Zhao Xiu first turned out the construction drawings sent by Gao Zhen earlier. The new pattern of the Shiziyuan, she has participated in the discussion. The drawings drawn by Wang Shuangfu are too simple, but when compared with the drawings sent by Gao Zhen, the layout of the house becomes clear at a glance.

The furniture in the five main rooms is necessary to be prepared, and she knows what to do. The materials used to make furniture have long been prepared, the craftsmen are all skilled, and the skills are very good, and what she needs to decide now is only the style of the furniture and the patterns carved on it.

She didn't intend to sacrifice comfort for the sake of glamorous decency, even if the furniture looked ugly on the outside, practicality would take precedence. Beds, couches, tables, chairs, cabinets...... It all has to be built with her and Gao Zhen's height and body shape, and the size can be just right. Nowadays, the high-ranking families in the capital make furniture, and it is popular to paste gold and silver foil, inlay luodian, and there are also different kinds of wood carved with complex patterns, and then embedded on the furniture. Zhao Xiu doesn't use these processes. What is popular now means that it will soon become obsolete, while furniture will last for decades.

She opted for the simplicity of the foregoing, decorating each piece of furniture with only one or two carvings or paintings. However, the carved or painted patterns were all painted by herself, and each one was different. In addition to the various patterns of flowers and plants, she also added many landscapes, houses, and figures, with simple lines, but not simple meanings. Take a closer look, many of them are what she and Gao Zhen have experienced before.

For example, when they were younger, they played on the boat.

For example, when they were children, they studied and practiced calligraphy in Jiangnan.

For example, they walked through the plum blossom forest in the hot spring village.

Another example is when they go down to the south of the Yangtze River, they look at the scenery on the boat.

The landscape sketches that Zhao Xiu painted when she was in Jiangnan have become one of her most important sources of materials today. Furniture in the study. It is all decorated with landscape carvings, simple and elegant. The cabinets in the bedroom are all used for their childhood encounters, but their faces are not clearly depicted. Therefore, in the eyes of uninformed outsiders, it is only an auspicious painting such as a hundred children. Only when he and Gao Zhen saw it would they understand the true meaning.

Zhao Xiu also chose such a painting on the screen pattern of the clean room with a shy face: when she was soaking in the hot spring pool and admiring the moon, Gao Zhen was playing the flute outside the wall. This painting is not explicit at all, there is no girl or anything, and "she" soaking in the hot spring water only shows half of her head. But when Gao Zhen sees it, he will probably think about it more, right?

As soon as Zhao Xiu finished painting the painting, he glanced at the girls. He quickly dried the painting and hid it under other drawings. Only the girls know about this, so it's embarrassing to let them see it. But it doesn't hurt on the craftsman's side. They don't know that it's a real thing. I don't know if she painted it, but I think it was only a pattern designed by other craftsmen. This is the furniture to be used for the future princess to marry, and the new daughter-in-law has always brought things like the spring palace picture to marry into the in-law's house, and this level of things is really conservative for them.

Zhao Xiu immersed himself in designing hundreds of drawings for his post-marriage furniture, and spent more than half a month of hard work, and the more he painted, the more interested he became. Seeing that she had not been able to hand over the drawings to the craftsman for a long time, Zhang couldn't help but urge her, so she reluctantly ended the drawing work. Give several large bundles of drawings to Wang Shuangfu and let him send them to the craftsmen.

One of the long scrolls. She specially instructed Wang Shuangfu to carry it carefully. It was the most laborious and meticulous of the drawings she had drawn this time, which was used on the bed circumference and door cover of the shelf bed, not a carved pattern, but a painted sketch. She used her experience when she and Gao Zhen went down to the south of the Yangtze River, using the scattered perspective method of traditional Chinese painting, to draw several large ports or beautiful locations along the way, and did not forget to add a corner of the bow of the boat at each location, and she and he stood on the bow of the boat to enjoy the scenery.

Zhao Xiu attaches the most importance to this long scroll, and he can't help but think in his heart: What will Gao Zhen think when he sees the colorful paintings on the shelf bed?

She couldn't help but smile secretly, and sighed in her heart, if only there was a chance in the future, it would be good to go back to Jiangnan with Gao Zhen. When the time comes, they don't have to wait for the time to hurry, just go down the river slowly, and don't choose to set off in the autumn - she has already been down the Jiangnan twice in the autumn and winter - to choose the spring when the flowers are blooming, when the banks of the canal must be more beautiful, right?

Wang Shuangfu sent the drawings to the yard where the craftsmen made the furniture, and as soon as the craftsman opened the drawings and looked at them a few times, he sighed: "This is a pattern that I have never seen before, is it painted by the nobleman himself?" ”

Wang Shuangfu naturally didn't say much: "You don't care who drew it, in short, I like these patterns, you just have to follow them." The drawings indicate which furniture the different patterns are used for. Make no mistake about it. If it's just a few flowers in the wrong place, it's fine, but if those large landscapes, houses, and people are in the wrong place, and you go back and blame them, I won't take the blame for you. ”

The craftsman leader gave him a blank look: "Got it." It's not the first time we've done this kind of work, and we still need your instructions? Obviously, the masters of the mansion are all kind and pitiful, and you are the most tricky. After sorting out the drawings in his hand, he saw the long scroll again, picked it up and opened it, and his eyes were twice as wide as usual: "This is also going to be used on furniture?" My dear, this can all be hung in the house, right? Which famous master is handwriting? I don't think the average person can draw it. ”

Of course, it was painted by the eldest girl in their family. The paintings of the eldest girl in their family are praised even by the readers who know that they are in and out of the library, and the queen mother in the palace also likes it. If it weren't for the fact that the eldest girl cherishes feathers and doesn't want people to know that it is the pen and ink of the boudoir, she would have become a well-known famous artist.

Wang Shuangfu glanced at the craftsman leader with some pride: "I told you not to ask, you just follow the painting." Remember, don't spoil the good stuff, otherwise, don't say I'm picky, can you be happy with your own face? ”

The craftsman carefully rolled up the long scroll and said solemnly: "Don't worry, I won't spoil good things." This shelf bed, I personally hit it. ”

As soon as Zhao Xiu handed over the drawings, he didn't think much about it. Horizontal and vertical craftsmen are quite famous in the capital, and their skills are also very good, and they will never make ugly things. The lessons between Mama Gong and Mama Zuo gradually came to an end, and then it was just a matter of re-consolidating the knowledge learned in the past, lest the time interval be too long and Zhao Xiu would forget. Again, it means reviewing the rules of etiquette over and over again so that things don't go wrong.

In addition, Zhao Xiu's wedding dress has also begun to prepare. The Ministry of Internal Affairs will take care of it, but what they have purchased is only the main dress, and the rest of the accessories still need to be prepared by themselves. Moreover, after marriage, Zhao Xiu should also start to do the needlework of filial piety to his father-in-law King Guangping and the mother-in-law of the palace. With less than a year to go, if you want to do something a little more subtle and start early, you will have more time.

Zhang also ordered someone to buy a large number of high-quality silk from the south of the Yangtze River, cloud brocade, and muslin cloth from the sixth room, and prepared four seasons clothes and various embroideries for Zhao Xiu to dowry. The sixth room not only gave a discount, but also sent another 20 skilled tailors and embroiderers from Jiangnan to come over for Zhang's call. Zhang's was overjoyed and said that Liufang had helped a lot.

The various Western jewelry and playthings sent by the Welsh Foreign Company are just decorations. The Zhang family didn't take it very seriously, but Zhao Xiu was very interested in the books they sent. Seeing this, Zhang smiled and said, "Could it be that you want to take these books as a dowry and bring them into the Guangping Palace?" It's just that the daughter of a scholarly family marries ancient books and classics, and I've never heard of marrying Western books, but I'm afraid that others won't be able to see what it is. ”

Zhao Xiu smiled: "Since it is my private collection, there is no reason to lose it at home." If I don't take it away, will I leave it to my grandmother and brother? You don't understand it. If my grandmother thinks that it is too undesirable to marry me, it is a big deal that I will accompany more domestic books, then these foreign books will not be so conspicuous. ”

Zhang shook his head with a smile, just thinking that his granddaughter was reluctant to have a little pastime, so he didn't take it to heart. It's just a box or two of books, and it doesn't hurt if you don't show it when you give the dowry, it's a big deal to send it to the palace separately.

The grandparents and grandchildren were busy preparing Zhao Xiu's dowry, and suddenly Zhao Wei came back from the Criminal Department and told them the latest news: Mi Xingzhi was ready to return to Beijing.

Mi Shengzhi has been in office as the prefect of Hangzhou for three years, and his political achievements are remarkable. Now that he has retired, I heard that the people of Hangzhou are going to give him an umbrella. It is really a great joy for him to return to Beijing this time, reunite with his wife and children, and be able to hold his long-awaited son. And the bigger joy is that he will definitely go up this time, and it is very likely that he will return to Beijing, but I don't know which position it will be.

Zhao Xiu suggested to Zhao Wei: "Brother, why don't you help inquire in advance?" You are now well-connected in the six departments, so it is not difficult to find out some rumors. If it's a bad position, let's quickly help change it, and if it's good, don't ask others to cut off Uncle Tang's beard. ”

Zhao Wei smiled: "Such a simple truth, do I have to wait for my sister to remind me before I can think of it?" As soon as I heard that he was coming back, I was already looking for someone to inquire about it. ”

Zhang hurriedly asked, "What is the result?" Can the officials determine his future position? ”

Zhao Wei really heard some news about this, but it is said that the boss has not made up his mind yet. But with the grade of the fourth grade of the rice province, there are not many vacancies in the capital that may be his turn, and the most likely ones are two, one is Shuntian Fucheng, the fourth grade, and the other is the Guanglu Siqing in the small Jiuqing, but it is from the third grade. At present, the people in these two positions are about to get old, and when Mi Shengzhi returns to Beijing, there will be vacancies. But whether it will be the original level to enter the Shuntian Mansion or to be promoted to a small Jiuqing is still unknown.

Zhao Xiu's brows furrowed when he heard this. Considering the grade and decency, Guanglu Siqing is naturally a better choice. But this kind of official position has no real power, but it just sounds good in name. However, Shuntian Mansion Cheng only has four products, and choosing this position means that Mi Shengzhi has given up his promotion, which is just a flat tone. What would he think? (To be continued......)