Chapter 041

Chapter 41: Yu Jiao Jiao Gets Hit by the Boomerang

Consort Yu, Minister Yu’s own sister, was one of the emperor’s most favored consorts. She had been in the palace for more than twenty years, and his favor had never faded. Even though she had not given birth to a prince, only two little princesses, the emperor never grew distant from her.

Minister Yu was a third-rank official, yet he still managed to marry his two daughters into the Duke’s Manor and the Chancellor’s Manor. Consort Yu’s favor surely helped with that. The Yu clan had always been proud that their family had a favored imperial consort.

In truth, if the emperor were not old enough to be the grandfather of Yu Zhi Yi and Yu Jiao Jiao, and if today’s princes did not already have principal consorts, with even the secondary consort positions filled, Minister Yu might have tried to send his daughters into the Imperial Family. For Yu Zhi Yi, not being tied to the Imperial Family was a blessing in misfortune. Yu Jiao Jiao, knowing that Zhang Tian Shun would one day, by his military merits, become a king with a different surname, did not care.

Now Yu Jiao Jiao blinked, tears shining in her eyes, and said with a face full of grievance: “Sister, are you afraid I’ll steal your thunder?”

A noble lady could not stand it and said: “Young Madam Du, don’t be ridiculous. Third Young Madam Zhang is the real daughter of Yu Manor and Consort Yu’s own niece. Even without this skirt, Consort Yu would surely like Third Young Madam Zhang, not you.”

Yu Zhi Yi did not mind the sarcasm. She looked at Yu Jiao Jiao with smiling eyes and said: “If you don’t believe me, go ahead and send it now. Let’s see if Consort Yu praises you or scolds you for being foolish.”

Her attitude was too strange. Yu Jiao Jiao felt uneasy, and the other noble ladies also looked confused. Seamstress Zhou’s heart was pounding like a drum, panic rising. Bai Tian’er squeezed her hand and whispered comfort, saying: “It’s fine, Mother. Young Madam Du and that wretch are on the same side, they’re just backing her up. But there’s no proof. They can’t stir up any waves.” Even so, Seamstress Zhou still felt uneasy and had to force herself to pull together and not show too much emotion.

Yu Zhi Yi glanced at Seamstress Zhou with a smile, then said to Du Zi Heng: “You are well read. You should understand what I mean, right?”

Du Zi Heng was a straightforward man. He did not have much to say about women’s clothes, but this time he truly noticed something wrong. He said: “The pattern on this skirt does not match the name ‘Golden Autumn.’”

Yu Zhi Yi chuckled and clapped lightly as she said: “As expected of the talented Du.”

Du Zi Heng blushed for no reason. He had been praised before and was used to it. He would not get arrogant, but he usually accepted such praise in his heart. This time, though, he felt shy.

Yu Zhi Yi did not notice his discomfort. She smiled at Red Luan and said: “All right, stop keeping them in suspense.”

Red Luan stood up, flicked the loose hair on her chest, shot Seamstress Zhou and her daughter a contemptuous look, and said: “Two fools. Since when does autumn have wheat ears?”

It was like thunder exploding in their heads. Seamstress Zhou’s face changed at once, and Bai Tian’er could not keep up her fake smile.

Yu Jiao Jiao stared and stammered: “W-what… what do you mean?”

A pampered young lady like her did not even know what real wheat ears looked like, much less that wheat ripens in summer. Only in colder places farther north does wheat ripen in early autumn. In the Capital City and the nearby lands, wheat ripens in summer.

Whether Consort Yu knew the ripening time of wheat, Yu Zhi Yi could not say, but the emperor certainly did. If his favorite consort wore a skirt embroidered with wheat ears yet named “Golden Autumn” to seek favor, he would think she was not very smart. But Consort Yu had won lasting favor for being wise and clear-headed.

Yu Zhi Yi said calmly: “It means wheat ears belong to summer. In autumn, there is corn.” More than a hundred years ago, corn came from overseas to the Central Plains, even earlier than sweet potatoes. Today, the people of the Great Sheng Empire relied on corn and sweet potatoes, plus southern rice and northern wheat and other crops, to barely keep their bellies full.

As Yu Zhi Yi finished speaking, Red Luan walked forward, took out the scissors she had prepared, and began trimming away the big wheat ears on the skirt. Before long, the extra threads were removed, and the skirt’s original pattern appeared.

Looking very pleased, she said to Seamstress Zhou and Bai Tian’er: “The original pattern on this skirt was a few unevenly placed ears of corn with silk. When I learned someone planned to steal my clothes, I rushed to rework it and changed the pattern into wheat.” Covered stitches are hard to cleanly remove, and it’s hard to tell what was original and what was added. But Red Luan was the most skilled seamstress. She had memorized every extra line and its place, so after she removed the added threads, even though the cloth showed the marks of embroidery, the original design was still clear and beautiful.

Anyone with eyes could see the difference. The original corn design had been embroidered with careful skill and fine taste everywhere. The wheat ears, while decent at first glance, were much worse when compared to the corn.

Red Luan looked at Aunt Hong and said: “These two stole my work and then tried to sell the stolen goods to the guests. How do you plan to deal with them?”

Aunt Hong had already lost her calm. The viewing banquet was the pavilion’s most important event. Besides the big income that day, the key point was that the dresses sold at the viewing banquet always set off a new trend, attracting more guests to buy the newest styles. Why could the Splendid Brocade Pavilion lead the fashion? Besides fresh styles, the most important reason was the seamstresses’ fame. People used to say the pavilion’s seamstresses were not only masters of embroidery but also full of creativity, and they would never use dirty tricks to make money.

But today, on such an important day, Seamstress Zhou had stolen the work of the most promising newcomer, trying not only to ruin her but also to wrap herself in the other’s embroidery. How could the guests still trust her? How could they trust the Splendid Brocade Pavilion?

Aunt Hong’s face hardened as she said: “Seamstress Zhou, you are fired. Go home!”

Seamstress Zhou swayed and dropped to her knees with a thud as she cried: “Steward, please, forgive me! I won’t dare do it again!”

The steward was unmoved. A troublemaker like this could not be kept.

The light in Seamstress Zhou’s eyes dimmed bit by bit. Yu Zhi Yi suddenly smiled and said: “Or, you can beg Third Young Madam Zhang.”

The light in Seamstress Zhou’s eyes brightened at once. From the start, Third Young Madam Zhang had always spoken up for the weak. She would surely help. Seamstress Zhou crawled to Yu Jiao Jiao and said: “Third Young Madam Zhang, please forgive me this once. I will turn over a new leaf!”

Yu Jiao Jiao’s features twisted for an instant when she heard Yu Zhi Yi’s words. Yu Zhi Yi took in the sight, pleased to watch the true heiress, disgust boiling inside, still forced to act kind. She was in a very good mood and thought: [You always pretend to be kind; now the boomerang hits you.]