Re-embroidering life

"Princess Dihua recommended you to participate in the embroidery conference, it's not possible that she did it to help you become famous. You have to be careful." Dong Yajing was worried and reminded him again and again.

Shui Qinghua understood. When the Chen family had a small embroidered Buddha statue, their opponents burned it and stole the book. When it came to the royal relatives, their methods would be even more sophisticated.

Shui Qinghua decided to use natural embroidery and hair embroidery techniques to embroider a painting with the theme of "Buddha". Ji Zimo brought a lot of ancient paintings from his family when he came to Beijing. The two carefully selected and finally chose to embroider "Eight Immortals Celebrating Birthday" and "Amitabha Buddha".

With Ji Zimo's help, the two embroidery drawings were quickly sketched, and they were almost identical to the originals. After entering the embroidery stage, Shui Qinghua was very careful. No one else could touch them except Jin Lan and Ji Fei. The embroidery silk and threads were all the New Year gifts sent by Dou Jianzhi, and they were not purchased in the market, which minimized the chances of others tampering with them.

The three of them worked day and night for three months and finally finished the work before the embroidery competition.

The embroidery art competition was held in Qiuxia Garden, which was also a royal palace where the empress dowager often lived when she went out of the palace.

Qiuxia Garden is planted with maple trees. Every autumn, the garden is covered with maple trees and leaves are covered with autumn clouds, hence the name. In the open space in the center of the palace, colorful flags are flying, music is playing, and people are bustling, all coming for this grand event. In the center of the venue, several judges sit solemnly, and in the VIP seats on both sides sit royal relatives, noble ladies, Tanghua County Lady, and the third prince's wife.

The judges were the palace embroidery bureau chief, the female official beside the empress dowager, the fourth director of the Beijing Embroidery Chamber of Commerce, and Princess Dihua, the owner of the Jingxiu Workshop.

Shui Qinghua looked at Princess Dihua sitting high on the stage, clenched her fists, and tried her best to calm down.

The Embroidery Bureau and Jingxiu Workshop were the first to present their embroidery works, which were highly praised by the judges.

Shui Qinghua knew that although the court stipulated that three pieces of excellent works could be selected, the Embroidery Bureau and Jingxiufang had already reserved two pieces. There were so many folk embroidery workshops or individuals present, and there was only one seat to compete for. Could her own embroidery be the one selected from thousands?

Folk embroidery workshops began to present their works one by one. From early morning to noon, not only the folk embroiderers who were working in the square under the sun, but even the nobles sitting on the high platform felt exhausted. Dong Yajing, who was pregnant, could not stand it and temporarily left the stage to rest.

At this moment, the eunuch notified Shui Qinghua to come on stage to present his tribute.

Shui Qinghua walked onto the stage, wearing a light blue dress with delicate patterns embroidered on the hem, which was neither ostentatious nor shabby. Her face was calm and composed, but only if you looked closely could you see a hint of uncontrollable nervousness in her eyes.

After standing still, Shui Qinghua took a deep breath and ordered the two palace maids behind her to gently unfold the embroidery. In an instant, the magnificent work appeared before everyone's eyes.

The Eight Immortals Celebrating Birthday is based on brocade silk, depicting the scene of the Eight Immortals wishing birthday to the Nanji Immortal. The eight immortals are in different postures and lifelike. The iron crutch in Li Tieguai's hand seems to have traces of time, and the texture is clearly visible. Han Zhongli's round belly and heroic smile are vivid and lifelike under the interweaving of silk threads. Zhang Guolao's donkey hair is distinct, soft and shiny, as if a breeze is blowing. Lü Dongbin carries a long sword on his back, and the tassels of the sword sway in the wind. The luster of the embroidery thread just shows the texture of the metal. Cranes, deer, flowing clouds, rocks, and bamboos add dynamics to the picture, creating an elegant and refined fairyland, making people seem to hear the laughter of the Eight Immortals and feel the joy of birthday celebrations.

The "Painting of Buddha of Infinite Life" is even more breathtaking. The Buddha has a solemn face and compassionate eyes, as if he can see through everything in the world. The cassock on his body is embroidered extremely gorgeously, with gold and colored threads interweaving, surrounded by Buddha's light, and the layers and colors of the light transition naturally and smoothly. The auspicious clouds in the background are illusory, and the density changes of the needlework create the lightness and agility of the clouds. The lotus seat under the Buddha has full petals, as if emitting the fragrance of the Buddha lotus. The entire embroidery is finely stitched, the composition is exquisite, and the colors are harmonious, showing the sacredness and solemnity of the Buddha of Infinite Life to the fullest, and when people appreciate it, they can't help but feel awe for Buddhism.

The judges were all connoisseurs, so they praised her endlessly. Princess Dihua followed suit and said, "Mrs. Shui is indeed the acupuncture saint recognized by the great scholar Dong Siqi himself, and he said that her peers could not even compare to her. Today, I see that it is indeed true."

As soon as these words were spoken, several judges immediately fell silent and their faces turned grim.

"I can understand that Mr. Dong values ​​talent, but isn't it an exaggeration to say that his peers cannot compare with him? The capital gathers talents from all over the world, and there are always better ones. Who dares to guarantee that he is the best?" The palace lady of the Embroidery Bureau was the first to speak, relying on her status and position.

People are like this, you can be good, but you can't be better than me. If the emperor thinks that the embroidery workers in the embroidery bureau are not as good as the girls in the folk boudoirs, how can they gain a foothold in the palace?

As soon as the palace lady of the embroidery bureau finished speaking, the fourth director of the Chamber of Commerce who was in charge of the embroidery workshop in the capital also said: "Although the embroidery of the Eight Immortals Celebrating Birthday is fine, the color matching is a bit vulgar and lacks elegance. And the needlework of the Amitabha Buddha is too complicated, which makes it look deliberate and loses its natural charm. The overall composition is not grand enough and cannot be accepted in a refined hall."

The two judges spoke back and forth, devaluing the work that had amazed them just a moment ago. Princess Dihua watched from the side with a barely perceptible smug smile on her face. Only the queen mother's female official remained silent from beginning to end.

Shui Qinghua listened to the criticisms quietly, her face turned slightly pale, but her eyes and expression were calm.

The Shang Gong of the Embroidery Bureau looked at Shui Qinghua coldly: "With such embroidery, you dare to call it the work of a needle saint? It's simply a joke."

The fourth head of the Chamber of Commerce also echoed, "In my opinion, your level is just so-so. Not to mention compared with the embroiderers in the palace, there are many embroiderers in the embroidery workshop who are better than you."

Shui Qinghua straightened his back slightly, looked at the judges with a firm gaze, and said neither humbly nor arrogantly: "I am willing to listen to what the judges say with an open mind, but please allow me to explain a few things."

She said slowly, "This 'Eight Immortals Celebrating Birthday' was embroidered to celebrate a birthday. Joy and auspiciousness are the primary intentions. The bright colors are to show a lively and joyful atmosphere. If it is too plain, it will lose the original intention of celebrating a birthday."

She added: "The Buddha statue is solemn. I embroidered it with complicated needlework to highlight my respect for the Buddha. Whether it is deliberate or not, it all depends on one's heart. If you have the Buddha in your heart, you will be able to appreciate the piety in this needlework."

"As for the composition being not grand," she said slowly, "This picture is intended to show the beauty of details, to see the big picture from the small. The grand style has its own beauty, and the delicate rhythm also has its own charm. They all have their own merits, so how can there be a distinction between high and low?"

Finally, Shui Qinghua looked around at everyone, her voice steady and powerful: "Dong Daru is my husband's master. He called me the Needle Saint, which is an encouragement and expectation for the younger generation. I know that my skills are still not enough, but it is unfair to criticize my work based on just one comment from my master."