Wealth and glory seek stability

Jian Xi has never been to any other courtyard except the Magnolia Courtyard.

"Sister Ruyi, is the Second Madam's place far away?"

Ruyi patiently explained, "Not far, just ahead, go around the lotus pond and pass through the corner gate and you will arrive."

The palace was very large, and when Xia was in charge of the division of the family, she simply bought several houses behind the palace, connected them, and allocated several courtyards from the palace to the second branch.

Jifang Garden.

"arrive."

Ruyi asked Jian Xi to wait outside while she went into the room to pass the message.

Jian Xi looked around the yard, presumably this yard was decorated according to the Second Madam Qian's preferences. All that could be seen were various flowers in all their glory.

Completely different from the elegant style of the Magnolia Courtyard, Qian’s decoration can be described in one word: gorgeous and grand!

There was a large patch of red roses planted in the corner of the wall. Even though she was standing so far away, she could still smell the unique fragrance of the roses.

"Jian Xi, come in quickly, the Second Madam wants to see you."

"Yes."

Jian Xi took a deep breath, opened the door curtain, and almost sneezed because of the incense inside.

Qian was truly a person who was consistent in her words and deeds. The room was decorated magnificently, and each compartment was decorated with curtains made of pearls and jade.

Jian Xi lowered her head and followed behind Ruyi. Qian was sitting at the round table in the inner room, preparing perfume. She held a small scale in her hand, weighing the powder in front of her, as well as a delicate and small mortar and pestle.

"Jixiang, come over here and continue weighing. Remember not to add too much patchouli this time. The incense I made last time was choking when it burned."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Ruyi, go get me the dress I'm going to wear to the Peony Banquet and the picture the embroiderer drew."

"Yes, ma'am."

After Qian made the arrangements, she smiled and said to Jian Xi, "On the fifteenth of this month, my aunt, Lady Korea, is going to hold a peony banquet. I'm worried about what to wear to the banquet. A few days ago, I saw that the bamboo leaves you embroidered on Lady Dowager's clothes were very lively. I don't want you to do anything with the needle and thread. Just draw a few patterns for me, and I'll have an embroiderer embroider them herself."

Jian Xi felt a headache for a while. She just used a little ingenuity and applied the knowledge of light and shadow from her previous life when embroidering the bamboo leaves. The embroidered bamboo leaves became more vivid and three-dimensional.

In terms of embroidery skills, she was not as good as Dingxiang. Fortunately, Qian was considerate and only let her draw the drawings and did not have to embroider it herself.

She still thanked him, "Yes, it is a blessing for me to receive the praise from the Second Madam."

Ruyi brought the blueprints and the materials for cutting clothes, "These are the materials needed to cut new clothes for Madam. Madam wants a pure and elegant feeling like a fairy. Qiao Gu drew three blueprints, but Madam was not satisfied with any of them. Take a look."

Jian Xi took the drawing. There was nothing wrong with the embroidery pattern on it. The style was simple and elegant. The material chosen by Qian was lake blue in color, and there were brocade, grosgrain, and gauze.

In theory, the result should achieve the effect shown in the drawing. Although it is not amazing, it is at least 70% or 80% good-looking out of 10.

But Qian was not satisfied. She grumbled for a long time, got up and went to the inner room, took out a book, opened it and began to read: "Pear blossoms in March paint the skirt, broken dreams are blurred in the orchid shirt, lake blue gorgeous clothes lightly wrapped around the soft waist, plain white gauze lightly draped outside, three thousand black hair tied up with a hairband, butterfly hairpins inserted in the hair, light powder and rouge, only to add color..."

and many more!

The more Jian Xi listened, the more she felt something was wrong; it felt so familiar.

Isn’t this the description of the heroine’s appearance in her novel “Love Hidden in Jewels”?

"Zhao Yuwan's eyes are clear,,,

Oh no! I've read too much! I want this feeling, do you understand?" Qian closed the book with a snap and coughed lightly, trying to cover up the unnaturalness on her face.

After hearing the three words "Zhao Yuwan", Jian Xi finally confirmed that what Second Madam Qian was holding in her hand was the "Love Hidden in Jewels" written by her!

The Xuanyuan Dynasty is really small.

Jian Xi swallowed her saliva, lowered her eyes and continued, "I roughly understand, but I need to discuss it with the embroiderer in Madam's room."

Qian lowered her head to fix the red nail polish on her hand and gave Ruyi a wink.

Ruyi immediately understood, "Aunt Qiao is waiting for you in the embroidery room, come with me."

Jian Xi bowed to Qian and followed Ruyi.

When I left, I heard Qian complaining to the maid beside her: "This Ling Jiang is really something. He has only written half of the book, and the other half is not yet written. He has been flipping through the book until it is almost torn apart. I must find out who he is. I must catch him and lock him in a small dark room, and make him finish writing the sequel for me."

Jixiang smiled and comforted Qian, "Madam, don't worry. Wu'er asked last time, and the shopkeeper said that the sequel will be out in less than half a month. When the time comes, let Wu'er be the first to buy it and show it to you."

Catch him....lock him in a small dark room...

The voice was intermittent. Just as Jian Xi stepped out of the door, her legs went weak and she held onto the door frame to avoid falling to the ground.

What an injustice!

Last time she clearly told the shopkeeper it would be a month, how come it suddenly became half a month?

This shopkeeper really cheats people without thinking.

Ruyi heard the noise behind her, turned around and asked in confusion, "What's wrong with you?"

Jian Xi forced a smile and said, "Nothing, I just had a cramp in my leg."

"Can you still walk?"

"Yes, don't worry, sister. I'll lead the way."

"That's good."

Jian Xi prepared herself mentally. The most urgent thing now was to complete the task assigned to her by Qian first, and then go to settle the accounts with the shopkeeper.

The Qian family was wealthy and powerful, and the clothes they wore on a daily basis were all made by special embroiderers and taken care of by special people. There were also dozens of half-finished dresses and palace costumes hanging in the embroidery room.

"Aunt Qiao, this is the helper that the Second Madam invited for you."

Aunt Qiao was leaning over the desk, drawing with a tiny brush. When she heard the words, she looked up and saw Jian Xi. The smile on her face instantly disappeared.

With a hint of anger, he said, "This yellow-haired girl is the helper you mentioned? Is the Second Madam trying to slap me in the face?"

Ruyi seemed to know how Aunt Qiao would react. With a sweet smile on her oval face, she stepped forward and poured a cup of tea. "Look at what you said, it's not that serious. Second Madam just saw that this girl is a little clever and wanted to ask her for advice. The embroidery work in the future will still rely on your skills, Aunt Qiao. Everyone knows that you learned from the master Meng of Baoxiufang. Why do you have to bother with such a little girl?"

Aunt Qiao looked to be about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, with her hair in a bun and a thin figure.

She took the tea that Ruyi handed to her with both hands, "Since it is the Second Madam's idea, I can't refuse her face, so let this girl come and take a look. I want to see what good ideas she has."

Jian Xi knew that she was young and unconvincing, but she could really draw this blueprint.

Aunt Qiao gave up the table, pointed at the stool with one hand, and said contemptuously, "Little girl, please come in!" She just didn't believe that the clothes drawn by this yellow-haired girl could be more beautiful than hers.

Jian Xi first bowed to Aunt Qiao, then sat on the stool, picked up a pen from the pen holder, and began to draw.

He remained calm and composed from beginning to end.

Ruyi secretly admired that she was worthy of being trained by the lady, as she was neither humble nor arrogant at such a young age.