Re-embroidering life

"Third Madam, there is an invitation from Siyifang." Huixin came in and announced.

Shui Qinghua, who was drawing, stopped writing. After a moment of silence, he said, "Huixin, I'm going to go out for a while. Please help me prepare a sacrifice and paper money. I'll need them later."

Huixin agreed, wondering who the Third Madam was going to worship.

Shui Qinghua walked to the door of Siyifang, feeling a little uneasy for no reason. After calming herself down, she strode to the second floor. Shen Yi was already waiting inside, with a woman beside him.

The sun shines in through the fine bamboo curtains. In the mottled light and shadow, the woman stands quietly, as if blending into the surrounding embroidery. She is wearing a lake green dress, the hem of which sways gently. Her skin is as delicate as porcelain under the soft light, as if it were a portrait embroidered with the most delicate silk thread. Her eyebrows are filled with calmness and wisdom, and her eyes are deep, as if she can see into people's hearts.

Shen Xin, it has been fourteen years since I heard this name and actually met her. No, including the previous life, it has been twenty-two years.

Some people, as if destined, will meet her across life and death and become lifelong friends.

Shen Xin noticed Shui Qinghua's gaze and gave her a gentle smile.

"You are Madam Shui Er, right? I've heard Shen Yi mention you." Her voice was soft and pleasant, making people feel like they were in the spring breeze.

Shui Qinghua swallowed nervously, her voice trembling a little: "Mr. Shen, I have heard of your name for a long time. I feel honored to meet you today."

Shen Xin gently waved her hand, indicating Shui Qinghua that there was no need to be polite: "Just call me Shen Xin. We both love embroidery. I'm just a few years older than you and started earlier."

"Sister Shen Xin, I've heard of you since I was ten years old."

Shen Xin's face was shrouded in loneliness: "Did my aunt tell you?"

Shui Qinghua was a little at a loss. She suddenly realized that she knew nothing about Shen Xiu Niang's origins.

Shen Xin pulled her to sit down. As she told the story, Shui Qinghua sketched out the first half of Shen Xiu Niang's life in her mind.

The Shen family in Suzhou was a wealthy family in Jiangnan. Their children had served in important positions in Suzhou Weaving Factory for generations. Suzhou Weaving Factory was the imperial merchant office that supervised the production and purchase of silk for the royal family, and was also the emperor's true confidant. Born in such a family, they were born to be exposed to silk and satin fabrics. Almost all the women were good at needlework, and Shen Xue was a leader among them.

Born into a wealthy family, she was gifted and her family spared no effort to cultivate her. She lived up to expectations and mastered 200 kinds of Suzhou embroidery needlework in her teens, and could flexibly combine them. At the age of 14, she invented the method of twisting different colored silk threads into one strand to create a light and dark gradient effect on the embroidery cloth, and won the first prize in the Jiangnan Embroidery Art Competition held every three years. The double-sided embroidery that is now popular in Jiangnan was originally invented by her based on the summary and refinement of her predecessors, and later carried forward by Shen Xin.

If her life had continued along this path, Shen Xue would probably have had a legendary life that was no less than Shen Xin's. Unfortunately, at the age of sixteen, she met her destined disaster, a man.

No one among the younger generations, such as Shen Xin and Shen Yi, knew who this man was. This had become a taboo in the family. They only knew that Shen Xue fell head over heels in love with this man when she met him. However, both of them were engaged, which was arranged by their respective families since they were young. Especially Shen Xue, her engagement was a marriage between two aristocratic families in Jiangnan, which must not be broken. Shen Xue fought in every possible way, causing a lot of trouble, and even almost eloped, but was forcefully suppressed by the family. A year later, the man returned to his hometown, and Shen Xue married according to the family's order.

After getting married, she lived a peaceful life for more than ten years. One day, Shen Xue suddenly returned to her parents' home and insisted on a divorce. The elders of the Shen family disagreed, so Shen Xue immediately vowed that she would never accept any outsiders or pass on the Shen family's unique skills to outsiders. Then she asked to leave the family and went far away. From then on, she became the shame of the Shen family. No one saw her again, let alone mentioned her, as if she had never existed in this world. If Shen Yi had not learned from Shui Qinghua that there was a "Shen Xiu Niang" and had spent a long time looking for her, no one would have known that Shen Xue, the darling of heaven, would die so lonely in Jiangxia, a place no one would have thought of.

"I was already a teenager when my aunt left. All my skills were taught by her, and we had a very deep aunt-nephew relationship. I have been looking for her all these years, and although I finally heard such bad news, I still want to thank you, Madam Shui, for accompanying her all these years, so that she would not leave too lonely." After saying this, two lines of tears welled up in Shen Xin's eyes.

Shui Qinghua couldn't hold back her tears any longer. She recalled those years when Shen Xiuniang lived in a low, damp and dilapidated house. In Jiangxia's winter, water turns to ice, and in Jiangxia's summer, it's as hot as a steamer. The climate was already bad, and the living conditions were even worse. When she first met Shen Xiuniang, she was still a beautiful young woman, but after a few years, her joints were stiff, and she couldn't even walk on the road when it rained. People also aged rapidly, with white hair and wrinkles appearing quickly, as if a delicate flower had bloomed and withered overnight. When she died, she was less than 40 years old.

What could make a daughter of a rich family with a bright future willing to live this kind of life? If it was for that man, during all the years they had been together, not even a male mosquito had appeared in Shen Xiu Niang's life, let alone a man?

She couldn't figure it out. Shen Xin couldn't figure it out either. She burst into tears: "I didn't expect my aunt to live such a hard life. Si Yi Fang was obviously in Echeng, why didn't she come to Si Yi Fang? Even if she was just an embroiderer in Si Yi Fang, she wouldn't have lost her life so early!"

The two of them could no longer hold back their tears and hugged each other and cried. Shen Yi was also crying silently.

After calming down a little, the three of them agreed to go and pay tribute to Shen Xiu Niang together tomorrow.

When she got home, Shui Qinghua was still upset, her eyes were swollen like peaches. She didn't want the children to see her, so she simply hid in her room and didn't go out to eat dinner. Ji Zimo was worried, so he pushed the door open, saw her face, and asked in surprise what happened.

Shui Qinghua did not hide anything and told him about Shen Xiu Niang. Ji Zimo had known about this for a long time. Not long after they got married, Shen Xiu Niang passed away. Shui Qinghua cried bitterly and begged him to take her out to take care of Shen Xiu Niang's funeral. He found excuses to hide it from his mother and took Shui Qinghua out several times. He accompanied Shui Qinghua in purchasing the cemetery, the coffin, the coffin, and the funeral. From then on, every time Shen Xiu Niang's death anniversary came, Shui Qinghua would refuse to eat or drink and would be extremely sad. He was afraid of that day.

Thinking that Shui Qinghua would be sad again tomorrow, Ji Zimo put his arm around her shoulders and offered, "I'll go with you tomorrow."