Knowing that the prince returned to Beijing to turn the tables, King Ying was no longer in the climate, Zhao Xiu finally breathed a sigh of relief. She thanked Master Jiang again and again, and when she left, her mood was completely different from before she came.

Back in the room, the first thing Zhao Xiu did was to ask Bilian to take out some of the silver they had brought with them. When they went north, although they only brought a small amount of luggage, and everything on the road was simple, Zhao Xiu did not lack silver in his hands. When Zhang took his grandchildren to Jiading, he expected that he would need to take care of the palace attendants and pay homage to the Fenyang Palace, so he brought a lot of belongings, and when he went to chase the prince's ship, he also brought a lot of gold and silver with him. After arriving in Nanhui, almost all of this gold and silver were handed over by the Zhang family to their grandchildren, ready to be used along the way. Zhao Wei took most of them with him when he entered Beijing with the prince, and left a hundred taels of silver tickets and more than twenty taels of broken silver here with Zhao Xiu.

Bilian listened to Zhao Xiu's words and took out the silver, but she didn't understand: "What is the girl doing with this?" Is it something to buy? "Their food and clothing are provided by the Jiang family on weekdays, and they have spent a lot of money in the past few days, bought some fabrics, silk threads or something, and came back to make clothes for the Jiang family's girls.

Zhao Xiu said: "You take the silver out and buy some decent things, which can be regarded as a thank you gift to the Jiang family for entertaining us." The chaos in Beijing has been settled, and my brother should send someone to pick us up soon. Originally, I thought that I would have time to make a dress for Mrs. Jiang and Miss Jiang to thank me, but I didn't expect that there was not enough time now, so I had to buy some other gifts so as not to be rude. ”

Bi Lian suddenly realized, hurriedly responded, took a silver ticket of fifty taels of silver, and prepared to go out for a while to redeem the silver first. Zhao Xiu gave her another list. There were a few items written on it that could be used as a thank-you gift, and Bilian went out with the list. Zhao Xiu himself took out the dress he made for Miss Jiang and finished embroidering the embroidery on it.

Two more days passed. The people sent by Zhao Wei arrived at Jiang's house to take Zhao Xiu back to Beijing. Zhao Xiu sorted out the gifts that Bilian bought and sent them to Mrs. Jiang along with the new clothes to express her gratitude to the family for their hospitality.

Mrs. Jiang hurriedly said: "Your brother has already sent a thank you Lilai, and you have sent another one, which is really polite." If you and your brother save the prince, you will save our Jiang family. How about a few days when we entertain your master and servant at home? Besides, I like you when I see you, and your sister gets along with you, so don't thank you for anything. It's out of sight. ”

Zhao Xiu smiled and said: "Friends are still courteous, so that they can continue to communicate for a long time." I don't give you a thank you gift, but I just act according to the courtesy. Although Beijing and Tianjin are close to each other. But I arrived in Kyochu. It's inconvenient to go far away, and I don't know when I will be able to see you and Sister Jiang again. When you see what I give, you should have seen me. When you and Sister Jiang return to Beijing, you must sue me, and I invite you and your sister to your home for tea. ”

Mrs. Jiang is just that.

Zhao Xiu went back to pack her luggage, although she only stayed for a few days, the Jiang family bought several sets of outfits for her inside and out, as well as a full set of supplies for daily life. These things are meant to be taken away.

Mrs. Chiang and Miss Chiang looked at the gift she gave and found that it was four horses of various colors of brocade. Two horses of Lanzhou velvet brown, a pair of jade rings, a pair of Qingtian frozen stone seals, a knife of high-grade Jiajiang paper, a box of gold powder wax paper, four lake pens, and then there is the clothes.

Mrs. Jiang picked up the box of gold paper and looked at it, and said to her daughter with a smile: "These pen and paper are all things that your little girl's family likes, you can take them." The color of the material is good, the navy blue one for your father to cut one, the stone blue one for your brother, the rest are left for you to cut new clothes to wear after the spring, and the velvet will be put after the autumn. In a few days, the weather will be warmer, and at this time, the velvet jacket will not fit by the end of the year. ”

Miss Jiang happily agreed, picked up the pair of seals and said, "Give this to my father, he likes to play with these little things, Yuhuan will honor your mother, and just make a forbidden step for you." I'll give half of the Jiajiang paper and the lake pen to my brother, and our family will have it. "Pick up that set of clothes again," said the younger sister of the Zhao family, which she made for me with her own hands, and looked at the stitches were quite fine, and I didn't know what it looked like to wear them. ”

When she shook off her clothes and looked closely, she realized that the gown was not just stitched. The gown is made of light pink material, only one layer, not sandwiched cotton, although it is thinner, but it is suitable for spring wear, the style is very simple, but it fits very well, and it is even more rare that the shoulders, placket and sleeves of the gown are embroidered with a variety of pink and white silk threads with peach blossoms and petals of different postures, just like the peach blossoms fall all over the shoulders, and the fragrance of flowers is scattered. If you look closely, you can see that four or five colors of silk thread are used for a petal on those peach blossoms, which makes the pink change very natural, and looks very delicate, just like a real flower.

Miss Jiang liked it so much that she immediately went into the inner room, changed her gown, and put it on for her mother. Mrs. Jiang looked at her daughter's clothes, and only felt that she was a little more beautiful than usual, and she was also very happy: "This dress is really good, on March 3, I wore this to go outing, and the flowers on the clothes reflected the real peach blossoms, which must be very good-looking!" ”

Miss Jiang wants to wear it now, but unfortunately the weather is too cold and the clothes are thin, this is in a room with three or four braziers, it doesn't matter, I can't stand it when the wind blows outside. She reluctantly took off her gown, changed back to her original thick brocade jacket, touched the peach blossoms embroidered on the gown and sighed: "I didn't expect the sister of the Zhao family to do such a good needlework." At first, I heard the girls say that their master and servant were making clothes, and I thought that the sister of the Zhao family was making them for herself. At that time, I thought, I gave her two sets of clothes, and my mother asked the needle and thread to make two sets for her, is it not enough for her to wear? I never thought she was doing it for me. ”

Mrs. Jiang took the clothes and looked at them carefully: "This must be cut according to the size of the clothes you gave her, the cut is very good, the stitches are fine, the flowers are embroidered better, and what is even more rare is this thought." Last year, the Communist Party of China also made a forehead wipe for your grandmother, embroidered a handkerchief for your mother, and made a fan cover for your brother, but now only half of it has been made. Now look, Miss Zhao is two years younger than you. The needlework is better than yours, and in a few days I made such beautiful clothes and compared myself to myself. Are you ashamed of your face? ”

Miss Jiang blushed and covered her cheeks to defend herself: "I don't know how to make clothes, but my mother also praised me for my good embroidery of flowers." Sister Zhao is amazing, she can make clothes at a young age, but I know that more than half of the flowers on this are embroidered by her girl. Sister Zhao told me. She is not very proficient in embroidery. The girls also said that they saw that she only embroidered the petals on the sleeves of her clothes, and that she made the clothes. She also drew the patterns. I hadn't thought about it before, but if I were asked to draw it, I would be able to do it. ”

Mrs. Jiang looked carefully at the embroidery on the sleeve, and sure enough, the embroidery was worse than the one on her shoulder. But the stitches are neat. The color is also used very well, and the embroidery skills are still above a certain level, so he glanced at his daughter: "Don't be hard-mouthed, ask you to make such a dress like this, don't ask you to embroider, can you do it?" Your sister Zhao is better than you, you still don't recognize it? ”

Miss Jiang covered her red face and lowered her head, very embarrassed.

Mrs. Jiang took the opportunity to educate her daughter: "I see Miss Zhao talking in words and deeds on weekdays. are all very good, they must have read poetry books. I'm afraid that the subset of scripture and history is also involved. How do you think you are learning compared to her? ”

Miss Jiang replied in a low voice: "She has learned all the poems, but she is not good at doing them, but she has read the four books and five classics roughly, and now she is still young, and in two years, when she finishes her homework, I am afraid that she is much better than me." I'm only better at writing poetry than her. ”

"What about other talents besides learning? I saw you playing against her that day, and it took a whole afternoon to win half a game, and I think she is good at chess. ”

Miss Jiang thought for a while: "Qin, chess, calligraphy and painting, she only doesn't like the piano, so she doesn't know much, she has just learned chess for more than a year, and her chess skills are already good." As for calligraphy and painting, I know that she writes hairpins very well, as for Danqing, when she joked that day, she casually drew a sketch of chickens eating grass, which is very interesting and cute, and she is also very good at it. With such a list, she suddenly found that she may be temporarily better than Zhao Xiu in some conveniences, but as long as Zhao Xiu is given another two years, she can surpass herself.

Is she usually too lax?

When Mrs. Jiang saw her daughter's expression, she knew that she already knew about introspection, and she was very satisfied, so she persuaded her: "Look, Miss Zhao is two years younger than you, and in terms of talent and learning, except for poetry and grapevine, everything else is no worse than you; When it comes to needlework, she can make clothes, and you still tinker with those small embroideries all day long; In terms of dealing with people, in addition to her straightforward temperament, she has the number of courtesies she should have, and she also prepared a thank you gift without saying a word, taking into account our family of four, which is really careful and thoughtful. I think that when your father said that he would take her to live at home, you also said that the daughter of the noble family would be a vulgar and rude person. What is happening now? When you are in Beijing, you make friends with some so-called famous ladies who are above the top all day long, and you only look at your background when you make friends. I heard that she was the daughter of the noble family, and if she didn't know poetry and books, she felt that people were vulgar; I heard that it was from the rich man's family, and I felt that it would be a shame to say a word to others. In the past, when I asked you to learn needlework, you were suspicious, and you were too tacky to learn how to give gifts as a housekeeper. You only think that poetry and calligraphy are the most refined and high, what about looking at Miss Zhao? ”

Miss Jiang was so ashamed that she couldn't speak, and twisted the candy around her mother: "How can I think like this? Sister Zhao is here, I am happier than anyone else, I have never underestimated her, how can my mother say this about me? ”

Mrs. Jiang slowed down her expression: "Miss Zhao saved the prince, naturally different from ordinary people's daughters, so you still treat her with some sincerity." But if there is no such thing as a prince, you are afraid that it will be another thought. That's why I must take you to Tianjin, and I won't let you stay in Beijing, because if you get along with those ignorant girls for a long time, I'm afraid that you will change your temperament and become lonely and arrogant and annoying but you don't know it, then it's terrible. Our scholarly girls are respected, not because the girls know poetry and books, and are proficient in piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, but because they are sensible and reasonable, and they know how to read and be courteous. If you forget this at all, you can write a hundred good poems, and you are not a good daughter. ”

Miss Jiang was thoughtful.

Zhao Xiu packed her luggage and sent someone to the dock to talk to Gwyneth, and learned that she had sold out the goods she brought to the north this time and made a lot of money. Gwyneth couldn't enter Beijing, but she gained a lot in Tianjin, not only got a long-term and effective ship guide from the Tianjin prefect, but also a fixed special berth in Tianjin Port, and someone from the Ministry of Internal Affairs contacted her with an interpreter, and it was estimated that she would place a batch of orders to take care of her exclusive business. With this royal order in hand, she can go sideways in Nanhui. When the business is finished and in February, she can go back to the south. In the future, her business will continue to be done, and she can rest assured that she will report it, and no one will stumble on her, which is really indescribably refreshing.

Zhao Xiu settled down, and the next morning, he bid farewell to the Jiang family, got into a carriage driven by his own servants, and walked in the direction of the capital.

This day happened to be the thirteenth day of the first month of the ninth year of Chengqing, and it was only eight years and five months since she left the capital with her family. (To be continued......)

PS: Foreshadowing...... Ahem