Impératrice douairière Xiaoxuan

Chapitre 118

Half an hour later, Zhao Yu and Mo Yan, both disguised as ordinary Liao women, strolled leisurely near the Zhu Xia Gate, the most bustling area of Zhongjing. Many shops had closed yesterday due to the Empress Dowager's funeral, but they were all open today. Although the white banners were still in place, business beneath them was still bustling.

Mo Yan pulled Zhao Yu into the silk shop she had visited before, and bought several more feet of fabric than she had bought previously. The shopkeeper was all smiles, asking her if the fabric was so good that she had come back to buy more for others.

After giving the shopkeeper a few perfunctory words, Mo Yan grabbed the fabric and ran off. On the way, Zhao Yu glanced at her sideways and said sarcastically, "You're planning to make clothes for Zhan Zhao, aren't you?"

Seeing that she had been seen through, Mo Yan smiled and nodded repeatedly, praising, "Princess, you are so clever."

Zhao Yu was clearly unimpressed: "Even a fool could guess who else you would make clothes for besides Zhan Zhao."

"Princess, please don't tell Brother Zhan!" Mo Yan pleaded again.

"What? You want to scare him?"

"What does 'startle' mean? It means to give him a surprise."

"..." Zhao Yu rolled her eyes at her and reminded her, "It's early summer now. If you don't finish this dress until the winter solstice, you'll scare him."

Mo Yan scratched her ear: "It can't be that bad, can it?"

"Who could know?"

Zhao Yu shrugged, mimicking her gesture, and continued walking forward.

The two wandered the streets, eventually entering a bookstore to browse, but found nothing of interest and had to leave. They then went into a sword shop. The swords used by the Liao people differed from those of the Han, as they were accustomed to making a living on horseback, and their weapons were primarily curved sabers. Mo Yanxi, however, had no interest in swords and quickly lost interest after a few glances; Zhao Yu, on the other hand, examined the sabers carefully, and after a long while, chose a small, dagger-like curved saber.

"How is it? Isn't it beautiful?" Zhao Yu called Mo Yan over to admire it.

Mo Yan took the curved sword, quickly drew it out and inserted it, saying truthfully, "It's not very good, much worse than my senior sister's sword."

Zhao Yu retrieved the knife, ignoring her words, and asked the shopkeeper the price. Unfortunately, the knife was quite expensive, and Mo Yan didn't have enough silver on her. Zhao Yu, of course, didn't have any silver either, so he could only instruct the shopkeeper to deliver the knife to Datong Pavilion the next day.

After leaving the sword shop, Mo Yan asked curiously, "Princess, why did you insist on buying that sword? It's so expensive, and it might not even be good."

"It's better if we don't need it."

Zhao Yu simply said that he was unwilling to explain any further.

As they continued walking, Mo Yan spotted the plaque of "Linlang Embroidery Shop" at a glance. Remembering Zhan Zhao's instructions, she prepared to walk straight past without looking at it, but Zhao Yu grabbed her arm: "There's an embroidery shop. It looks like it was run by people from the Song Dynasty. Let's go in and take a look."

"Princess, I have no interest in embroidery..."

Before Mo Yan could finish speaking, she saw Zhao Yu step inside, and had no choice but to follow.

Chapter 51

The embroidery shop was indeed quite deserted. Sandalwood incense was burning, its strong fragrance having a calming effect. Amidst the sandalwood incense, a woman, about forty years old, sat behind an embroidery frame, completely absorbed in her work. Even when customers entered, she didn't even lift her head.

While Zhao Yu was examining the embroidery, Mo Yan had already secretly scrutinized the woman several times, from her hair to the embroidered shoes peeking out from the frame, finally settling on the woman's hands—fair and slender, unlike the bony knuckles of someone accustomed to using weapons. It was a pity that her palms couldn't be seen, otherwise she could have judged the woman by the location of the calluses on her fingers.

"Are you from the Song Dynasty?" Zhao Yu asked the woman after examining the embroidery.

The woman then raised her head and smiled, "Yes, are you also from the Song Dynasty, young lady?"

Zhao Yu smiled and nodded. Meeting someone from her hometown in a foreign land naturally evoked a sense of warmth, and as a princess, she couldn't help but show concern for Song people doing business in Liao.

"The embroidery isn't bad, so why does business seem so slow?" She noticed that some of the embroidery pieces were covered in a layer of dust.

The woman simply smiled and did not answer.

Zhao Yu sighed knowingly, "No wonder, how many people in Liaodong would appreciate embroidery?"

Seeing Zhao Yu sigh, the woman smiled and said, "Actually, it's not too bad. Although ordinary people rarely come to buy, some officials often place orders, so we can still keep going."

"Are you the only one in this shop?" Mo Yan asked casually from the side.

The woman nodded.

Zhao Yu asked curiously, "And what about your husband?"

Upon hearing this, the woman's face darkened, and she said softly, "My husband passed away many years ago."

Zhao Yu sighed softly and said sympathetically, "I didn't expect you to be doing business here all by yourself. It must be really tough for a woman like you." She pulled Mo Yan over and instructed, "From now on, we'll buy all our embroidery here. When we get back to the shop, tell everyone else to buy theirs here too."

"..." Mo Yan didn't know what to say, so she could only nod and sigh in her heart: Now that you've said that, even if this woman is stupid, she'll know that you must be of noble status.

Upon hearing this, the woman, though not revealing anything, respectfully bowed to Zhao Yu and said, "Thank you, young lady."

“No need for thanks. We are all Song people, and it is only right for us to help each other in a foreign land,” Zhao Yu said with a smile.

Almost simultaneously, Mo Yan stepped forward, gently lifting the woman up with both hands, and said with a smile, "Get up quickly." As she spoke, her hand gently grasped the woman's hand, and as she withdrew it, it naturally slid from her palm to her fingertips.

Her palms had no calluses, but her fingertips did. Was this person really just an embroiderer? Her doubts deepened.

"Send some embroidery to Datong Pavilion tomorrow, and I'll take my time to choose," Zhao Yu said with a smile to the woman. "By the way, I still don't know how to address you?"

My husband's family name is Fang.

"So it's Mrs. Fang."

As the two were talking, Mo Yan lowered her head and looked down, seemingly admiring the embroidery on the embroidery frame. Suddenly, she noticed that there was a needle holder and several silk handkerchiefs in a small bamboo basket next to the embroidery frame. Under the silk handkerchiefs, she could vaguely see a piece of leather-like material, but she could not tell what it was.

If she were to fake a fall and knock over the embroidery frame, the traces would be too obvious. She considered the matter for a moment. Brother Zhan had warned her not to act rashly. The situation was unclear at the moment, and if she revealed any traces, it might ruin Brother Zhan's plans. It was best to remain still for the time being.

Just as she was lost in thought, six guards from the Datong Pavilion suddenly entered. Ignoring Zhao Yu's casual attire, they all bowed to her and said loudly, "Your subordinates respectfully welcome the princess back to the pavilion."

"So it's a princess! I deserve to die!" Madam Fang hurriedly knelt down.

“Ignorance is no excuse. Get up quickly,” Zhao Yu said hastily, giving Mo Yan a look that signaled her to step forward and help Madam Fang up.