High-class maid

"Shantao, can you tell what's embroidered on this purse?" Wang's words awakened Shen Xing'er. She went back into the house, took out the purse she had promised to give to Song Wenyang, and asked Shantao.

"This..." Shan Tao looked at the pattern on the purse, hesitant to answer. She thought to herself, "What if I guess wrong and Xing'er ignores me?"

Looking at her expression, Shen Xing'er knew everything. She pursed her lips helplessly and said, "It's alright, just speak your mind. I just want to hear what you see in your eyes."

"I...I look more like a dog-beating stick to me..." Shan Tao said awkwardly.

"Give it to me, I'll go throw it away." After hearing Shan Tao's analogy, Shen Xing'er didn't hesitate for a moment before taking it away to throw it away.

"Hey, hey, hey, this is so abstract! Nobody wears it like you." Shan Tao hurriedly comforted Shen Xing'er, not wanting Xing'er to throw away the purse she had painstakingly embroidered just because she told the truth.

Although she didn't know what "abstract" meant, it didn't stop her from comforting Xing'er!

"Oh well, it's too late to embroider it now." Shen Xing'er looked at the bamboo embroidered on the purse in her hand, looking at it from left to right, but she couldn't tell that it was a dog-beating stick!

"Are you giving this away?" Shan Tao noticed how much Shen Xing'er cared about the purse, and seeing that the fabric was of high quality, she figured it wasn't something she made for practice.

"Yes, Brother Song saved me several times back then, and I promised to give him a purse. This is what I was going to give him." Shen Xing'er didn't hide anything, since Shan Tao knew about their past relationship anyway.

"How about we embroider another one?" Shan Tao suggested in a low voice.

"Never mind, never mind. I already promised to embroider one for Brother Song. It's probably too late to embroider another one now. Sigh, some people dislike my embroidery so much. It seems I don't need to bring out the New Year's gift I prepared for someone."

Shen Xing'er shook her head with feigned regret, making everyone feel quite disappointed.

"Okay, Xing'er, I was wrong. Hurry up and give it to me! I also prepared a gift for you. If you don't give it to me, I won't give it to you either, hmph!"

Shan Tao shook Shen Xing'er's arm, looking utterly pitiful.

Shen Xing'er raised her chin haughtily and said reluctantly, "Alright, alright, since someone wants it so much, I'll reluctantly give it to you, here you go."

After saying that, he took out a handkerchief that he had prepared in advance from his sleeve and casually tossed it to Shantao.

Shan Tao didn't care what she was thinking. She was attracted by the exquisitely crafted handkerchief in front of her. The magpie on it was lifelike, and the magpie's eyes were even decorated with agate.

"This is definitely not your work. Where did you buy it? It must have cost a lot of money." Shan Tao was first shocked, then moved, and finally suspicious.

Shen Xing'er said, "I specially asked the embroiderers from Mianhua Pavilion to embroider this for you. You are busy making embroidery for others all day long, and you don't even know that your own handkerchief is old."

Unexpectedly, Shan Tao burst into tears. Between sobs, she smiled sheepishly and said, "Xing'er, don't take it personally. I've never received a gift before; you're the first."

Shen Xing'er walked up to Shan Tao with heartache, gently wiped away her tears, and said, "Silly girl, today is New Year's Eve, you mustn't cry. You are my good sister, who else would I send off if not you?"

"But this must cost a lot of money." Yamamoto examined the handkerchief repeatedly, liking it more and more no matter how she looked at it.

"I told you I didn't spend any money, and that embroiderer even gave me an ounce of silver. Do you believe me?" Shen Xing'er winked at Shan Tao and teased her.

Shan Tao was stunned by her coaxing and forgot about crying. With tears in her eyes, she asked, "Why?"

“I gave her the pattern and color scheme and asked her to embroider it according to my drawing. The embroiderer liked it very much and wanted to buy the pattern, so she didn’t take my money and even gave me an ounce of silver.”

"I see. She got off easy with just one or two taels of silver," Shan Tao said regretfully.

Putting aside other factors, the Qin Dynasty had a very comprehensive legal system. The embroiderer paid one tael of silver, essentially buying the copyright to that pattern. She could then continue embroidering it indefinitely, which is why the mountain peach is such a pity.

"It's alright, as long as you like it. Didn't this make you cry?" Shen Xing'er playfully pinched Shan Tao's nose and teased her.

"Hehe, ta-da! Look, isn't it beautiful!" Shan Tao lifted her sleeve, revealing two identical bracelets on her wrist.

"Beautiful, beautiful! The white ones are pearls, and what's the one in the middle?" Shen Xing'er was attracted by the two clean bracelets in front of her.

Shan Tao took it off her wrist and said proudly, "I knew you would like this. I strung it myself, and the middle one is cinnabar."

"Cinnabar? Isn't there only cinnabar powder? Where did you get these beads?" Shen Xing'er was captivated by them and examined them repeatedly.

“I bought it in Jinling. It was available at pharmacies, but you probably didn’t notice,” Shan Tao said.

"Thank you so much, Shantao! I will take good care of it!" Shen Xing'er said, and without further ado, put the bracelet on her wrist.

Two young girls faced the sunlight streaming through the window, raising their wrists to reveal identical pearl bracelets that seemed to radiate light.

"Let's go, let's get to work. I heard we're having dinner in the kitchen tonight; the old lady treated us to a feast," Shan Tao said.

Shen Xing'er rolled up her sleeves and walked towards the door with Shan Tao, saying, "How did you know?"

"You forgot? My mother works in the small kitchen. She's busy in the kitchen right now!" Shan Tao said.

"That's it!"

Shen Xing'er also began to look forward to it. This was her first New Year in the book. She had good friends by her side, her parents were healthy, and everything was moving in a good direction.

At the same time, Song Wenyang was also talking to He Bo.

"Miss Shen, don't you know I still need to reply to your letter? Why hasn't she come these past few days?" After saying that, she looked at the box on the table, which was already covered with a layer of dust. The New Year was almost here, and the owner of the New Year's gift had not yet opened it.

"Young master, to be frank, Miss Shen is now a maid in the Minister's mansion. There are many rules in high-ranking families, so how could she possibly come back for the New Year?"

“What Uncle He said makes sense, but if Miss Shen opens this box after the New Year, the gift I gave her will be meaningless,” Song Wenyang said with concern.

"Why don't you go find her? But Miss Shen lives in the inner quarters, and the Minister's mansion is heavily guarded. How could you possibly see her?"

Uncle He was also starting to worry. His young master had finally become enlightened about matters between men and women, and he couldn't let him down. "You stubborn brat, think of something quickly!!!"