The Emperor’s Beloved Ugly Girl

66. A’Chou’s Embroidery

Translator: Iris Guo

A’Chou didn’t want to do embroidery in front of others at first, but she had no reason to refuse Mrs. Chen after the old lady called her “girl” intimately. Therefore, she took the needle from Mrs. Chen and started to embroider on the cloth carefully.

“You’re so good at it. The stitches are neat, and the pattern looks nice.” Mrs. Chen sat next to A’Chou, watched her embroidering, and turned to Chen Qingxuan: “Qingxuan, come! The flowers she embroidered look much better than what is on the dress of the wife of the Magistrate of Prefecture. Tsk Tsk! She’s truly from the capital. Right?”

Chen Qingxuan leaned over to check A’Chou’s work. The needle in her hand moved flexibly on the cloth for a while. Then a piece of long bamboo leaf came into shape. He also couldn’t stop praising: “Right. Looks really nice.”

“Girl, who taught you this?” Mrs. Chen looked at the vivid picture of the bamboo leaf and couldn’t help asking.

“Some… elder members of my family.” said A’Chou.

Actually, it was Mammy Xiang that taught A’Chou how to embroider, but she didn’t want to share her past.

“Girl, your deft hands would earn you everything. Let alone other places, I’m sure that every woman in the Chen Village would eagerly ask you to embroider for them before they go out.” Mrs. Chen checked the cloth repeatedly and became more and more satisfied. Then, she held A’Chou’s hand and said heartily: “Girl, if you like, I would get some good work for you. You’ll make a lot of money counting on your skill.”

“Really?” A’Chou beamed with pleasure and hastened to get up and bow to Mrs. Chen: “Ma’am, thank you for your kindness.”

“It’s a pleasure. I’ll keep an eye on the job.” Mrs. Chen patted A’Chou on the shoulder with a smile.

A’Chou spent a while doing embroidery, so she dared not stay at Chen Qingxuan’s house for too long because she worried that Zhong Mingwei was home alone. Therefore, she left Chen Qingxuan half of the fungi she picked and said goodbye to Mrs. Chen hurriedly.

Chen Qingxuan walked A’Chou out. He looked at her smiling face, but he couldn’t laugh at all.

“Mr. Chen, you can go back now.” When they went out of the fence, A’Chou said goodbye to him.

“You… Is your family short of money?” After a long while of hesitation, Chen Qingxuan couldn’t help asking this question. He sized A’Chou up and continued: “Is there anyone else in your family? Why do they let a girl go out to find a job?”

It seemed to Chen Qingxuan that A’Chou was fourteen at most, awfully young. However, every time he saw her, she was dashing around for food or work. In the Great Zhou Dynasty, the tradition was that women, not to mention teenage girls, shouldn’t expose themselves in public. He couldn’t bear to see her struggle, so he was dissatisfied with her family.

“My family… He is not well, so I offer to help.” whispered A’Chou while looking at the huge mountain behind her. “I’m willing to help. I just wish that I could look after him for the rest of my life.”

A’Chou’s voice became lower and lower, so Chen Qingxuan didn’t hear her last sentence at all. He watched her go up the mountain with a big bamboo basket on her back while dragging her dress in case the mud splashed on it. The plum blossom on her dress was hazy in the distance, which disappeared in the verdant hill full of the fragrance after raining.

…

A’Chou and Zhong Mingwei had dumplings the other day, and they had noodles these days, which he asked for.

A’Chou made noodles herself, along with the fried topping made of shredded meat, fungi, and tofu. As soon as she entered the chamber with food, he hastened to wipe his hands with the handkerchief and prepared to eat. Nowadays, he could move both of his arms, and he tried to feed himself rather than depending on her. Although his movement wasn’t flexible, his condition was much better anyway. More importantly, the progress had given him hope.

“Are you able to hold the chopsticks?” A’Chou had the bowl in her hand for a while, but she didn’t eat and just looked at Zhong Mingwei‘s trembling hands, worried. “How about helping you this time? You can practice tomorrow.”