“Tang embroidery? That’s impossible!”
The sudden gasp over the phone startled Huo Zhongwei.
Huo Zhongwei was surprised at her teacher’s stern and firm tone that concealed the small traces of anger. It was unusual to see the usually gentle and warm teacher behaving in such a manner.
“But, that’s what she told me…”
Huo Zhongwei paused before continuing, “I asked her how she managed to learn this loss skill, but she said that she could not tell me for the time being.”
“It can’t be Tang embroidery.”
The teacher began to calm down, but she remained cynical, “Do you know what the Tang embroidery means? It had been lost several hundred years ago. Back then, hundreds of teachers in the Union traveled the country to search for descendants who had inherited the Tang embroidery skill. Some of the teachers even traveled overseas. But, their efforts were futile as they could not find anyone who could do Tang embroidery. In the end, they determined that the skill had been lost! So, how could it be possible that there’s someone who knows the skill now? If it’s true, why is the National Embroidery Union not informed about it?”
“Tang embroidery signifies the peak in embroidery as an art form during the heyday of the Tang dynasty. It had a significant influence on Chinese embroidery, and this kind of joke should not be made.”
Huo Zhongwei’s heart skipped a beat, “Teacher, I know that. But, this was what she told me, and I can’t really tell what technique she used. It is not one of the five famous embroidery methods of today. I have a video clip of her embroidering, would you like to take a look?”
After a short moment of silence, the teacher replied, “Okay, send it to me.”
Huo Zhongwei could tell that her teacher did not believe her words.
From her teacher’s tone, Huo Zhongwei could sense that the Tang embroidery was an incredible technique.
After all, among all the embroidery methods, she had only heard of using the embroidery needles to end the piece. It was the first time she heard of using a tattoo design to finish an embroidered piece.
As she had not been part of the industry for long, Huo Zhongwei had only been exposed to a limited variety of embroidery. Besides, there were only a few documents that recorded details about the Tang embroidery. With limited information about the Tang embroidery, it was not surprising that Huo Zhongwei did not know much about it.
But, it would be great to revive a lost art form. Huo Zhongwei could not help but ponder, did she lie to me?
***
In Yonggu Town, everything was peaceful for Su Cha.
She was focused on preparing for the competition that would be held on the 29th. This time, Su Cha had decided to pick a difficult song.
Su Cha had tested her vocal range. She was able to hit the high notes with ease, but her voice was not deep and soulful enough. Su Cha also did not have sufficient stamina to sing the entire song without getting breathless.
However, Su Cha’s rendition of the song was breathtaking. She was able to control her vocals well enough to hit all the difficult notes in the song.
But, heartbreaking love songs were unsuitable for her…
As the tone and style of singing were unsuitable for Su Cha.
Although Su Cha was the top scholar in the Jiang’an Province, she had decided to enroll in the Imperial Capital University. As she had made a decision early, her life had been peaceful. Su Cha did not have anyone to share the good news with. During this time, only Wu He and Cai Ziya reached out to encourage her during the competition preparation period. Hence, Su Cha’s life was relatively peaceful and comfortable.
Online, Dong Yishan’s fans were engaged in a fan war with Le Anqi’s fans. As Su Cha was not considered famous, she had not experience having hardcore fans showing up at her door.
Every day, Su Cha kept herself busy with her martial arts training and embroidery. At night, she coaxed Bo Muyi before heading to bed. In the blink of an eye, it was June 29.
The “Dreams in Progress” selection of the Top 20 round had officially begun.
