Li Wanming's mind went blank in an instant.
What was going on?
Keep a low profile! Keep a low profile...
Liu Yiyi, that girl who only had gold, silver, and treasures on her mind, did she even know what "keeping a low profile" meant!
That was Fang Zhi's wedding, not hers! What was she doing dressing up so gaudily and wearing so much jewelry? Was she going to crash the wedding?!
...
The embroiderer from Liu's Silk Shop stood on one side holding a tray. She looked quite young. When she smiled, there was a childish air about her, and her voice was as crisp as a little oriole's.
"Our shopkeeper said that since the time was short, she could only find so many jewels. She was also afraid that if it was too heavy, it would be uncomfortable for the Princess of the Heir Apparent to wear."
So she knew it would be heavy!
Li Wanming stared at the gorgeous dress that looked like the burning clouds on the horizon. Her fists tightened involuntarily.
What annoyed her the most was the color!
— She had said not to use bright red because it would be disrespectful to the host family. But what did Liu Yiyi do? She chose a carmine color that was even more eye - catching than bright red!
"The shopkeeper's intention was to let the Princess of the Heir Apparent try it on today. Anyway, there are still five days until Miss Fang's wedding. If it doesn't fit, we can take it back and modify it..."
The little embroiderer smiled, her eyes narrowing into slits. She looked very cute.
"It doesn't fit!" Li Wanming said immediately. "Tell your shopkeeper to take it back and modify it!"
The smiling little embroiderer was stunned and stammered, "But the Princess of the Heir Apparent hasn't even tried it on yet..."
"I don't need to try it on to know it doesn't fit!"
"May I ask what exactly doesn't fit...?"
"The color doesn't fit, the decorations don't fit, the style doesn't fit... Nothing fits!"
Li Wanming stamped her feet and stood up. Then she began to tug at her hair impatiently. "Go back and tell your shopkeeper that if she can't make a simple and elegant dress, I won't order my formal dresses from her anymore!"
Liu Yiyi didn't know what had gotten into her. Since she became the shopkeeper of the Liu family's business, her taste had become increasingly vulgar. She just piled on gold and jewels, as if she wanted to engrave the words "rich" on her forehead!
The little embroiderer looked at the dress in her hand and then at Li Wanming. She opened her eyes in confusion. "Does the Princess of the Heir Apparent mean that this dress needs to be modified?"
"Not modified..." Li Wanming gritted her teeth. "It needs to be remade!"
"Ah?" The little embroiderer was stunned for a moment and said awkwardly, "But there are only five days left. It might be too late to remake it..."
"Then just bring me any ready - made dress from your shop!" Li Wanming was so angry that she almost jumped up. "Or just remove all those gaudy jewels from this one!"
"All... all removed...?" The little embroiderer shivered in fright. She was about to say something when Qing Lan stepped forward, took her hand, and said gently, "The Princess of the Heir Apparent means that the formal dress just needs to be elegant and decent. It doesn't need to be so eye - catching. Well, I'll go to the silk shop with you. I'll talk to your shopkeeper myself."
Outside the window, the little embroiderer's voice was still confused. "Does the Princess of the Heir Apparent think this dress is not nice? Why? This dress is so shiny. It's so nice..."
...
It wasn't until April 25th that the new dress from Liu's Silk Shop was finally finished.
This time, the round - faced little embroiderer didn't dare to come. Liu Yiyi came to deliver it in person.
"What's wrong with carmine? It's so bright! As long as you put it on, I guarantee you'll be the most beautiful lady in the whole capital!"
"And those South Sea pearls. Do you know how much effort I put in to find two hu of them, all round and of the same size?"
"What's wrong with the belt? That opal with the fiery luster is the most expensive stone from our Fujian area. It was a tribute in the previous dynasty!"
"But what do you do? You just keep complaining, scaring our little embroiderer so much that she doesn't even dare to come to your place."
As Liu Yiyi helped Li Wanming try on the new dress, she kept chattering, "Yes, I know you're not the bride, but I didn't make it bright red for you, did I? And who says guests can't look more beautiful than the bride? You're just born more beautiful than her. What can you do!"
Li Wanming knew she couldn't reason with her and was too lazy to talk. She just stretched out her arms and let Liu Yiyi tie the belt for her.
"This rose - purple ruqun is nice, but it's still not as bright and magnificent as that carmine one."
Li Wanming looked down and seemed quite satisfied. "I'll take this style! When I order clothes from your shop in the future, you should follow this path. Don't ever make anything so bright and magnificent again..."
"Humph, ungrateful!" Liu Yiyi pouted and reached out to straighten Li Wanming's collar. "It was a custom - made dress personally designed by me, but you didn't want it. Instead, you took a ready - made dress and had it modified! Hey, you're already the Princess of the Heir Apparent. Can't you improve your taste a bit?"
Li Wanming looked at herself in the mirror. The corners of her mouth twitched slightly, clearly satisfied with her appearance in the mirror.
Liu Yiyi stared at Li Wanming's plain skirt and pouted. "If this dress gets out, don't ever say it's a custom - made dress from our Liu's. People who don't know might think our embroiderers' skills have deteriorated."
Seeing that Li Wanming was unmoved, she knew the situation was hopeless and there was no way to change it. She could only slump onto the soft couch in the outer room and start peeling longans listlessly.
"Tomorrow is Fang Zhi's wedding. Do you think Lu Songyuan will come out to attend the ceremony?"
"Definitely not." Li Wanming was still tidying up her clothes in front of the bronze mirror. "Lu Songyuan is a royal concubine now. How could she easily leave the palace?"
"I think so too."
Liu Yiyi spat out a round longan pit and sighed in an old - fashioned way, imitating others. "Once you enter the palace gates, it's like entering a deep sea. From then on, Wanming becomes a stranger..."
Li Wanming didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "If you can't talk properly, can you just shut up?"
Liu Yiyi suddenly sat up straight and began to count on her fingers. "Lu Songyuan won't go tomorrow. You just said your cousin Xiao Yingchu is also pretending to be ill and won't go. The Princess of Chengping is too proud to go... So, it seems that there won't be many familiar people for you at the wedding banquet tomorrow, right?"
"It's better if there aren't any familiar people," Li Wanming also sat down, rolled up her sleeves, and unceremoniously snatched a peeled longan from Liu Yiyi's hand. "They always fight when they meet. Every day it's all about scheming and arguing. They talk in such a round - about way... I'm just annoyed when I see them."
Thinking back on her years in the capital, it seemed that she really hadn't made many close friends among the noble ladies.
1. Lu Songyuan. They didn't get along, and she entered the palace.
2. Xiao Yingchu. They had a feud, and she would pretend to be ill and not go tomorrow.
3. Fang Zhi. Their friendship was just so - so, and she was about to marry Feng Xiao.
4. Su Xiaozhu. She could be called a friend, but once she entered the palace gates, it was like entering a deep sea. They couldn't even see each other once a year.
There was also another one, Guo Xinyue... She could barely be called an acquaintance, but it was probably that they would never see each other again in this lifetime.