Special Agent Rebirth: The Omnipotent Goddess of Quick Transmigration
Chapter 518: Mysterious Young Lady No. 511 (Part 6) - First Update

Chapter 518: Mysterious Young Lady No. 511 (Part 6) - First Update

"Oh? You also have embroidery works?" Lady Liu didn’t mean to look down on Ye Shaohua.

She asked only because Ye Shaohua’s demeanor didn’t seem to fit that of an embroiderer.

It was only after seeing the embroidery carried by the maid behind Ye Shaohua that she realized Ye Shaohua wasn’t just talking aimlessly, but she was even more amazed at heart.

Who would have thought that the small Jingzhou could be home to such talented people.

Although most women of the day were skilled in needlework, becoming an embroiderer wasn’t something one could achieve with just any ordinary skill.

"Miss, could you show us your embroidery work?" Lady Liu asked warmly, looking at Ye Shaohua.

Ye Shaohua glanced at Zu Xiao.

Zu Xiao immediately understood her meaning and, stepping past the other embroiderers, went to Lady Liu’s side and helped Liu’s maid unfurl the Suzhou embroidery.

The brocade in Lady Liu’s hands was a ’Hundred Butterflies Fluttering Through Flowers,’ laboriously embroidered by Ye Qingqing, and also her most adept work.

The colors were vivid, the brocade lustrous and delicate. She used the traditional stitching techniques customary in Jiangling, making the structure very rigorous. At first glance, the butterflies and flowers appeared vividly lifelike, embodying a very realistic style.

Even the embroiderers who had been dubious of Ye Qingqing’s reputation couldn’t deny its merit upon seeing her work.

Just when they thought that such embroidery was a rare find, Zu Xiao unfurled Ye Shaohua’s work, and they realized what could truly be called divine craftsmanship, what could truly be called stunning.

Ye Shaohua’s embroidery featured gradient-colored peonies and phoenix-tail patterns. The peony, the main flower, was delicately shaded from light to dark, with the color transitions of the petals from inside to out distinctly pronounced. The lighter-colored heart of the flower even utilized flat embroidery, and no less than twenty stitch techniques were used from the outline to the coloring of a single flower.

Her use of color, in particular, had been sensitive to colors ever since she came to this world.

As a result, the color gradations that most embroiderers wouldn’t pay attention to were carefully outlined by her, with a single petal using nine shades from light to dark.

Especially a drop of crystal-clear dew on the petal.

Under the contouring from white to lifelike shades, the dewdrop appeared to tremble precariously on the fabric, almost making one want to reach out and touch it to see whether it was a real droplet that had fallen by accident or one that had been embroidered on.

Compared to the monochromatic flowers in Ye Qingqing’s ’Hundred Butterflies Fluttering Through Flowers,’ her subtly shaded peonies seemed almost capable of attracting real butterflies and were quite unique.

The embroiderers only then came to a realization; so color could be used like this, and a flower could be fully captured in an embroidery?

Even more ingenious was the phoenix tail brushed by the peony petals, for which Ye Shaohua used Suzhou embroidery.

Described as the phoenix tail, it was actually a few feathers encircling the peony blossoms, not like ordinary feathers. Ye Shaohua’s embroidery featured roots of a fuzzy down, each length evoking breath, shaded from light to dark. She utilized a wooden comb for this layered embroidery, giving the impression that one could reach out and touch the soft, light feathers as if they were those of a phoenix that had accidentally dropped them while flying over a blooming garden.

The peony was too regal, too resplendent.

Ordinary people who wore clothing emblazoned with peony patterns might not be able to pull it off, but these refined feathers dispersed the intensity of that vibrance.

It further emphasized the Suzhou embroidery’s principle of ’harmonious colors’.

Zu Xiao was also seeing Ye Shaohua’s embroidery for the first time, and she even couldn’t resist touching the dewdrop with her hand.

Once confirmed it was embroidered on, she stood there dazed.

"What a splendid peony embroidery," as everyone was captivated by this piece, a sonorous male voice came through, "I have seen the paintings of the great talent from the Imperial City, but they are not as lifelike as this embroidery. Jiangling indeed has an abundance of talents!"

This voice brought everyone back from their immersion in the embroidery.

Meng Yanqiu was the first to call out, "Governor Liu."

The people in the courtyard realized this must be Governor Liu himself.

Lady Liu looked at Ye Shaohua with surprise, hesitated for a moment, then asked, "If I’m not mistaken, this should be mermaid silk, right?"

She touched the surface of the embroidery work and, fearing to soil it, quickly withdrew her hand.

But she had already concluded in her mind.

In every respect, Ye Shaohua’s brocades surpassed Ye Qingqing’s. Seeking an offering for the Noble Consort, they preferred not to settle for less. Ultimately, they chose Ye Shaohua’s peony embroidery.

Lady Liu sent the other embroiderers away, leaving only Ye Shaohua.

Those who left the mansion were all inquiring about Ye Shaohua’s background.

Ye Shaohua’s embroidery was selected by Lady Liu, and with the promotion of that group of embroiderers, she gained some fame. Lady Liu indeed felt Ye Shaohua’s embroidery skills were a marvel, and wanted her to embroider a set of clothes.

This should count as the first business deal, and after thinking for a while, Ye Shaohua agreed.

Ye Qingqing didn’t take Ye Shaohua seriously when she saw her appear, and even shook her head helplessly when Ye Shaohua was about to bring out her work, but she never expected that Ye Shaohua would actually produce an embroidery that compared to her own.

Her expression changed markedly.

She just stared blankly at the embroidery until a maid called her, and only then did she come back to her senses.

Meng Yanqiu also hadn’t expected that Ye Shaohua would really bring out an embroidery. Indeed, that piece had stunned him, but he still consoled Ye Qingqing, "You’ve been stitching since the age of three, with a solid foundation. You’re merely lacking some lost crafts. She’s only just started needlework, so it’s hard to say how much she has truly embroidered on that piece."

Meng Yanqiu sounded rather dismissive.

In truth, he was also puzzled because this was completely different from what he had experienced in his previous life.

In his last lifetime, Ye Shaohua had no interest in embroidery, and her only interest was in fencing and weaponry; Governor Liu ended up using Ye Qingqing’s embroidery in the end. But this time around, why had Ye Shaohua been able to produce such embroidery?

Meng Yanqiu’s mind was in turmoil.

But in any case, he managed to restrain himself; he didn’t want to provoke Ye Shaohua in this lifetime.

There was another important matter at hand.

Upon learning of Meng Yanqiu’s intentions, the Meng Family began discussions with Ye De for the marriage between Ye Qingqing and Meng Yanqiu.

"This is the embroidery technique manual of the Ye Family, once lost and inadvertently found by me," seeing Ye Qingqing’s dejected expression, Meng Yanqiu thought better of teasing her any longer. He took a book from his attendant, "The Ye Family once had the number one embroiderer in Great Mu Country. With this manual, you’ll surely become the top embroider in Great Mu Country. The future of the Ye Family rests on you."

Meng Yanqiu still remembered that in the previous life Ye Qingqing had told him that she had comprehended this manual in less than a month and had also taught it to Ye Shaohua.

He hadn’t expected that Ye Shaohua would eventually leak the stitching methods to foreign tribes, leading to disaster.

He vaguely recalled Ye Qingqing mentioning the core of the Ye Family’s needlework technique was in the spiral.

This life, he believed that with his guidance, Ye Qingqing could comprehend it within a month.

Seeing Ye Qingqing’s excited face, Meng Yanqiu’s expression softened, "Rest assured, even if Ye Shaohua starts learning embroidery now, she has missed the prime age for learning needlework, and it’s unlikely she will achieve much. How can she compare to you?"