Back in the courtyard, while preparing the meal, Chen Shiyi quietly asked Wen Zhirou.
"Miss, do you know embroidery?"
Wen Zhirou replied with great pride.
"Embroidery? Of course I do. My embroidery is among the finest in Jingdu. Moreover, I can even do the extremely difficult double-sided embroidery."
"Wow, that's amazing."
Chen Shiyi thought to herself, with such skill, how could they possibly worry about earning money?
According to the shopkeeper, a fine piece of embroidery could sometimes sell for hundreds of taels of silver.
Hundreds of taels! That would be countless copper coins—too many to count.
Wouldn't that mean they could live in a grand house, use thick quilts, look down on coarse cotton cloth, and directly buy fine cotton fabric? They could eat big, white steamed buns three times a day, two at each meal.
"Miss, the shops in town buy good embroidery pieces. One piece can sell for a lot of silver, so we wouldn't have to worry about money anymore."
"What did you say?"
Wen Zhirou's face darkened with anger.
Chen Shiyi wondered if she had said something wrong.
"Can't you embroider?"
Wen Zhirou said sharply.
"Of course not! How could my embroidery be allowed to circulate in the marketplace for petty people to admire and play with? I once embroidered a 'Thousand-Mile Landscape' scroll, which His Majesty personally mounted on a screen and presented to the Empress Dowager. It is still displayed in the Empress Dowager's palace. Such honor! People like you, scheming and petty, only care about daily calculations. Now you even dare to insult my honor. I tell you, don't even think about it."
Chen Shiyi naturally didn't understand such things. As someone living at the bottom of society, she truly didn't know what honor was.
Seeing how agitated and resentful the young lady was, she realized this must be something more important than her own life.
"I'm sorry, I didn't know…"
Wen Zhirou shouted loudly.
"Stay away from me…"
Chen Shiyi thought to herself, what a pity. She had thought they could finally live a good life.
She considered whether she should learn from others and set traps in the deep mountains. Perhaps she could catch some game, which would be quite valuable.
But that required a deep understanding of the animals' habits and learning from others. Who would teach such a livelihood skill to someone else for no reason?
Distant water cannot quench immediate thirst—this wouldn't work.
She knew how to cook. Maybe she could apply to be a cook at a restaurant?
But if she left, there would be no one to cook and serve the masters here.
Besides, they would never agree to it.
She could make a delicious stuffed pancake, but that required an oven, and she barely had enough copper coins to buy food now.
It was truly difficult!
Maybe they should all just starve to death together.
The next day, she took a few fish and headed to town.
Before leaving, she told Madam Wen that she might return late that night, and they would have to wash their own clothes and prepare their own dinner.
Madam Wen nodded in agreement.
"Go ahead and do what you need to do. We can manage these small tasks ourselves."
After a few sunny days, the sky gradually darkened again. Perhaps the Dragon Boat Festival was approaching.
She remembered from childhood that around the Dragon Boat Festival, there was always more rain than sunshine.
In the bustling market, she sold her fish at a low price for twelve copper coins.
Her hope was to sell them quickly and see if she could find some work in town. No matter what, she needed some income.
She slowly wandered to the Flower Street area and suddenly remembered she hadn't visited Nanzhi in a long time.
Nanzhi leaned idly against the railing of the stairs, flicking the red handkerchief in her palm over and over, seeming quite impatient.
Her wandering gaze drifted until she spotted Chen Shiyi hiding in a corner of Wanhua Lou, quietly watching her with a smile.
Nanzhi then swayed her soft waist and walked toward Chen Shiyi with enchanting grace.
"Little girl, you visit more often than any of those men."
Chen Shiyi chuckled softly.
Nanzhi examined Chen Shiyi closely.
"Your eyes are beautiful."
She then flicked the red handkerchief embroidered with roses impatiently again. Her jade-white hands, adorned with reddish-orange nails, made her fingers appear even more slender and translucent, like emerald.
"In this world, it's already hard enough for women. If you have even a bit of beauty, your whole life becomes even more difficult. It's good that you're like this."
Suddenly, a group of guests ascended the stairs of Wanhua Lou. The one leading them wore dark robes, with his hair tied high in a bun. Judging by his accent, he seemed to be from the capital.
Each member of their party wore stern, cold expressions, looking quite intimidating.
Seeing customers arrive, Nanzhi hurried forward to greet them.
She giggled coquettishly, covering the corner of her mouth with the red handkerchief.
"Gentlemen, is this your first time coming to Wanhua Lou for some fun…"
Before she could finish her sentence, two gleaming streaks of light intertwined like lightning and flashed past. From not far away, Chen Shiyi watched as warm, rust-red silk cascaded over Nanzhi.
She froze in place, only hearing someone from the group speak coldly.
"What are you laughing at? Can't you see our master is displeased?"
In the moment she opened her eyes, a head came tumbling down the stairs—the face that had just been smiling sweetly at her.
And that arm lying on the ground, its palm still clutching the bright red rose-embroidered handkerchief.
In an instant, the people around screamed and scattered in panic.
On the street, only that strange group remained, along with the trembling brothel madam and Chen Shiyi.
The bright red blood from her forehead flowed into the corner of her mouth—it tasted metallic and sweet.
Her eyes were stained with blood, frighteningly crimson. She lifted her gaze slightly, determined to etch the master's appearance firmly into her memory.
One day, one day…
"Here are twenty copper coins. Who will drag the body away so it doesn't offend our master's sight?"
Chen Shiyi scrambled over on her knees, accepting the coins with both hands.
"I… I will…"
As the last copper coin clinked, she immediately gathered Nanzhi's headless corpse, picked up her head, collected her severed limbs, and tightly bundled them against her chest before heading out of town.
The blood in front of her continued to flow, soaking Chen Shiyi's clothes entirely. She walked forward numbly, and as she passed the entrance of the Ready-made Clothing Shop, she murmured to the shopkeeper.
"Please give me a needle and thread, and a piece of white cloth. I'll pay you back later."
The shopkeeper had dealt with Chen Shiyi several times before. She quickly tossed her the requested items and said,
"Hurry up and leave. Don't bring me bad luck."
Along the way, too many people watched continuously. News of such an event could spread to every household in an instant.
Each time she passed a doorway, a basin of cold water would be thrown behind her.
Gradually, the water mixed with blood, forming a cold, flowing stream.
In this dazed state, she carried Nanzhi's shattered remains to the mass burial ground.
She found a relatively shaded spot and gently laid Nanzhi down.
Nanzhi's face still wore the smile she had in life.
Fortunately, she left with a smile.
Chen Shiyi picked up the needle, trying to thread it through the eye, but her hands trembled so violently that after several attempts, she still couldn’t manage it.
She tried to calm herself down, resting for a moment. With a choked throat, she finally managed to thread the needle.
After positioning the head and body properly, she threaded the needle and meticulously began sewing Nanzhi’s head and arms back together.
"Nanzhi, my skills aren’t great, and I’m not very good at sewing, but I’ll try my best to be careful and make you look beautiful, okay?"
"Nanzhi, I’m so scared…"