Outside the embroidery house, Ruo Yuan and Hong Li were enamoured by the sights outside of the palace, only stopping when Su Xi-er came out of the embroidery shop an hour later.
Ruo Yuan ran to Su Xi-er. “Your wedding dress is so beautiful. Aunt Liu’s craftsmanship is too amazing! I… Hong Li, how does that four-word idiom go again? Extraordinary work as if done by the supernatural?”
Aunt Liu happened to hear Ruo Yuan as she came out of the inner chamber, and burst into laughter. “You lass, you’re quite interesting. Come and look for me when you’re getting married. I will make you a set for free.”
Ruo Yuan was the first person Aunt Liu had ever made such an offer to. The former widened her eyes incredulously as she looked at Aunt Liu. “Really?”
“Would I lie? Remember to look for me.” Aunt Liu took out a book that contained numerous dress designs.
Ruo Yuan’s eyes sparkled for a moment before they dimmed. Will I be able to marry someone in this lifetime? Men like beautiful and slim women like Su Xi-er, and even if I can slim down, my skin is rough from many years of manual labour.
My skin is the roughest among all the maidservants in the Palace Side Quarters. Which man would like me…
Ruo Yuan inwardly sighed. When she noticed Su Xi-er looking in her direction, she immediately smiled. “Everything in here looks so nice!”
Su Xi-er flipped through a few pages before saying to Aunt Liu, “Combine these few designs. Make sure it isn’t too long, and sew patterns of Lingrui flowers on the wedding dress. Aunt Liu, have you seen Lingrui flowers?”
“Of course, the capable people Prince Hao scouted have enabled the successful transplantation of Lingrui flowers in Beimin. The plot of land beside the Merchant River has been cleared for a large patch of Lingrui flowers to be planted next spring. I happened to see the guards from the Prince Hao Residence moving pots of Lingrui flowers not long ago.” Aunt Liu’s expression was full of admiration. Many people have unsuccessfully tried to transplant Lingrui flowers for years, yet Prince Hao and his team of capable people have accomplished it! That’s why the civilians all say that there’s nothing Prince Hao can’t do in this world; it’s only a matter of whether he feels like it.
“Aunt Liu, we’ll be counting on you then.” Su Xi-er smiled at her. Wu Ling, who had been silently standing at the side, came forward to hand the deposit fee to Aunt Liu.
“I will be rushing through the night to finish it. You can come and collect it in two days.” Aunt Liu accepted the silvers with a warm smile.
“Are we going back now?” Hong Li was a bit reluctant. I haven’t gotten a good look around the streets yet.
Su Xi-er nodded. “Yes. We’ll have plenty of time in the future to stroll around.” Bidding goodbye to Aunt Liu, she walked out of the embroidery house and boarded the horse carriage.
Mei Jinxiu happened to be passing by, and spotted Su Xi-er as she was boarding the carriage. Hastening her pace, she intended to inform Su Xi-er of Yun Ruofeng’s presence in Beimin.
However, she had only taken a few steps when a tall man suddenly appeared in front of her, blocking her way.
“Who are you?” Mei Jinxiu asked in confusion. She tried to look ahead of her, but realised that Su Xi-er’s carriage had already left.
“Miss, Commandery Prince Xie invites you to the Commandery Prince Residence.” The guard gestured at her to follow.
Mei Jinxiu’s face was filled with vigilance. The guard appeared just as I spotted Su Xi-er. Could Commandery Prince Xie have dispatched someone to monitor me? What on earth is the relationship between Commandery Prince Xie and Prince Hao?! Are they friends or foes?
Mei Jinxiu immediately regretted her actions. I shouldn’t have recklessly told Commandery Prince Xie about Prince Yun. It would have been better to directly report it to one of the guards from the Prince Hao Residence!
“Miss, please. The Commandery Prince is waiting for you in his residence.”
Seeing the guard’s solemn expression, Mei Jinxiu only felt that she had stepped into a fire pit. I just managed to escape from the Pei Residence, but now I’ve fallen into Commandery Prince Xie’s clutches.
