"Fourth Miss, please speak plainly! This handkerchief and pouch… the craftsmanship is exquisite, and the materials used are of the highest quality. How could they possibly not be allowed through the gates of Ye Manor?" Magistrate Liu looked somewhat displeased at Ye Cishu.
Ye Cishu skillfully performed a curtsy toward Magistrate Liu.
"Your Honor, these needlework items should be examined by a specialized master! If I say anything, people may not necessarily be convinced. Why not invite the best embroiderer in Gusu City to take a look?" Ye Cishu said with a smile.
Magistrate Liu stared at Ye Cishu for a moment, then nodded and was about to send for the most famous embroiderers in Gusu City.
"Magistrate Liu, may I take a look?" Shopkeeper Dongniang, who had remained silent until now, suddenly spoke up.
"I nearly forgot—Shopkeeper Dongniang was once a renowned embroiderer in Jiangnan! Very well, Liu Er, first go to Fengyu Workshop and invite those embroiderers who specialize in making tribute items. Until they arrive, let Shopkeeper Dongniang take a look first!" Magistrate Liu said with a laugh.
Only then did Shopkeeper Dongniang pick up the handkerchief and pouch to examine them. After just one glance, she smiled.
"No wonder Fourth Miss said such items could not enter the gates of the Ye Family! Second Madam Ye, may I borrow your handkerchief and the eldest miss's handkerchief for a look?" Shopkeeper Dongniang then turned her gaze to Madam Li and Ye Wanshu.
Without hesitation, Madam Li and Ye Wanshu handed their handkerchiefs to Shopkeeper Dongniang.
Shopkeeper Dongniang nodded as she examined them.
"Magistrate Liu, the handkerchiefs used by Second Madam Ye and the eldest miss are made from tiansi silk satin, woven from tribute-grade tiancan silk. This type of silk satin is only available at the Ye Family's silk satin shop. Due to its special craftsmanship, this satin is not easily obtained. Its annual output is barely enough for tribute, and what remains is not abundant. Moreover, the colors most easily applied to this satin are bright yellow and noble purple—both colors commonly used by the imperial family. Therefore, this type of satin is essentially unseen in the market. Because the Ye Family is a tribute household, aside from the portion allocated for tribute, the remainder is for their own use, which is permitted by the imperial family. Thus, this satin can only be seen within the imperial family and the Ye Family. And the handkerchiefs used by Second Madam Ye and the eldest miss are made from this very satin," Shopkeeper Dongniang explained earnestly.
Magistrate Liu pondered thoughtfully.
"You mean the handkerchief presented by Wang Lianju is not made from the same satin as that used by the Ye Family?" Magistrate Liu asked.
Shopkeeper Dongniang nodded.
"Your Honor is correct, that is precisely what I mean. However, for specifics, we should ask Second Madam Ye. Are all the young ladies in the manor using this type of satin?"
Upon hearing this, Madam Li quickly chimed in.
"Shopkeeper Dongniang is right. The satin used to make these handkerchiefs is reserved exclusively for the women in our manor. The men use another type of satin, which is different from this tiansi satin. In our manor, starting from the old madam, everyone uses handkerchiefs made from this tiansi satin. After all, it is specially permitted by the imperial family, so using it brings dignity. Fourth girl also uses handkerchiefs made from this satin."
Shopkeeper Dongniang clapped her hands.
"That settles it. So, just now, Fourth Miss said this handkerchief could not enter the inner quarters of the Ye Family. Although the handkerchief presented by Wang Lianju appears exquisite, its texture is actually ordinary mulberry silk satin. It looks fine in quality, but it is something that can be bought with silver."
The young ladies of the Ye Family, raised with utmost pampering and indulgence… would indeed look down upon such things." Shopkeeper Dongniang said with a smile.
Everyone understood perfectly now.
So that was it—these items were not from the inner quarters of the Ye Family. It seemed the handkerchief and pouch truly did not belong to the Fourth Miss of the Ye Family.
"But… but one could use other types of satin too! What if, at the time, the usual satin wasn’t at hand and another kind was used instead?"
Wang Lianju still refused to believe that the items in his hands were not gifts from the Fourth Miss of the Ye Family.
If that were really the case, he would be utterly humiliated!
By now, the surrounding crowd had also realized something.
This Wang Lianju seemed to have truly been deceived—but who would go to such lengths to trick him…
"Wang Lianju, as you yourself said, these were specially given to you by that person, who admired you. Since they admired you, they would surely want to give you the best things, right? Items like these wouldn’t even make it past the gates of the Ye Family—how could they be tokens of affection I carefully selected for you? Moreover, you mentioned that on the day after the Lantern Festival, I sent someone to give you twenty taels of silver. Well… given the wealth of the Ye Family, even casual rewards to servants are more than that! Although we young ladies in the inner quarters only receive a monthly allowance of twenty taels, every young lady of the Ye Family has shops under her name. The monthly earnings from those shops far exceed twenty taels. Offering just twenty taels to support you… seems rather shabby, not at all the style of the Ye Family." Ye Cishu continued, shaking her head with a sigh.
Another wave of murmurs swept through the crowd.
Indeed, the Ye Family was immensely wealthy—just a little trickle from their fingers would be enough for an ordinary family to live on for years. For a wealthy young lady to support her beloved with only twenty taels didn’t match the Ye Family’s style at all. Even a concubine-born young lady wouldn’t be that poor…
Wang Lianju opened his mouth but found no words to refute her. His face flushed and paled in turns, and his hands began to tremble.
Ye Cishu almost felt sorry for him, but remembering that this fellow was merely a blade wielded by someone else against her, she immediately thought he deserved it.
A Ju Ren, no less—with such intelligence, falling right into someone else’s trap. Better he not go out and cause trouble for the common people.
By now, Ye Cishu was fully in the mood to watch the show unfold.
See, the more this was unraveled, the more foolish this fellow appeared.
However, glancing at Su Xiaosheng’s deeply contemplative expression, Ye Cishu grew alert again.
She was now one hundred percent certain that this fellow was the one who had dug the pit behind the scenes.
As for why he dug it…
Ye Cishu still needed to think about that.
Just as the crowd was buzzing with discussion, the person Magistrate Liu had sent to fetch the embroiderers from Fengyu Workshop returned.
Following behind him were several embroiderers.
The one walking in the middle looked somewhat familiar to Ye Cishu.
It seemed to be Madam Wu, the needlework instructor hired by the Ye Family, who had taught Ye Cishu and the other young ladies during their time in the Ye Family…
"Greetings to Magistrate Liu, greetings to all the ladies and young misses." Madam Wu performed a half-curtsy with neither humility nor arrogance to the distinguished individuals present.
"There’s no need for such formality, Madam Wu. You must be well aware of the purpose for inviting you and the other masters here. Madam Wu, please take a look at whether this handkerchief and pouch were made by the Fourth Miss of the Ye Family." Magistrate Liu promptly said.
Madam Wu nodded, stepped forward, picked up the handkerchief, glanced at it only once, and set it aside.
"This handkerchief was not made by the Fourth Miss Ye," Master Wu stated calmly.
The people present…
"Master Wu, would you like to take a closer look? Look carefully, after all…" Magistrate Liu still wanted Master Wu to examine it more thoroughly.
"There is no need to look. I have seen Fourth Miss Ye's needlework before.
Such finely embroidered twin lotus flowers could never have been stitched by Fourth Miss Ye.
She would only embroider the pattern into a messy blob.
Look at this needlework, the stitches are so fine and dense. Even if Fourth Miss Ye studied for another eight or ten years, she could never achieve such skill," Master Wu said seriously.
With a sudden "Pfft!" sound from upstairs, the hall downstairs instantly grew lively.
Ye Cishu had just realized what Master Wu meant.
Embroidering flowers into a messy blob…
No wonder there were no memories in her mind of sitting by the window embroidering flowers!
So that was her weakness!
"Fourth Miss is just not very skilled in needlework. She is quite good at other things like accounting and cooking.
Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses!" Madam Li quickly explained to everyone.
Ye Cishu also felt a bit embarrassed.
The atmosphere at the scene immediately lightened.
Even the eldest daughter of the Ye Family, who had been tense all along, breathed a sigh of relief.
"Fourth Sister has a heart condition and cannot handle such delicate work. Our parents dote on her, which is why they never encouraged her to focus on needlework," Ye Wanshu also explained.
Everyone hurriedly chimed in, praising Second Master Ye and his wife for their affection toward their children.
Wang Lianju, who had been overlooked by everyone, was now completely panicked.
Could it be that this handkerchief and pouch were truly not gifts from the Fourth Miss of the Ye Family?
"Could it be… that she was hiding her skill?" he asked anxiously.
Seeing Wang Lianju ask this, Ye Cishu didn't even want to acknowledge him.
After all, Master Wu was stubborn. Anyone challenging her professional authority would surely be refuted by her.
"Young master, are you questioning my judgment?" Master Wu asked coldly.