The Road of the Concubine's First Wife

Chapter 119

On the second day, Qiao Jiuxiu woke up early, waiting for Su Xiuniang to come and tell her about the precautions about Shu embroidery.When she met Lin An last night, she didn't tell Jinxiu, Hongxiu and Qinglian, not because she didn't trust her.But Qiao Jiuxiu was thinking that his wife would know about this matter sooner or later. She couldn't bear to let all the maids suffer, so she thought that she should investigate it alone for the time being.At that time, even if the wife wants to punish them, they can retreat unscathed.

"Su Xiuniang, you are here." Hearing Qinglian's words at the door, Qiao Jiuxiu quickly sat up, and Su Xiuniang came in gracefully, but as soon as she sat down, Qinglian brought some Little Pastry, then retreated very low-key, and closed the door by the way.

"This little girl is really clever." Su Xiuniang sighed, but she looked at the cakes on the table and smiled at Qiao Jiuxiu with satisfaction, "Well, I said something wrong just now, but Miss Nine is clever and knows me I like to eat this kind of osmanthus cake, and I bought the most delicious one from Ruifuxiang, how much effort did you put in yesterday?"

Qiao Jiuxiu was slightly taken aback. She originally thought that the pastry served by Qinglian was just a random choice, but she did not expect that it happened to be Su Xiuniang's favorite, but there is far from such a coincidence in this world, so it should be that Qinglian ordered it for a long time. After a lot of effort, I went to investigate it, and then I just happened to be so appetizing.No wonder, today's pastry was delivered by Qinglian herself, this girl is too considerate.

Qiao Jiuxiu has always disliked taking credit, "Sister Su, let me tell you the truth, I didn't prepare this pastry, it was prepared by the maid just now. I think she should be the one who did the hard work."

"Oh?" Su Xiuniang's face was full of astonishment, and she took a sip of tea, "Isn't it true that there is such a smart maid in Qiao's mansion? It was the first time she saw me yesterday, and she even knew to privately steal my maid. Find out what you like, and then choose what you like, such a servant girl is really flattering, but if you only want to be a servant girl, it's a bit too small to make a big use of it."

Qiao Jiuxiu frowned slightly, although Su Xiuniang's words were a compliment, but she felt that it was not a good taste anyway, as if she was deliberately mocking.I could only bite my lip, "Sister Su, what do you mean by that? Why do I think you like Qinglian very much, but you seem to dislike it?"

"It doesn't matter whether I like her or not, the key depends on what you think." Su Xiuniang shook her head slightly, "Let me remind you, if such a smart maid really follows you wholeheartedly, that's your luck, but this A person who is not willing to be a maid is often unwilling to be a maid, maybe she has greater ambitions, I advise you to be more careful, lest she will stab you in the back."

Qiao Jiuxiu felt a chill go down her spine, but she still shook her head, "Sister Su, what are you talking about? I think you are thinking too much. Qinglian treats me very well, even if I doubt myself, I won't feel that She has a problem. By the way, let’s talk about Shu embroidery. Sister Su probably came here today because of it.”

"Alright," Su Xiuniang nodded, "Since you are very reassuring of her, I have nothing to say, maybe I'm just thinking too much. In this way, if you don't need her one day, just tell me , so I can accept her, such a qualified maid is very rare."

Qiao Jiuxiu knew that Su Xiuniang's words should be a joke, so she nodded, "Sister Su, I really don't know anything about Shu embroidery, do you think I can learn it?"

When Su Xiuniang heard this, she didn't show too much surprise, she just nodded to Qiao Jiuxiu, "Well, tell me what the Shu embroidery should look like in your imagination, in fact, the foundation is not important, understanding And talent is more important."

Qiao Jiuxiu nodded. Fortunately, she asked Ye Duanyi yesterday, otherwise today would be embarrassing.So I briefly passed my thoughts, and then said, "I heard people say that Shu embroidery is first crochet and then embroidered, and when crochet, you need to use the best thread, so as to look elegant and luxurious. As for narrowing, the technique and technique of double-thread narrowing are needed."

"Hehe." Hearing Qiao Jiuxiu's words, Su Xiuniang actually laughed twice. "Jiu girl, I said something wrong again just now."

Qiao Jiuxiu glanced at Su Xiuniang with some unease, she should be right, but why did Su Xiuniang show such a strange expression?It's as if he said something that shouldn't be said, but he doesn't seem to be angry.

"I said just now that Qinglian is a smart girl who will do what she likes. Jiu girl is not the same, because I really don't know anything about Shu embroidery, so I must have asked an expert to give me advice last night. You will also please me, It’s just that the way to please me is not on a plate of pastries, but there are better ways.”

Qiao Jiuxiu smiled embarrassingly, "Sister Su, look at what you said, I didn't mean to curry favor with you, but I accidentally heard that Sister Duanyi had a certain understanding of Shu embroidery, so I went to ask her, and I didn't agree with you. Do you know if what she said is true or not?"

"Sister Duanyi?" Su Xiuniang smiled slightly, "Are you talking about General Ye's youngest daughter? I have seen that daughter before. She is so heroic on a horse, she looks like Hua Mulan back then. Why, that girl can also embroider?"

"Sister Duanyi's embroidery skills are very good." Qiao Jiuxiu felt a little unhappy when Su Xiuniang questioned Ye Duanyi. In fact, sister Duanyi can be regarded as a lady of every family. How come no one has ever realized this?Always thought she was a woman on horseback.Of course, on the surface, Qiao Jiuxiu still had a smile on her face, after all, she was asking for something now.

"Oh, I don't know about that." Su Xiuniang smiled lightly, "But there is a saying, I think I should be talking too much. I still hope that she can restrain herself for a while. Although I get along with Mrs. Qiao's It's not deep, but I knew at a glance that she should be a very traditional woman, and she also likes those ladies who keep their duty and stay out of the door. Ye Duanyi is very good, but she is too lively."

Qiao Jiuxiu smiled a little embarrassedly, and had to say, what Su Xiuniang said just hit the nail on the head.

"Okay, let's talk about embroidery." Seeing that the topic had been taken a little far, Su Xiuniang said, "The essence of Shu embroidery, you have already mentioned most of it just now. The only thing you didn't mention is the choice of thread. In general, Shu embroidery is very particular about the choice of thread, which is completely different from the thread used in Suzhou and Hangzhou embroidery. Moreover, the embroidery method of the buckle is also very different from the general Hunan embroidery. If you want to get started, Miss Duanyi has told you enough before you master it, but it takes a lot of effort to complete it. Otherwise, I wouldn’t say it, and it will take at least five years to learn Shu embroidery well.”

Qiao Jiuxiu nodded with a wry smile. Of course, she didn't underestimate the reason for Shu embroidery, and she also wanted to study it seriously, but now she only has more than a month, so how can she have the time to study and study slowly?But she couldn't ask if there was any quick way, because she knew that if she wanted to take a shortcut in embroidery skills, she would kill herself. Only by working hard can she improve herself.

"But I only have more than a month now." Qiao Jiuxiu sighed softly, "Sister Su, you see, otherwise, I will learn the basic skills of Shu embroidery first, and then when I make a wedding dress, I will use Suhang embroidery first. A huge peony is drawn in red on the embroidered cloth, which can only be seen if you look closely. Then the rest of the place is done with the craftsmanship of Shu embroidery. The method is just to rely on the style of Shuzhong when designing the pattern, although it is a bit opportunistic, but it should make up for my ignorance."

Qiao Jiuxiu said while watching Su Xiuniang's expression, her proposal just now was a little bold, and she didn't know if Su Xiuniang could accept it, of course she just had this idea, and she didn't know how it would look like when it was made.

Su Xiuniang frowned and thought, Qiao Jiuxiu is indeed a very thoughtful girl.Because she was not familiar with Shu embroidery, she didn't dare to use Shu embroidery craftsmanship on her wedding dress, for fear that the wedding dress would be ruined if she was careless.That's why I thought of using the most familiar Suhang embroidery for the most difficult craft, and the most unfamiliar Shu embroidery for the simplest craft, and then have a certain fusion of styles to reflect each other. It is indeed a very, very good idea.

Seeing that Su Xiuniang has been silent, Qiao Jiuxiu's heart fluttered, she asked a little nervously, "Sister Su, don't you think my method is a bit inappropriate? Or do you think I am too ambitious? After all If you don't even understand the basics, you have to study to integrate them together."

Qiao Jiuxiu only hoped that Su Xiuniang could speak, even if she scolded herself, it would be better than watching her silently now.Su Xiuniang breathed out lightly, and seemed to have finally come to her senses, "Are you so ambitious? I like these four words. In our line of work, you must be patient and have ideas. Without ideas, you can't be an embroiderer who is independent. But the heart can be higher than the sky, but the road under the feet must be followed step by step. Your method may not be impossible, but it may not be feasible. You can draw me a sketch first, and then I will analyze it with you."

Qiao Jiuxiu nodded, Su Xiuniang probably meant to agree with her idea.Sketches must be drawn, but how can they be innovative and satisfying?
She bit her lip tightly, thinking about this somewhat difficult question.

Su Xiu Niang also let out a sigh of relief, Qiao Jiuxiu is really talented, if she is not a young lady of the Qiao family, she will definitely accept her as an apprentice and let her be the number one embroidery lady in the capital in the future.It's just that she is already the young lady of Qiao's family, so it is impossible to be an embroiderer.

It can only be said that the fate that seems to be in the hands of a person is actually decided upon birth in many cases.

(End of this chapter)