Story of Yanxi Palace

Chapter 7: The distinction

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"It's time!"

No matter whether the embroidery was finished or not, the palace maids stopped their hands, looking at Mammy Zhang with anticipation and anxiety, just like the imperial examination students were waiting for their results on the release day.

Originally it should have been Mammy Zhang to test the level of the embroidery, but now that Wu Shulai is here, she decisively gave up the right, and respectfully said to him, "Wu Director Wu please judge."

"How can I do it better, you should come." Wu Shulai smiled.

"It's a blessing for this group of palace maids to get one or two comments from Director Wu." Mammy Zhang complimented.

"Okay." Manager Wu touched his smooth chin and smiled, "There's nothing important to do right now, just take a look."

Mammy Zhang immediately said to the palace ladies, "Why don't you thank Director Wu soon?"

"Thank you, Director Wu!"

Wu Shulai raised his hand and pressed it down, suppressing the voices of the girls, and then walked over with his hands behind his back, commenting on the embroidery in the hands of the girls the same way.

He said it was a comment, but most of the time he only shook his head and nodded. When it was Jinxiu's turn, he rarely said: "Well, the embroidery is exquisite, not bad."

Although it was only seven words, it was enough to make Jinxiu overwhelm the previous group of nods and shakes. She couldn't help but be overjoyed. She was about to take this opportunity to chat with Wu Shulai, but she heard a whimper and looked up. She walked in front of her and stopped in front of Linglong.

"This is..." Wu Shulai said with surprise.

Jinxiu glanced at it and thought sourly: It's just a wild cat, what's so strange

Linglong embroidered a cat in a bush with sparse flowers and leaves, red and white. A raccoon cat with colorful patterns poked its head out of the bush with a charming and naive expression, especially the hair on the cat's body, interweaving light and dark, with different shades. , At first glance, it is vivid, as if a real cat is sewn into an embroidered stretch.

As far as the needlework is concerned, it is not much different from the picture of Begonia in Spring Sleeping in Jinxiu's hands, but Linglong turned the veil over and smiled, "Report to Director Wu, it is double-sided embroidery."

I saw a cat on the back of the veil.

The same probe in the bushes, the same charming and naive demeanor, and even the fur on his body is exactly the same as the cat on the front.

"Okay, okay." Wu Shulai handed the embroidered bandage to Mammy Zhang to see, "What do you think?"

Mammy Zhang squinted to see that she had been working in the embroidery workshop for a long time, and her eyes were different from Wu Shulai's. She only felt that the stitches were not fine enough, and there were a few wrong colors. He smiled and said, "Since Director Wu said yes, it must be good."

Jinxiu was displeased when she heard the words. She only got one good word, but Linglong got two, one from Director Wu and the other from Mammy Zhang. She was just a wild cat in the village. How could she be better than her

Wu Shulai didn't stay in front of Linglong for too long. He is a high-ranking man. He has never seen any good things. This double-sided embroidery should be the best…

wrong.

Wu Shulai stopped in front of Jixiang, stared at the embroidery in her hand, and said nothing for a long time.

His silence brought endless pressure on Jixiang, and as time passed, Jixiang's breath gradually became heavy, and even his knees were a little weak, and he could kneel down for him anytime, anywhere.

"This peony is vivid and lifelike, with its shape and spirit, good, good, good!" Director Wu said again, and he said three times in a row, and then settled down, "This old man has been in the palace for many years, and I rarely see such extraordinary embroidery. Workers, be the first, be the first!"

The two good words have already changed Jinxiu's color. As soon as the three good words came out, she sneered: "Master, why don't you take a look at Wei Yingluo's embroidery first, I think she embroiders the slowest, it must be the best!"

Wu Shulai frowned, and Mammy Zhang saw the change in his expression, and immediately reprimanded: "Who told you to speak!"

Jinxiu turned pale and lowered her head.

"It doesn't matter." Wu Shulai said lightly, "Who is Wei Yingluo?"

Everyone looked at Wei Yingluo in unison.

Wu Shulai walked slowly to Wei Yingluo with a light expression: "What is the embroidery, let me see."

"Yes." Wei Yingluo uncovered the embroidered stretcher that was turned upside down, and a picture of a bright golden pheasant came into everyone's eyes.

The golden carp, which had been embroidered in half by auspiciousness, was transformed into a golden pheasant in just half a stick of incense. The whole pair of embroidery is rich and magnificent, especially the cockscomb is red and bright like blood, which is the finishing touch.

- And this finishing touch is precisely the previous failure.

Only a few people present knew that the reason why the cockscomb was so bright as blood was because there was real blood seeping in it. The blood that Jixiang had rubbed on the embroidered cloth was subtly changed by Wei Yingluo and turned into a touch of red on the cockscomb. .

Others don't know the inside story, they only appreciate the stitching and its meaning, and even the always picky Mrs. Zhang praised it when she saw this embroidery: "The mind is clever and the stitching is good. Really talented people!"

Jinxiu was full of dissatisfaction, she deliberately led Wu Shulai to Wei Yingluo, but not to make her look different from the nobles. She had thin lips and was about to stand up to complain, but was grabbed by Linglong beside her.

"What are you doing..." Before Jin Xiu could finish her words, a little palace maid not far away suddenly said, "General Manager, Wei Yingluo cheated on behalf of others!"

As soon as these words came out, the entire embroidery workshop was silent.

Mountains are high and low, waters are deep and shallow, and people are always competing with each other. This is the case for the palace ladies and the beautiful girls.

"Nalan Chunxue, daughter of servant Nalan Yongshou, is sixteen years old!"

In the Yanhui attic of the Royal Garden, the draft is still going on.

"Speaking of which, what's the name of that little palace maid...?" Nalan Chunxue stopped thinking and said, "Now is not the time to think about this, Nalan Chunxue, it's your turn to play."

She restrained her confused thoughts, walked to Hongli with low eyebrows, and saluted, "The servant girl Nalan Chunxue, I have seen the emperor."

Seemingly spoiled by the previous incident, Hongli's expression at the moment was very indifferent, with a hint of impatience, he stared at Nalan Chunxue without speaking, the silence was like a dark cloud, making everyone in the hall afraid to come out. .

"What's going on in your ears?" Hongli suddenly asked.

Everyone was frightened, and he had asked similar things before, that is: "What's going on on your feet?"

After that, Wu Yaqingdai fell badly. There are still two bloodstains left on the stone steps outside the door. The palace people are rushing to wash them with water, so as not to get the sun later, they will attract insects. fly.

Nalan Chunxue naturally also felt that the atmosphere was not right, and it was a lie to say that she was not afraid, but she was different, and the more it was like this, the more calm she became.

"Go back to the emperor's words." She stood on the spot with a graceful attitude and replied, "Ama, the minister, often said that women wear three pincers on one ear and wear flower pot shoes, which are the rules left by the ancestors. Abandoning, imitating Han women with one ear and one pendant is to forget their ancestors."

There were five beautiful girls in a group, and there were four other candidates who entered the door with her. As soon as she said this, three of them lowered their heads unconsciously, and one couldn't help but raised his hand and touched his earlobe, the top of which only hung down. An earring.

Among the five, only Nalan Chunxue wore three precious earrings on one ear.

When someone asked her why she was dressed like this, she laughed and didn't answer. It wasn't that she didn't answer, but she wanted to answer in front of a specific person on a specific occasion.

"That's right!" Hongli was really happy, and patted his hand on the table, "After the Qing Dynasty entered the customs for many years, the old customs in Manchuria gradually declined, I let them learn Chinese and know the etiquette, but I didn't ask them to even be themselves. Everyone forgot!"

After saying that, he nodded to the big eunuch.

The big eunuch understood and said loudly: "Leave the sign!"

Nalan Chunxue was blessed, and Duanxian was the same as always, with a calm attitude that was neither arrogant nor impetuous, neither happy nor worried.

"Lu Wanwan, daughter of Lu Shilong, Shaoqing of Guanglu Temple, is sixteen years old!"

With Nalanchun Xuezhuyu in front, it made Lu Wanwan feel a little petty.

She was so timid and so nervous that she forgot how to walk for a while, and walked all the way to the imperial front. A chuckle.

"I still have a memorial to approve." Hongli got up and said, "Let's go first."

"Your Majesty!" Queen Fucha hurriedly said, "What should I do here?"

Hongli stretched his waist, walked past Lu Wanwan absent-mindedly, and said, "Queen, look at the disposal, I trust your vision!"

After speaking, he strode away without looking back, leaving everyone to look at each other in dismay.

Concubine Huigui lazily raised her hand to her side, put it in the hand of the maid, and let her help herself up: "Since the emperor has left, it can be seen that there is nothing to watch, and the concubine will retire first."

After she finished speaking, she left without waiting for the queen to speak.

Empress Fucha sighed and looked at Lu Wanwan with a pleasant look.

She has a temperament of a mother in the world, especially her eyes, as gentle as a mother looking at her children. Under such eyes, Lu Wanwan let out a long sigh and gradually calmed down.

The change in her expression fell in Nalan Chunxue's eyes, and she couldn't help but say: "She is not my opponent..."

Lu Wanwan's beauty is the top of all the beautiful girls, but she doesn't know how to use her strengths at all, and instead let the opportunity pass her by. She is timid by nature, like a dodder flower, always looking for a big tree that can shelter her from the wind and rain.

I don't even think about where this place is, this is the harem.

Relying too much on one person is the same as putting your own destiny in the hands of the other person.

"She's not my opponent... Who would my opponent be?" Nalan Chunxue thought of this, and a cyan figure appeared in front of her eyes.

The cyan color is the clothes on her body—the color of the new palace maid.

"How could I think of her?" Nalan Chunxue couldn't help laughing and said to herself, "I am a beautiful girl with a brand name, she is a lowly court lady, she is not even qualified to be on an equal footing with me, How can there be a chance to compete with me?"