Chapter 19 Lotus Embroidery Shop [VIP]

Chapter 19 Lotus Embroidery Shop [VIP]

Chapter Summary: Has Yunyun forgotten where she came from, forgotten who she is?

"Father, Second Uncle, this is the woman I mentioned to you before, the tiger-slaying hero Wu Song, who has recently become famous in Yanggu, and the matriarch of the Wu family, Madam Pan!"

In the Guyu Hall of the Lotus Embroidery Manor, a ray of sunshine brushes across the lotus leaves in front of the hall, casting swaying shadows on the corridor.

A maid in a lotus-colored ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress) stepped on the swaying lotus leaves scattered on the ground, gently served four cups of lotus leaf tea, and quickly retreated to the door, keeping her eyes closed and silent.

Below the main hall is a long table made of nanmu wood, with the main seat facing south and the guest seats facing north.

As Pan Yue and Wu Song were about to step through the porch, upon hearing He Xi's words, they immediately composed themselves and stepped forward, gracefully bowing and saying, "Master Manager, Second Manager, this humble servant greets you!"

The two heads of the household were nearing fifty, and although their features were still similar, their mannerisms and demeanor were completely different.

"My lady, please rise!"

Smiling and cheerful, the first to step forward was He Xi's father, the head manager of the Lotus Embroidery Shop.

Having been whispered in his daughter's ear many times that morning, Manager He smiled knowingly as the two entered. After exchanging greetings, Manager He stroked his beard and greeted them politely, saying, "I've heard people in the manor say that Madam Pan is beautiful and talented beyond compare. Seeing her today, I can confirm that she truly has an extraordinary bearing!"

"Shopkeeper, you flatter me!" Pan Yue waved her hands repeatedly, as if she were embarrassed.

"Hmph!" The second manager, who was sitting in front, glanced around coldly, snorted, and didn't reply.

He Xi frowned slightly, glanced at Pan Yue who was bowing in front, her eyes darted around, and she suddenly stepped forward, wrapped her arms around her second uncle's wrist, and affectionately helped him to sit down.

"Second Uncle, please sit down!"

Before anyone could respond, she winked at Pan Yue and said loudly, "I've long heard of your extraordinary skills, Madam. Now that both of our elders are here, could you please open the tea and fruit box that you specially made for the Magistrate's wife so that we can have a look?"

"yes!"

Pan Yue took the food box from Wu Song and gracefully stepped forward, saying, "Please take a look, Head Manager and Second Manager!"

"this?!"

Just then, a gentle breeze wafted in through the window, carrying the sweet fragrance of tea and fruit with her movements as she lifted the lid, instantly overpowering the aroma of lotus leaves and tea that filled the room.

He Xi's eyes lit up. She leaned on the edge of the table and examined it for a long time, her eyes trembling with cunning. Then she turned to her second uncle and said, "Second Uncle, look, this tea and fruit box is perfect in color, aroma, and taste. Isn't it even more elegant and refined than the signboard of Yanzitang?"

"……snort!"

Uncle He glanced sideways at the tea and fruit on the table, a flash of surprise crossing his eyes. He then looked at Pan Yue, who was standing to the side with her sleeves tucked in, and curled his lip, saying with a look of dissatisfaction, "All show and no substance... all show and no substance!"

"My second uncle has never used it, so how can he know whether it's all show and no substance or whether it's genuine?"

He Xi shoved him and looked around with great dissatisfaction.

The head manager patted her shoulder lightly, about to smooth things over, when He Xi's eyes darted around and she turned to the bowing maid beside her, asking, "Where is Lady Yue? Why hasn't she arrived yet?"

Pan Yue had already inquired beforehand and found out that, apart from He Xi, there was another important lady in the Handan Embroidery Shop named He Yue, He Xi's cousin, and the apple of the eye of the second manager of the He family.

No matter how ruthless Uncle He is, if Pan Yue's tea and fruit box can please He Yue, it will be twice as effective and gain Uncle He's approval!

"Replying to my wife!"

The maid stepped forward and replied, "Madam Yue just sent someone to say that the Prefect's wife sent a message this morning, saying that due to a change in her schedule, she will arrive at the embroidery shop by noon tomorrow. Madam Yue is worried that there might be a problem with the white fox fur coat, so she said she needs to go to the storeroom first and will come back if she can make it in time."

A white fox fur coat?!

Upon hearing the words "fox-fur coat," Pan Yue's heart skipped a beat for no reason. She subconsciously looked up and caught a glimpse of Wu Song's suddenly tense figure in her peripheral vision. She turned her head away blankly.

For some reason, Wu Erlang, who was usually innocent and naive, suddenly narrowed his eyes upon hearing the words "fox-white fur coat," and a fierce look, like that of a wild beast, flashed in his clear fox eyes.

Pan Yue frowned, followed his gaze to the bewildered maid beside him, then turned to Wu Song. After thinking for a moment, she gently tugged at his sleeve from under the table and asked silently: What's wrong?

Wu Song's tightly furrowed brows relaxed instantly. Just as he was about to respond, a thumping sound came from outside the tightly closed hall door, as if someone was rushing hurriedly towards the Guyu Hall.

Everyone turned their heads in unison.

"Something terrible has happened! My lady! Manager! Something's wrong!"

With a bang, the hall door was pushed open, and a beautiful embroiderer leaned against the door frame with one hand and her waist with the other, panting heavily.

"What's the panic?!" He Xi shouted sharply, standing up and gesturing to the newcomer, "Where is our distinguished guest?! Speak properly!"

The embroiderer's expression trembled. She looked up and saw the head manager, the second manager, Lady Xi... and a group of guests in the hall. Her face drained of color, and she stammered, "Mistress..."

"What happened?" He Xi glared at her, exasperated, and said, "Answer properly!"

"yes!"

The embroiderer let out a long breath, leaning against the doorway and panting for a long time before saying tremblingly, "Replying to Lady Xi, it is the white fox fur coat of the Prefect's wife; just now, Lady Yue went into the storeroom to check and found that the collar of the white fox fur coat was spotted and seemed to be damaged!"

"What?!"

He Xi's expression changed drastically. Ignoring Pan Yue and Wu Song's presence in the hall, he strode forward and said, "What are you doing? Lead the way!"

"yes!"

The embroiderer immediately stood up and led He Xi and the others towards the south courtyard in a grand procession.

After an incense stick has burned.

Lotus Embroidery Shop, South Wing Storeroom.

A clump of banana trees swayed gently in front of the door, and two embroiderers lingered under the eaves, craning their necks and looking around anxiously.

"Holly, Bamboo Moon!"

"My beloved wife!"

Before long, a group of people came noisily through the archway of the south courtyard. The two embroiderers, Dongqing and Zhuyue, immediately lit up and rushed forward, saying anxiously, "My lady has finally arrived!"

"What happened?"

The head manager gave a low shout, and the composed Zhu Yue turned around, bowed to everyone, and said in a deep voice, "Replying to the manager, because the magistrate's wife personally instructed that the fox-flying dog has been hanging in the center of the storeroom for half a month since it was delivered, and has not been put into the box for a single day."

"Everyone knows about this." Manager He nodded slightly, then pressed on sternly, "If it was hanging properly, why is the collar damaged?"

"I wonder if it's Old Li or Wang Er!"

Dongqing, impatient and unable to wait for Zhuyue to finish her explanation, spat to the side and interrupted, "Master Manager, you may not know this, but a few days ago it rained, and Madam Xi repeatedly instructed us that with the plum rains approaching in Yanggu, all the doors, halls, and especially the eaves and roofs of the storerooms must be carefully repaired! I don't know which of those two was being lazy, spending their days drinking and not starting any work yet. Little did they know that Yanggu had a heavy rain three days ago, and coincidentally, all the other courtyards were fine, only the south courtyard..."

"Is the roof leaking?"

He Xi supported her father, looked up at the pine trees on the warehouse roof swaying in the wind, and her delicate eyebrows suddenly furrowed.

"Did the fur collar get soaked with the rainy season?"

"If it's just a few drops of plum rain, that's fine!"

Zhu Yue frowned and shook her head. She glanced in the direction of the storeroom, then turned to the group and said, "I don't know which day's rain it was that got the roof dirty. By sheer coincidence, it seeped into the fox-white inner collar. It's been sitting there for days, and mold has already formed. If it weren't for Yue Niangzi's carefulness in checking the storeroom beforehand, we probably wouldn't have known until the Prefect's wife arrived tomorrow!"

He Xi's expression turned slightly stern. Supporting her father, she looked up at the two men and said, "Father, Second Uncle! Shall we go see Yue-meimei?"

"Walk!"

The group crowded together at the warehouse entrance, shielding each other from behind.

Pan Yue and Wu Song, being guests from afar, stood under the eaves of the warehouse, craning their necks to look around from time to time.

"That white fox fur coat?"

Pan Yue was startled when she caught a glimpse of the so-called "fox fur coat" in the center of the storeroom through the shadows, and she subconsciously frowned.

The so-called white fox fur coat is made by piecing together the whitest and softest parts of hundreds or thousands of white foxes, mostly from their armpits.

It was pure white all over, hence the name "white fox".

However, the so-called white fox fur coat in the center of the warehouse, apart from the collar, was clearly a brocade garment on the lower half. Although the stitching was fine, it was different from a fox fur coat.

Dongqing waited with the two of them under the eaves. Noticing the hesitation in her expression, he turned around and said, "Madam, you don't know this. You and I both know that this is not a fox fur coat. It's just that the magistrate's wife kept saying that she made a fox fur coat for her eldest son who was the top scholar in the imperial examination. But Madam, you instructed everyone in the manor not to say anything wrong and to just call it a fox fur coat!"

"So that's how it is."

Pan Yue nodded slightly, about to ask another question, when Dong Qing, with a hint of girlish shyness in her eyes, glanced at Wu Song and said, "Although there is only a white fox, it is still rare. The maid in the prefectural office said that the white fox was originally a little white fox that the prefect himself hunted down at the foot of Jingyang Ridge!"

"Jingyanggang?!"

Before she could even see the completely opposite expressions on the faces of the two people to her left and right, Pan Yue suddenly looked up and said anxiously, "You're saying that white-collar worker was originally the little white fox from Jingyang Ridge?!"

"...Yes. What is this, my lady?"

Dongqing was startled and looked at Pan Yue and the other woman with hesitation before nodding and continuing, "That maid also said that on the same day that the Prefect captured the little white fox, the letter from the eldest son, who had passed the imperial examination with top honors, arrived at the mansion. The Prefect's wife therefore concluded that the little white fox was an auspicious omen from heaven, and decided to make it into a fox collar so that it could accompany the eldest son to the capital to take up his post!"

"That white fox..."

Pan Yue was flustered with concern and momentarily forgot that she had seen traces of Songsong's presence on her pillow that morning. Staring at the white fox, she asked in a trembling voice, "When did the Prefectural Magistrate hunt down that little white fox, and when did the Prefectural Magistrate's eldest son, Wu Kui, pass the imperial examination?"

"when?"

Startled by their sudden pallor, Dongqing subconsciously took a half step back, frowned, thought for a moment, and said, "It's around the time of spring's arrival, which is more than three months ago!"

"March?"

Not Songsong!

A bead of sweat quietly fell down her temple, and Pan Yue's heart, which had been hanging in mid-air, suddenly fell back to reality. She subconsciously let out a soft breath and muttered, "...That's good."

"good?!"

Before they could react, a low shout, distorted and seemingly impossible to suppress, came from under the corridor.

Pan Yue subconsciously turned around to look, only to see Wu Er, who was usually naive and straightforward and rarely concerned with worldly affairs, with his hands clenched into fists, his teeth clenched, staring wide-eyed as if blood would seep out at any moment.

"Wu Song?!"

A sudden tremor ran through her heart, and an inexplicable fear, as if she were about to lose something, swept over her instantly. Her legs moved uncontrollably, and Pan Yue rushed to the corridor, grabbed his hand, and asked anxiously, "What's wrong?"

"What's wrong?!"

Disbelief trembled in Songsong's eyes, as if he had to use all his strength to force himself to look away from the lifeless fox and turn to Pan Yue.

Her clear eyes were like scissors, filled with deep affection.

His tightly clenched fist suddenly loosened, and his eyes instantly turned bloodshot.

Having grown up in Jingyanggang since childhood, he recognized every flower, leaf, blade of grass, and tree in the mountains. He also remembered Little White Fox, now the young master of the Tongpan Prefecture, and how he had run down the mountain to play three months ago. He remembered his mother, the oldest white fox in the mountains, and how she had searched for him from top to bottom of the mountain, all over the place.

That sleepless night, foxes howled all night long on Jingyang Ridge...

Even though Jingyanggang was not her mountain, even though she did not know Xiao Xiaobai Songsong, looking at the face so close to her, her eyes were full of sorrow. As a fellow fox, how could Yunyun not care at all, remain indifferent, or even sigh "good" when she saw her fox junior who had been turned into a fox white-collar worker?

"Humanity is wicked; what have the living beings done to deserve this?"

He gazed into the other's clear, watery eyes, his expression filled with reluctance, yet his gaze grew colder and more somber, until...

"Humans are brutal, and their hearts are the coldest of all!"

Wu Song abruptly shook off her hand and said coldly, "Yunyun, what's so good about today's events?"

Pan Yue was stunned. Her hand, which had been flung away, froze in mid-air, her expression full of confusion.

Songsong looked up at the crowded inner room, gritted her teeth, and said in a hoarse voice, "Having stayed here for too long, has Yunyun forgotten where she came from, forgotten who she is?"

Before the other person could respond, Songsong glanced back at her, his eyes filled with sorrow, forbearance, and reluctance. Then, he clenched his fists, turned his back, and strode quickly towards the sun-drenched corridor outside.

Still faintly affected by the look in his eyes before he left, Pan Yue subconsciously pressed her hand to her heart, silently watching his figure disappear under the archway.

The sunlight streamed down through the garden like a waterfall, falling into her eyes, but it seemed like fluttering frost and snowflakes, entwining her helpless heart, making it fall, fall, fall...

"My wife?!"

Noticing the unusual commotion outside, He Xi walked past the crowd below and strode up to Pan Yue.

Looking up and seeing Pan Yue's red eyes, He Xi was startled. She quickly grasped her cold hand, looked up in the direction Wu Song had left, and frowned, asking, "What happened? Wu Song, the head constable?"

"fine!"

Pan Yue suddenly came to her senses, her reddened eyes curving into a soft arc, and she gently shook her head, saying, "My lady, do you have a way to deal with this?"

He Xi's face darkened, she lowered her eyes and gently shook her head.

"If my wife will not abandon me..."

Pan Yue turned to look at the He family members, who were frowning and looking thoughtful.

"I have a method that might help you get through this difficult time."

"Really?" He Xi's eyes lit up, and he grabbed her hand, saying, "I hope my wife will be kind enough to enlighten me!"