The Little Lucky Girl

Liu said in a low voice, "There were 28 people in my group, and three of them died on the way. I was chosen by the caravan's steward, the child's father, and that's how I escaped from slavery. The rest were sold to various embroidery workshops in the prefectural capital or Pingyang City."

Aunt Luo didn't ask any more questions, but glanced towards where Ming Youyou was. Only then did she realize that Aunt Luo had been paying attention to her.

Ming Youyou regretfully left after realizing that the following words were not for her to hear. When she reached the door, she heard a faint question coming from inside, "Did you agree on any mark to facilitate contact with each other?"

Seeing her come out, Zheng Huan and others immediately surrounded her. Ming Youyou shook her head at them and only said to Cheng Xiaoan: "Your mother is fine. She is in better condition now than when she first came in."

Cheng Xiaoan felt a little relieved, then he remembered that he hadn't even shed some water for them, so he immediately ran to the kitchen and started busying himself.

A few people drank water and chatted while looking inside. After a while, Aunt Luo came out, followed by Liu, who respectfully escorted her to the carriage.

Zheng Huan and his companions also said goodbye and left, jumping into their own carriage. As soon as they got in the carriage, the three of them stared at Ming Youyou with sharp eyes, "Tell me quickly, what was said in the room just now."

Ming Youyou immediately became alert, covered her mouth and said, "No, I have to keep it a secret."

"Does Aunt Luo want you to keep your mouth shut?" Feng Xu asked.

That's not the case. "Because I didn't have time to tell you." Ming Youyou lowered her voice and said, "There seems to be a big conspiracy here. The fewer people who know about it, the better. Don't ask about it. You might get silenced."

Zheng Huan and the other two were amused. “If that was the case, they wouldn’t have let you in.”

Lu Tai said: "I think Aunt Luo just wants to use you to let us understand."

"Why is that? What can you do if you know?" Ming Youyou asked in confusion, "Do you still want you to write a storybook?"

"If you want us to do anything, you have to first see what the matter is." Lu Tai winked at her, "Don't forget that we have the General's Mansion and the Shangshu Mansion standing behind us."

"Aunt Luo wants to borrow your family's power?" Ming Youyou frowned. This field was a little unfamiliar to her, but she felt that the three people's considerations were not unreasonable. "Well, you guys listen too."

Aunt Luo returned to the county government office and first went to pay a visit to Mrs. Tao, and then they went to see Magistrate Tao.

Magistrate Tao was sorting out the case files of the unsolved case in Pingyang City. He hardly left his study the whole day and only took a few bites of the food brought to him by the servants.

When Mrs. Tao saw this, she was extremely angry. However, as there were outsiders around, she couldn't do anything. She just glared at him fiercely a few times and asked her maid to make a bowl of chicken soup and send it over.

Magistrate Tao breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Aunt Luo and asked, "Why are you here today?"

Aunt Luo bowed and handed over a piece of brocade handkerchief. "I dreamed these days that when I was young, my master had created a set of needlework. I woke up and embroidered it according to the method, and I wanted to show it to you, my Lord."

Magistrate Tao looked at the brocade handkerchief and saw a white cat with blue eyes embroidered on it, which seemed to be about to pounce on the butterfly next to it. Although he did not understand embroidery, the cat looked vivid and lifelike with its fur clearly visible, so he knew it was a fine piece of work.

Mrs. Tao knew her husband didn't understand when she saw his expression, so she pointed out to him, "This kind of embroidery is much more exquisite than what we have now, and it has never appeared in Da Qi or Daliang. Look at the back again."

Tao County Magistrate turned it over with some doubt, and his pupils shrank immediately. On the back of the silk handkerchief was a kitten with black eyes and yellow and white stripes. Unlike the white cat, which was naive, this one looked much smarter. The butterfly next to it also turned into an orchid, and it seemed that it was about to be ravaged by the little yellow cat.

"This is actually double-sided embroidery." County Magistrate Tao was extremely surprised. There were not many artists in Dayu who could embroider double-sided embroidery. They were all registered by the court and treated with the best possible preferential treatment.

This craft is really rare, and it is unique to Dayu. It can bring them honor and earn them a lot of money. Unfortunately, the artists who can do double-sided embroidery are getting older and older, and they have not brought out apprentices with superb skills. I am afraid that this unique skill will be lost in the future.

Magistrate Tao asked in confusion: "You have such great embroidery skills, why didn't you show them off earlier?" Aunt Luo was in the palace, and had the opportunity to report to the court every day. She could immediately be promoted from a small female official to a high-ranking embroiderer, and could also leave the palace and live a free life. Why did she hide her skills until now?

Aunt Luo said calmly: "This double-sided embroidery originated from the new technique created by the master. I am dull by nature and only learned part of it. I am not as good as the sisters who studied with me at that time."

After saying that, she took back the silk handkerchief and pulled it hard, tearing the beautiful embroidery into several pieces. Mrs. Tao couldn't help but exclaimed.

Aunt Luo bowed to her and said, "This work has many shortcomings, so it is useless to keep it."

Lord Tao calmed down and sat back in his chair. "Aunt, if you have any difficulties, you can tell my husband and me." He looked at her expression and thought, "Do you want to find your master and the embroiderers?"

Aunt Luo shook her head. "Master can't be found. Before I entered the palace, a fire broke out in the embroidery workshop. Overnight, Master and the five members of the Dong family all died in it."

Magistrate Tao narrowed his eyes and asked, "In which year did you enter the palace?"

"The twenty-third year of the Yongjia period."

"It's been twenty years." Lord Tao sighed and suddenly remembered something, "Your hometown is Suzhou or Hangzhou?"

Aunt Luo nodded, "The area around Taihu Lake in Gusu."

Magistrate Tao probably understood it in his heart, and he pondered and said, "Twenty years ago, there was a fire that destroyed a famous embroidery workshop in Jiangnan. Does Aunt know about this?"

Aunt Luo said nothing, but just looked at Lord Tao quietly.

The two looked at each other for a moment, and Magistrate Tao stood up and said solemnly: "It has been twenty years since this incident happened. Things have changed and people have changed. I am afraid that a lot of evidence has been lost in the years. Xiu cannot guarantee what the result will be, but I will do my best to give justice to the deceased."

Only then did Aunt Luo sigh and bow.

Magistrate Tao asked, "Aunt, looking back on the past, do you feel that there was anything unusual about it?"

Aunt Luo said with a disappointed look, "Back then, I was just an apprentice, staying in the embroidery workshop all day, and rarely exposed to the outside world. But one time, I heard from my master that the master had taken our new product to the governor's mansion. If the governor agrees, we will have a chance to compete for the title of imperial use."

Magistrate Tao nodded and said, "I understand. I will have someone investigate the tribute from that year."