Chapter 45

**Chapter 45**

"So you’ll be promoted to Deputy Chief Embroiderer then?" Luo Yu’e’s anger turned to joy as she looked at her daughter.

She’d been upset that her daughter came home late and missed a good match. She hadn’t expected such a fortunate turn of events.

Jin Niang smiled. "Not Chief, just Deputy. It’s because the clothes I make are rarely returned, even if some people do find fault. I also finish my work faster than the others, so Master Gu trusts me."

Wei Xiong added, "So you’ll be able to stay at the Embroidery Academy for good? That’s great news!"

For Wei Xiong, who feared change, a steady job meant everything. At their age, stability was more important than anything else.

Jin Niang, however, laughed. "Nothing lasts forever. Right now, this is a good opportunity, but I’m only filling in temporarily. There may be a new Deputy Chief later."

Thinking about it, she skipped embroidery that evening to chat with her parents instead.

Her mother sighed regretfully. "Today’s match was your father’s comrade’s son. He’s currently studying, and his father helps manage a warehouse. Their family has two rooms and an attic. No point regretting it now..."

"No point regretting it," Jin Niang replied. "If I’m good enough, they’ll come. If not, even if we met, they wouldn’t want me."

Her mother, like any parent—even modern ones—worried about her daughter growing older. Jin Niang understood Luo Yu’e’s concerns.

But she wouldn’t live for her parents’ approval.

Even though Luo Yu’e loved her dearly, she still thought only her son could bring honor to the family. A daughter’s skills were just tools to ensure a better life after marriage.

Jin Niang wouldn’t argue. She’d just focus on her goal: earning a thousand strings of cash.

A few days later, Jin Niang officially took up her new role. She expected embroidery to be her biggest hurdle, but managing people proved far harder.

She brought pastries to share with everyone, but some—even former friends—seemed suspicious of her motives. Wen Shuhui, the most straightforward, joked, "You’re spoiling us like this..."

Jin Niang replied, "How could I spoil you? We’re all in this together, serving the palace."

Sitting at the head embroidery frame, she felt a pang of loneliness.

Wen Shuhui and the others couldn’t help but feel resentful, whispering, "Why did Master Gu choose her?"

Xu Sanjie rubbed her belly. "Well, maybe her skills are better than ours."

Among their group, apart from the departed Meng Liniang, Jin Niang was the youngest. Most in the Embroidery Academy were seasoned embroiderers. Though her work was good—everyone knew Jin Niang finished more work each month, with fewer returns due to poor craftsmanship—it still didn’t sit right with them.

Meanwhile, Jin Niang had to familiarize herself with Master Gu’s duties. "We usually get our designs from the Imperial Art Academy. Here’s the roster of painters on duty there. You already know what garments are needed for major festivals, but you’ll need to assign daily tasks."

The Embroidery Academy operated on rotating shifts—one day off every ten days—but schedules varied so someone was always available.

The Floral Workshop had twenty people dedicated to embroidered screens: ten lead embroiderers and ten assistants. Another ten specialized in shoes, ten in handkerchiefs and sachets, and thirty in clothing.

Some were veterans, others slackers, latecomers, or simply distracted. Managing people was no easy task.

"Deputy Chief Wei, we must start on the winter solstice garments soon. No delays," the Chief Embroiderer instructed.

Jin Niang nodded and sent someone to fetch designs from the art academy. Normally, she’d collect the designs, pass them to the Chief Embroiderer, and then distribute them for production.

But she ran into trouble right away. Naturally impatient, she liked to move fast.

Coincidentally, Academician Wu from the Painting Academy unexpectedly took the day off today. Jin Niang said to the messenger, "But we have to get this sorted today—I still need to take it to the Chief Embroiderer later."

The messenger replied, "Chief Embroiderer, is there any other way?"

"Here’s what you do—ask someone from the Painting Academy where Academician Wu lives, and then go directly to his residence later. I’ll give you the carriage fare here. When you see him, make it sound urgent so he doesn’t delay this important matter," Jin Niang instructed.

Seeing Jin Niang hand him some spare coins, the messenger hurried off. But after a few steps, he turned back and said, "But we can’t afford to offend the academicians from the Painting Academy. What if they get angry and refuse?"

"This painting is for drafting patterns—it's not us pushing him, but a matter for the inner court. If he really can’t come back, then I’ll report it to the Chief Embroiderer, and it won’t be our problem," Jin Niang explained.

The messenger understood and quickly left.

Fortunately, Academician Wu was responsible enough to have the draft sent over. Jin Niang immediately began delegating work. She had already gone through all of Master Gu’s usual arrangements and now fell into the routine effortlessly.

Yet, she never expected that her first real challenge since taking over would come from the same embroiderers who had started with her.

"Jin Niang," Wen Shuhui said, "my husband was recently transferred by the shopkeeper to another location. The shopkeeper wants my husband and me to manage a small private property for him, so... I might have to leave."

Jin Niang knew this was resentment over her promotion—what a convenient excuse!

Still, she tried to persuade her: "The Winter Festival’s around the corner, and right after that comes the New Year. At least stay until after the New Year—you’ll get your New Year bonuses too."

"No, my family really has matters to attend to," Wen Shuhui smiled. She bore no personal grudge against Jin Niang; she simply couldn’t accept being under her command. After all, next to Jin Niang, she had done the most work. She hadn't expected Master Gu to choose Jin Niang instead of her.

Jin Niang smiled. "Alright, since you’ve made up your mind, let me explain—according to the rules, you’ll only receive half of this month’s wages. I’ll write out release papers for you, and you can take them to the Chief Embroiderer to stamp."

Good riddance to the old, bring in the new. Jin Niang realized why people preferred hiring newcomers—those just starting always showed respect, while veterans always found ways to slack off.

She straight-up suggested to the Chief Embroiderer that they recruit two more people.

Wen Shuhui had half-hoped Jin Niang would plead with her to stay, but she met with such decisiveness instead. Since the release papers were already written, she had no choice but to leave.

When Xu Sanjie privately approached Jin Niang later, she hinted carefully, "Why not keep her a few more days? That way, the Embroidery Academy wouldn’t be understaffed, and it’d avoid gossip about you."

Jin Niang thought—if she kept Wen Shuhui, wouldn’t they still talk? Gossip isn’t worth fretting over. She just needed to stay the course.

Her improved mood was even noticeable to Luo Yue. "A few days ago, you were pulling your hair out from stress. Now you seem better."

"I tend to panic easily, and when I do, everything feels wrong. Mother, managing people is harder than anything," Jin Niang sighed.

Luo Yue chuckled. "Isn’t that the truth? Dealing with people is the hardest. Look at us—business has picked up slightly lately, and now the landlord wants to raise the rent."

"Really? By how much?" Jin Niang asked.

"Eight strings of cash a year," Luo Yue sighed.

Jin Niang comforted her, "You’re still making about ten strings a month. Moving wouldn’t be cost-effective unless someday we have our own shop—that’d be ideal."

Luo Yue sounded like she was hearing a fairy tale. "Since when can folks like us afford a shop? Honestly, I just hope that once you’re married and your brother finishes his studies, your father and I can retire back to our hometown in Jiangling."

Jin Niang shook her head and looked back at the roster, stopping at one name—Zhu Tingfang.

Back when she was just an ordinary embroiderer, she used to imagine what it would be like to be in charge. She thought she’d be approachable, that kindness would be returned. But reality proved otherwise.

To truly manage dozens of people, she couldn’t do everything herself. She needed to choose the right people to help—promote one faction, sideline another.

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to her, Xu Sanjie was dining at Zou Yuee’s house. "There are plenty in the Embroidery Academy who resent Jin Niang. And now she’s pushed out her own allies—she’ll have no support left."

Zou Yuee and the others often gathered in private. Jin Niang had joined them at first, but later always excused herself, claiming she was busy. Now, as married women, their bond had grown deeper through intimate conversations.

"Yes, she's almost eighteen and still hasn't mentioned marriage, spending all her time at the Embroidery Academy as if she lives there."

Actually, Zou Yuee had married late herself and should've known better, but now that she was settled, she couldn’t help mocking those who weren’t.

Yet no matter how much they gossiped, it was useless. Jin Niang was busy selecting replacements. Zhu Tingfang had long been sidelined by the senior embroiderers there, though she had tried to ingratiate herself several times. She didn’t know how long she could keep her position as deputy head embroiderer, but now that she was in charge of the floral and avian workshop, she had to rely on talented but undervalued people.

"In a few days, I’ll promote you to supervisor. Your pay will go up by three hundred coppers. Of course, some may resent it, but I’ll keep them in line for now. After that, it’ll be up to you," Jin Niang smiled at Zhu Tingfang.

Zhu Tingfang was deeply moved. She hadn’t expected Head Embroiderer Wei to actually promote her. Excited, she said, "Don’t worry, I’ll manage everything well for you."

Jin Niang patted her shoulder. "Seems I didn’t choose wrong. Originally, they recommended you and Wang Xinghua to me. Don’t let me down."

Zhu Tingfang had been assigned to embroider screens before but was repeatedly pushed aside. Now, suddenly promoted to supervisor, she pounded her chest and vowed to do her best. Jin Niang had some hometown ties with Wang Xinghua, but Wang was the type who couldn’t tell good from bad and was wishy-washy—such a person would only create more problems in management.

Only after arranging the personnel did Jin Niang finally relax.

In her position as head embroiderer, Jin Niang also gained a more comprehensive understanding of needlework. Take, for example, the purple phoenix and magpie pattern sent by the Brocade Academy—woven on a purple warp foundation using the sectional weft brocade technique. Though Jin Niang didn’t know how to weave, as an expert embroiderer, she needed to learn how to mend. If such fabric were to tear one day, how should she repair it?

Now, with her authority, she could directly ask the senior embroiderers, who now didn’t dare hold back.

"Head Embroiderer, look—the warp surface is mainly single-thread brocading, with sections of even brocading in between. The fine parts have two warp threads, while the thick parts have five. So when repairing, you must first understand this structure to mend it properly," explained the senior embroiderer.

Jin Niang nodded. "Thank you for your guidance. I’ve learned much."

Here lay the most exquisite silks in the country, and now she could finally study them freely.

At lunch, she even visited the Brocade Academy. To her surprise, kesi weaving shared similarities with embroidery—both involved outlining predetermined patterns in ink on the warp threads, using raw silk for the warp and boiled silk for the weft, then interlacing them according to the design to create kesi artwork.

After becoming head embroiderer, Jin Niang no longer had to grind away at embroidery as before. She spent her days studying kesi and her evenings working on finished garments for the Shu Embroidery Studio.

She still didn’t dare attempt embroidered screens—not because of difficulty, but because they took too long. Ten senior embroiderers had worked on one for three years and still hadn’t finished. The robes for the emperor and his consorts were all made by others.

But this time, when the garments were delivered, the Shu Embroidery Studio was closed, with signs saying it would reopen in two months.

"Jin Niang, take this time to rest. All these years, you’ve never taken a break, not even for New Year’s," Luo Yuezhen said, hoping her daughter would focus more on her own marriage prospects and take a break.

Jin Niang laughed. "That won’t do. Even if the Shu Embroidery Studio is closed for two months, I can’t let my skills go dull. Now that I don’t have to embroider at the Embroidery Academy during the day, I still can’t waste my time."

Still, two months without extra income made Jin Niang sigh softly. She now felt that everything could change except herself. Like her former employer, the Shu Embroidery Studio—once bustling, now nearly deserted in the capital, on the verge of closing. She had visited once before. Jiang Shanjie hadn’t returned to Jiangling but stayed at the studio, even getting married. Now, who knew what she’d do now?

Unless it was her own shop.

If only she had a house and a shop of her own. Jin Niang paused at the thought—why couldn’t she? She now had over three hundred guan saved up. It wasn’t as if she lacked the means.

She’d wait two months. If the Shu Embroidery Studio didn’t reopen, she’d think of another plan.

This season was just right for visiting temples and praying. Rong Niang came by, looking to smooth things over. Given her status, she didn’t need to bother with these less fortunate relatives.

But they were family—she couldn’t just ignore them. After all, the families of her second and third uncles had never taken advantage of her. Besides, though she and Feng Sheng seemed fine on the surface, there were cracks beneath. Reconnecting with relatives would give her somewhere to turn later.

When Rong Niang arrived, the Wei family was already cooking dinner. She called for Luo Yuezhen as soon as she entered.

Luo Yuezhen was surprised. "What are you doing here at this time?"

"Aunt, these past couple of years, my young son Long’er has been too young for me to go out much. Now that I finally can, I thought I’d visit," Rong Niang said pleasantly.

Luo Yuezhen wasn’t about to turn her away. "Come in and sit, then. We just got back from the shop. I’m about to cook—make yourself at home."

Rong Niang even pitched in with the firewood and asked, "Is Jin Niang home?"

"How could she not be? She's off today and seems to still be asleep." Luo Yue knew her daughter well—on rest days, she'd go all out resting.

Rong Niang gave a slight smile. "Auntie, you ought to have her pitch in with chores. You're just too soft on her."

Luo Yue was perfectly straightforward about it. "Our Jin Niang isn't cut out for rough work like that. Of course, if she really wanted to cook, she could. Last time when her father and I went out to stock up, she even whipped up egg fried rice for her little brother."

Rong Niang thought to herself, *Nearly eighteen and all she can do is fry rice?* But she still said a few kind words about Jin Niang before asking, "Is Jin Niang still at the Embroidery Academy?"

Jin Niang had mentioned before that while she couldn’t boast about being made head embroiderer without reason, there was no need to hold back around condescending relatives like Feng Sheng’s wife. So when Rong Niang asked, Luo Yue didn’t hesitate: "Of course! Their old head embroiderer stepped down, and they recommended our Jin Niang to replace her. She now manages over a hundred people—it’s no small feat."

"Jin Niang became head embroiderer so quickly?" Rong Niang truly felt that a lot could change in a short time, and Jin Niang was proof of that.

Luo Yue played humble a bit. "It's not such a big deal. Jin Niang wasn’t even eager to take the job."

As she spoke, she flicked a strand of hair behind her ear with flair.

Rong Niang had only come by for a quick visit, but after hearing this, she made an excuse and left. When Jin Niang got up for breakfast and heard that Rong Niang had come and gone, she laughed, "Good riddance. I was worried we’d feel obliged to invite her along when we go to the temple later."

Since the Embroidery Academy was shut for now, Jin Niang still did sewing work, though not as intensely as before, so she had time to accompany her mother to the temple.

Much of the jealousy and resentment between sisters often stemmed from comparisons made by the older generation, ultimately rooted in their grandmother’s tendency to stir things up.

After the family finished eating, Wei Xiong prepared the carriage to take his wife and daughter to Kaibao Temple.

Figuring sincerity would bring good luck, Jin Niang decided to climb the steps on foot, and Luo Yue followed suit. Her thoughts, however, ran deeper than Jin Niang’s—her daughter was healthy, skilled at her craft, yet still unmarried.

Kaibao Temple was built to enshrine relics of King Ashoka. Its pagoda-like structure appeared octagonal from afar. Jin Niang, unused to walking this much, soon found herself out of breath.

She stood about five-foot-four and was pushing 150 pounds, so she broke a sweat easily.

As she caught her breath, she noticed a mother and son also climbing the steps with great devotion. Luo Yue, never one to shy away, struck up a chat with them.

The woman looked to be around fifty, with dark skin and neatly kept clothes. The lanky young man beside her was tall and thin, showing filial care as he supported his mother.

Luo Yue knew her daughter had a thing for good-looking guys—she’d already turned down some short pharmacist introduced by Old Lady Cai—so she figured it was worth striking up a conversation.

Unexpectedly, the woman, noticing Luo Yue’s elegant appearance—wearing a russet-green padded jacket paired with an indigo-dyed pleated skirt, a silk belt at her waist, two silver hairpins in her hair—and seeing the girl beside her, of average height, fair-skinned, plump but dressed in a rose-red silk jacket, pearl-white pleated skirt, gold rings on her fingers, her hair in a hanging bun adorned with a gold comb—clearly moneyed—and perked up.

"I'm here begging the gods for a grandson," the woman said. "I’ve got three daughters—two already gave me grandsons, but my youngest daughter only had a girl."

"With that kinda devotion, I’m sure you’ll get your boy," Luo Yue replied, though her smile stiffened slightly.

If this woman had three daughters before finally having a son, what if her own daughter married into such a family and had girls instead? Wouldn’t she face rejection?

Though Luo Yue cooled a bit, the woman remained enthusiastic, praising her son. "He works at Huixian Tower now, earns five strings a month."

Not wanting to continue the conversation, Luo Yue smiled politely. "Your son making that much at sixteen is impressive. My daughter here only makes a little over ten strings a month."

Hearing this, the woman turned to Jin Niang. "Now there’s a girl who’s goin’ places! It’s rare to see a girl earning so much."

"You flatter me. Just grindin’ away," Jin Niang replied modestly.

"I dunno why, but I just took a shine to you. Where are you folks staying? I’ve got golden salted duck eggs at home—I’ll bring you some."

Jin Niang caught on immediately and politely declined. "That’s sweet of you, but my mother’s so capable, we’ve got more than enough already. We’d better get goin’."

With that, she tugged her mother ahead until they were out of sight. Once out of earshot, they shared a look and cracked up laughing.

"Jin Niang, I don’t mean to judge," Luo Yue said, "but marry into a family like that, and you’ve got four mothers-in-law breathing down your neck, never satisfied until you give birth to a son."

Jin Niang suddenly realized and said, "So that's why you objected. Actually, I noticed this man was missing half of his little finger. If it wasn't a congenital disability, he must be a gambler."

In gambling circles, those who can't repay their debts may have their fingers cut off.

Luo Yuer also hadn't expected this and remarked, "They say matchmakers can make the dead seem alive, but even face-to-face, you can't always see the truth clearly."

Jin Niang nodded in agreement—after all, you never really know what’s in someone’s heart.

After completing their incense offerings, mother and daughter prepared to return home. Seeing Wei Xiong waiting there foolishly, Luo Yuer scolded him: "Honestly, couldn’t you at least buy a Chinese pancake to stave off hunger? Just standing here waiting like that."

Her husband was like an old ox—a symbol of tireless labor in Chinese culture—never complaining when asked to do something, always considering it an honor. He had improved somewhat these days.

Jin Niang added, "Once we get home and pick up Yang Geer, let’s just go straight to the night market for lamb head skewers, so we don’t have to cook."

Her parents had no objections and were eager to return. But when they arrived home with Yang Geer, they found Wei A’nai standing at the door, saying, "Er-lang, your younger brother’s fingernails were pulled out and sent here. This handkerchief is soaked in blood—you need to go help him—now!"