C35

The next day, the weather was fine and the grass had come to the Duke of Jin's mansion, but it hadn't gone out yet. After begging me for half a day, she wanted to go out for a stroll, thinking that she used to be a wild horse on the prairie, but now that she has come to Big Sui County, she is like a caged bird.

I also did not go out for a few days, so dressed up in light clothes, covered my face with a veil, and took a few people out of the house.

On Cheng'En Street, there were many shops and all kinds of acrobatic stalls. There were shouts everywhere, and there were also lions dancing on stilts, bustling with noise and excitement.

After getting used to the vast and empty plains, the grass was incredibly curious. Thus, I decided to follow her lead and gave her some silver coins. I told the dogs to keep an eye on her and not cause any trouble.

Pleasant Heart and Chen Ho followed me closely, afraid that I would make a mistake.

"It's rare to be able to come out and the two of you want to see if there's anything you like and no one will recognize me. Are you afraid that I'll be taken away?" I said to both of them.

If the two refused, Chen Ying would say:

"This servant doesn't have anything that I like. I'll just accompany Madam to have a look."

Yuexin chose a few needlework patterns, but she refused to go too far. She strolled for a while before arriving at the largest cloth village in the capital – Jinxiang cloth village.

It was said that the shopkeeper, Jin Xia, was a woman who had lived for twenty years. Not only was she beautiful, but she was also talented and had written a beautiful couplet. Every year, she would hang half a pair at the door.

There were a few rich young masters squeezed into the crowd. Naturally, they did not care for a single piece of satin, because this Lady Jinxia had not been married to Yun Ying. Most of the scholarly and rich young masters were here to catch a glimpse of her beauty, and they all had thoughts of winning the heart of a girl through a pair of lovers.

This was my first time in Jinxiang Clothes, and my original intention was to buy cloth. Now that I had caught up with the commotion, naturally, I had to take a look as well. Thus, I brought Chen Zhong and Yue Xin to squeeze in with me.

On the east side of the house, there was a banner with a red background and black characters. It was tied with several strings and hung from the attic. Two pieces of jade were hanging in the air. Two servants in green stood beside the banner. One held a brush and ink, while the other held a blank banner.

A person who looked like an Elementary Scholar was reading couplets while shaking his head:

"The new moon is like a bow, the remaining moon is like a bow, the upper bow is like a bowstring, the lower bow is like a bowstring."

This Lady Jinxia is quite graceful. The couplets are very well written, with the delicate observation of a woman and the deep love of a man. She is truly a person of chivalry and gentleness." In that case, I'd like to see it for myself.

Under the sunlight, the signboard of "Jinxia Clothing Shop" shone with a golden light, dazzling people who were watching. More and more people gathered at the entrance as they discussed amongst themselves.

This person said, "Do you think that someone will be able to match up against Lady Jinxia this time?"

The man said, "I don't think it's been three months since I've seen a piece of cloth. It's getting more and more difficult for Lady Jinxia to match."

There was also a plump and plump man, covered in silk, a purple and gold crown, and a jade band embedded with gold. Even his fingers were covered in gold and jade rings.

At this moment, he was scolding the Elementary Scholars in front of him furiously.

"Why did I invite you here at such a high price? He couldn't even match a girl's couplet? You still dare to say that you're studying for ten thousand books? "If it doesn't match, spit out all of my silver!"

I laughed in my heart and invited a few Elementary Scholars to fake it. Even if they were the match, they would only get a piece of cloth. Lady Jinxia wouldn't take a fancy to such a vulgar person.

Seeing me snicker, Yue Xin asked in her heart:

"Could it be that Madam can match it?"

I slightly nodded my head, smiled and didn't say anything. I walked forward, took the brush and ink from the servant girl's hands, and slowly wrote:

"Morning glow like brocade, sunset glow like brocade, East River brocade, West River brocade."

After taking my couplet, I turned around and walked into the cloth shop. A short while later, someone hung my couplets on the other side of the cloth shop.

"This lady has fallen in love with my lady, she wants to give me a piece of cloth as a gift!"

A wave of sighs and sighs rang out from the crowd. There was envy, admiration, unwillingness, and even the scolding of that rich young master.

"This pair is truly amazing. Not only are they neat, they also have a creative concept, and they even embed the name of Lady Jinxia into their bodies!" Someone in the crowd said.

"That's right, that's right. Look at that bunch of Elementary Scholars, they're actually not even as good as a girl. What a joke, haha!" Another person replied.

The maidservant made a gesture of invitation and said, "My lady would like to invite Madam to join us."

As I walked into the house, I heard a sigh behind me, and then the crowd began to disperse.

A few servants in green clothes and the shopkeeper were calling out to some of the ladies and mistresses that looked like rich families. I left Chen Zhong and Yue Xin to the first floor to choose fabric and followed them to the attic.

In the attic, it was empty and sweet, completely different from the atmosphere downstairs. I was led up the stairs by a servant in green, and when I came down alone, I saw that there was a pillar of fragrance burning by the window inside the room. In the white smoke, a woman in blue was facing me from the side, gently stroking the zither with her slender fingers as she played on her own.

Even from the side, I could still see the calmness and tranquility between her eyebrows. Three parts were cold and proud, seven parts were graceful, like an orchid in a deep valley. No one was able to smell and admire themselves.

"Madam, please take a seat." Jin Xia said, but her hands did not hold back as she continued playing with her ten fingers.

I sat on the cushion, closed my eyes, and listened attentively. It was as if I was looking at a pool of water, not like the luxurious atmosphere of a golden qilin pond, nor as if the exquisite elegance of a clear pond, but instead like the countryside, with endless green grass, and occasionally farmers and herdsmen moving through it. In the pool, there would be a few wild lotuses, enchanting and beautiful, emerging from the water to cleanse Bai Shengxue, but not half of them were stained by the mud.

At the end of the song, Jinxia stood up, picked up an exquisite teapot and personally served me a cup of tea. With a slight smile, she said:

"Jinxia has neglected Madam."

"There's no harm, listening to Miss's melody is not in vain for me to come here." I took a sip of tea, and the aroma filled my lungs.

"Madame does not seem to have a pair of brocades for a satin cloth." Jin Xia frowned as she looked at me with her bright eyes.

I smiled faintly and put down the teacup.

"I came here to buy cloth. It was just a coincidence."

Dressed in blue, the muslin fluttered slowly in the breeze outside the window like an immortal. It was elegant and moving as they walked. Other than the sharp gaze of the merchant, there was nothing else that should have been seen by them.

"Oh? There are thousands of pieces of cloth in this shop. I wonder which one of them has the good fortune to enter the Lady's eyes? " Jinxia sat across from me, gently dusting off the dust, her hair black without a hairpin, and only using a blue thread to tie her flowing hair, hanging by her side, fresh and refined, and having a bit of leisure.

It was no wonder that there were so many young masters at the entrance who wanted to meet her.

"I haven't chosen yet. It's just that I've always been ignorant and don't know much about purchasing items. I wonder if Miss can move in and help me pick a few?" I said.

Jinxia also found it hard to get a response from Ye Ci, so she agreed straightforwardly. I thanked her, but she said:

"For a businessman, if the customer has a request, they will naturally serve the customer well. Otherwise, wouldn't that be cutting off their own path of wealth?"

I chuckled, got up with her, and went downstairs.

In addition to the cloth arrangement in the hall, there was another storeroom. There were many different kinds of cloth inside the storeroom. There were many of them neatly arranged.

"I wonder what you want to do with the cloth?" Jinxia asked as she showed me the cloth.

"Dance dress, I want to make twelve sets." I replied.

The glow in Jin Xia's eyes flickered as she asked:

"He Wu?"

I took out a brocade handkerchief from my sleeve. There was a word written on it. It was written after I had watched the dance of grass yesterday. It was called "Jade Words".

Jinxia took the handkerchief and swept her beautiful eyes over it. There was praise in her words.

"Madam is so literary, I wonder if this poem has a musical composition?"

Last night, I didn't have the time to compose a song, but today, I just happened to meet a talented girl. This is really fate, I sincerely said, "I have a presumptuous request. "When this lowly poem is composed by a lady, it will definitely have the effect of finishing the work of drawing dragons, and will be passed down through countless lifetimes."

Jin Xia lightly folded the brocade handkerchief and did not refuse. She said:

"Madam, you're too kind. I'll give it a try. If it can enter your eyes, it can be considered as adding to the beauty of the flower." Three days later, Madam will come to collect it. "

He glanced at all the cloths in the library and thought for a moment. He then called over the shopkeeper and asked a few questions. He said to me,

"Madam's words are meant to be simple and demeaning. These rich embroidered fabrics are not suitable for you. Jinxia will take Madam to see some silks and cotton fabrics."

I followed her into the innermost part of the storeroom, where on a wooden chest there were several pieces of jade-like cotton, smooth and soft to the touch, and very comfortable to touch, though not as smooth and beautiful as silk, but still very fine and with a good sense of touch.

"These pieces of cloth are made of fine cotton, and are much more complicated than ordinary cotton linen. However, the price is not even one tenth of the price of the silks and silks, and Jinxia believes that these pieces are exactly what Madam needs." Jinxia caressed the cloth and said.

I smiled and nodded. I was extremely satisfied. I immediately took out a silver ingot and said:

"We'll use this cloth. The young lady will send someone to deliver it to the Jin King Manor. This will be the deposit and we'll pay the bill in full."

Jinxia raised her eyebrows and looked at me with a bit of surprise. However, there were a lot of people in the cloth manor. I smiled at her through my veil.

"I am in charge of buying and selling at the Jin Mansion, and the Jinxia Clothing Manor is the most famous place in the capital. As the prince's princess, I naturally have to choose the best."

Jin Xia smiled in understanding. Taking the deposit, she said:

"Madam, please leave. Jinxia thanks Madam for taking care of this business."

I took Chen Zhen and Yue Xin away from the cloth village, to the grass and dogs, a group of people back.

Three days later, I went to Jin Xia's cloth village as promised, but this time, I left in a palanquin without covering my face. Jin Xia looked at me, and although there was a hint of amazement in her eyes, she did not seem surprised, as if she was already familiar with my identity.

"This humble daughter pays her respects to Your Highness Princess Jin!" He was neither humble nor haughty, but respectful and respectful.

I helped her up and said,

"Jinxia doesn't need to be so polite. I just want to pretend to be in and out because I hate the red tape."

Jinxia gave me a seat, still offered me a cup of tea, not fawning or restrained because of my identity.

"The melody the Empress wants is already ready, and if the Empress has nothing to do, she is willing to play it once. If there's anything wrong with it, the Empress will correct it, and the rosy clouds will change it." The beautiful glow bowed slightly before she slowly walked towards the zither stage.

"I'm all ears." What's wrong with her music being the best choice? Just listening to the melody of the brocade cloud was something that was hard to come by.

The broccoli played once, and though there was no dance, I was already intoxicated by it. These days, I had already selected twelve beautiful girls from outside the playwright's workshop, and gathered them to dance with the grass in the manor. I had also adapted the Turkic dance to its wildness and elegance, and named it the "Jade Dance".

Thinking of how he would present this song and dance as a birthday present to the empress and perform in front of all the officials, he broke out into a cold sweat. This move would definitely succeed, and if he didn't perform well, he would end up as a laughingstock.

With a smile like a flower, Jinxia asked:

"When the Empress heard this, how did she feel?"

"Exquisite, extremely beautiful, like the rustling of the sky." I praised him heartily.

"Your Highness is too kind, Jinxia doesn't dare to say anything. Your words are probably written better than mine. This song will be accompanied by dancing and singing. I wonder who Your Highness wants to present to?" Jinxia said.

"Without Lady to play with the zither, I'm afraid that it would have been difficult to achieve such an effect. If Lady is willing, can you follow me to the palace next month?" In my heart, I really hoped that she would agree to my request. If I had her help, it would be difficult for me to not succeed. However, based on her indifferent personality, I was afraid that she wouldn't agree.

"Enter the palace? If the Empress were to amuse herself within the palace, Jinxia would definitely accompany her. She only wants Jinxia to perform to the nobles and imperial family, so Jinxia will not be able to comply. " Sure enough, she rejected me immediately. I was a little embarrassed, but I wasn't surprised.

Since she said so, I couldn't force her hand and just said,

"I am honored to be able to meet you, but I am just a common person. I am afraid you will despise me."

With a gentle pull of her sleeve and a brush, she drew. She said:

"Her name was known for her beauty. Now that I have met her, she is actually even more beautiful than the rumours say. Furthermore, she is so talented. This is a fate that Jinxia can't ask for. "Since the Empress is in the mortal world, it is naturally hard for her to not be vulgar. It is just that as Jinxia watched, the Empress's dance was not necessarily to curry favor with some people.

Seeing such a close friend, I have no regrets. Even someone as close as my husband, Yang Guang, thinks that I am only here to offer gifts to the empress.

"You flatter me, Miss." I cast a sidelong glance at the silk cloth on her desk, and saw that she had finished her dance with a few strokes.

When I looked more closely, I saw that the woman had one arm full of water sleeves that shot straight up into the sky. The other one was folded on top of her arm like a lotus leaf, floating above the water waves, while her other arm was like a snow arm that drilled out from the water waves. She stood atop the leaves like a spotless snow lotus root, looking at the scene as if she was sitting in front of a lotus pond, looking at the water coming out of the lotus roots.

I looked gratefully at Jinxia and said,

"Miss Xie, this must be the highlight of the dance. I can't help but feel that something was missing from the dance these days. So it's because Miss is here."

Jin Xia smiled. A trace of reminiscence appeared in her eyes that were as tranquil as the clouds as she spoke:

"The Empress praises me too much, but for Jinxia to not see the Empress dance with her own eyes is truly a pity."

I didn't say anything. She didn't want to get involved with the secular world, so there was no point in speaking any further. It would be good to keep her quiet.