Re-embroidering life

Zhiyuan Villa is located in a secluded bamboo forest.

Dong Yajing's needle danced lightly on the embroidery cloth, and the "Hundred Flowers Longevity Picture" had already taken shape. Since she learned the natural embroidery technique, she boldly changed to using spiral needles for some of the flowers, and the flowers she embroidered were indeed more realistic and gorgeous.

Just as she was concentrating on her embroidery, the door was gently pushed open and Lady Tanghua walked in slowly. Her eyes fell on her daughter's embroidery and she nodded in appreciation.

"Yajing, your embroidery skills are becoming more and more exquisite. Your grandmother will be very pleased." Princess Tanghua said softly.

Dong Yajing raised her head and saw her mother with a gentle smile on her face: "Really, mother? Sister Shui taught me all this."

"You and her get along very well. She teaches you everything she knows, and you treat her well. You even ask your mother to support her." The county lady glanced at her daughter in reproach.

"I just feel that such a good person like Sister Shui, who is beautiful and talented, is not liked by her mother-in-law and is bullied by her sisters-in-law. I just feel unfair for her." Dong Yajing kept working.

"What about you?" Lady Tanghua asked calmly, but her eyes were looking at her daughter nervously.

Dong Yajing stopped the needle in her hand, looked at the embroidery cloth, and said unnaturally: "What do you mean, mother?"

"Your sister Shui has you to support her, but what about you? If your future mother-in-law and sisters-in-law make you angry, who will support you?" The county lady's expression became stern.

Dong Yajing lowered her head, and after a while, she raised her eyes and looked at the county lady: "But, apart from my mother-in-law and my sisters-in-law, maybe there is no one else in the world who can make me angry?

"Have you decided?" the county lady asked.

"No." Dong Yajing hesitated. "I dare not decide. I know this is not my own business. The Dong family and my grandparents' family are all tied to the same boat. If we are not careful, everything will capsize. After all, the Yu family..."

"That incident happened seven or eight years ago. It seems that it is over. Otherwise, how could he leave the capital? It is just a matter of thought for the superiors." The county lady gently stroked her shoulder, her eyes gentle: "Mother, I just didn't expect you to make such a choice. Mother thought you wanted to live a carefree life in this life."

Dong Yajing smiled brightly, her face blooming like a flower: "I used to think so, but as a woman, where can I really get freedom? Just like my senior brother and his wife, they are a perfect couple, but his wife still faces many obstacles when she wants to do something. Maybe only by reaching the highest point can we break free from the shackles to the greatest extent."

The county lady looked at her daughter with admiration, her face full of the pride of a royal family girl: "Well said. You are the only child of your parents, and you are so beautiful and talented. What can you not afford to be a prince's consort? Besides, we have been hiding in Jiangxia for long enough, it's time to return to the capital."

Dong Yajing looked at her mother in surprise: "Mom?"

The county lady nodded to her affirmatively: "Just think clearly. If you want power, then just go for the higher place. Mother and your father's family will do their best to help you. If you have love in your heart, then you'd better give up as soon as possible. Mother was born in the royal family, and she can see it clearly. Men of the royal family only put power and life first. This is something that flows in their blood."

Dong Yajing smiled, "Blood of the Xie family? What a coincidence, half of my blood is surnamed Xie." On her childish face, her clear eyes flashed with a firmness and maturity that did not match her age. "I know that he has me in his heart, but what he values ​​most is my father's reputation in the literati and my grandfather's influence in the royal family. I have him in my heart, but I also value the honor and freedom he can bring me. It's fair."

The county lady looked at her as if she was meeting her daughter for the first time. "Yajing, you have really grown up. Mother still wants to remind you that the road to higher places is full of thorns. Remember what you wanted in the beginning, so that you can make it to the end."

Dong Yajing looked into her mother's eyes and nodded heavily.

At the same time, in the Ji family's study, Ji Zixuan, wearing a green home robe, was holding a book and reading leisurely.

Ji Zimo frowned slightly, with a hint of confusion in his tone: "Brother, why did Patriarch Tang suddenly come to visit? "

Ji Zixuan gently put down the book in his hand, his eyes penetrated the candlelight and fixed on Ji Zimo's face: "Zimo, what do you think of the Tang family?"

Ji Zimo thought for a moment and said three words: "Fence-sitter."

Ji Zixuan smiled, with a hint of amusement in his tone: "Do you know what the greatest ability of a fence-sitter is?"

Ji Zimo suddenly realized: "Distinguish the wind direction!" He then realized: "Tang Qian didn't come here for me."

Ji Zixuan laughed out loud, "Do you want to burn the stove? You haven't even passed the imperial examination!" He stood up and paced back and forth in the study. "But it's not wrong to say that I came for you. It's just that I didn't come for you, but for your mentor behind you."

Ji Zimo was shocked. Did Dong Daru agree to the marriage proposal of the Third Prince? He suddenly remembered the dream Shui Qinghua had told him, in which Dong Yajing became the Crown Princess a few years later. For some reason, his intuition told him that it was not a dream, but a fact that was about to happen.

"Brother, since I have become the last disciple of Mr. Dong, I will be inseparable from him no matter what. If he becomes the father-in-law of the third prince, I will naturally get on board with him." He tested cautiously, he knew that his brother hated taking sides the most.

"No hurry! So what if you're a closed disciple? You don't even have any fame, and you haven't entered the court. No one cares whether you get on the boat or not. If you want to stand on the team, you must prove your worth first, otherwise you don't even have the qualifications to stand on the team." Ji Zixuan's eyes revealed depth and sharpness.

Ji Zimo was stunned. His elder brother was very different tonight. The country bumpkin in a light robe and loose belt seemed to disappear, and he turned into the young official who was full of confidence and powerful in the officialdom many years ago. However, he was more calm and sharp than before, like a sword unsheathed, exuding a cold aura.

He remembered that not long ago, in this study, his elder brother had tried to stop him from becoming a disciple of Mr. Dong and advised him to become a famous scholar. But now he acquiesced to letting him board the Third Prince's ship!

Although he was brought up by his eldest brother, he felt that he had never truly understood his brother.

Ji Zixuan knew what he was thinking when he saw his expression: "This is a different time. Before, if you wanted to take the imperial examination, you couldn't pass the test of Prefect Huang."

Ji Zimo knew that his elder brother was telling the truth. The provincial examination was held in the prefecture, and as the chief official of the prefecture, it was too easy for Prefect Huang to embarrass a candidate.

"But brother, on the day the Third Prince came, Ma suddenly went crazy in the downtown area. This is not a simple matter."

"Yes, until the last moment, it is still unknown who will win. If you enter the court one day, facing the turmoil in the court, you will be crushed to pieces if you are not careful. You must learn to think ahead of everything, make multiple preparations, and take every step firmly!"

Ji Zimo agreed solemnly.

"I once wanted to protect you under my wings and let you live a carefree life, but you didn't want to. Well, restoring the glory of the Ji family's ancestors is the responsibility of every man in the Ji family. None of the three of us brothers can escape this. Now that you have entered the master's door, you should work together to seek the highest fame!"