The Legend of Zhen Huan: Year after year, we share the spring breeze

The next morning, An Lingrong borrowed a veil and hat from the innkeeper and went out with Aunt Xiao.

As the selection approached, many daughters of officials came to the capital. Having come from far away, they naturally wanted to experience the scenery of the capital, but they were afraid of causing discussion and speculation by showing up in public. Most of them wrapped themselves from head to toe so that not even a strand of hair could be shown before they were allowed to go out for a walk.

Although An Lingrong couldn't see the scenery clearly, she could still feel the prosperity of the capital from the bustling crowds and the constant hawking sounds.

The two of them arrived at a rather luxurious-looking embroidery workshop. A neatly dressed waiter immediately came to the door and greeted them warmly, "Madam, please come in for tea!"

Looking at their attire, the waiter knew they were ladies from wealthy families who were participating in the beauty pageant. He had received quite a few of them in recent times, and they were all very generous.

An Lingrong walked into the room, lifted the veil a little, and looked at the furnishings in the store.

The five-room-wide house faces the street. In the middle hangs a huge painting of a court lady. On the walls on both sides are placed several pieces of silk, which are brightly colored and glittering. The fabrics on the counter are of slightly lower quality. The other two rooms are filled with handkerchiefs, hair flowers, purses and other accessories.

Looking at the things on the counter, An Lingrong had a clue in her mind. These things were far inferior to her own handkerchiefs.

The waiter was also polite. He bowed his waist and lowered his head as he introduced, "Miss, is there anything you like? Our shop has fabrics that have just been delivered from Jiangnan, and we can also make clothes to measure."

Aunt Xiao stepped forward and said, "I have a few handkerchiefs in my hand. I wonder if your family would accept them?"

Hearing this, the waiter's smile faded a little, but he still had a smile on his face. "Please follow me to the inner room and wait for a while. I will go and ask the shopkeeper to come over!"

After a cup of tea, a thin middle-aged man walked in. He took a look at the people in front of him, bowed slightly and said, "Greetings, ladies! My name is Li. I heard from the waiter that the lady has a handkerchief that she wants to exchange for money. May I take a closer look?"

After doing business for so many years, he was able to become the shopkeeper of a store in a place like Beijing where every inch of land is valuable. He also has his own shrewdness and astuteness, and knows that one cannot judge a person by his appearance, so he is always polite and courteous to people he deals with.

Aunt Xiao took out a handkerchief from her bosom and handed it to Shopkeeper Li. Shopkeeper Li took it and looked at it, and could not help but be amazed. The double-sided embroidery of the magpie climbing the plum tree had exactly the same pattern outlines on both sides, and it was worthy of the reputation of "embroidered flowers emit fragrance, and embroidered birds can hear sounds".

Although she was deeply impressed, she kept a nonchalant expression on her face. "The embroidery is quite good. I wonder how much you would like, Madam?"

Aunt Xiao had never sold handkerchiefs before, so she had no idea about the market price. She could only say vaguely, "Please ask Shopkeeper Li to name a price. If it's suitable, I'll leave the handkerchief here!"

Shopkeeper Li thought for a moment and then said tentatively, "Ten taels of silver, would Madam be satisfied?"

Upon hearing that her wife's craftsmanship was only worth ten taels of silver, Aunt Xiao became anxious. "Shopkeeper, are you giving us such a high price just because we're women? Look carefully, this is Suzhou double-sided embroidery. The stitches must be very even, with no sparseness or density. When inserting the needle, the thread end must be pressed down, and several short stitches are made to hide the thread end. Only when the thread ends are not exposed on both sides can the two sides be equal. Even in Jiangnan, there are not many embroiderers with such skills! And this fabric is the finest silk. I'm afraid ten taels of silver can't even buy the embroidery thread and fabric!"

After saying that, he pulled An Lingrong and was about to leave. "Miss, this shopkeeper doesn't know what's good. Let's go!"

Upon hearing this, Shopkeeper Li knew he had met an expert and quickly stepped forward to stop him, saying, "Madam, please don't be angry. I was shortsighted and didn't understand the key points. Only after you explained it to me do I understand. Please forgive me. Serves the tea quickly!"

The two of them sat down again, and Shopkeeper Li stopped playing tricks and said sincerely, "Madam, please name a price!"

An Lingrong, who had been silent the whole time, uttered three words, "Fifty taels!"

Upon hearing the price, Shopkeeper Li's face instantly turned grim. He said unhappily, "Miss, this price might be embarrassing for me! Our shop is trying to support two parties. We can't let you suffer a loss, nor can we let the buyer get more value for money, right?"

An Lingrong saw his expression and realized that her price was indeed too high, so she took a step back and said, "Forty taels!"

Seeing that Shopkeeper Li still looked uneasy, he added, "There are five handkerchiefs."

When he heard that there were five handkerchiefs, Shopkeeper Li's eyes flashed. Now there were many noble ladies gathered in the capital, and in addition to the contestants, there were also their families accompanying them. They were generous and quick to spend, so these handkerchiefs would definitely be snapped up. But at this price, he would definitely not make much profit!

Seeing that he was still considering it, An Lingrong pointed at the pattern on the handkerchief and continued, "This handkerchief, both in color and pattern, matches the light red satin, and also the two red plum blossoms. If any young ladies come to buy a handkerchief, you can recommend this combination to them."

This sentence was like a bolt of enlightenment for Shopkeeper Li. "Thank you for your advice, Miss. I wonder if there's any room for negotiation on this price!"

Seeing that he was still trying to lower the price, An Lingrong had no choice but to use her trump card, "Auntie, let's go ask somewhere else!"

Playing hard to get—who hasn't used this tactic when shopping? Sure enough, before the two of them even stepped out of the door, Shopkeeper Li called out, "Please stay."

Holding the two thin silver bills, An Lingrong felt more confident. Whether she entered the palace or returned home, at least she wouldn't be too poor!

Thinking about the plot of the play, An Lingrong felt that it would be best not to get too involved with the heroine, so she said to Aunt Xiao, "Aunt, the most urgent thing now is to rent a small courtyard, just for a month. It would be too inconvenient to stay in the inn."

Aunt Xiao nodded in agreement. Ever since the eldest daughter woke up, she always felt that something was different. As for what exactly was different, she couldn't tell!

An Lingrong was about to continue speaking when she suddenly saw a group of people quickly gathering in front of her.

Perhaps watching the fun is the nature of every Chinese person, and An Lingrong is no exception. Her feet moved forward uncontrollably, and when she got close, she found that it was a ragged young man collapsed on the ground.

People around him pointed, but no one came forward.

An Lingrong took a closer look at the young man. He had a thin body, skinny cheeks, and thick dust on his face that covered his original appearance. As she looked at him, An Lingrong felt something was wrong. The young man actually had pierced ears!

Women disguise themselves as men!

These four words rang in An Lingrong's mind, instantly shocking her. This was only the first day of her time travel, how could it be so exciting!

If it were a young man, An Lingrong might have been able to just sit there and ignore him, giving him a piece of silver at most. But this person was a woman. If she were taken away by a man with bad intentions, what fate would this girl face? An Lingrong couldn't imagine it.

Although she knew that it was not appropriate for her to meddle in other people's affairs given her status and situation, she could not just watch a young girl fall into danger in front of her and do nothing.