When the wind is slightly chilly, the flowers leave the branches, and the leaves turn yellow, it's time for the chrysanthemums to bloom.
The largest chrysanthemum banquet in Yucheng is still hosted by the prefect’s wife.
The prefect's wife will invite many ladies to participate. They will bring chrysanthemums, enjoy the flowers, drink tea, invite actors to perform, and finally judge the best chrysanthemum of the year. The owner of the chrysanthemum will receive a prize from the prefect's wife.
Of course the prize is not important, the important thing is to be the person who stands out and gets everyone's attention.
In fact, every year, everyone has a guess about who this person is when they walk into the banquet.
That person will be greeted by the magistrate's wife, sit next to the magistrate's wife, and be surrounded by everyone to say a word or two.
This person this year is Mrs. Lu.
This is of course because Mrs. Lu has a good son.
Of course, compared to the banquet held at the Lu family where there were more businesswomen, most of the ladies, husbands or sons here are government officials.
It's just that now everyone values Mrs. Lu's son because the future of Mrs. Lu's son is related to the Holy Will.
In addition to family inheritance, the imperial court also selects talents every year, but the selection of talented candidates is made by the prefectures and counties, and then recommended to the imperial court for adoption as needed. Most of these needs are reported at the same time, and the prefectures and counties also make arrangements.
Already.
Nowadays, the emperor opens the Imperial Academy, abandons the examination of state and county examinations, and personally participates in the selection and examination of talented people.
It is not unusual for Mr. Lu to be an official because of his outstanding talent and learning, but when he caught up with this opportunity, he jumped to the capital to take the Imperial Examination and the Emperor's Palace Examination, and his future status as an official would be extraordinary.
The official news is better informed. A few days ago, it came back that although the exams for Taixue had not yet started, Lu Yizhi of Yucheng had been summoned by Mr. Xia Hou, the doctor of the Imperial Academy.
Although it seems to have nothing to do with learning, and something happened to a scholar in the capital, Lu Yizhi was able to be seen by Dr. Shangshu as a representative, which can be regarded as outstanding.
Mr. Xiahou is also the emperor's teacher. Maybe the emperor knows about Mr. Lu before the exam.
Therefore, even though he was sitting next to the magistrate's wife, several ladies came over to ask implicitly about Mr. Lu's marriage.
When asked about her marriage, Mrs. Lu was not as reserved as before, and responded calmly and generously. Of course, it was impossible to respond. Her son had a bright future, and Mrs. Lu's vision no longer focused on Yucheng.
As for the talk that she would be elected the best chrysanthemum owner, Mrs. Lu also heard it and was not embarrassed.
"My son is amazing." She whispered to Mrs. Lu San, "The chrysanthemums we brought are also amazing."
She spent a lot of real money to buy it, a rare and unique item in Yucheng.
First, she should feel at ease and confident.
Mrs. Lu San nodded, pointed to the courtyard, and whispered: "Our chrysanthemums are always surrounded by people."
She has been sitting obediently next to Mrs. Lu. Compared to Mrs. Lu, the third one is much clumsier. If Mrs. Lu had come, she would have been chatting and joking around at the chrysanthemum.
Mrs. Lu Er will not be able to take her out anymore. The Ning family was found guilty and had their house confiscated and they broke up. Mrs. Lu Er's daughter who married outside does not need to be held accountable, but her face is not good. From now on, she can only follow the old lady behind closed doors in the village.
"Sister-in-law, let's go take a look too?" Mrs. Lu San whispered.
She didn't dare to go there herself, there were so many people and she didn't know what to say.
Mrs. Lu sighed inwardly, it was such a pity that she lost a right-hand man who could support and have fun, so she had to do it by herself.
"Okay." She said, stood up, and smiled at the ladies next to her. "I'm going to see the flowers too. The chrysanthemums this year are really good. They're so beautiful."
The ladies next to them also smiled and stood up, "Let's go and have a look."
Everyone surrounded Mrs. Lu as she walked into the auditorium. Suddenly someone lowered his head and made a sound.
"Madam, your skirt is so beautiful, and the embroidery work is so beautiful," she said.
Everyone else also looked over and saw Mrs. Lu's skirt flying, with clouds embroidered on it, as if she was walking on clouds.
It's so beautiful. Compared to chrysanthemums, women actually like to look at clothes more, and their compliments on beautiful clothes are more sincere.
"How is this done?"
"Why is this so good?"
"I've never seen this kind of embroidery before."
Everyone didn't care about looking at the flowers, they were talking and praising them.
Mrs. Lu had a smile on her lips and said politely: "The embroidery girl at home is just thinking about embroidery for fun. It's funny."
The embroiderer at home, such a good embroiderer, must have spent a lot of money to learn such good skills, the ladies can't hide their envy.
But after passing a flower stand, women admiring flowers standing nearby also looked over, and some of them made a sound.
"Madam, this dress is finally worn again." The woman said with a smile, "I can still remember it when I saw it last year."
This sounds like a compliment, but...
last year?
They're not new clothes.
Of course, some good clothes are indeed cherished and would only be worn on important occasions.
However, Mrs. Lu also needs this?
You are so rich and have a skilled embroiderer at home, but you don’t have time to make new autumn clothes?
The ladies' gazes became strange, and Mrs. Lu's face became slightly stiff, and she clenched the hand hidden in her sleeve in front of her.
This dress is so beautiful that it will make anyone’s eyes brighten when they see it, but it will also make people unforgettable.
The banquet I attended this time was different from the occasion where I wore it last year, but since Yucheng is so small, I am bound to meet people who have seen this dress.
Mrs. Lu also knew that it might be inappropriate to wear this, but——
All the new clothes in front of her were eclipsed by this dress. She couldn't give it up no matter what, so she wore it as soon as she gritted her teeth.
Alas, as expected...
On the other side, Mrs. Lu San noticed that the eldest lady's expression was wrong and knew that the atmosphere was a bit stagnant at this time, but she had no idea what to say to resolve it...
Is it beautiful? Thank you for remembering it so clearly?
It seems inappropriate.
Mrs. Lu San regretted coming, and the tip of her nose was sweating slightly.
Fortunately, someone spoke up at this time.
"Speaking of good embroidery skills, have you seen the clothes Mrs. Li is wearing?"
This was immediately responded to.
"I saw."
"I just walked by, and the corners of my skirt and sleeves were falling like chrysanthemums."
The stagnant atmosphere was suddenly broken, more people asked, and some pointed to the courtyard in front, where there were the most people.
"Go and have a look, Mrs. Li is over there."
"Everyone is watching her."
Over there, Mrs. Lu looked over. Over there was the chrysanthemum she brought. She saw many people gathered around to look at it, so she wanted to go and have a look.
What? It turns out that he wasn’t looking at her anus, but someone else’s dress?
This chrysanthemum is yellow with purple, gorgeous and unique. At this time, a person is standing beside the flower, and someone is pulling his sleeve to show it.
"Look, which one looks better?"
How dare you compete with such a precious flower?
The woman whose sleeves are being pulled is in her thirties and has an average appearance. The dress she is wearing is not made of expensive material and the style is common. What is not common is that there are faintly overlapping petals on the cuffs and corners of the skirt.
Mrs. Li's husband was just a scribe. No one noticed her when she was walking in the courtyard. But when she passed a chrysanthemum, the person next to her reminded her, "Madam, you have petals on your sleeve, be careful."
There was some complaining in his tone. The chrysanthemums brought today are all treasures and cannot be touched or broken at will.
Mrs. Li raised her sleeves a little cautiously: "No."
When the man saw that she didn't recognize her, he became even more unhappy. He stretched out his hand and said, "Isn't it?"
With a flick, the slender and curved petals are still there.
She made a sound.
Mrs. Li already smiled: "Ah, these are embroidered petals, not real flowers."
The man was already pulling his sleeves and touching the petals with his hand, looking surprised: "This is too realistic."
She looked at Mrs. Li again, and there were faint patterns on not only the cuffs, shoulders, sleeves, and skirt corners. As she moved, they sparkled in the sunlight, like petals falling all over her body.
"Oh, it's so unique and beautiful." She exclaimed, attracting more people to watch.
Mrs. Li was surrounded and admired, and pushed to compare their beauty with the flowers. Some people really thought they were more beautiful than the flowers.
"How is this done?"
"It looks like lock embroidery to me, but not quite like it."
"Yeah, I thought it was quite special, so I bought it." Mrs. Li said, "I specifically asked about it and said it was to grab the needle."
Talk and smile.
"I don't quite understand either. My line is not good."
There aren't many good needleworkers here, and everyone's background doesn't need to be decorated with needlework, as long as they can appreciate needlework.
"I really didn't expect that there is such a new acupuncture method."
"I've never seen it before."
"Mrs. Li said, here comes the bride."
The women here were talking a lot, and Mrs. Lu, who was looking at it for a moment, couldn't help but ask: "Where is the embroidery workshop?"
Since having that maid at home, Mrs. Lu hasn't visited the embroidery shop for four years - she doesn't like it.
Mrs. Li looked over and said with a smile: "It's not from us, it's from Xu Cheng."
Mrs. Xu Cheng? Mrs. Lu was startled, her heart skipped a beat, and she stared at the embroidery on Mrs. Li's shoulder——
Mrs. Li's voice continued.
"I went to Xucheng to visit relatives that day. I walked casually with a few old sisters and walked into Linglongfang."
“I’ve visited Linglongfang before, and there’s nothing strange about it.”
"Shopkeeper Dong said that a new embroiderer has arrived and has just finished a piece of embroidery."
"When I saw it, it was really unique..."
In fact, Mrs. Lu could no longer hear Mrs. Li's words. All she could hear was the word "Xucheng".