Although oil painting and traditional Chinese painting are two completely different schools of art from East and West, art and beauty always share common ground. The orchid painting before her—whether in its brushstrokes, details, or composition—was definitely not something one could accomplish without at least three to five years of practice!
Qiuyun spoke honestly, “I can sketch some flowers, birds, and insects—that’s basic embroidery skill.”
“Sister Xiaoqiu, you’re amazing! How do you seem to know everything?” Jiang Chuling exclaimed in delight.
Qiuyun smiled modestly, “It’s not like I know everything. For instance, those function equations that are driving you crazy, Miss Jiang? I’m terrible at those.”
Jiang Chuling had recently been preparing for middle school-level Olympiad math and was struggling terribly with the problems. Knowing that Sister Xiaoqiu had only graduated from high school and wasn’t strong in academics, she said considerately, “Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. But, Sister Xiaoqiu, since you’re so talented, why not start a social media account like those bloggers and share your daily life? Stuff related to traditional techniques is really popular now.”
The internet?
Qiuyun fell into thought.
Sometimes, her memories of her past life felt like a dream. She had scoured books on history but never found any mention of the Great Qi dynasty—as if it had never existed at all. It was like Zhuangzi dreaming of being a butterfly, or a butterfly dreaming of being Zhuangzi.
“I’ll… think about it,” Qiuyun said softly.
She did have a private wish: to leave traces of the Great Qi dynasty in this vibrant world where it no longer existed.
“Then, Sister Xiaoqiu, could you sketch a design for me? I’ll carve it into wood later,” Jiang Chuling said, unable to put the painting down.
Qiuyun smiled. “What’s so hard about that? What kind of design would you like?”
“Hmm, how about a dragonfly? I’ve carved a lot of flowers, grass, and little animals, but never an insect.”
“Sure.”
Qiuyun found some blank paper and drew each of the six faces of the dragonfly. Seeing this, Jiang Chuling realized that Sister Xiaoqiu’s understanding of wood carving was far from the “just a little” she had claimed.
“Thanks, Sister Xiaoqiu!” Jiang Chuling tucked the drawings away with a grin, then looked around the small windowless room. “Do you want to come upstairs with me? I’ll carve wood while you embroider. There’s no sunlight here, and the light isn’t that bright—you don’t want to ruin your eyesight.”
Working in a more open, brighter space was certainly better.
Qiuyun happily agreed. “Thank you for your consideration, Miss Jiang.”
For the next week, Qiuyun stayed close to Jiang Chuling—whether she was carving wood, riding horses, sketching, or studying, the two were almost inseparable.
Since Qiuyun had real work to do, Jiang Chuling stopped asking her to interrupt constantly and instead assigned the fetching, pouring, and serving tasks to Teacher Lan. Qiuyun only needed to check the nanny bag before they went out; she didn’t have to worry about anything else.
“Teacher Lan, have someone bring two glasses of juice upstairs.”
Children’s likes and dislikes are obvious and unpretentious. Jiang Chuling liked Qiuyun, so she treated her as one of her own, always thinking of giving good things to her friend.
“…All right.”
Lan Xin’s expression stiffened. She forced a smile and went downstairs, telling Sister Fang and Sister Yuan to squeeze two glasses of juice.
Wow, not long ago, that woman Qiuyun had been groveling before her, using her connections to secure expensive fruit just to win her favor. Now Lan Xin had become the tea-serving girl, running around waiting on others.
Qiuyun didn’t pay attention to Lan Xin’s expression. Instead, she slowly embroidered a fan cover.
In front of the head of the family, she had to hold back slightly, making sure they felt the 200,000 yuan was well spent. She couldn’t finish the embroidery in just four or five days—it would seem hastily done and cheap.
“Sister Xiaoqiu, Sixth Sister says she wants you over there.”
They each worked a while longer. After lunch, it was already one in the afternoon—time to get dressed and prepare for the evening birthday banquet.
Qiuyun said, “Okay, I’ll go first. I’ll come back and do your hair.”
“Mm!”
Sixth Miss Jiang Chuyu had just turned fourteen. This was the age when a girl begins to blossom, and she ought to dress up carefully—hairstyle, makeup, jewelry, nail art, clothes, and shoes all needed careful coordination. It wasn’t like Jiang Chuling, who was still a child and could get by with a puffy dress and a princess braid.
“Sixth Miss, I’m here.”
When Qiuyun arrived, the West Maple Pavilion was bustling with activity. The Sixth Miss was surrounded by staff—someone ironing clothes, someone arranging shoes, someone doing her nails, someone applying makeup. The scene was as busy as the Duchess of her former household getting ready for a palace banquet.
Jiang Chuyu spared a moment to say, “Xiao Wei, show her my new outfit and makeup for today.”
For wealthy young ladies, finalizing an outfit meant having a studio use models to try things on and present the best combinations. But Qiuyun had only received a revised styling plan yesterday, and now it had changed again.
The Sixth Miss’s personal assistant, Xiao Wei, handed Qiuyun a tablet and said apologetically, “This is a formal occasion, so our Miss wants to take extra care.”
Qiuyun smiled back. “I understand.”
The Jiang family’s young ladies generally had to wait until they were fourteen, when they developed a more graceful figure, for the elders to allow them to wear gowns and high heels at banquets.
This birthday banquet was the first formal event where Sixth Miss would appear before people without a child’s princess puffy dress. Naturally, she wanted to make it special.
The newly chosen outfit was a bit more lively and adorable than yesterday’s—a light willow green, off-the-shoulder dress with layers of tulle at the hem, full of the agility and freshness of youth.
To be honest, it was definitely better than yesterday’s pure white one.
Qiuyun thought briefly, then quickly pinned a hairstyle onto the model’s head using clips, arranging it for Sixth Miss to approve.
The style resembled the “drooping-bun” from her era but was much puffier and lighter, giving an unusually gentle yet playful look—like an advanced version of a ponytail.
“Okay, this is the one.”
Jiang Chuyu loved it immediately and asked the studio’s hairstylist to assist Qiuyun.
This fashion studio had long-term contracts with the Jiang family’s third branch. Now that Sixth Miss was older, they could have expected extra work. But they were told this time they didn’t need a hairstylist; someone else had been chosen instead.
Though not hired, the hairstylist was still annoyed and wanted to see who had stolen the job. To her surprise, it turned out to be a Jiang family assistant.
At first, the hairstylist was unconvinced, especially since this new assistant looked so young—probably under twenty, with less professional experience than the stylist herself!
But a master’s skill becomes obvious the moment they begin. The moment Qiuyun picked up the comb and started brushing, the hairstylist’s eyes locked on her.
That brushing technique had been something the stylist had learned over ten years in the business. Only after moving to her current studio and dealing with wealthy ladies and society girls had she paid a master to teach her this treasured skill.
Because combing inevitably pulls the scalp roots, and if you accidentally hurt these delicate clients, you’d never get another chance. You’d be replaced on the spot.
…Where on earth had this girl learned that!
