I'm a humble concubine. My acting skills are off the charts. You can check my performance.

Zhao Fangyu had a plan in mind and stayed away from the people from Yuelanxuan. It was only in these few days that Zhao Fanglan took the initiative to provoke him, but Zhao Fangyu and Zhao Fangjin just laughed it off.

It had just rained after the festival, and Zhao Fangyu brought the osmanthus fragrance he had just mixed to give to Zhao Fangjin.

Zhao Fangjin was trying on new clothes sent from the embroidery room. When she saw Zhao Fangyu coming in with a small box, she immediately put down the clothes in her hands and looked at the box.

When she opened it, she immediately smiled with her snow-white teeth: "No wonder mother likes you, every time you give me something, it touches my heart." The carved hollow box contained a small ceramic painted rouge jar, on which was painted a branch of golden August osmanthus with lush branches and leaves growing diagonally from the side, looking joyful.

Zhao Fangyu followed Zhao Fangjin and sat on the pearwood stool by the window, smiling, "This gift is really easy to give. Big Sister likes osmanthus flowers. She likes anything related to osmanthus flowers, so it's easy to please her."

Zhao Fangjin glanced at Zhao Fangyu in a reproachful manner. He really liked the spices he had prepared. He couldn't help but said happily, "Do you think everyone is like you and can do anything? Back then, your embroidery skills were not as good as Xiaowu's, but now you are almost as good, right?"

Zhao Fangyu nodded, not being modest at all: "Fifth sister likes to play, I am older, now I can keep up with her if I practice more."

Zhao Fangyu was not trying to hide her talent. Embroidery was mostly a matter of talent, but hard work could make up for lack of talent. They were not embroidery ladies who relied on embroidery to make a living, so as long as they could do 70% or 80% of it, it would be enough.

Zhao Fangyu is patient, willing to work hard, and always immerses himself in what he does. The eldest lady has privately praised this to Zhao Fangjin several times.

In the past, the eldest lady was reluctant to let Zhao Fangyu get close to Zhao Fangmo, but now that this character has been revealed, the eldest lady often lets Zhao Fangmo sit aside and play while the two of them are learning to be housekeepers, hoping that Zhao Fangmo can get a taste of Zhao Fangyu's calm character.

"Hurry up and ask the embroidery room to make some clothes. We may have to go to school with my cousin next month."

Zhao Fangyu asked in confusion: "The Zhao family already has a family tradition, so why do we have to go to my cousin's house? What's so special about it?"

Zhao Fangyu looks cute, and when he asks questions, his eyes are full of moisture and they stare at you. His round face and round eyes blink, which makes him look pitiful and cute, and people don't feel disgusted at all.

Zhao Fangjin handed the spices to Xunyue, who lit them immediately.

The lingering sweet osmanthus fragrance came, and Su Bai's hand pinched Zhao Fangyu's face: "I only say this to you, don't tell anyone else."

Zhao Fangyu nodded rapidly and said, "I will never tell anyone else." He turned around and drove out even the maid who was following her.

Zhao Fangjin's eyes were as bright as the moon as she smiled. She called out the maid who was following her. The two little sisters sat by the window, ordering tea and chatting.

"My cousin is old enough, and the Duke's Mansion wants to send her to the palace."

Zhao Fangyu's eyes widened. As far as she knew, the current emperor was not old, but definitely not young either. He was nearly forty years old, and his eldest son was already eighteen.

Meng Yanzhen's entry into the palace this time was neither up nor down. If she married a prince, it would be fine, but if she entered the emperor's harem... that would be like a flower stuck in cow dung.

Zhao Fangjin continued, "My aunt found a maid who used to serve Consort Xiaoxian to be my cousin's tutor, and asked our daughter to go and learn with her."

"My aunt's family has many daughters, even concubines' daughters have come to the class, so my aunt asked us to go too. It's always better to have our own benefits than to let outsiders take them."

Zhao Fangjin didn't care at all that his words hinted at Zhao Fangyu, and Zhao Fangyu didn't care either. The fair and tender little girl's dark eyes were wide open, and she seemed a little bit unbelievable.

"Mother hasn't told you the news yet, so hurry up and make some new clothes. They don't have to be fancy, after all, they're for school. Otherwise, the people from Yue Lan Xuan will grab them first, and then you won't be able to find good clothes to wear when the time comes, and Yue Lan Xuan will be outdone and fall behind."

Zhao Fangyu nodded and agreed. He thought about the fact that he still had several pieces of summer cloth in his house that were given by the eldest lady, but the color was not good, so he asked someone to bring them to Zhao Fangjin for reference.

In fact, these pieces of cloth were not bad, but too good. She didn't know how to make clothes to be low-key because of their good quality.

The people of Daliang are elegant and like light colors. Only the eldest daughter in the family likes brightly colored clothes.

Among these pieces of cloth there was one that was pomegranate red with gold all over it. Usually only Zhao Fangjin in the mansion could wear such cloth.

This year, Zhao Fangjin felt that he had too many bright red clothes, and the fabric could not be used to make many patterns, so he kept it. But thinking that the fabric should not be given cheaply to Zhao Fanglan and Zhao Fangyun, he asked the eldest lady to give it to Zhao Fangyu.

But with such a brightly colored fabric, Zhao Fangyu really couldn't find anything to match it with.

Zhao Fangjin was familiar with this material. As soon as he got it, Zhao Fangjin planned it with Zhao Fangyu. The people in the embroidery room received instructions and started working on it that night.

As Zhao Fangjin expected, when Zhao Fangyu's clothes were half finished, the eldest lady announced that she was going to the Duke's Mansion to attend classes.

Both Yuelanxuan and Pingboyuan were in an uproar, especially Pingboyuan. Both girls had to go there, and the embroidery room was overwhelmed. Everyone from top to bottom was worried.

At noon the next day, Zhao Minshan listened to someone's advice and went to Qingping Courtyard.

"This year, the girls in the mansion will go to the Duke's Mansion for classes, and the Duke's Mansion must also make some gestures. The people in the embroidery room should not move for now, and call the slow embroiderers in Yangzhou to make two sets of clothes for the girls in the mansion."

The eldest lady lowered her head and ordered the tea. The dry tea leaves were put into the stone mill and finely ground into powder. The eldest lady said nothing. When Zhao Minshan finished speaking, the room was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.

After the tea leaves were ground, the eldest lady put down the golden coin and replied softly, "I'm afraid it's not good. Yangzhou will not be able to spare any time this month."

"The Duke's Mansion placed a large order with Yangzhou Man at the beginning of the month. Another colleague of the master is also preparing for the marriage of his child. The embroiderers at Yangzhou Man are unable to spare any time until the end of the month."

Zhao Minshan frowned, obviously not expecting that the retreat he had arranged for Pingboyuan would not work.

The eldest lady's voice was soft and gentle: "Don't say that Yangzhou is slow, all the famous embroidery workshops are busy embroidering dowries recently."

"In the past two years, the trend of lavish weddings has become more popular in the capital. Girls' dowries are embroidered from the beginning of the year to the end of the year. It is difficult to find good embroiderers, and everyone is scrambling to get the embroidery done."

"If Zhihuai's betrothal gift had not been prepared long ago, I really wouldn't be able to come up with it at this moment."

Zhao Minshan himself worked in the Ministry of Revenue, so he obviously understood the key point as soon as the eldest lady mentioned it.

The eldest lady smiled at the corners of her pretty lips, and Mother Cui handed her a handkerchief to wash her hands at the right time: "It's hard to find a famous embroidery studio, but we do have one at home, but it's just newly opened and not very famous yet."

"The embroiderers are all skilled. They are from Suzhou and Shu. If the master is worried that the embroidery room in the mansion is not busy enough, the mistress's shop can also help."

Before Zhao Minshan could ask, the eldest lady said leisurely, "This was originally the dowry prepared for Jin'er. It's a newly acquired property. It doesn't have a big name, but it's enough to make clothes for the girls in the family."