The Virtuous Concubine of the Qing Dynasty

Chapter 17 Embroidery (2)

Jiao Rong frowned, not knowing why: "What's important?"

Bai Lan smiled brightly, leaned closer to Jiao Rong, and said in a low voice: "The fourteenth day of this month is my lord's birthday, and the maids who usually treat Yanxi Palace are very nice, we think, the lord's best My favorite thing is embroidery, if everyone in the Palace of Yanxi Palace contributes their efforts to make a small embroidery, then the young master must be very happy."

Yizhu walked to Jiaorong's side, and also laughed, it was rare to initiate the topic: "Yes, and if it spreads to other palaces, the young master must be very honorable."

"Embroidery?" Jiaorong frowned, a little at a loss: "My embroidery skills are very poor. During the draft, it was the nanny of the Ministry of Internal Affairs who saw that I looked cute and let me pass. If this is embroidered for a noble This work, I'm afraid it will be ugly..."

Bai Lan was not worried about this at all, she still smiled softly: "It's okay, what matters is what matters. What's more, this time, all the maidservants of Yanxi Palace will participate together. With those clumsy eunuchs around, who will get you?" Come make a fool of yourself."

"But... I can only embroider plum blossoms, or the one with five petals and no branches..." Jiao Rong's face was a bit bitter, she gently stroked the hair on the back of her head, and her voice became softer as she spoke, I'm really sorry.

Bai Lan thought for two seconds after hearing this, and thought of an idea for Jiao Rong: "There are many embroidery books in the cabinet of the master's study, the master suffered from insomnia last night, and I will probably catch up on more sleep today, you can take advantage of this time Go secretly to the study to look for it."

"This...isn't it good." Jiao Rong looked at Bai Lan with a complicated expression.She always thought that Bai Lan was the kind of calm and careful court lady who would never allow the slightest mistake in things around her master, but she never thought that Bai Lan would have so many tricks in private.

"What are you afraid of? You are the young master's favorite maid now. Even if you are found out, you will say that your embroidery skills are too poor and you want to learn more. With the character of the young master, I will definitely teach you. Then you will earn money." Are you older?" Bai Lan's smiling eyes were bent, she didn't have her usual serious and restrained look.

Facing the spring-like smiling faces of Yi Zhu and Bai Lan, Jiao Rong really had no strength to resist, so she had to obediently respond: "Okay."

After sweeping the ground in the yard, Jiaorong saw that Yougui was fast asleep, so she slipped into the study while no one was looking.Yougui can also be regarded as a talented woman from a famous family. The bookcase is full of various collections of classics, including many ancient books about various techniques of embroidery.

Jiao Rong randomly picked two books and began to read them.There are not any basic techniques in it, but all kinds of Hunan embroidery, Suzhou embroidery, Shu embroidery, etc. that have been passed down from ancient times to the present. Jiaorong basically loses his eyes when he looks at it, just like reading a wordless book.

"Baiziliuhua, Yuebai butterfly pattern, what are these..." Jiaorong muttered in a low voice, flipping the book over and over again, it was as big as two.

Maybe the class of this book is too high for her.While doing mental construction for herself, Jiao raised her head and planned to put the book back on the bookcase.

At the moment when she just raised her eyes, a person suddenly walked in behind the bookcase. The person turned his head to the left, and met Jiao Rong's eyes just through the gap in the bookcase.

Jiao Rong was stunned for a second, but before she could put down the book, her pupils froze for a moment, and she hurriedly withdrew from behind the bookcase and knelt down on the ground, knocking her head hard: "My Majesty, Wanfu Jinan. "

The emperor originally came to see Yougui, but Yougui was taking a nap, so the emperor didn't want to disturb her, instead he planned to sit in the study and wait for Yougui to wake up.But who knows, just as he entered the door, he met a flustered little maid, who didn't look like she was doing anything good.

The emperor looked at Jiaorong, raised his eyebrows slightly, and his voice was still as gentle as jade, but with an undeniable dignity and toughness: "Mr. Yougui is still taking a nap, what are you doing secretly in the study?" ?”

Jiao Rong reprimanded herself for being careless in her heart, and replied with her head buried: "My lord's birthday is approaching, and the maids of Yanxi Palace are grateful for my care on weekdays, and want to collectively make embroidered products that I embroidered by myself. A gift, to give the little master a surprise. But the servant is dull and her embroidery skills are really poor, so she took advantage of the little master's afternoon nap and wanted to come to the study to find a book explaining embroidery techniques."

Hearing Jiaorong's voice, the emperor felt a little familiar for some reason, and tilted his head to look at her a few more times, but because Jiaorong's worship was too sincere, he could only see the back of her head after watching for a long time.So, the emperor said lightly: "Raise your head and give me the book in your hand."

Jiao Rong hesitated for a moment, then slowly raised her upper body, but still lowered her eyes, she stretched out her hand and put the book up.

The emperor took a few steps forward, reached out to take the book in Jiaorong's hand, then glanced at her lightly, and said: "My head is almost stuck in the ground, why? It's because I'm so ugly It's because you are too ugly to hold your head up."

Upon hearing this, Jiao Rong'e frowned slightly, and had no choice but to reply: "The emperor is handsome, even more handsome than Pan An, and the servants are extremely ugly, so naturally they dare not show their shame in front of the emperor."

"It's better not to say flattery words in the palace." The emperor opened the book in his hand, and browsed a few pages at random. There were many pictures and texts on it, which were indeed records of various embroidery patterns.

"It's indeed a book about embroidery." The emperor said softly, then put the book on the cabinet, and looked at Jiaorong again, "How can you be a maid of honor who can read?"

Jiaorong didn't seem to like the emperor's words that started with "Your maid of honor", her face remained unchanged, and she explained indifferently: "The servants only understand some Manchu, and moreover, most of the books are pictures, so there is no need to go through them." Read more text introductions."

"No wonder Mr. Yougui insists on letting you, a newly promoted maid in charge of Yanxi Palace, even my concubines in the harem nowadays, very few people can read and write. For court ladies, it is quite rare." The emperor praised this time The words came from the heart, so the tone softened a bit.

Jiaorong didn't have any emotional fluctuations, and said very humbly: "Ama, the servant, always teaches the servant that even if it is a daughter's family, you should let yourself have some ability to make a living. Whether you are working in the palace or leaving the palace in the future It won’t hurt to start a small business and learn more characters.”

The emperor was very satisfied when he heard this, he nodded, and took another step closer: "That's right, you, Ama, can be regarded as a good teacher, what kind of official position is he now?"

Jiaorong pretended to mention it inadvertently, just wanting to make eye contact with Ama in front of the emperor, she nodded and bowed, and replied: "Ama, a servant, is the deputy leader of the coated guard army, Uya Weiwu .”

(End of this chapter)