Mu Wan Yun chuckled softly. "If my husband isn't jealous, then why have you come to my place at this hour?"
Lu Jingxing frowned. "I just don't want to see you use your face, identical to Mu Wanruo's, to seduce and harm Mingsang. I came here merely to warn you."
Mu Wan Yun asked curiously, "Aren't the Wei and Mu families supposed to be enemies? Then how could Wei Mingsang have been so utterly humiliated because of my sister?"
"That is none of your concern!"
Lu Jingxing's gaze fell on the spot on Mu Wan Yun's neck that Wei Mingsang had touched, and an inexplicable, intense displeasure washed over him. "You just need to remember this: stay away from Wei Mingsang from now on!"
Mu Wan Yun replied obediently, "Since my husband doesn't want me looking at other men, I simply won't..."
After speaking, Mu Wan Yun stood on her tiptoes again and whispered softly in Lu Jingxing's ear:
"Husband, Wanyun has missed you so much these past few nights. I miss you so much I can't sleep alone...
I also had quite a scare today. Can my husband stay and keep me company?"
Lu Jingxing glanced at Mu Wan Yun, then flung her hand away with a flick of his sleeve. "Mu Wan Yun, you and I are divorced! Have some decency!"
With that, Lu Jingxing left the small cabin.
Mu Wan Yun was left alone. She was exhausted, so after Lu Jingxing's rejection, she just lay down to rest.
Lu Jingxing left Mu Wan Yun's small courtyard and went straight back to Ganlu Palace. He ordered Qiu Chi, "Prepare cold water. I wish to bathe."
"Cold water?" Zhang Qiuchi heard this and tried to reason with him. "Your Majesty, if you bathe in cold water in this weather, I'm afraid you'll catch a cold..."
Lu Jingxing gave Zhang Qiuchi a cool glance, and Zhang Qiuchi could only comply. "This servant will go and prepare the cold water at once."
「...」
The next morning, Mu Wan Yun got up early and went to the embroidery workshop.
The dress was already taking shape. Beneath the dark green Huzi Skirt, water ripples shimmered.
Mu Wan Yun looked at the garment on the rack, very satisfied.
All that was left was to embroider the Peacock Feather Pattern on the outer Big Sleeve Shirt, and then the work would be complete.
The embroidery on the Big Sleeve Shirt was primarily a Peacock Feather Pattern.
Mu Wan Yun used a washable pen to lightly sketch the Peacock Feather Pattern onto the Big Sleeve Shirt.
Xiao Die and Xiao Tang came over to Mu Wan Yun's side.
Xiao Tang asked, "Wanyun, who are you making this dress for?"
Mu Wan Yun replied, "For Miss Wei."
Xiao Die said in surprise, "But this is linen! Even the palace maids in the palace wear silk. How could Miss Wei possibly wear linen?"
Xiao Tang also asked, confused, "Why are you also making a dress for Miss Wei?
Last night, Sister Ru Yan and the rest of us stayed up all night, using that golden thread you broke to embroider a phoenix that covers the entire back.
We worked the whole night and only finished a small part of it. We're just trying to get it done before the old madam's birthday banquet.
Why are you making another dress?"
Mu Wan Yun said, "Miss Wei asked me to make a dress. Besides, that phoenix is really not a good idea."
'Lu Jingxing already told me that the Empress is not Wei Minlan. It would be completely inappropriate for Wei Minlan to wear a dress covered with a phoenix.'
Ru Yan came in and overheard Mu Wan Yun. "Wanyun, it's somewhat reasonable to be concerned about the future Empress.
But embroidering a phoenix has to be better than having Miss Wei wear a linen dress, don't you think?
Besides, Miss Wei wants to make a name for herself. A golden phoenix covering the back is extremely fitting."
Seeing that Ru Yan was so insistent, Mu Wan Yun didn't argue.
Mu Wan Yun finally finished sketching the Peacock Feather Pattern and wanted to find people to help her embroider it, but she couldn't find a single embroiderer willing to help.
Every palace maid she asked had an excuse.
"Wanyun, I'm sorry, I have to go help Ru Yan with the golden phoenix."
"Sorry, Wanyun, I still have to embroider His Majesty's spring robes. I don't have time to help you."
Mu Wan Yun finally found an embroiderer who seemed to be free and approached her with a sweet tone, "Pretty sister, could I trouble you to help me embroider Miss Wei's dress?"
The palace maid shook her head. "I'm sorry, Wanyun, I'm busy with something right now. And this afternoon, I have to take a turn embroidering the phoenix. I really don't have any spare time to help you."
With no other choice, Mu Wan Yun had to go find Lin Siming.
The Peacock Feather Pattern on the Big Sleeve Shirt wasn't easy to embroider. There was no way she could finish such a large piece on her own in just a few days.
Mu Wan Yun went to Lin Siming and said, "Lin Siming, this servant cannot find anyone to help embroider the Big Sleeve Shirt for Miss Wei.
Most of the sisters in the Clothing Bureau are busy embroidering the phoenix, and that phoenix..."
Lin Siming interrupted her. "You can't put all your eggs in one basket. I can't rely solely on a newcomer like you to make Miss Wei's dress.
If what you make fails to satisfy Miss Wei, we still have the magnificent dress Ru Yan is making.
Ru Yan specifically said she had a way to use the broken golden thread to embroider the phoenix, so all the most skilled embroiderers went to work on that.
There are a hundred embroiderers in the Clothing Bureau. Just find some of the others on duty to help you. If the embroidery for the peacock pattern is a bit inferior, so be it."
Mu Wan Yun said, looking troubled, "At a time like this, this servant certainly wouldn't be picky about others' skills. After all, to me, their skills are far superior to my own. It's just that not a single one is willing to help me embroider the dress."
Lin Siming frowned. "Mu Wan Yun, it's not that I am deliberately making things difficult for you. In the palace, everyone serves their own master..."
Mu Wan Yun didn't understand Lin Siming's meaning. "Lin Siming, this servant is slow-witted. I don't understand what 'everyone serves their own master' means."
Lin Siming said slowly, "This task of making a dress for Miss Wei is tied to the position of Chief of the Clothing Bureau. The current Chief is about to leave the palace.
The calls for Ru Yan to become the next Chief are very high. If you were one of the junior palace maids, would you help someone who just arrived a few days ago go against the future Chief?"
Mu Wan Yun said, "This servant has no intention of going against Ru Yan."
Lin Siming replied, "You may not want to go against her, but yesterday, I said in front of Lord Shang Gong that whoever makes the dress that satisfies Miss Wei will become the next Chief.
If you can make a dress that satisfies Miss Wei, the position of Chief will be yours.
Ru Yan is already twenty years old and is considered a veteran in the Clothing Bureau. She is dead set on getting the position of Chief!"
Mu Wan Yun said, "I see. But since this servant has already promised Miss Wei that I will make a good dress, I will naturally do my very best.
Besides, the position of Chief should be earned through skill. This isn't about opposition, it's about competing on our own merits."
'I don't know what rank of female official the Chief is, but if I can become the Chief, I'm willing to give it a try.
As the daughter of a convicted official, if I were to leave the palace weak and without support, I probably wouldn't survive for more than three days.
There's no telling when my husband will forgive me.
Only by becoming the Chief will I earn a higher monthly stipend and not have to worry about being able to afford chicken drumsticks.
In the future, even if my husband truly never forgives me and kicks me out of the palace, I would still have been a female official. If I returned to my village, even Village Chief Li Zheng would have to show me some respect.'
Lin Siming said, "You certainly have ambition.
The palace isn't like your countryside. Forming cliques and stepping on others to get ahead is commonplace here.
Since you want to be the Chief, you'll have to figure out how to find people to embroider on your own."
Mu Wan Yun agreed.
After leaving, Mu Wan Yun, unfamiliar with the palace layout, found herself lost as soon as she left Lin Siming's room.
Relying only on her sense of direction, she steeled herself and walked forward. Suddenly, she heard a cacophony of chirping and squawking.
She followed the sounds into a palace building and saw a garden full of green peafowl.
There were several dozen peacocks crying out loudly, and the moment she stepped inside, an overwhelming stench filled the air.