Four Seasons Brocade – CH 069

Chapter 69 ☆、

Since ancient times, there had been rules for becoming an official: one must have regular features. Shi Feng did have a regular, rectangular face, but now that he was disfigured, even if he passed the exams, he would not be able to become an official.

Zi-Yan was ruthless. She had already applied medicine to the hairpin, a medicine that would make the scar permanent, ensuring Shi Feng’s face would never heal. Moreover, Zi-Yan was ruthless, slashing directly from his left eyebrow, across his nose, to his right cheek.

After Shi Feng had recovered for a long time, the scar had not faded, so he tried to cause trouble for Zi-Yan’s family again, but no one would acknowledge him. Zi-Yan had long since left, “marrying off” to another place.

The Guan family then went to serve at the Duke’s Mansion. They were all sold into servitude there, and Shi Feng and his companions could not find them, nor dared to cause trouble at the Duke’s Mansion. The young lady at the alley entrance, seeing his condition, looked down on him, leaving Shi Feng empty-handed.

Back to Liu Jingniang, three months later, when Old Nanny Peng came to pay her respects, she came along. Ah Wu had Zi-Shan serve Old Nanny Peng tea, while she sat down by the south window and spoke to Liu Jingniang.

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“Aunt Liu, we will be working together for a long time from now on, so let’s not beat around the bush. You’ve been working at the needlework shop for a while now; what do you think of it?” Ah Wu asked.

Liu Jingniang, who had been invited to sit by Ah Wu, quickly stood up, flustered, and said, “No, no, please just call me Jingniang.” Ah Wu was Liu Jingniang’s savior and a young lady of the Duke’s Mansion; how could Liu Jingniang accept being called “Aunt Liu”?

“Aunt Liu, you are too kind. You are much older than I am, and I will need your help at the shop in the future. You deserve to be called Aunt Liu.”

“That’s right, that’s right,” Old Nanny Peng, the wet nurse, chimed in. She had known Liu Jingniang for a long time and saw that she was a capable person. Ah Wu had also confided in Old Nanny Peng, who was more than happy to have Liu Jingniang take over the shop. Old Nanny Peng, the wet nurse, was honest but not good at socializing; otherwise, she would not have ended up nursing Third Master Rong and then been kicked out of the Duke’s Mansion. The affairs of the shop often gave her a headache, keeping her constantly busy.

Upon hearing Ah Wu’s words, Liu Jingniang knew that this meant her young mistress needed her to handle something in the future, so she did not refuse anymore; otherwise, she would be ungrateful.

“Aunt Liu, please sit down. I’d like to hear about the shop’s affairs,” Ah Wu said, gesturing for Liu Jingniang to sit.

Liu Jingniang hesitated slightly. Although Ah Wu had saved her, she was still only a nine-year-old girl. The shop’s affairs should naturally be addressed by the mistress, so Liu Jingniang was somewhat unsure.

Ah Wu naturally sensed Liu Jingniang’s concerns and said, “Aunt Liu, it’s all right for you to tell me. My mother is not feeling well these days and cannot manage the shop. I just want to help ease her burden.”

Liu Jingniang nodded in agreement. It was said that children from poor families mature early, but actually, it was the children from wealthy families who were truly precocious. Liu Jingniang had heard most of what was happening at the Duke of Anguo’s Mansion from Old Nanny Peng and had a general idea of ​​the third branch’s current situation. She could understand why Ah Wu, such a young girl, was so mature. With her father and brothers absent and her mother ill, everything was being managed by this little girl; it was truly difficult. What was most admirable was her kind heart; despite her own hardship, she still wanted to help those in distress.

Thinking this through, Liu Jingniang no longer concealed anything. Seeing Ah Wu’s concern for the shop, she roughly guessed that the sixth young lady was short of money and was hoping the shop could bring her some success.

“Madam’s Cui Embroidery is truly exceptional. In such a location, there are not many embroidered pieces, yet the business is thriving; it’s all thanks to the uniqueness of Cui Embroidery,” said Liu Jingniang.

Ah Wu nodded. For a shop to generate twenty taels of profit per month, especially under the oversight of an honest woman like Old Nanny Peng, was truly astonishing. That was why Ah Wu felt that if the shop was managed well, it could definitely reach even greater heights.

“Please continue,” Ah Wu said, personally pouring Liu Jingniang a cup of tea.

Liu Jingniang was a clever woman and immediately saw how much Ah Wu valued the shop. She sat up straight and asked seriously, “What are your plans for this shop, Miss and Madam?”

Ah Wu had anticipated this question. Only when she asked such a question did Ah Wu dare to entrust the shop to Liu Jingniang. “I want everyone in the capital and the thirteen provinces of the nation to know about Cui Embroidery. I want this shop to be found all over the country.”

Not only was Old Nanny Peng, who was sitting to the side with little vision, taken aback, but even Liu Jingniang, though somewhat prepared, had not expected Ah Wu’s ambition to be so grand. Liu Jingniang looked carefully into Ah Wu’s eyes, seeing no trace of jest, only utmost seriousness, and realized she had underestimated this Sixth Young Lady.

“Does Aunt Liu think I am just dreaming?” Ah Wu asked.

Liu Jingniang shook her head. “I would not dare say anything else, but with Cui Embroidery, I believe that with proper management, it will definitely become famous throughout the world and sell overseas,” Liu Jingniang added overseas to Ah Wu’s goals.

Ah Wu smiled happily, her eyes crinkling into crescent moons. Liu Jingniang was indeed a person of great ambition.

“Alright, please tell me more about it, Aunt Liu.” The ambitions she’d just expressed were grand visions; to actually do things, one had to put them into practice.

Liu Jingniang began to analyze in detail, “There are not many embroiderers left in the shop these days. Most business is done with regular customers, relying on word-of-mouth. We do not dare take on larger orders; we could not possibly finish them all. Besides, Cui Embroidery is a family heirloom passed down through generations, and we need to prevent the embroiderers from spreading it privately.”

Ah Wu nodded. Currently, the embroiderers were Lady Cui’s wet nurse and two people who worked for Lady Cui. All three were trusted by Lady Cui and knew her well, so there was no fear of outside information. However, if they wanted to expand production, they could not continue operating in the current way.

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“So I am thinking we need to hire more embroiderers and have them sign contracts before they come in. We also need to ask Madam to send someone to specifically train them. Let’s expand the shop first and then plan for the future.”

Ah Wu nodded again, adding, “I can advise Madam to send someone skilled in Cui embroidery to instruct the embroiderers. Also, the shop cannot rely on just one stitch; let the embroiderers innovate. If they come up with a new stitch, we will reward them handsomely.”

Liu Jingniang could not help but pat the table. “That’s a good idea.” Not being complacent and seeking innovation and change—that was truly insightful. Liu Jingniang initially helped Ah Wu only because she was her savior. Now, after hearing Ah Wu’s words, she felt she had chosen the right master. Ah Wu had great ambition and vision; following her would surely lead to great things, and her and her son’s future depended on her.

Even if Ah Wu had not saved Liu Jingniang, she would still be willing to help her now. Although Liu Jingniang was a woman, she was the pillar of her family. After marriage, she followed her husband in business, seeing much of the world and even harboring ambitions to achieve great things, earning a reputation as a woman who was not inferior to men, and proving herself worthy of respect. Later, she fell into hardship and illness, struggling to make ends meet, and naturally gave up on other ambitions. She never expected that she might be able to realize her aspirations here.

Ah Wu discussed the matter with Liu Jingniang for a while and finally had Zi-Shan bring out a box. “There are seven hundred taels of silver in here. Take it and make your own arrangements.” This was all the savings of the third branch of the family, but Ah Wu did not tell Liu Jingniang this.

“From now on, the shop will be under your management, but you will manage one set of account books, and Uncle He will manage another,” Ah Wu said. This arrangement was to reassure Old Nanny Peng that they would not discard her family after a new person came along. Guihe, managing the account books, was also a key figure in the shop, which made Old Nanny Peng feel better and less likely to reject Liu Jingniang.

When Ah Wu handed the box to Liu Jingniang, she carefully observed her. Seeing that Liu Jingniang had no objections to her arrangements, Ah Wu admired her even more. “My arrangement is not because I do not trust Aunt Liu,” she said, “but this shop is meant to grow big, so rules must be established from the beginning to avoid future trouble.”

Liu Jingniang quickly nodded. “I understand. Hearing your arrangement, I know you are destined for great things.”

Of course, Ah Wu couldn’t tell Liu Jingniang that she was an “experienced person,” so she could only pretend to be profound and say, “Don’t ask anymore; just do as I say.”

This feigned profundity served two purposes: first, to manage her subordinates; and second, to see if someone as capable as Liu Jingniang would follow her arrangements without acting on her own.

Liu Jingniang nodded and took her leave with Old Nanny Peng.

In the twenty-fifth year of the Longqing reign, Ah Wu’s life was extremely simple. Because Third Master Rong was away on a diplomatic mission, the Old Madam and the First Madam had gotten rid of a thorn in their side. However, they also needed to maintain her reputation, unwilling to bear the stigma of mistreating her illegitimate son’s wife and her brother’s wife. If Third Master Rong truly did not return, and Lady Cui died a cruel death, the reputation of the Duke of Anguo’s Mansion would be truly ruined, consequently affecting the marriages of her granddaughters.

Therefore, Ah Wu and Lady Cui’s lives became relatively more comfortable. However, Ah Wu still could not go to school and had few opportunities to go out. The First Madam was determined to raise her to be ignorant and foolish.

At the end of the year, Zi-Shan said that Zi-Yan had given birth to a son and had already returned to her parents’ home, saying that her husband had passed away and she needed to stay for three years, so she could not come in to kowtow to the Madam and Ah Wu. As for Shi Feng’s family, they had long since returned to the countryside; without a livelihood in the capital, how could they survive? They left in disgrace.

Ah Wu nodded and asked Zi-Shan to tell Zi-Yan to go to a needlework shop to learn from Liu Jingniang. As for how well she learned, that depended on Zi-Yan’s own fate.

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And sure enough, Zi-Yan gave Ah Wu a pleasant surprise.

Zi-Yan was originally a steady and thoughtful person, and now, having suffered a great loss, she became even more mature and sensible. After having a son, the young woman transformed into a woman, becoming increasingly adept at managing the shop. She quickly learned from Liu Jingniang and soon became independent, achieving remarkable success – but that’s another story.

Zi-Yan was utterly grateful to Ah Wu for giving her a second chance in life; in her words, it was a blessing from her parents.

The following year, in the winter of the twenty-sixth year of the Longqing reign, Liu Jingniang brought Ah Wu excellent news.