Chapter 17: A Bite of the Shangshu Residence’s Melon

Ye Anling had given all her money to Ye Chutang and was now penniless.

She couldn’t very well ask Qiulu to chase after Ye Chutang in front of the waiter to make her come back and pay the bill.
Otherwise, people would think she was bullying her elder sister who had just returned home.

“How much is it?”

The waiter spoke respectfully, “Miss Ye, one tael of silver.”

Ye Anling saw that the amount wasn’t much and whispered to Qiulu, “You pay for it. I’ll reimburse you when we get back to the residence.”

Qiulu usually carried some loose silver when going out. She counted it and had exactly one tael.

After paying the bill, the two of them stepped out of the teahouse and saw Ye Chutang walking into Wanbao Pavilion across the street.

Wanbao Pavilion was a well-known jewelry shop in the capital.

Their jewelry wasn’t particularly expensive, but they were famous for their wide variety of styles.

Ye Chutang wasn’t fond of overly flashy jewelry, but the fine craftsmanship caught her attention.

After buying two sets of jewelry, she called over the shopkeeper.

“Can you custom-make jewelry according to my design?”

The shopkeeper smiled and nodded. “Of course. Most of our craftsmen at Wanbao Pavilion used to work in the palace. They can make any type of jewelry. However, custom pieces cost twice as much.”

“Price is not an issue.”

Hearing this, the shopkeeper’s plump, round face broke into deep creases of delight.

“May I ask what kind of jewelry the young lady would like to commission?”

Ye Chutang wanted to design some jewelry that could double as concealed weapons.

“Give me some time to think about it.”

The shopkeeper initially thought she was just playing around, but then Ye Chutang handed him a banknote worth one hundred taels of silver.

“Settle the bill. Whatever’s left, treat it as a deposit. Write up a receipt.”

“Certainly, certainly!”

Ye Chutang left the store with her two sets of jewelry and receipt just as Ye Anling slowly walked over.

“Big Sister, you’re done at Wanbao Pavilion already?”

“Mhm, didn’t see anything I particularly liked. I’ll come back in a few days to have some pieces custom-made.”

Ye Anling inwardly rolled her eyes.

Acting like she’s seen it all when she clearly hasn’t!

“As long as Big Sister is happy.”

So long as that wretched girl didn’t stir up trouble again, she could act all she wanted.

“Big Sister, there’s a good embroidery shop next door. Want to take a look?”

Ye Anling felt dizzy and lightheaded. She just wanted to quickly finish shopping for clothes with Ye Chutang and head back to the residence.

Ye Chutang thought of the double-sided embroidered handkerchiefs the original host used to make and nodded.

“Sure, let’s take a look.”

After all, the original host had suffered so much in the countryside—people needed to know!

The embroidery shop was similar to Wanbao Pavilion in that most of its embroiderers had also come from the palace. Their craftsmanship was excellent, specializing in wedding gowns and custom orders.

When not busy, the embroiderers would make ready-to-wear garments for sale, which were priced steeply.

There was no shortage of wealthy customers in the capital, and business at the shop was booming. Only a few ready-to-wear pieces remained, most of which were display samples.

The embroidery shop had many embroiderers, and it also attracted many noble ladies.

As soon as Ye Chutang entered, all eyes were on her.

At this point, everyone on the commercial street had heard that the eldest daughter of the Ye family was stunningly beautiful, overshadowing even Princess Anping.

If not for Second Miss Ye stepping in, and the fortunate presence of Prince Chen, her face would’ve already been ruined by the princess.

Ye Chutang paid no attention to the curious and probing gazes around her and earnestly examined the fabrics and embroidery.

From time to time she frowned, sometimes shook her head—

She looked completely unsatisfied.

The shopkeeper noticed and came over to ask, “Miss Ye, none of them to your liking?”

Ye Anling’s internal alarm bells went off. Just as she was about to stop Ye Chutang from saying something outrageous, Ye Chutang beat her to it and nodded.

“No, none of them are to my taste. The fabrics are top-notch, but the embroidery…”

“Big Sister, you don’t know needlework. Don’t talk nonsense! These embroiderers make clothes for the nobility in the palace!”

The embroidery shop was backed by Consort Yun, the Emperor’s favorite. Even the Empress had to yield to her. Criticizing the embroidery shop was tantamount to disrespecting Consort Yun.

Ye Chutang looked innocent and pure. “Who said I don’t know? I’ve been embroidering handkerchiefs in the countryside for over ten years. I could embroider better than this with my eyes closed.”

This sentence insulted every embroiderer in the shop.

Backed by Consort Yun, they naturally weren’t afraid of a mere daughter from the Ministry of Rites.

“Miss Ye, are you saying that the clothes the Emperor and Empress wear aren’t as good as your handkerchiefs?”

“I’ve been working as an embroiderer in the palace for twenty years, and you say your blindfolded embroidery is better than mine?”

“Talk too big and you’ll bite your tongue. Or worse, bring disaster on yourself.”

Ye Anling was so anxious she felt a migraine coming on. She hurried to explain, “Big Sister didn’t mean—”

Before she could finish, Ye Chutang cut her off.

“No need to put a feathered hat on my head or use the Emperor and Empress to pressure me. I’m just talking about embroidery technique.”

As she spoke, she took a double-sided embroidered handkerchief from her space and handed it to the shopkeeper.

“This is something I embroidered in the countryside. Pardon the lack of refinement.”

The shopkeeper took the handkerchief. The vividly detailed double-sided embroidery made her eyes widen.

“This… This was really embroidered by Miss Ye?”

She had been an embroiderer in the palace too and even served as a supervisor in the Wardrobe Bureau. She’d seen masterful embroidery before, but none as exquisite as this.

Only such unparalleled craftsmanship deserved to be called “ten fingers like a spring breeze.”

The nearby customers were also stunned by Ye Chutang’s embroidery.

Ye Chutang nodded. “Of course.”

Then, she played the pity card.

“If it hadn’t been for this embroidery skill, I would’ve starved long ago.”

Just as everyone was wondering what she meant, she added another line—

“If my mother knew I would be sent to the countryside to suffer for fifteen years, always cold and hungry and mistreated, I wonder if she’d still have chosen to marry Lord Ye.”

That one line silenced the entire embroidery shop. Everyone pretended not to hear, eyes fixed on the ground.

They hadn’t expected to hear juicy gossip about the Shangshu residence!

Ye Anling stared at Ye Chutang in shock, thinking she must’ve lost her mind.

Weren’t they talking about embroidery?

How did this turn into tales of hardship in the countryside?

And now she was publicly tarnishing their father’s reputation?

“Big Sister, you’ve misunderstood Father. He only sent you to the countryside so you could survive and recuperate.”

In other words, if he hadn’t, Ye Chutang would’ve died already.

Everyone knew that Ye Chutang had been frail and sickly since childhood. Tang Wanning had searched far and wide for doctors to treat her—it was well-known.

Ye Chutang looked at Ye Anling’s furious eyes and responded with innocent confusion.

“Don’t be upset, Second Miss Ye. I never said Lord Ye was wrong to send me away. I just don’t understand why he never once visited me—not even when I came of age.”

As she spoke, she snatched the handkerchief back from the shopkeeper.

“Do any of you know what kind of life I had in the countryside? Just to survive, my nanny forced me to embroider two handkerchiefs a day to earn thirty copper coins for her. That was the only way I got a bite of leftover food to eat.”

To prove her point, Ye Chutang pulled up her sleeve.

Revealing a wrist so thin from long-term malnourishment it was almost skeletal.

The spiritual spring water could quickly improve her complexion, but it couldn’t instantly heal years of nutritional deficiency.

“If it weren’t for my mother’s blessings, I probably wouldn’t have survived. Honestly, Lord Ye suddenly bringing me back to the capital makes me very uneasy. I can’t help feeling that he has ulterior motives.”

That was a shocking thing to say.

But when everyone saw Ye Chutang’s bony wrist, no one thought she was wrong to feel that way.

People began speculating about why Ye Jingchuan had suddenly brought his eldest daughter back.

“Miss Ye is at marrying age. Maybe Lord Ye brought her back to arrange her marriage?”

“No, if that were the case, he should’ve brought her back years ago for her coming-of-age ceremony.”

“That’s true… then why else? Surely not just because of her embroidery?”

“Well, it’s not impossible. The Empress’s birthday banquet is coming up soon…”

Everyone looked at Ye Chutang, hoping she’d give them an answer.