A flicker crossed Aunt Li's eyes, and she was also hesitating in her heart.
In terms of reason, what Wanmo said made perfect sense!
If the newly - wedded daughter - in - law of the Prince Ning's Mansion wore a handkerchief embroidered with a picture of a broken - boned turtle on her head during the wedding... It would be a minor matter if the centuries - old reputation of the Weaving Bureau was ruined. I'm afraid the Prince Ning would smash their Weaving Bureau to pieces.
However, in terms of tradition, it was indeed a grand tradition in the Great Sheng Dynasty that a bride should have at least one of her own embroidered items on her when she got married.
If it got out that the daughter - in - law chosen by the Prince Ning's Mansion couldn't even embroider a wedding handkerchief on her wedding day and tried to get her elder sister to do it instead to deceive others... The face of the Prince Ning's Mansion would also be trampled on.
At that time, who would be in trouble?
Of course, it would only be the unlucky Weaving Bureau and her, this unlucky aunt!
How could the daughter - in - law chosen by the Prince, who was on equal footing with the emperor, be wrong?
It must be that she, this aunt, hadn't taught well!
When the truth came out, most likely none of the women in the Li family would be in trouble, but her own life would be at stake!
This risk couldn't be taken...
Aunt Li steadied herself and quickly said, "Second Miss, this matter is of great importance. I can't make the decision. Please invite the madam of the mansion to decide..."
"What matter do I have to decide again?"
Before she could finish speaking, a clear and somewhat impatient female voice came from outside the door, "It's already afternoon. Why isn't the embroidery finished yet?"
Madam Yuan strode into the room. Seeing her youngest daughter almost buried in a pile of needles and threads, she couldn't help frowning. "Li Wanming, why does it take you so long to embroider a wedding handkerchief? Are you as clumsy as a wooden club..."
Before her voice faded, her gaze swept across the room, and she immediately saw three neatly arranged wedding handkerchiefs on the table. Her eyebrows instantly relaxed:
"Oh, it's all finished? Isn't this embroidery quite good?"
"Um..."
Aunt Li wanted to explain, but was interrupted by Madam Yuan's smiling voice:
"Aunt, you are indeed a senior embroiderer from the Weaving Bureau. You can even teach my clumsy daughter well. But three embroidery patterns are too many. Just cut out one for the wedding handkerchief."
Madam Yuan looked at the patterns of "Mandarin Ducks Playing in the Water" and "Flowers Blooming Side by Side" and liked them more and more. The impatience on her face had long turned into a gentle smile, with ripples of laughter on her face.
"This... this..." Aunt Li stood aside awkwardly, not knowing how to explain.
"Mother, you're mistaken. That wasn't embroidered by my little sister."
Wanmo said crisply while chewing on chestnuts. She walked over and thrust forward the wedding handkerchief hanging on her little finger. "Here, this one is!"
"Don't look at it for now..."
Li Wanming quickly snatched the wedding handkerchief and hid it behind her back. "I... I haven't finished embroidering it yet!"
She knew her embroidery was very poor, but she knew even better what kind of temper Madam Yuan had.
If Madam Yuan saw that after embroidering for an entire afternoon, she had only managed to embroider two "broken - boned turtles", then it might not just be the turtles with broken bones.
Madam Yuan noticed her strange expression and immediately narrowed her eyes. She put down the "Mandarin Ducks Playing in the Water" handkerchief and walked over.
"What do you mean you haven't finished? Can't I even take a look?"
Li Wanming was panicked. In a moment of desperation, she threw the embroidery hoop into the charcoal brazier and shouted, "Oh! My wedding handkerchief fell into the fire!"
Unfortunately, she had forgotten that all eight of her fingers were wrapped in cloth strips. Her movements were clumsy, and this throw was a bit too forceful. It knocked over the needlework basket on the table, and the colorful silk threads immediately scattered all over Madam Yuan's head and face like a celestial maiden scattering flowers.
...
Madam Yuan was buried in the lotus - colored silk threads, randomly pulling at the threads on her body. Her face was ashen, like a Persian cat with its fur all fluffed up but unable to lash out.
"Wanmo..."
She gritted her teeth and said, "Take out that wedding handkerchief for me!"
"Yes..." Wanmo looked at Li Wanming sympathetically and could only use the fire tongs to fish out the charred and curled silk fabric from the charcoal ash.
The mandarin ducks embroidered crookedly by Li Wanming now had a hole burned in the middle, showing a somewhat strange artistic conception.
If they originally looked like two plucked quails and broken - boned turtles, now they had been upgraded - they looked exactly like two roasted ducks rising from the flames, or... charcoal - grilled turtles.
Madam Yuan grabbed the silk fabric, and both her hands couldn't help trembling. "This is... the wedding handkerchief you embroidered for an entire afternoon?"
Li Wanming shrank her neck and immediately pushed Wanmo forward, shouting shrilly, "Ask my second sister... My second sister has a way!"
"Ah... Me?"
Wanmo was pushed by her and almost knocked over the charcoal brazier.
She was confused for a moment, then slapped her head. "Oh, right! I have a way! Mother, we can just replace my little sister's embroidery with my elder sister's. Let her sew a few stitches at the end. That'll do!"
Wanmo threw the fire tongs into the charcoal brazier and held up the three embroidered items of Wanxin in front of her mother.
"Mother, look how well my elder sister embroidered. When it's placed on my little sister's head, it will surely bring honor to our Li family!"
Yes... the embroidery was really good.
It was a pity that it was Miss Li the elder who was going to marry into the Prince's Mansion, not Miss Li the third.
Aunt Li glanced at Madam Yuan's expression but didn't dare to say a word.
A bride using her elder sister's embroidery on her wedding day would be considered a scandal - maybe some gossips would even make up some vulgar remarks about two sisters serving one husband...
Aunt Li secretly glanced at Madam Yuan and saw that she was gently stroking the fine and even patterns on the wedding handkerchief, with a solemn expression on her face.
Right...
She knew it!
Madam Yuan was the mistress of the family. Unlike these naive young girls, she naturally knew what was at stake and would definitely not agree to their scheme of deception!
Alas, she would have to work hard for a few more days to teach Miss Li the third the simplest running stitch.
Also, mandarin ducks were too difficult. They should be changed to orchid grass.
Come to think of it, although the running - stitch orchid grass would be a bit simple and shabby, if they pasted some gold foil and hung some shiny beads on it, it might still look passable.
"...Okay, just do it like this!"
Aunt Li was still in a daze when she heard Madam Yuan make the final decision.
She suddenly raised her head, hardly believing her ears.
What... just do it like this?
Just... just do what?
Let her eldest daughter's embroidery replace her youngest daughter's?
This, this, this... What if it was found out...
Madam Yuan's cold gaze swept over. "Aunt Li, you won't tell anyone, right?"
Aunt Li suddenly felt a chill on the back of her neck. She quickly lowered her head and said, "N... No! This old servant will surely keep it a secret. Please rest assured, madam!"
"That's good."
Madam Yuan put down the embroidery pattern and frowned again. "Use the one with the pattern of 'Flowers Blooming Side by Side'. Such a complicated pattern of mandarin ducks. How could your silly little sister embroider it?"
"Yes!"
Wanmo secretly smiled and gave Li Wanming a thumbs - up.
Li Wanming also let out a long sigh of relief, feeling relieved.