yellow-haired brat. What can you possibly do to help me?" Liu Qingqing's tone was disdainful. A small child who had just learned to walk and run would shout for help, but no one would believe you!

  "I can really help you, hurry up and eat, I guarantee that I can help you defeat that little demon Chen Xixi." Xiaolian said, her voice full of hatred towards Chen Xixi.

  Liu Qingqing said: "You hate her so much? Why? Because without her, my sister wouldn't have died."

  Liu Qingqing was a curious baby, and she immediately started asking questions while eating. However, Xiao Lian refused to answer despite her tears. Seeing Xiao Lian's determination, Liu Qingqing stopped asking questions. The priority was to resolve the issue with Chen Xixi's match. After dinner, the two cleaned up and Xiao Lian took Liu Qingqing to the backyard under the cover of night. Liu Qingqing saw that it was the forbidden area - the rear garden - that Xiao Lian had previously warned her not to enter. As if knowing her question, Xiao Lian signaled her not to speak. The moonlight was not clear, and a large dog could be seen vaguely at the corner gate. Liu Qingqing remembered its bravery and felt a chill. However, the dog did not bark, as if it knew who the visitors were. Xiao Lian walked up to the big dog and whispered, "Dahu, don't make a sound. The visitor is here, this is Young Madam." Liu Qingqing smiled secretly: "A beast knows who's who?"

  Xiao Lian said: "It understands human nature, I told it, she will remember you and won't bite you again."

  Liu Qingqing said, I let her drive me down to the lake and she still recognized me.

  "At that time she didn't know you yet, of course she bit you." Xiaolian smiled slightly.

  "You're so young yet you know me so well, when did that happen?" Liu Qingqing scolded in a soft voice.

  "I'll notice whoever I like." Xiaolian's voice was filled with satisfaction as she pushed open the door, lightly struck the flint and lit the oil lamp.

  The faint light shone through the layers, and Liu Qingqing saw that it was a small room. It was very clean. Liu Qingqing guessed that it should be the servant's quarters. Xiaolian opened a wooden chest with ease. Inside was a thick stack of embroidered clothes. "This is my sister's legacy, not even Hu Shao has seen it. We'll take her to the competition and definitely beat Chen Xixi."

  Xiao Lian said, took out a package of cloth, and put all the embroidery inside. She closed the door, blew out the lamp, and the two people felt their way back to the dormitory in the dark. Hu Zhongren had not returned yet. Liu Qingqing let out a long sigh.

  Xiao Lian smiled and said: "Madam Jiǔ, you are really interesting. Others would be angry about being left to guard an empty house, but you don't want Hu Shǎo to come back. What are you thinking?"

  "It's just as you thought." Liu Qingqing replied with a smile.

  "But I think Hu Shao still likes you." Xiaolian said sincerely, "How I wish you could stay and be the ninth wife."

  "If there's a reason for me to stay, I'll stay." Liu Qingqing said with a hint of Zen, "You'd better teach me embroidery anyway, so I can handle tomorrow's situation."

  The gentle breeze was blowing, and the sky was clear. Under the support of Xiaolian, Liu Qingqing arrived at the hall. Madame Hu Shao sat in the main hall, while Xi Xi had already taken out her embroidery and was showing it off. It was a peony flower picture. The purple-red flowers were huge, with golden stamens, and against the green leaves, they looked like real ones. Amidst everyone's praise, Xiaolian smiled without any fear, "When they bloom, they can't be compared in beauty, but when they fall, only then do we know their true nature. The peony flower picture is a symbol of vanity, how can it compare to the lotus flower that rises from the mud yet remains unsoiled, with its noble quality." With a smile, she opened her package, intending to take out the white lotus flower inside, but found that there was no sign of embroidery, only a pile of tattered cloth strips.

  Xiao Lian was shocked and lost color, Chen Xixi sneered coldly "You think my peony is not good? Now you can't even produce something of this quality. Don't you quickly surrender and admit defeat?" In the midst of Chen Xixi's arrogant laughter, Liu Qingqing took out an embroidery from her bag, a snow-white lotus flower embroidered on green fabric, as if it had just been plucked. "Look at my white lotus flower, can it compare to your peony?" Liu Qingqing said lightly. The old lady was amazed. "My good daughter-in-law, you truly deserve the title of Jade-faced Weaving Maiden, not in vain, rivaling my late daughter-in-law Xiaolian. Now that we have Ninth Lady, our embroidery workshop will definitely rise from its decline and reach new heights." This was tantamount to acknowledging that Liu Qingqing's embroidery was superior.

  The old lady burst into tears, and everyone else bowed their heads in grief. Only Chen Xixi was not very concerned, speaking provocatively: "Compared to the finished embroidery products, it's hard to show off one's skills. Why don't we have a live embroidery competition instead, that way we can see who has the best techniques?" In fact, she wanted to tell everyone that Liu Qingqing's embroidery was actually left behind by Xiu Lian, but she was afraid that everyone would be even more inclined towards Liu Qingqing, so she proposed a new method of competition.

  Hu's face was gloomy, with no expression, and nobody knew what was going on in his heart. Although he had never seen this embroidery before, he recognized it at a glance as belonging to his beloved wife, Xiulian. He thought to himself that it must have been Xiaolian's idea to take Xiulian's embroidery for the competition, which would certainly win first prize. Looking at the package in Xiaolian's hand, he was sure that it also contained Xiulian's embroidery. Today, Chen Xixi had ruthlessly destroyed all of them in order to win the competition, truly a heartless and poisonous move. How could he not have recognized this earlier? Despite his inner turmoil and pain that was almost unbearable, he nodded slightly on the surface as if consenting. The crowd cheered even louder, bringing the atmosphere to a high point.

  Xiao Lian was initially delighted, but then sighed inwardly at the cleverness of Ninth Madame, who had shown foresight. Later, when she heard Chen Xixi's method, her expression turned anxious, and she thought to herself, "My Ninth Madame, even the great Luo god can't save you this time!" Last night, Ninth Madame's embroidery was not even as good as that of a three or five-year-old child, how could she possibly compete with the cunning and skilled Chen Xixi? Although this person was vicious and ruthless, her embroidery skills were indeed exceptional, and she was the only one who could rival Sister. Now that Sister had passed away, Liu Qingqing didn't know how to embroider at all, what was to be done? "Ninth Madame, your body has not yet recovered, why don't you let me take your place and compete with Chen Xixi?" Liu Qingqing smiled slightly, calm and composed, shaking her head lightly, as if it were no big deal. She didn't choose a pattern or start working on anything, but instead sat properly on the stool, watching Chen Xixi work busily.

  Chen Xixi was determined to win and put in a lot of effort. After carefully selecting, she chose to embroider the Thousand-Handed Guanyin Bodhisattva. Everyone was immediately stunned. It's worth noting that among embroidered works, portraits are the most difficult to create, but Chen Xixi's method won everyone's recognition. Having successfully embroidered the Thousand-Handed Guanyin, no one could surpass her.

  Watching Chen Xixi select the painting, adjust the silk thread, Liu Qingqing beckoned Xiaolian to come closer and whispered a few words. Xiaolian followed her instructions, took out the brush and ink, and spread out a piece of white cloth on the tea table, brushing and dotting, and it was also a portrait of a person. Everyone looked more and more stunned, more and more surprised, until they stopped looking at the painting and looked at Hu Zhongren instead. Hu Zhongren walked over, pushed aside the crowd, and when he saw the painting, he became furious, kicked over the tea table, and tore the white cloth with one hand. "Who gave you the guts to paint her!" He slapped Liu Qingqing's face with his backhand, and immediately blood flowed from Liu Qingqing's mouth corner. Then she slowly fell to the ground, pointing at Hu Zhongren, and everyone was in an uproar.