Despite the dimness of the tent, he was still able to see the patterns embroidered on the cloth.
Male clothing usually had less embroidery than female clothing. However, on inner clothing like this, the sleeves and collar would still have some simple patterns sewn on. The most common were cloud lattices and geometric patterns.
He Sanlang had once inadvertently heard Xiyan mentioning that Chu Lian’s embroidery wasn’t very good, so she hadn’t been able to make any clothes for him. Xiyan had requested that he forgive Chu Lian for the lapse in her wifely duties.
As he stroked the crooked square patterns on the collar of the indigo shirt, his cold face slowly shifted to a warm and gentle expression.
He Changdi didn’t say anything. He touched the clumsy embroidery again before taking it out and placing it carefully by his pillow, intending to wear it the next day. As for the grey clothing with more uniform embroidery, he rolled it up and wrapped it in the package before tossing it into his trunk of clothes.
The army’s supplies were also running low on lantern oil, so He Changdi put away the rest of the package’s contents before blowing out the lamp and heading to bed.
Some distance away in Liangzhou City, Chu Lian was still awake.
After dinner, Manager Qin had come to report everything he had been able to find about Liangzhou City. He had also found a few middle-aged ladies to act as servants for her after thoroughly vetting them.
Once Chu Lian had settled all of that, it was already late.
Wenlan escorted Chu Lian back to her room while Wenqing brought over a basin of hot water for her to soak her feet in.
Chu Lian suddenly recalled that Wenqing had brought a huge package out to He Sanlang, so she casually asked, “Wenqing, what did you secretly give away to your Third Young Master?”
Wenqing knew that Third Young Madam would ask her about the package sooner or later, so she didn’t try to hide anything from Chu Lian. She replied honestly, “I gave Third Young Master two sets of clothing and the jade thumb ring that Third Young Madam bought from Jinshi Pavilion.”
Chu Lian was stunned for a moment. She hadn’t expected Wenqing to give away the green jade ring on her behalf. She had mentioned it in front of her personal maidservants before, saying that she was intending to give one of the rings to her husband, He Changdi. However, she hadn’t found the right time yet when the barbarian ambush came, and then there she had been busy with settling down in Liangzhou City’s He Estate… so she had completely forgotten about the thumb ring.
Chu Lian wasn’t bothered by Wenqing taking initiative. That thumb ring was meant for He Changdi anyway; it didn’t matter how it was given to him.
Chu Lian stopped thinking about the ring and asked, “Which two sets of clothes did you give him?”
She had prepared plenty of things for this trip to the north. Matriarch He was also biased towards He Changdi, so she had prepared lots of food for him. Adding up Matriarch He’s and her own contributions, Chu Lian had brought three whole trunks filled with things for He Sanlang alone.
When Wenqing saw that Third Young Madam didn’t blame her for her actions, she brightened up and pointed at a red painted trunk in the corner of the room. “This servant took out two sets of inner clothes from that trunk there, one indigo and one grey.”
Chu Lian had been soaking her lily white feet in the hot water. She was supposed to be relaxing, but upon hearing Wenqing’s reply, she abruptly stiffened up.
Chu Lian didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Wenqing, why didn’t you check the clothes when you took them out?”
Wenqing didn’t understand what Third Young Madam meant. “Aren’t the clothes in that trunk the ones that the matriarch prepared for Third Young Master? This servant was in a rush, so this servant placed the clothes in the package without checking…”
Chu Lian couldn’t hold back the urge to laugh any longer. “There’s a set of clothing in there that Ah Yue embroidered. Don’t you remember?”
Chu Lian had a good memory, so she clearly remembered that the clothes Li Yue had embroidered were indigo in colour.
