The sixth day of August is the birthday of the county magistrate’s wife.
On this day, all the prominent people in the county came to pay their respects to the county magistrate's wife.
As a well-known wealthy businessman in the county, the Lu family was also related to the county magistrate, so everyone from the old lady of the Lu family to the young master and girls got up early in the morning to wash themselves up. At the end of the day, the group arrived at the county in a carriage.
Yamen backyard.
The backyard had already been decorated with lights and decorations. The county magistrate's wife Wen Min was in poor health and could not greet the guests in person, so Sister-in-law Xu came to entertain the guests.
Sister-in-law Xu was familiar with everyone in the Lu family, so she immediately led the female family members to the place where the banquet was being held.
On the way, Mrs. Lu casually asked the county magistrate's wife, "How is Mrs. Wen's health?"
Sister-in-law Xu pursed her lips and smiled, "This is still the same as before."
In other words, Wen Min's body is still not in good condition.
Old Mrs. Lu heard what Sister-in-law Xu didn't say and just smiled faintly.
As a relative of County Magistrate Zuo, Mrs. Lu knew better than anyone else that Magistrate Zuo’s success was entirely due to nepotism. Before Wen Min came out of the cabinet, she was the daughter of Lord Shangshu. If she hadn’t fallen in love with Magistrate Zuo at a glance,
, must marry him, and it is impossible for Zuo County Magistrate to rise from a poor man to a county chief.
County Magistrate Zuo was not an unscrupulous person. He had always treated Wen Min well and did not even have a concubine by his side. It was just that the two of them had a good relationship, but after five or six years of marriage, Wen Min failed to give birth to a son.
Half female.
However, the county magistrate Zuo was also the only son in the family. There are three so-called unfilial piety, not having an offspring is the most serious. The matter of being childless always exists in the hearts of husband and wife.
Wen Min also thought about taking a concubine for the Zuo County Magistrate, but when he thought that as long as the concubine gave birth to a son, all his efforts would become making wedding clothes for others. In addition, in the future, he would have to rely on the concubine's son to support him until his death.
, when she thought of this, she felt a little unwilling.
But if he does not take a concubine, the Zuo County Magistrate will have no heirs.
Wen Min couldn't bear to let the other party die, so she has been wavering in the past two years, and this matter has almost become a worry for her. The wavering in her heart, coupled with the depression that has no source of relief, has made her body worse and worse.
Therefore, for her birthday this time, even though all the famous people in the county came, Wen Min still didn't feel any joy. She sat in her room with a sullen face, neither washing nor dressing up.
Later, it was County Magistrate Zuo who came to coax him personally and allowed Wen Min to appear in front of everyone.
However, Wen Min only sat at the banquet for a while, then she went back to her room, claiming that she was feeling unwell.
The two personal maids were afraid that she would be bored, so they ordered the rough maids to bring the congratulatory gifts from the guests for her to see.
The first gift was a copybook from Sister-in-law Xu.
Wen Min said disdainfully: "That fat maid Xu Hui, she also knows how to write thin gold calligraphy? I think it's a fake calligraphy I got from somewhere!"
The maid said: "What Sister-in-law Xu sent this time is not an ordinary copybook, but a copybook embroidered by someone."
Wen Min heard that this copybook was embroidered by someone, so she became interested and said, "Bring it to me and have a look."
The copybook was quickly presented to Wen Min. Wen Min looked at it carefully and nodded: "It's rare that this fat maid finally has better eyesight. This embroiderer's embroidery skills are quite good. She copied this copybook very well."
The same."
"What about this copybook?" the maid asked.
Wen Min thought for a moment and said, "Just take it to the warehouse! At the end of the year, take it out and send it to the Shangshu Mansion together with the New Year's gift."
Next, the maids brought many more congratulatory gifts.
When the maids brought the congratulatory gifts from the Lu family to Wen Min, Wen Min stared at the peony picture embroidered by Zhu Xiu Niang and said, "This should be Su embroidery!"
The maids said: "I heard that Ruyi Embroidery Workshop invited an embroiderer from Suzhou. This embroidery screen should have been made by that embroiderer."
Wen Min twirled the jade bracelet in her hand, "Since she is an embroiderer from Suzhou, she must be a good embroiderer. It just so happened that the sachet given to me by the second sister was scratched by a cat's claws. Another day, you will kill the Suzhou embroiderer.
Invite my mother and let her mend the sachet."
The lady has spoken, so the maids will naturally take this matter to heart.
So on the third day of her birthday, Zhu Xiu Niang from Ruyi Embroidery Shop was invited to the county government office.
The owner of Ruyi Embroidery Shop was so proud that he thought the county magistrate's wife valued their Ruyi Embroidery Shop particularly, and even made a special trip to the embroidery shop, speaking with sarcasm and ridicule.
Shopkeeper Liu looked disdainful, but felt a little worried in his heart. After the owner of Ruyi Embroidery Shop left, he went to the second floor.
Hui Niang was silent for a while, thinking, "It seems that the embroidered screen embroidered by Zhu Xiu Niang caught the eyes of the county magistrate's wife."
"But the embroidery screen embroidered by Mrs. Shen is not bad either!" Shopkeeper Liu said.
Huiniang said: "As the saying goes, each flower comes to each eye, maybe the county magistrate's wife likes the things Zhu Xiuniang embroidered."
At this moment, Zhu Xiu Niang was looking at the sachet in front of her in a daze, but the maid next to Wen Min kept urging her, "How about this, can this sachet be mended?"
Zhu Xiu Niang looked embarrassed: "The cushion embroidery used in this sachet should be from Cantonese embroidery."
The maid said: "That's right. This sachet was made by the second aunt of our Shangshu Mansion. She is best at Cantonese embroidery."
Zhu Xiu Niang couldn't help wiping the sweat from her face, "But folk girls learn serious Su embroidery, and they don't know the Cantonese embroidery stitches."
"So, you can't mend it?" The maid was a little unhappy, "Why didn't you tell me earlier?"
When Wen Min learned that Zhu Xiu Niang could not mend the sachet, he immediately sent her out.
When Zhu Xiu Niang went out, she accidentally saw an embroidered screen placed in the hall. The embroidered screen was the Zhixian Gongshou embroidered by Shen Xiu. When Wen Min saw it at first, he thought it had a good meaning, so he let her
People are placed in the hall, which means it is a good sign.
As an embroiderer, Zhu embroiderer will look at the embroidery involuntarily whenever she sees it. Now that she saw this embroidery screen, she naturally had to take a few glances at it.
When she saw this, she was a little stunned. The Ganoderma lucidum and stones on the embroidery screen seemed to be made from cushion embroidery in Cantonese embroidery. Not only was the embroidery work exquisite, but the embroidered objects were also lifelike.
She couldn't help but ask the maid who was leading the way, "Who embroidered this embroidered screen?"
The maid said: "This embroidered screen was sent by the Lu family."
The Lu family and Zhu Xiu Niang thought about it and heard that the embroidery village also sent an embroidery screen to the Lu family a few days ago. Could it be that this embroidery screen was embroidered by several embroidery ladies from the embroidery village.
Zhu Xiu Niang wanted to tell the maid that the person who embroidered the screen could help the county magistrate's wife sew the sachet.
But then I thought about it, Embroidery Village and Ruyi Embroidery Shop are in opposing relationships.
If you say this and the embroidery shop wins the favor of the county magistrate's wife, then how can you gain a foothold in Ruyi Embroidery Shop?
Therefore, Zhu Xiu Niang quickly withdrew her gaze and followed the maid away without saying anything.