During the rest period at noon, Lian Hua gently insisted that Nanny Qi take a break. Nanny was elderly and had been busy all morning, watching over her as well, which was certainly exhausting. No matter how straight Nanny Qi kept her back, a hint of tiredness could still be seen, and it pained Lian Hua to see this.
Initially, Nanny Qi refused, keeping her pride; Lian Hua almost threw a tantrum before finally saying that if Grandma didn’t rest, then she wouldn’t rest either. She would stay with Grandma, and finally convinced Nanny Qi to return to her room.
At this time, the Side Hall of Canglan Court was completely quiet, with hardly anyone moving about.
Lian Hua lay on the bed and squinted for a while, tossing and turning as she couldn’t fall asleep. She hadn’t done much that morning, just sitting obediently and listening to Nanny Qi’s words, doing nothing else. She hadn’t expended any energy, and she still felt restless.
She was naturally an active person, and if it weren’t for feeling a bit sleepy recently due to her pregnancy, this would be the very moment she would be planning what to work on.
Unable to sleep any longer, Lian Hua got up, the curtains over the small moon door were drawn, and in the hall, Xiao Qing was dozing off on the table. After Nanny Qi’s arrival, she wasn’t allowed to stay alone anymore, and Xiao Qing was asked to guard the hall during the rest period.
Not wanting to wake Xiao Qing, Lian Hua tiptoed to open the window and sat at the vanity, leaning her cheek on her hand and daydreaming aimlessly. She started to miss His Majesty.
Lately, His Majesty had been considerate of her; he moved quietly during the early court sessions to not wake her up. By the time she woke up, the day was already bright, and he had long gone.
She wondered what His Majesty was doing now, whether he was reviewing petitions. The burden of being an Emperor was indeed heavy, so busy and tiring every day, more exhausting than studying.
Once she had accidentally glanced at one of the petitions, and seeing the dense text made her dizzy. She hurriedly closed her eyes, not daring to look again, as it was too overwhelming. Yet, His Majesty had to read so many every day, and he did so very seriously. It must be tough, as how else could he understand so many characters, as simply looking at them was headache-inducing.
She thought, for dinner, she should make something delicious for him to fortify him. Now that she had silver, she didn’t have to worry so much about what to make; Nanny Qi was strictly managing her diet, which she couldn’t share with him.
With a sweet smile curling her lips, Lian Hua was lost in thought. After a while, she glanced sideways at the embroidery basket and suddenly remembered the sachet she wanted to make for His Majesty. Now, she had something to do.
She took the embroidery basket, making a slight noise, which woke Xiao Qing in the small hall. Sitting up, Xiao Qing asked, "My lady, are you awake?"
Since she had woken someone up, Lian Hua replied, "Hmm, I can’t sleep. It’s okay, you sit; I’m going to do some needlework."
Hearing this, Xiao Qing was somewhat worried. Previously, Xiao Jizi had not dared let the Beauty do needlework, and now that she wanted to, it was best for her to keep an eye. With this thought, she lifted the curtain and went in.
Noticing her coming in, Lian Hua said, "Oh, not sleeping anymore?"
Xiao Qing shook her head.
Lian Hua spoke to her, "Then pull up a stool and sit next to me. Tonight, your lady will teach you how to sew!" Although her sewing skills were not great, they were still presentable in front of Xiao Qing, whose needlework was harder to look at.
"Alright," Xiao Qing said, bringing a stool over, her eyes eagerly watching Lian Hua.
Lian Hua cleared her throat and sat up straight, feeling a sense of pride at being a teacher, and began teaching.
By the time Lian Hua had sewn one side of the sachet, Xiao Qing scratched her head, puzzled, and asked, "My lady, is it alright for the sachet to not have any embroidery?"
She was used to seeing sachets embroidered with intricate flowers and grass, but her lady’s was just two pieces of fabric sewn together. Was that really acceptable?
Lian Hua’s face was finding it hard to maintain composure. She poked Xiao Qing’s forehead and said, "You don’t understand. This is called ’pure and simple,’ which has a good meaning. Besides, something intended for His Majesty should not be as fancy and flashy as a lady’s, it must have a masculine spirit~"
"Oh~" Xiao Qing suddenly realized and nodded. So it was for His Majesty,, no wonder they chose dark cyan. It indeed was not suitable for fancy embroidery. But then, "Mistress, isn’t the thread a bit crooked here?"
On hearing this, Lian Hua took the two pieces of cloth and looked at them from the left, right, front, and back, then picked up a box to compare, and indeed it was a bit crooked.
She nodded, convinced, and said, "Xiao Qing, you really have sharp eyes. Let’s make the crooked side the opening of the sachet, where later we can stuff in the refreshing herbs." Having said this, she thought she was very clever.
Xiao Qing couldn’t help but nod in agreement, praising, "Mistress, you are truly wise. This effort hasn’t been wasted at all."
On hearing this, Lian Hua laughed and showed her neat row of small pearly teeth. Ah, Xiao Qing was making progress in giving compliments. Exactly, no effort or fabric had been wasted,
The two of them fiddled around for a while, and finally, when they sewed the edges together, Lian Hua touched her chin and said, "Hmm... this sachet seems a bit odd."
Xiao Qing couldn’t resist leaning closer to look, and also found something amiss. She hesitantly said, "Mistress, could it be because the threads on both sides aren’t symmetrical? This side is the opening, but this side also got narrower."
Lian Hua stared at the sachet for a while and finally shook her head. It was not just that; it was really too ugly.
The two pieces of cyan cloth had merely been sewn into an unshapely thing, with nothing on it, far too ugly. How could such a sachet be presented to His Majesty? It’s just not good enough.
She tossed the cloth into the sewing basket, feeling dejected. Ah, a lady’s work really was not her forte. If it were about climbing trees to steal... ahem, pick fruit, wading in rivers to catch fish, catching bugs or spinning tops, she was one of the best, but needlework was too difficult.
Now, it seemed that the handkerchief she embroidered for His Majesty was indeed the pinnacle of her life’s work, alas.
It looked like she needed to ask Grandma Qi for help; she couldn’t manage on her own at this hour. Grandma Qi should be well-rested by now,
Lian Hua stretched her neck to look outside the window and calculated the Shichen Chinese Time. Normally around this time, she should also be waking up, so she said to Xiao Qing, "Let’s go, we’ll head to the back to find Grandma Qi."
Xiao Qing shuddered. Nanny Qi was so fierce, and just one glare from her made Xiao Qing frightened.
Seeing her timid reaction, Lian Hua couldn’t help but laugh out loud and comforted, "Don’t be afraid, Xiao Qing. Grandma Qi is alright, hard-mouthed but soft-hearted. Grandma knows a lot. Later, you should pay close attention to how Grandma handles things. You can learn a lot from her."
In just two days, she had almost figured out Nanny Qi. However, there was still much she needed to learn from Nanny Qi, not just Xiao Qing, but her too. His Majesty was very kind to her, arranging for Nanny Qi to teach her, and she could really appreciate the deeper meaning behind it.
Just take today, for example; Many masters came to present gifts to the palace. No matter whether sincere or not, if Nanny Qi weren’t there, she would have to go out and deal with them all.
There could be those among them who didn’t like her and wanted to make things difficult for her. With so many people, she acknowledged her limitations; she wasn’t good at charming her way through the crowd.
If she didn’t handle it well, it was possible she’d embarrass His Majesty. She’d just been promoted to Beauty, but then she might bring great disgrace, which wouldn’t be acceptable! You could slap her in the face, but hitting His Majesty’s face was not on!
But with Nanny Qi around, none of these were problems. Nanny Qi was so imposing that she kept everyone at bay. Lian Hua didn’t even have to step outside, and the issues were resolved without anyone daring to say anything. All thanks to Nanny Qi’s efforts.