Yingzi stared intently at the red brazier, lost in thought.
The more she thought, the more her heart burned with warmth. She looked at the handkerchief she had embroidered, quickly removed it from the hoop, and rummaged through her small bundle to find a piece of deep green silk.
She often played at the silk shop next door, and the owner's wife would give her scraps of fabric when she was in a good mood, which Yingzi carefully kept. Today, they would finally come in handy.
She stretched the silk tightly on the embroidery hoop and hurriedly began to trace a design.
She had noticed that men's pouches often had embroidered patterns of plum, orchid, bamboo, and chrysanthemum. After some thought, she decided to embroider a cluster of orchids. If she worked through the night, it would be ready by morning, just in time to give to Gu Chuan as a return gift when he presented her with his.
Yingzi was suddenly full of energy, and she moved closer to the candlelight to start embroidering.
