Chapter 139: Joyful Banquet (Part 1)

  The sedan chair stopped at the gate of the Zhongshan Hou Mansion, and the housekeeper had already gone to inform the fourth lady, who was in charge of receiving guests for the Tang family. She wore a large red five-color embroidered ten-piece brocade sleeveless jacket, surrounded by maids and servants, and came out to greet them. From afar, she called out: "Madam, we've been waiting for you."

  The old lady smiled and said: "I knew it was you who came to welcome the guests!"

  The fourth grandmother of the Tang family made a curtsy and said with a smile, "You're saying I talk too much, aren't you?" As she spoke, her eyes had already fallen on the eleventh daughter-in-law. "This is indeed a rare guest, I didn't expect the fourth madam to come."

  The last time at Xu's house watching opera, Mrs. Tang also brought her along, the two knew each other, but back then she was still the eleventh daughter of the Luo family, now she is the fourth wife of the Yongping Marquis' manor.

  Eleventh Sister smiled and curtsied: "Fourth Granny."

  Tang's fourth grandmother hurriedly returned the gift and gazed at Eleven, marveling: "So young and beautiful, how can we old hags with yellow faces compare?"

  The eleventh girl just smiled.

  The old lady patted Tang's forehead: "You just be strange for me!"

  "Who are you? I'm Sun Dasheng, and even if I turned your palm upside down, I wouldn't be able to figure out who you are!"

  Mrs. Tao burst out laughing.

  Tang's fourth grandmother stepped forward and supported the old lady to a nearby corridor: "Our family's mistress is waiting for you! Just now, she was still mentioning how come you haven't arrived yet!" Then turned back to call eleven niang, "Our family's mistress lives not far from here, we'll arrive soon."

  The eleventh girl smiled and nodded to her. Following behind them, listening to the fourth lady of the Tang family chattering and telling jokes, they went up the corridor, turned two corners, and entered a courtyard. The fourth lady of the Tang family ordered the little maid: "Quickly go and inform the mistress that the old lady and the fourth lady of the Yongping Marquis's mansion have arrived!"

  The little maid ran off like a wisp of smoke to deliver the message.

  Tang's fourth grandmother accompanied the old lady into the house, smiling and saying to the old lady: "Zheng Taijun of Dingguo Gongfu, Huang Furen of Yongchang Houfu, Lin Furen of Weibei Houfu, and Gan Furen of Zhongqin Bofu have all arrived early. Our lady is accompanying them drinking tea!"

  Madam nodded.

  Tang's wife, tall and slender, wearing a large red five-color golden-edged gourd-shaped phoenix-embroidered sleeveless jacket, was surrounded by maidservants and hurriedly walked out: "Sorry for not welcoming you from afar, sorry for not welcoming you from afar!" She half-knelt down to pay her respects to the elder lady.

  The old lady nodded in response and pointed at the eleventh daughter-in-law, saying to Tang's wife: "You've met her before, my fourth son's wife, Luo."

  The eleventh daughter made a curtsy and walked away.

  Mrs. Tang's gaze lingered on Shiyi for a moment before she smiled and said, "What a rare occasion! The fourth wife of the Xu family has also arrived!"

  Eleventh Sister stood beside Madame with a smile, adhering to the principle of "the less said, the fewer mistakes".

  Madam Tang took Madam Ta's hand and led her inside: "They're all old sisters who often gather together, they've especially come to our house to sit with us."

  Tang's fourth grandmother personally lifted the curtain, and Eleventh Lady followed Madame into the house.

  The house is decorated with a festive atmosphere, with large red curtains hung, and a thick red carpet laid. On the black lacquer armchair, there are large red five-color cloud dragon patterned cushions and backrests. In the center of the room, there is a three-legged gilt bronze brazier, and in the corner, there is a tall evergreen tree with fresh green leaves.

  When they saw Madame Wang enter, everyone in the room stood up and came over to pay their respects.

  Mrs. Lin, Mrs. Gan, Mrs. Huang, Madame Zheng, and also the Eldest Lady of the Lin family and the Third Lady of the Huang family whom I met last time when watching opera at Xu's house... they all turned out to be acquaintances.

  It's just that this time is not that time.

  The old lady introduced the eleventh daughter-in-law to everyone: "This is the wife of my fourth son."

  The eleventh girl stepped forward and bowed to everyone.

  Madam Huang had experienced family reunions before, so her feelings were different. She immediately took her hand: "Your mother-in-law is very idle, you can't learn from her. In the future, if there's anything, you must be diligent and take action."

  The eleventh girl smiled and humbly replied "yes".

  Perhaps due to their relationship as both a stepmother and a relative, Madam Gan was also very kind to her. Both Lin's wife and Zheng Taikun simply nodded politely.

  The two grandmothers returned the courtesy, warmly calling out "Fourth Madam".

  A little maid reported: "Madam Qiao from the residence of Duke Chengguo has arrived!"

  Everyone's eyes fell on Eleven with a thoughtful gaze.

  Since she followed Madame Tai, she would definitely encounter all sorts of situations. Eleventh Sister had mentally prepared herself for this. She stood tall and composed behind Madame Tai, letting them scrutinize her.

  "Madam!" Mrs. Qiao was like a punctured balloon, losing the enthusiasm and fervor she had when she was at the Xu's house, her expression somewhat downcast.

  The old lady smiled and nodded at her, introducing Eleven to her: "This is my fourth daughter-in-law."

  Mrs. Qiao forced a smile at Shiyi and exchanged greetings with her.

  Old Lady Tang saw that the atmosphere was a bit heavy, so she hurriedly smiled and invited everyone to sit down. Just then, a young maid came in to report: "The people who have come to escort the bride's dowry have arrived."

  Mrs. Tang smiled and looked at Shier Niang: "You young people like to watch the excitement - don't be restrained here, let Fourth Granny take you to see."

  Tang Fourth Granny immediately smiled and invited Eleventh Sister-in-law over.

  Eleventh Sister smiled and said, "Tomorrow is Miss Tang's wedding day, I'll go watch the groom give out red envelopes! Now that the dowry has been moved, I don't know whether to feel sorry for Mrs. Tang or happy for Miss Tang. Maybe I shouldn't go."

  Everyone burst out laughing at his words.

  Madam Huang and Madam Xu were on good terms, and when Madam Huang came out with Old Lady Huang the Third, this Old Lady Huang the Third was also a character. She immediately flattered Shiyin and drew her into conversation: "The last time I saw you, your dowry included a small landscape screen embroidered on both sides. You said it was your own handiwork. Is that true?"

  The eleventh girl didn't know about Huang Jia's good intentions and smiled: "I made it when I was idle, it looks okay, so I brought it over."

  "Good heavens! This is indeed a masterpiece. I'm afraid even the noble ladies in the palace embroidery workshop can't produce something like this. It looks to me like it's from the Xianyun Pavilion, but then again, I've heard that their needlework techniques are not passed down outside, so I dare not be certain."

  Eleventh Young Lady smiled and said, "I learned the ultimate skill of Xianyun Pavilion, which emphasizes elegance and simplicity. It's not like the noble people in the palace who emphasize grandeur and luxury." She first pushed away the excessive praise for Huang San Niang, lest someone would make an issue out of it, then explained, "The ultimate skill of Xianyun Pavilion is indeed not passed down outside. However, the one who taught me this technique was Jian Shifu of Xianyun Pavilion, and Xianyun Pavilion's needlework originally came from her! She had a hard life in her early years, but fortunately, she was taken care of by people from Xianyun Pavilion, so she repaid them by passing on this needlework. I learned the skill from her, naturally not bound by these restrictions. However, because Xianyun Pavilion has great kindness towards Jian Shifu, I also don't dare to pass on this needlework to others."

  Everyone was initially skeptical, but when she spoke about the secrets of Xianying Pavilion, they all listened with rapt attention. Even the old lady was hearing it for the first time, and a look of astonishment flashed across her eyes.

  "What a pity! What a pity!" Huang San's wife heard Wen Xi say, "Otherwise, we can partner up to open a silk embroidery shop, and I'm afraid we'll snatch all the business from Xian Silk Embroidery Shop."

  Eleventh Young Lady couldn't help but smile and say, "To talk about it, this embroidery technique was actually created by Jian Shifu himself, but it wasn't until he arrived at Xian Yun Pavilion that it was able to flourish. It seems that Xian Yun Pavilion's success today isn't solely due to this one set of embroidery techniques."

  Lin Dainai sat quietly on the side, listening to Huang San's and Shiyi Niang's lively conversation, and couldn't help but say: "Fourth Madame is right. Xianxiao Pavilion is not only famous for its double-sided embroidery, but also for its high-quality silk thread. The longer it lasts, the newer it looks, I haven't seen anything better than what they have in their store."

  The eleventh girl smiled and asked: "Is Lin Dainai a northerner?"

  Lin Dainai nodded without understanding: "I am a northerner!"

  "People in the north all like to use Xian Luan Ge's real silk embroidery threads, but people from our Hangzhou Prefecture area prefer to use Cai Xiu Fang's real silk embroidery threads." Shiyi Niang smiled and said, "Their colored threads are divided into extremely fine shades, just white alone has seven kinds..."

  She spoke eloquently, from the quality of embroidery threads to the use of colors, completely like a master. Finally, Mrs. Lin said, "... Fourth Lady, I have an impolite request." Without waiting for Eleventh Lady's response, she continued, "My daughter Hui is twelve years old this year, and several needlework teachers have been invited, but none of them are satisfactory. I'll send her to you tomorrow, please take a look at her. I don't have any other intention, just want to talk to her and let her know something."

  The situation suddenly took a drastic turn, leaving Eleven in shock and amazement.

  She couldn't help but glance at Madame Tai.

  The old lady smiled and looked at her with a "you're in charge" expression.

  The eleventh girl's heart skipped a beat.

  She thought of Zhen Jie Er...

  If she had a peer of her age, maybe she wouldn't be so lonely!

  If I'm not good enough, invite Jian Shifu over, and Xu Xi will definitely be better than Luo's family!

  This is a win-win situation.

  Eleventh Sister decided to teach Lin's family this clever younger sister. But also can't agree too easily. What can't be gotten is often good.

  She looked embarrassed: "I've never taught an apprentice... let alone my skills come from the Xianyun Pavilion..."

  Mrs. Lin felt even more urgent upon hearing this.

  The embroidery of Xianyuge Pavilion is famous all over the world. If you can learn a little bit, it will be a great honor to show off in your husband's family!

  "Fourth Mistress, why don't you write a letter to ask Master Jian about it? We've learned from him, so we shouldn't be competing with Xianyun Pavilion for business, should we? Besides, even if Xianyun Pavilion finds out, our kind of people won't lose face; on the contrary, they'll be taking advantage of us."

  This Lin Dà Nǎi's brain is really turning fast!

  The eleventh girl gritted her teeth: "Then I'll write a letter back to ask!" She also sighed bitterly, "It's just that the eldest lady has taken a liking to my embroidery skills. If only she had taken a liking to that camellia in our courtyard instead, how great would that be!"

  "Old Lady Huang said with a puzzled expression: 'What's so good about your Western-style mansion?'"

  The eleventh girl smiled and said: "I'll have someone send it to Lin Dainai's house right away, and that will save us the trouble!"

  Everyone burst out laughing.

  Lin Dainai said: "There is a Yulan flower in our courtyard. If you don't despise it, I'll have someone send it to you tomorrow."

  Madam Huang pointed at the Eleventh Sister and Lin Dainai, saying to Old Madam and Madam Lin: "Look, they're all good-for-nothings. They can't even protect two trees, but you still treasure them like precious jewels."

  At this point, everyone couldn't help but laugh, holding their bellies in laughter.

  The little maid who came in to report the matter laughed with a confused expression: "......Mom said, dinner is ready!"