Transmigrated Female Official

As soon as Chu Qingluo returned to the clothing workshop, Seventh Aunt called her into the inner chamber.

"Sit down." Li Ziyou sat down at the table, waiting for her.

Chu Qingluo nodded slightly and sat down opposite Li Ziyou.

"Judging from today's events, you're a sensible person. If you encounter difficulties again in the future, you can come and talk to me." Li Ziyou's tone was indifferent, revealing no trace of joy or dislike.

If you think that her words mean "I'll protect you from now on," you'd be sorely mistaken. Chu Qingluo understood Li Ziyou's implication: she was the only one in charge of the clothing workshop, and no one else needed to interfere. So she replied, "Okay, Sister Ziyou."

Seeing that she was sensible, Li Ziyou stopped arguing. She gently pressed her temples with her fingers and said, "We're about to start making clothes for the Summer Festival. Have you given Seventh Aunt the measurements of all the princesses and princes?"

"Already reported."

Aunt Qi nodded to indicate that what she said was true, and then quietly went to the door and called in a male attendant to massage Li Ziyou's head. Her head would throb if she thought too much.

What are their demands this time?

Chu Qingluo had already written down these requirements on paper and reviewed them every day, just in case Li Ziyou suddenly asked about them like she was now. Shaoyao had also curiously looked at her calligraphy and laughed for a long time because she didn't understand Chu Qingluo's writing, so she jokingly called it drawing talismans.

She started by repeating the simplest requirements, then moved on to those without specific requirements, and finally came up with a lot of requirements...

Li Ziyou hadn't expected Chu Qingluo to have some knowledge. At first, she listened indifferently, but her expression grew increasingly grim. Finally, after hearing the Eighth Princess's request, she sighed heavily: "I've already thought about the Empress's attire for half a day, and none of these princesses and princes are easy to deal with. And there's something even more troublesome: what kind of program should our Clothing Pavilion prepare for this Summer Festival?"

The Summer Sacrifice Ceremony was a major event in the Ji Kingdom. On this day, the Empress would travel to the Temple of Heaven to offer sacrifices to the heavens. A second-rank priest would present the heads of slaughtered oxen and sheep to the gods, praying for favorable weather, abundant harvests, and national peace. Afterward, a grand banquet would be held in the palace, where the princess and the ten female officials of the highest rank would prepare performances as a tribute to the Empress and the gods.

Aunt Qi tentatively suggested, "How about a duet of the qin and xiao?"

Li Ziyou shook her head: "It lacks originality, and Yu Yi will inevitably have to play some music."

The "Yu Yi" that Li Ziyou mentioned refers to the female official of the eighth rank who was in charge of poetry, literature, rites, and music.

A bold idea swirled in Chu Qingluo's mind. After hesitating for a while, she couldn't help but speak it aloud: "I have an idea, but I don't know if it's feasible..."

"Oh?!"

What ideas could a newcomer possibly offer? Li Ziyou told her to continue.

"First, select twenty women and twenty men with excellent looks and temperament, and train them in etiquette. Then, dress them in unique costumes and showcase them on the prepared stage. If they do well, the princesses and ladies-in-waiting may even choose their favorites from these costumes, which will save the clothing department some trouble in the future... Of course, the most important thing is to make the Empress happy and find it novel."

Chu Qingluo was actually talking about 'an ancient palace costume fashion show'. If it could successfully create a sensation and make the clothing store famous, there would be no need to go door to door to ask for opinions from each palace.

"This...doesn't that mean we'll have to make forty more sets of clothes?" Aunt Qi felt overwhelmed just hearing the number.

Li Ziyou, who had remained silent after listening, suddenly had a gleam in her eyes: "Your suggestion is very interesting." She paused, then asked, "But how do we select these forty people? How should they be presented? And how do we come up with something unique with so many costumes?"

Chu Qinglu smiled slightly: "That's simple. If Sister Ziyou trusts me, I can help you solve these problems."

Seeing Chu Qingluo's confident demeanor, Li Ziyou's eyes showed a hint of approval. She resolutely said, "Alright! There are still two months until the Summer Festival. I'll entrust you with full responsibility for the Clothing Pavilion's gift presentation this time. But you should know that if we fail, it won't just be a matter of face. You might lose your life, and I'll be implicated as well."

Chu Qingluo didn't think too much about it and immediately replied, "Yes."

Aunt Qi gasped, "This is too risky!"

"Don't worry, Aunt Qi, I'll keep an eye on things." Li Ziyou knew there was a risk involved, but if it succeeded, it would be a monumental achievement. "Is there anything else you need?"

Chu Qingluo: "Please allow me to temporarily suspend my jewelry-making studies, and also to gather everyone in the Clothing Pavilion together first."

Li Ziyou: "Alright, Seventh Aunt, go and gather everyone in the front hall."

Seeing that Li Ziyou was determined, Aunt Qi had no choice but to give up: "Yes."

In no time, everyone had gathered. Chu Qingluo walked up to them one by one, tapping the shoulder of the chosen person with her finger. Everyone was confused and looked around, but with Li Ziyou present, no one dared to act recklessly.

There were nearly a hundred people in the clothing workshop, but there were relatively few women. Almost all the younger ones were selected, including Luo Lifei's trio, Shaoyao, and Chu Qingluo herself.

When passing by Luo Lifei and the others, Chu Qingluo didn't intend to order anyone, but after circling around a few times and realizing there weren't enough people, she finally ordered the three of them, and she was particularly heavy-handed with it, which made Luo Lifei glare at her for a while. As for the male attendants, she specifically chose those who were tall and handsome, and Ziyan was also selected. Putting aside his good looks, as long as he wasn't ugly, she would have chosen him with her own bias.

Chu Qingluo nodded to Li Ziyou, indicating that she had made her choice.

Li Ziyou then spoke up: "Those who weren't called out by Chu Qingluo can leave now."

Everyone else went off to do their own thing, leaving the thirty-nine people looking at each other in bewilderment. When they heard Li Ziyou say that she would entrust Chu Qingluo with the entire responsibility of presenting the gifts for the Summer Festival and that they would all have to follow her instructions, Luo Lifei and the other two looked even more grim.

The three of them looked like they'd just eaten shit, which made Peony and Ziyan secretly laugh.

Chu Qingluo didn't care what they thought.

She made them all find a place to stand straight against the wall, "Chest out, stomach in, buttocks up." She went over to them one by one, correcting their posture.

Li Ziyou found her method quite strange, but considering that the matter had already been entrusted to her, she simply let go and returned to the inner cabinet with Aunt Qi.

After Li Ziyou left, Luo Lifei couldn't hold back any longer: "Chu Qingluo, what right do you have to punish us?!"

Peony: "Luo Lifei, didn't you hear what Sister Ziyou said? This is a program to prepare for a gift."

"Don't try to fool us! What kind of show has participants standing still for ages like this?!" She's clearly taking revenge on someone else's behalf!

Chu Qinglu walked over and said coldly to Luo Lifei, "Luo Lifei, I won't hold what happened before against you. This is a major matter concerning the Clothing Pavilion. Since Sister Ziyou entrusted it to me, I will definitely handle it well. If you are not of one mind with the Clothing Pavilion, or if you have many grievances against me, you can step down now. I can let Aunt Qi take your place."

Aunt Qi was a bit older, so she only tried to intimidate Luo Lifei with her imposing manner before turning to Luo Lifei's supporters and adding, "You two too."

The celebratory performance was something everyone was eager to participate in. Even if Chu Qingluo punished them by making them stand all day, they would be willing, as long as they could participate and show their faces. So the two of them shook their heads vigorously. Luo Lifei glared at the two of them unhappily, thinking that even Seventh Aunt could replace her, and snorted coldly without raising any further objections.

"No one's quitting? Great. What we're doing now is called body shaping training. Everyone needs to do it every day before the grand event. Next, I'll also teach you gait and stage presence."

The crowd didn't quite understand, and there was a flurry of whispers. Chu Qingluo didn't bother to explain; they'd find out eventually anyway.

After dinner, Chu Qingluo summoned Shaoyao and Ziyan. The entire performance would be exhausting if she did it alone; she needed assistants. She gave them one-on-one stage walk training, teaching them first to save herself a lot of effort.

She first demonstrated the catwalk for both women and men twice.

Peony: "Wow! You walk with such a powerful presence!"

Ziyan: "So you can walk like that? Where did you learn that?"

The two exclaimed in amazement. Chu Qingluo had been a little worried that ancient people wouldn't understand catwalks, but it seemed they were quite receptive. She breathed a sigh of relief and then had the two of them learn as well.

"Walk forward, yes, swing your arms, swing your hips... Ziyan! You're not a woman, why are you swinging your hips?!" Chu Qingluo was originally saying this to Shaoyao, but Ziyan's delicate catwalk steps almost made her vomit blood. "You're a grown man, okay? Please be more manly, do you understand masculinity? Look straight ahead, head held high, chest out, walk!"

Ziyan didn't understand what a 'real man' was, so he could only follow her instructions. Peony, standing to the side, wasn't much better than Ziyan. She wiggled her big buttocks and swung her little hands, taking coquettish little steps.

Chu Qingluo felt a sudden darkness engulf her vision and immediately decided: tomorrow she would teach everyone how to walk the runway and select two more talented individuals from among them to help her.

The next day, Chu Qingluo successfully found a steady and reliable man among the men; his name was Li Yu. But what she least expected was that the most talented among the female officials was actually that girl, Luo Lifei.

Sigh! Avoiding problems is never the way to solve them, so she decided to let Lorifei give it a try.

Although Luo Lifei appeared indifferent on the surface, she did not actually refuse. On the contrary, she immediately agreed to join Chu Qingluo's evening special training class.