Re-embroidering life

When it comes to embroidery competition, the ladies are excited again. They can't compete in music, chess, calligraphy and painting because they don't have a father who is a great scholar, but needlework is something every girl has practiced since childhood, so they can't be too far behind. Dong Yajing's "Hundred Flowers Longevity" is said to be indeed exquisite, but it is still unclear whether it was embroidered by her own hands.

The queen gave a task: to embroider any item in Chonghua Palace within three sticks of incense.

The ladies looked around the store. Candlesticks? Pearls? Rockeries? Wine utensils?

Having made up their minds, the ladies all lowered their heads and began to embroider.

Dong Yajing looked around and had an idea. She raised her hand and asked if she could use her own silk thread. After receiving a positive answer, she took out a sachet from her sleeve, which was filled with new silk thread, which was given to her by Shui Qinghua.

As the ladies were sewing, dancers in gauze entered the venue and sang and danced to the music of stringed instruments played by the musicians. The guests also began to move around freely and toast, and the atmosphere gradually reached a climax.

After three sticks of incense, the ladies handed their works to the palace maids. The queen and several high-ranking concubines tasted and commented on them one by one. When she saw one of the pieces, the queen praised it: "It is so lifelike and vivid!" As she said this, she passed the embroidery to other concubines.

This work is embroidered with goldfish in a rockery pond. The goldfish are colorful and vivid, with black eyes showing a mischievous look. The most rare thing is that the dynamic movement of the goldfish shaking its head and tail in the water is vividly expressed.

The noble ladies all cast envious glances at the creator of the embroidery, a young lady named Wei. It seemed that she would definitely be the winner of this round.

After seeing the goldfish painting, the other embroidery pieces pale in comparison. The queen put on a polite smile and quickly flipped through the remaining embroidery pieces. Suddenly, her fingers paused on one of the pieces. After staring at it for a while, she quietly called the eunuch next to her, handed the embroidery in her hand to him, and asked, "Is it the same as the one you have?"

The eunuch was also shocked: "This... every detail is exactly the same. This lady not only has superb embroidery skills, but also has an admirable memory!"

The queen nodded, understanding what was going on.

The eunuchs and palace maids signaled the guests to return to their seats, and the scene became quiet again.

"The winner of the fourth round of embroidery competition has been chosen. She is the winner," the queen said, turning the embroidery over. Seeing the name on it, she couldn't help but raise her eyebrows with interest. "Miss Dong."

There was a burst of surprise. Winning four games in a row, Miss Dong was really too strong.

Miss Liu stood up and bowed, saying, "Madam, we all saw clearly just now that Miss Wei's goldfish painting is perfect. How can Miss Dong be better than her?"

The queen was the queen after all, with a broad mind. She was not angry at Miss Liu's offense, but asked the eunuchs to take down the two embroidery pieces and pass them around. The people who received them compared the two pieces and were silent. Miss Dong embroidered the fruit plate that was rated as the first by the emperor tonight. Candied apples, osmanthus cakes, green plums and crabapples of various colors, shapes and sizes were used to create auspicious patterns in each treasure box, such as five bats surrounding a longevity character, which was called "Five Blessings Holding Longevity".

"The goldfish painting is certainly exquisite, but Miss Dong's midnight snack fruit plate painting is even more ingenious. Just with a quick glance during the selection, she was able to remember the shape of the fruit plate and the placement of the fruits. She embroidered it exactly the same within three incense sticks of time. Even the luster reflected from the different candied fruits was embroidered as if it were right in front of you. I think with such skill, there should be no dispute that she won the first place." The Queen gave her evaluation.

Everyone nodded frequently, and even the man who didn't know how to embroider was amazed by this work. Whether it was embroidery or painting, it was not easy to copy an object vividly. The luster was something that could not be seen or touched, and it was even more difficult to produce with a needle or a pen. The princes and sons of the royal family had all been taught by famous teachers, so they naturally saw the tricks and were convinced by the queen's judgment.

"Miss Dong, come up and receive your reward." The queen looked at her with admiration.

Dong Yajing took a deep breath, slowly stood up, and walked to the front. She walked gracefully, her beautiful peacock skirt shone softly with her movements, adding a bit of nobility and elegance to her.

The Third Prince looked at her infatuatedly, his eyes almost overflowing with infatuation. This beautiful and talented woman was the future wife he had worked so hard to find, his principal wife. The envious looks of the other brothers at the table made him feel extremely satisfied and happy. From beginning to end, he could not spare a moment to look at Miss Liu.

The Queen said, "Today at the New Year's Eve banquet, I saw that all of you ladies are talented and graceful. Among them, Dong Yajing is particularly outstanding. She is both virtuous and beautiful, and has a decent manner. She has profound attainments in playing the piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, and her embroidery skills are as natural as a gift, which shows her extraordinary talent and hardworking spirit. I hope that you will guard against arrogance and impatience in the future, and use your own virtues to be a role model for other ladies, bring glory to your family, and add color to the royal family."

The queen personally placed the jade pendant in Dong Yajing's hand, and Dong Yajing knelt down solemnly to thank her. She knew that after this banquet, no one would challenge her status as the prince's consort, and her goal was far more than just one prince's consort.

The third prince's mother, Concubine Yu, sat beside the queen, looking at her future daughter-in-law with satisfaction and for the first time agreed with her son's choice.

The eldest prince's mother, Concubine Zhang, sat on the other side of the queen, with a sneer on her face. Even if she was the most beautiful and talented woman in the capital, it would be in vain if her family had no real power.

A palace banquet, everyone has their own thoughts.

After the banquet, Princess Dihua, who had been very low-key and silent, took the initiative to come over to Dong Yajing and said, "Yajing, your embroidery skills are superb. Did you learn it in Jiangxia?"

Dong Yajing replied respectfully: "Yes, aunt, I learned it from my sister-in-law in Jiangxia."

Princess Dihua is the emperor's cousin. She is closer to the emperor than Princess Tanghua and is more favored. According to seniority, she is also Princess Tanghua's cousin, so it is not an exaggeration for Dong Yajing to call her aunt.

"What's your sister-in-law's last name?" Princess Dihua seemed very interested.

"The last name is Shui. I call her Sister Shui."

Princess Dihua nodded. "The peacock skirt you are wearing is so beautiful. You have put so much thought into it. The peacock feathers are so real. Are they all embroidered?"

"I embroidered real peacock feathers with silk threads of similar colors. This way, the texture of the peacock feathers will be more realistic." After thinking for a while, Dong Yajing added, "This skirt was also made for me by Sister Shui."

Princess Dihua's eyes lit up: "You mean, your sister-in-law is also in the capital?"

"Yes, Sister Shui is here to accompany my senior brother to take the spring examination." Dong Yajing didn't quite understand why Princess Dihua was so interested in Sister Shui.

Princess Dihua said, "Bring your sister-in-law to see me when you have the chance."