Cuando el amor se acerca, es como la nieve

Capítulo 3

Su Sanshou was a man, yet he could embroider unparalleled works of art. It is said that even the most skilled embroiderers in Suzhou and Hangzhou were ashamed of their own work when they saw Su Sanshou's embroidery.

Su Sanshou is one of three brothers.

Legend has it that the three Su brothers were born into poverty, orphaned at a young age. The eldest son led his two younger brothers to chop wood for a living. One day, while chopping wood in the mountains, they encountered a pack of ferocious wolves! The eldest brother, wielding a wood-chopping knife, charged left and right, while the second brother protected the youngest brother, preventing the wolves from getting close. It was an exceptionally fierce battle! The ravenous wolves, their eyes bloodshot, bared their sharp, white teeth, drooling profusely, circling their almost-captured prey; while the three ragged boys, wielding rusty wood-chopping knives, fought valiantly against the wolves…

When the villagers rushed up the mountain with torches and rescued the three brothers, they found that the eldest son of the Su family had his arms covered in blood and flesh, his hands had been bitten off by the hungry wolves, and he was lying on the ground unconscious. The second brother's hand, which was holding a wood-chopping knife, was bitten so badly that only a thin layer of skin remained on his wrist. His other intact hand was holding his younger brother, who had cried himself unconscious, and he was gritting his teeth to hold on.

Although the three brothers survived the wolf attack, they were left with only three hands! The eldest brother could no longer chop wood, and the second brother's remaining hand could barely support the family. So, the youngest brother, who was only nine years old at the time, ran away from the village one night.

The third brother of the Su family actually went to Xun Huiniang, the number one embroiderer in Jiangzhou City at the time, who was known as the "Needle Goddess," and said, "I want to learn the best embroidery in the world."

Xun Huiniang never imagined that a mountain boy who made a living by chopping wood would want to learn her world-renowned embroidery skills. Countless noble ladies and young women from prominent families wanted to learn her needlework skills, but none of them could find the way. Although this child's eyes were exceptionally bright, how could a pair of rough hands used for chopping wood hold an embroidery needle and handle the embroidery thread? So, she tactfully told Su's third brother that his hands were too dark and too rough to handle embroidery needles as fine as cow hair.

Upon hearing this, the stubborn boy remained silent, turned, and ran out of the embroidery shop. Five days later, the boy ran back to Xun Huiniang and extended his hand—

His arms were still dark and rough, but his hands had become clean and smooth!

The boy said, word by word, "I soaked my hands in hot soapberry water for five days and scrubbed them with a brush for five days. Now my hands can hold an embroidery needle!"

Xun Huiniang was taken aback! She was not only surprised by the change in the child's hand, but also by the look in his eyes, which were resolute and stubborn, as if to say, "Even if you make any more demands, I will do them!"

Thus, Xun Huiniang accepted her first and only male apprentice.

This apprentice was also her most outstanding apprentice. Ten years later, Su Sanshou's name became famous throughout the world!

The youngest brother of the Su family said, "Su Sanshou is the name of three people. All three of us are Su Sanshou."

Su San's embroidery works include Su Da's paintings, Su Er's calligraphy, and Su San's embroidery skills.

Everything from mountains and rivers to flowers, birds, fish and insects could be incorporated into Su Sanshou's embroidery. Even on the roughest linen, Su Sanshou's embroidery would be worth a hundred taels of silver.

I held up one finger and smiled at the Yun mother and son, "How about we make a deal?"

"A deal?!" Madam Yun asked in surprise, "Miss Bai, I wonder if you want to do something with us..." Her face was full of astonishment.

"Madam, please don't panic, I mean no harm." I crossed my arms and leaned back comfortably in the bamboo chair. "Does Madam not wish to restore the reputation of Guiyun Manor?" I fixed my gaze on Yun Yiyang, who was looking at me with curiosity and hope. "As long as you agree to cooperate with me, Guiyun Manor will surely rise again in Jiangzhou City in a year, no, in the entire Shanxi Province!"

"Really! Sister in white, is it true? Mother, this is wonderful!" Yun Yiyang jumped up and shouted. Madam Yun pondered for a long time before slowly saying, "But to be honest, Miss, Guiyun Manor is not what it used to be. The land is becoming increasingly scarce, and the few cloth shops we have are doing very poor business. To revive Guiyun Manor is no easy task, and besides..."

"Besides, you only took me in, and you don't know my background, do you?" Seeing Madam Yun's hesitant expression, I interjected, "You'll have to think this through. You've taken me in, and I will never deceive you, but I also won't tell you my background... But I promise, I will do my best to restore Guiyun Manor to its former glory!"

Yun Yiyang stared at me for a long while with his large, clear, dark eyes, then suddenly stood up and said, "I believe in Sister Baiyi!" He stretched out his dark hand, grasped mine tightly, and shook it vigorously. "From the day you suddenly appeared outside our Guiyun Manor, I felt that you were sent by heaven to help our Yun family!" This dark-skinned, thin young man revealed a bright, sunny smile. "As the young master of Guiyun Manor, I welcome you to our Yun family!"

"What do we need to do now?" Yun Yiyang looked at me curiously.

In just three days, I helped him sell almost all the remaining unsold fabrics in Guiyun Manor, which made the boy look at me with such admiration every day, as if I had some kind of secret.

There's no secret to it, it's just about lowering the price.

Guiyunzhuang's fabrics are thick, durable, and washable, but they don't sell for just one reason: the styles are outdated.

So I wrote a few big characters in front of the cloth shop: Clearance Sale, 30% Off! Yun Yiyang was shocked and grabbed my hand, exclaiming, "Sister Bai, you can't do this! Our Yun family's cloth has never been discounted to seventy coins per foot! If it's twenty coins per foot, what will become of our Yun family's reputation!"

"Reputation?" I turned around, looking at his surprised and anxious expression with a half-smile. "You know, when a person or a manor is down on their luck, reputation doesn't matter." I looked up at the yellow leaves fluttering leisurely in the evening breeze in the distance, my voice hollow and deep: "You must remember, when you one day rebuild Guiyun Manor, the dignity and reputation you desire will come to you."

"Now, tell me, in Jiangzhou City, no, in the entire Shanxi province, who is the most famous for embroidery?"

"It's Su Sanshou, of course it's Su Sanshou!"

"Alright, let's go invite Su Sanshou."

“However… Su Sanshou has a very troublesome habit…” Yun Yiyang said with difficulty.

A faint smile played on my lips: "There are always exceptions to the rule."

I, dressed in white, will be the exception to this convention.

As I put on the long black robe that Madam Yun had made for me, and she carefully styled my jet-black hair into a man's bun, securing it with an ebony hairpin, my gaze gradually became calm and serene.

Since I cannot choose my present, I must take control of my future. In the Song Dynasty, where scholars held power and women were treated as worthless, if I want to be strong, I must abandon my identity as a woman!

Since my ambitions have been thwarted, why not indulge in unrestrained revelry...

I stood up and took the veil and hat that Madam Yun handed me. The black veil covered my pale face. In that instant, I suddenly felt that I had become that white-clad figure who was always dashing and carefree in the university classroom and commanding in the courtroom. That heroic spirit and free spirit returned to me!

"Let's go!" My voice suddenly turned low. I turned around and smiled at the stunned Yun Yiyang. The black veil flowed, and my smile was hidden in a veil of mist.

"Let's go find Su Sanshou."

Su Sanshou's custom: First, regardless of size, each embroidered piece costs one hundred taels of silver.

Secondly, Su Sanshou only produces one embroidery piece per month, but there is no fixed date for when it will be completed, so you will have to wait.

Third, and most importantly, you must answer the questions Su Sanshou answers, and his questions are often unexpected.

Su Sanshou said, "If these three requirements are not met, even the Emperor himself cannot buy my embroidery."

But there is no Emperor or God.

Therefore, silk merchants from both the north and south, large and small businesses alike flocked to it, obediently following the custom of Su Sanshou.

I sat on a bamboo chair, leisurely sipping the tea I had brewed in a bamboo cup.

Su Sanshou's house, stools, tables... except for his embroidery which was embroidered on the finest silk, were all made of bamboo. On his bamboo house were four elegant characters: Tingzhu Xiaozhu (Listening to Bamboo Cottage).

"What a wonderful Listening Bamboo Cottage!" I exclaimed, raising a cup of tea to my lips.

This is my eighteenth cup of tea.