Yunhui wiped away her tears, looking at Yunxi Lane where she had lived for nearly half her life. The trees were lush and green, their branches bent in soft, graceful arcs, emitting the ancient charm and character left by the years. She loved Yunxi Lane. Even though the memories here were unpleasant and the events that transpired were not good, she still loved Yunxi Lane because of her passion for embroidery. But now, she didn’t want to love it anymore. She loved embroidery, but embroidery had never loved her back. She was nearly fifty and had been learning embroidery since her earliest memories. Yet, to this day, she had accomplished nothing. She was tired.
Yunhui withdrew her gaze and turned to Fu Chan, who had been watching her.
Fu Chan was startled. "What did you say?"
Yunhui looked him in the eye, her voice trembling, "I said let’s move out. The Chu Family doesn’t even care if they have descendants, nor do they care if the ’Chu Family Embroidery Manual’ is lost. We shouldn’t care either. What happens to Yunxi Lane in the future should be left to fate and time. We shouldn’t forcibly try to keep it tethered to the past."
Fu Chan knew she must have been truly hurt to speak such disheartening words. He pulled her into his embrace, patting her back just as he would with Fu Ruyun and Fu Yunhui.
"Don’t rush this decision. Let’s sleep on it and think of a good solution tomorrow."
Yunhui was too mentally exhausted to think. She said, "On my way back, I received a call from Fu Bing. She said she wanted to have tea with me, and I think I should meet her. If she’s the right person, it wouldn’t matter if I gave the Embroidery House and Yunxi Lane to her."
"Fu Bing can’t even embroider. What use is the Embroidery House to her?" Fu Chan disagreed.
Yunhui was an easy person to read; her life centered around embroidery, and that was her only concern. But she had no possessiveness over embroidery. If there had been someone more suitable to take over the Embroidery House in the past, she would have never taken it on herself. After Fu Ya and Uncle Yun left, the Embroidery House suffered a significant blow. Everyone was afraid to come forward and take on the responsibility of managing it for fear of running it into the ground. That’s when Yunhui stepped forward to take over the Embroidery House.
Many embroiderers knew her and her situation, aware she lacked talent and her embroidery was second-rate and defective, not considered top-quality in the Embroidery House. That was why they openly and secretly disrespected her. People outside accused her of usurping Fu Ya’s place and forcing her out. She was blamed both inside and out.
She endured it all without a word.
Now, even she didn’t want to manage the Chu Family Embroidery House anymore.
Fu Chan wiped her tears carefully. "Go take a bath, then get some sleep. We’ll talk more tomorrow."
Yunhui let out a shaky breath and went back to her room to take a bath.
Fu Chan looked up at the sky, feeling agitated. It was just a dilapidated Embroidery House and a worthless book. What was there to fight over? To someone like him who didn’t love embroidery, it seemed like trash.
Fu Chan instructed the servants to keep an eye on Yunhui’s movements, then drove to the nursing home.
Old Lady Chu was sitting dazedly under a tree. Upon seeing Fu Chan enter, she immediately glared at him furiously.
"You couldn’t wait to come here right after Yunhui left, could you? You won’t be able to sleep until you drive me to my death, will you?"
Fu Chan looked at her calmly and said, "Xiaohui just got home and told me she wants to move out of Yunxi Lane. We plan to move in the next few days. You can move back in."
Old Lady Chu’s expression stiffened, a rare flicker of panic in her eyes. But she quickly became agitated.
"Is this your new trick? Lure me back to Yunxi Lane, and then you’ll try every means to swindle the ’Chu Family Embroidery Manual’ from me?"
Fu Chan sneered. "Honestly, that so-called embroidery manual is just a useless old book to me. It’s an eyesore even to have it. Xiaohui used to really want it. She wanted to study and research it thoroughly, so I thought I’d help her fulfill that wish. Now, she doesn’t even want to live in Yunxi Lane anymore, so I guess she’s lost interest in that book too."
Fu Chan watched as Old Lady Chu’s expression changed several times before he crouched down in front of her. "No matter what, you are my grandmother. Fu Ya has left, Fu Ning has never been close to you, and you have no other relatives by your side. I truly want to take care of you and make your remaining days a bit more comfortable. If you like it here, I will come here to see you from now on. If you prefer Yunxi Lane, I will take you back there."
After Fu Chan finished speaking, he didn’t stay any longer and drove back to Yunxi Lane.
Old Lady Chu was left sitting dazedly where she was.
Old Lady Chu muttered, "Even she wants to give up?" If even Yunhui gave up, the Chu Family deserved to disappear!
Yunhui locked herself in her room all afternoon and evening. All the embroidery pieces in her room were made by herself; each stitch and thread was imbued with her feelings. Even the clothes of Fu Chan, Fu Ruyun, and Fu Ruhui had her ingenious touches. She would embroider a small flower or a twig on a particular spot on their favorite clothes. She believed that embroidery could be both high-end and accessible, usable in all aspects of life.
Fu Chan and the children really liked her embroidery pieces. Whenever they saw her embroidering, they would deliberately tread lightly, careful not to disturb her.
Yunhui caressed her embroidery pieces. She didn’t think they were poor at all. The lines were clean, capable of being intricate or strikingly simple, and the composition was also very good. Why were her embroidery pieces always treated as unwanted defects by others? Yunhui didn’t understand.
Although her heart ached, she still carefully packed away her embroidery pieces, not wanting them to be scorned as she was. She had filled more than forty boxes with her past embroidery works alone.
When Fu Chan got home, he saw that the house was filled with packed boxes.
He pulled Yunhui towards him. "Are you really decided? No regrets?"
"Leaving a place I’ve lived in for so many years will definitely bring regrets, but if I don’t leave, the Chu Family Embroidery House has no future. Compared to its future, my departure really isn’t a big deal."
She still couldn’t bear to risk the future of embroidery; the Chu Family’s pieces deserved someone better to lead them to shine.
"You’re really foolish," Fu Chan said. She could have waited another two days. Maybe Old Lady Chu would have changed her mind by then.
Yunhui forced a smile. "Husband, from now on, you’ll have to support the three of us. After all, I only know embroidery, and I’m really not good at other things. I won’t be able to help you much."
"Just having you by my side is enough for me."
Fu Chan helped her pack, carefully listing everything in each box. Yunhui secretly wiped her tears several times, all of which Fu Chan noticed.
Yunhui received a call from the nursing home. It was from the nurse taking care of Old Lady Chu, saying that the old lady wanted to see her.
Yunhui said, "I’m a bit busy these next two days, so I won’t be able to go over. But tomorrow is her birthday, and I will definitely be there." After finishing, Yunhui hung up the phone.
The nurse conveyed Yunhui’s words to Old Lady Chu, who pursed her lips tightly, her entire demeanor inexplicably agitated. "’One after another, they’re all the same! Just a bunch of good-for-nothings!’"
She was cursing when Xiaomei walked in from outside.
Old Lady Chu’s face darkened. "What are you doing here?"
"I know you’re in a bad mood, so I came to keep you company," Xiaomei said.