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  Chapter 34

  The main hall of the Jade Pavilion, Second Lady Jian put down the tea in her hand and said with a smile in her eyes, "I heard from Mother that Xiangs marriage has been settled, this is a great good thing. After Mother passed away, I, as an aunt, feel ashamed to say that I havent taken good care of her. This time when she gets married, we should give some dowry, its the proper way for elders."

  She took the box handed over by the person next to her, placed it on the table and pushed it in front of Ming Xuan, opening it with a somewhat self-satisfied expression. Inside, there was a thick stack of silver notes. "Usually when sending things or money to the palace, theres no fuss, but when it comes to our niece at home, its so stingy. Our sister Xuan is a legitimate miss from the marquis manor, but she only got 5,000 taels of silver as her dowry, not even worth as much as that piece of jade pillow we gave to the palace last time. Second Aunt couldnt bear it, these 2,000 taels are for you to buy things for yourself."

  It sounds like complaining about Madame Hous unfair treatment, but in fact it is a straightforward expression of dissatisfaction with the big house sending things to the palace.

  Ming Xuan stared at the full box of silver tickets, slightly stunned. Two thousand taels of silver was no small amount. The monthly allowance her father gave to her grandmother was only sixty taels. She knew that the second branch had money, and her aunt had several profitable shops, but she never thought that she could take out so much silver without batting an eyelid.

  Ke Ers aunt and her usual not very close...

  She couldnt guess the intention of the second lady for a moment, and could only make a frightened expression, politely declining, "Second aunts kindness, niece is grateful, but these silver tickets, Ming Xuan cant take them. My dowry has been prepared by my mother-in-law, and my grandmother also gave me all the dowry she had when I got married. Second aunt loves me, adding a gold bangle to the dowry chest is already a great kindness, how can I accept so much silver money? Niece is frightened, really dare not accept it."

  If the second lady really sent a hairpin worth two thousand taels to Mingxuan, she would definitely accept it. The love and care of an elder is something that others can only praise when spoken of. But directly handing over a silver note, what kind of thing is this? If she accepts it, wouldnt it be saying that Lady Hou was being too demanding about her dowry?

  The second lady would certainly not want to make things difficult for her if she had a kind heart.

  Its clear that this excessive politeness is not without ulterior motives. Ming Xuan pushed the box back and forth a few times, her big eyes looking somewhat embarrassed as she gazed at Madame Yu, seemingly unsure of how to react, but inwardly waiting for Madame Yus next words.

  As expected, the second lady hurriedly laughed and said, "Xuan sister, dont be in a hurry to refuse, Second Aunt still has something to say."

  She paused and said, "Sixth sister is getting married next month on the sixteenth. By the end of the month, we need to send the dowry to Rongzhou County Wangs mansion first. All the other items on the list are ready, except for a pair of peony screens with double-sided embroidery, which was stained with oil by a careless maid."

  Oil stains are the most difficult to clean. Even if they are cleaned up, they still dont look very good. Its not suitable for a bride to have old things in her dowry.

  Ming Xuan thought to herself, its just a double-sided embroidered screen, with two thousand taels of silver, they can still make it in time, what reason is there that they cant buy it? Why didnt Second Aunt send someone to order from the best embroidery shops in the inner city, but instead came here?

  She didnt think so in her heart, but she didnt dare to show it on her face. "I heard my grandmother say that the most outstanding embroidery workshop in Shengjing City is Cai Die Xuan in the west of the city. Although double-sided embroidery is difficult, I heard that there is a girl in Cai Die Xuan who is very skilled at it! Auntie can send someone to ask and see, Peony Blooming is a common pattern, maybe they have it."

  The second lady puckered her mouth, "The dirty side is the handiwork of Mrs. Clever Needle, how can those embroidery girls at Colorful Butterfly Pavilion compare to half of it? Ive already sent someone to ask, and the most expensive screen there only costs 300 taels, this is something that will be placed in the meeting hall of the Crown Princes wife in the future, if its not a famous product, wont those women see it and secretly mock me?"

  It wasnt that Cai Die Xuans embroidery skills were bad, but rather that she looked down on them for not being the work of a famous master.

  Ming Xuan listened and for a moment didnt know what to say.

  The King of Qingpings son is not well, and he has already announced that he will no longer take a concubine. Eldest Sister Minghe is the one who will manage the household affairs after marriage. Logically speaking, as the wife of the Crown Prince, she comes from a noble background, with a generous dowry, all of which are famous products. Naturally, it would be necessary to make the lower-ranking wives look up to her a bit, perhaps making it easier to control them. However, is it really necessary to choose only the most expensive items? Its just a screen in the meeting hall, if it werent for the person who accompanied Eldest Sister to show off on purpose, who would be able to recognize that it was made by Mrs. Cui?

  Second Aunt Yu really went too far. Besides, it would be better to go and ask Grandmother about these difficulties, there is still a glimmer of hope that she might be able to get another one of Mrs. Huas precious needlework pieces. Whats the use of coming here to cry and complain? Although she had been taught embroidery techniques by Mrs. Hua for a few days, she didnt have the face to ask for one of Mrs. Huas large and precious embroidered works.

  Suddenly, she was shocked, could it be that Second Aunt wanted...

  It turned out that the second lady had unknowingly grasped Ming Xuans small hand, and she sighed softly, saying with a hint of pleading, "Good child, Second Aunt knows that Master Clever Needle is skilled in needlework, and last time he even came up with a clever idea. Now his reputation as a master embroiderer has spread throughout Shengjing. Sixth Sister is going to marry into the Dukes Manor, and Ive thought about it repeatedly, but I dont want to wrong her. However, Master Clever Needle has returned to his hometown, and there are only ten or so days left before the day of sending off the dowry. Even if we rush over to ask him now, it will be too late."

  She raised her head, "Nowadays, the only one who can help Second Aunt and Sixth Sister is Xiang sister!"

  Ming Xuan sneered inwardly, indeed, no good deed goes unpunished. She was wondering why her clever and cunning second aunt would come to give her silver and add it to her dowry for no reason. It turned out that she wanted Ming He to embroider a screen, and the two thousand taels of silver were actually the money used to buy the screen.

  The second aunt was really ridiculous, unwilling to let her own biological daughter suffer, could it be that Ming Xuan was destined to suffer? She and Ming He were both legitimate misses of the Yongning Marquiss manor, neither servants of the second house nor seamstresses from the streets. Even if they had exceptional skills, what did it have to do with the second house? The second aunts request was already excessive, not to mention that she too was a bride-to-be and preparing her dowry.

  Although she was poor, two thousand taels of silver were still nothing in her eyes.

  The second lady saw Ming Xuan silent and speechless, then said again, "If you feel that two thousand taels of silver are not enough, three thousand taels will also do."

  Dào zhēn jiāng sān fáng kàn chéng shì qióng dé lián zhè diǎn lì dōu kàn dé shàng yǎn de le.

  Translation:

  It seems that the three houses have become so poor that they cant even see this little benefit.

  The anger on Xue Sus face could no longer be hidden, and she said in a deep voice, "Second Madam is joking, right? Our young lady will also get married soon, and at this moment, she is embroidering the pillowcases and bed sheets for her big wedding day. Where does she have the time to do these things? These things are all going to be displayed on the wedding day for people to see, and everyone in Shengjing City knows that our young ladys embroidery skills are exceptional. If she delays and doesnt embroider well, not only will our young lady be ridiculed behind her back, but Im afraid even Twelfth Miss will also be implicated."

  She paused for a moment, "If its just giving people the impression that all the young ladies of Yongning Houfu are vain and idle, then whats the point?"

  Although these words may not be pleasant to hear, they are also true.

  The second lady was still angry and wanted to lose her temper, but she ultimately wanted to persuade Ming Xuan, so she had to hold back. She forced a smile and said, "Sister Xuan last time embroidered such a large Guanyin picture for the old princess of Dongping, using the most difficult dotting technique, it only took ten days. This time its just a double-sided embroidery screen, why does it need to take too long?"

  She continued, "I heard that Jianan Bo recently found a folk doctor for Ruzi again, using those fierce medicines that the imperial physicians didnt dare to use, and it has prolonged Ruzis life by some time. It wont be a problem to get through March."

  As long as Mrs. Jianan could drag on for one more day, Mingwu wouldnt have to rush into marriage to fill the house, and Mingxuans marriage wouldnt be so urgent either. This means that even if Mingxuan took over the embroidery of the screen from Minghe, it wouldnt delay her own affairs, and she would still get 3,000 taels of silver for free, making this task not a loss after all.

  Xue Su saw that the conversation had reached a certain point, but the second lady seemed to be pretending not to understand anything and still insisted on her own opinion. This arrogance made her feel both angry and sad. If the third house were still prosperous, even if the seventh young ladys embroidery skills surpassed those of Jin Zhens wife, would the second lady dare to bring up this topic? It was just that she was bullying the third house because they had lost, and thought that since the third house had no money, they needed these silver pieces to make their dowry look better, so they wouldnt put the seventh young lady in her eyes.

  If Miss Qi really embroidered the screen for Miss Liu and took those silver coins, what would that be?

  She bit her lip, just about to refuse directly on behalf of Seventh Miss, but saw Ming Xuan lightly smile at her, indicating that she should calm down, and her heart relaxed. For some reason, she firmly believed that Miss must have thought of a solution, so she didnt speak again, standing quietly beside her.

  Ming Xuan gazed at the second lady, a strange and mysterious smile spreading from the corners of her mouth. "Second aunt, I wonder how much a clever needlework screen by Madame Cui would be worth on the market these days?"

  The two madams were delighted, thinking that Ming Xuan was going to agree, but was just dissatisfied with the price. This was no obstacle, as she had plenty of money and didnt believe Ming Xuan could name an astronomical price. She smiled and replied, "That peony screen I bought from Zhongyongbos house earlier was 3,800 taels of silver."

  She hesitated for a moment, and it wasnt an empty word. "Nowadays, the embroidered products of Cai Zhens wife are more precious, if you want to buy them now, Im afraid youll have to pay 5,000 taels."

  Ming Xuan puckered her lips, seemingly sincere in seeking advice, and asked seriously, "What if the screen was embroidered by Madame Jinzhen? What would be its value?"

  The two madams took a deep breath. The embroidery left behind by Madame Jin was extremely rare and precious. The peony embroidered handkerchief presented by Minghe to Old Lady Zhu on her birthday, which was only a square piece of embroidery, cost 6,000 taels of silver. If it were a real screen as large as this one, its value would be immeasurable. Even if they asked for 50,000 taels, there might still be many people eager to buy it.

  She thought for a moment, "Forty or fifty thousand taels is still a must."

  Ming Xuans eyes moved slightly, and she said lightly, "If Second Aunt gives me 40,000 taels of silver, Ill give you the double-sided embroidered screen with the magpie on a branch that Madame Jinzhen embroidered. How about that?"

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