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Dong Dong was eating heartily, later picking up the plate, splattering soup everywhere. He didn't care about his image and asked while eating, "What are your plans? Are you going to go directly to the mansion to find someone?"
San Chun shook her head. With her current status, she definitely couldn't enter the Young Master's mansion, or she should think of a way to do so.
"Do you still have money on you?"
"Yes." Dong Dong tossed her the money pouch.
She weighed it in her hand; there wasn't much money inside, barely enough to stay in Handan City for a month.
She tucked the money away and said coldly, "After you finish eating, just leave."
"Where am I supposed to go?"
"Wherever you want."
"And you?"
"Wherever I want."
Dong Dong was speechless. Zhong Xue wanted him to take care of her, but it wasn't like he was supposed to take care of her for a lifetime. Since she had chased him away, there was no reason for him to stay.
He stood up and walked out, casually asking the shopkeeper for a few jars of good wine and some fat chickens and ducks before leaving. As for settling the bill, whoever had the silver would pay.
When San Chun came out of the restaurant, the already light money pouch was even more deflated. She secretly resented Dong Dong for being so despicable as to take advantage of her.
With only a few coins left in her pouch, it was absolutely impossible to live in bustling Handan City. For the first eighteen years of her life, she had never lacked money, but ever since her rebirth, it seemed she had never had any. After nearly three years of poverty, her original pride and nobility had been worn away, leaving only a sense of destitution and resentment. But no matter how angry or cautious she was in planning, she couldn't possibly survive more than three days in Handan City.
Feeling lost and helpless, she realized she would have to rely on herself from now on. What should she do?
As she walked outside with the money pouch, pondering where to find a place to stay, suddenly a child appeared out of nowhere and bumped into her waist. She reached out to steady herself, but the child darted away. By the time she went to check her money pouch, it was already gone.
How unlucky could one be to encounter a thief right after stepping out? Unwilling to accept this fate, she chased after the child. The little brat was very familiar with the area and darted through streets and alleys until he disappeared in the blink of an eye.
She sighed; she had heard that thieves were rampant in Handan, and it seemed that was indeed true. She recalled that Dong Dong's mother was also from Handan.
She turned down several streets, and when she thought about going back, she realized she couldn't find her way. She had never been to Handan, and even if she had, she might not remember all the roads here, especially since she was directionally challenged.
Walking along the alley, she suddenly saw a crowd of people squeezed into a doorway ahead. As she approached, she discovered it was an Embroiderer's Workshop recruiting some Embroideresses to do embroidery for noble families.
Handan was known for its beauties, and women here had higher standards for fine clothing than in other countries. She leaned in to look at the embroidery pieces being presented by the applicants, many of which were exquisitely crafted.
Originally, she didn't intend to stay long, but then she overheard two girls talking about how this year Zhao State was celebrating something special and would be sending some Embroideresses into various households to embroider clothes for the nobles.
Her heart stirred; if that were the case, she might have a chance to enter a young master's residence or perhaps even meet Ji Xun.
Perhaps she had been staring at the embroidery fabric for too long when someone suddenly asked, "Are you here to apply?"
San Chun looked up to see a woman in her thirties holding a Bamboo Slip, flipping through the names while asking her, "What is your name?"
"San Chun."
"There is no one named San Chun here."
"Where are you from?"
"Yan State."
"You've come such a long way from Yan State; that's quite commendable." The woman nodded. "Even though you're not on the list, I'll give you a chance. You can go in shortly."
"Yes." San Chun replied verbally but felt quite skeptical inside. What did she know about embroidery? She had been raised as a boy since childhood and only learned some embroidery skills later for Ji Xun. However, her clumsy stitching was probably only good enough for Ji Xun to wear.
At this time, embroidery was just beginning to rise in popularity; there weren't many patterns, and the techniques were quite simple. Only truly noble families would hire Embroideresses. Most Embroiderer's Workshops were official establishments or hidden within noble Mansions; she had never heard of any that operated spontaneously among commoners. This could be considered a pioneering effort in the Seven Kingdoms.
She was filled with curiosity about this Embroiderer's Workshop. Knowing full well that she would likely be kicked out, she still couldn't help but watch for a while longer.
When it was her turn, she knelt down and humbly asked the woman how to stitch properly—like how to hold the needle correctly and how to embroider a peony flower so it didn't look like a lump of dung.
Everyone in the room stared at her, seemingly thinking they were witnessing something bizarre. The woman who had invited her in let out a light "Oh," and said, "You don't know how to embroider?"
"Yes." She answered readily, feeling no shame at all.
"What are you doing here?"
"Just taking a look."
The woman was amused; she had once been a servant in a noble household and had seen many ladies, but she had never encountered one quite like her. While it was funny, it also piqued her curiosity. Women of this era, especially those from prominent families, were often very reserved and lacked a certain charm. It was rare to see someone so open and straightforward. This frankness made her somewhat endearing.
Having taken a liking to her, the woman asked, "You don't know how to embroider, so what can you do?"
San Chun had originally wanted to dance with a sword, but after thinking about it, she realized that wouldn't be useful here. So she replied, "I can trace images."
The master who taught her painting was Master Ronghui, the most famous in the Seven Kingdoms. Years ago, when her father sent Master Ronghui to the State of Chu, he received a letter from Qi that specifically mentioned, "Be careful of Master Ronghui, this person is dangerous."
At that time, she thought little of it until later when she nearly had her hair shaved off by this master, who wanted to grind it into paste for painting pigments. Only then did she realize how formidable he was. She didn't actually enjoy painting; under the master's strict requirements, she only learned a fraction of his skills. But even that small amount was enough for her to make a living.
She laid out a silk handkerchief and mixed the colors. In no time, a plum blossom appeared before her—its fiery red petals and gracefully extending branches came alive on the silk, vividly depicted.
In this era, most paintings were done on walls or vessels, on rocks, and some lacquerware paintings were also quite famous. There were places that used silk for painting. She had once seen a silk painting titled "Figures Riding Dragons" in the Yan Palace. In the center of the painting stood a bearded man in profile, holding reins while seated on a giant dragon. The dragon's head was held high, its tail curled upward, and its body lay flat resembling a boat shape. A crane stood on the dragon's tail, with round eyes and a long beak raised high. In the lower left corner of the painting was a koi fish. All elements moved from left to right, creating an overall impression of masculine strength and majesty.
This painting was a treasure of the State of Yan; however, later when Uncle Qi buried her with ceremonial garments, it was buried along with her clothes in the ground—a pity indeed.
After finishing her work, she lifted the silk handkerchief to show everyone and said with a smile, "If I embroider according to this image, it will surely amaze everyone."
During this period, embroidery techniques primarily used braiding needle methods. There were patterns like paired phoenixes and dragons, flying phoenixes, dragon-phoenix-tiger patterns for ceremonial robes—all created using braided threads without additional coloring. They extensively utilized floral patterns, bird motifs, dragon designs, and beast patterns to romantically combine images of flora and fauna. The techniques blended realism with abstraction; interwoven and layered designs resulted in slender and clear embroidery images with ample blank space.
Although San Chun's painting skills were not extraordinary, what was rare was that this piece differed from all contemporary styles and possessed an elegant charm.
The woman looked at it with great delight and decided to offer five pieces of gold to invite her to stay at the Embroiderer's Workshop to create embroidery samples for the female workers.
San Chun was curious whether those five pieces were for one month or one year; however, since it was her first job opportunity, she felt embarrassed to scare them off with mercenary behavior. She could swear that when she was the Crown Prince's attendant, she truly wasn't mercenary—who would have thought she'd become so poor that being mercenary became necessary?
Finding herself a good reason for staying happily at the Embroiderer's Workshop, she eagerly awaited the chance to enter Young Master Ji Xun's residence to meet him.
She didn't go looking for him not only because she couldn't enter the manor, but more so due to her pride. She didn't want to rely on others for her livelihood; without securing a place to stay and a stable job for herself, she didn't want to stand before him.
The Embroiderer's Workshop could provide food and shelter for some homeless women, which was the most pleasing aspect. Perhaps because she had spent too much time in men's clothing before, she was reluctant to wear male attire again. Instead, she enjoyed wearing skirts and mingling among a group of women, finding her days filled with unique charm.
She was humorous and often spoke wittily, making the other women laugh heartily. Before long, she had blended in well with everyone there.
The steward of this place was a woman named Ying, pronounced like "Ying" in Yinghua. The girls at the Embroiderer's Workshop teased her by calling her Yinghua, and she took it in stride, joking with the other women and giving everyone nicknames. Since San Chun's name contained the character for spring, she was called Chunhua. San Chun found this name quite annoying; there was no name too ugly, only names that were uglier. She had thought that her name San Chun was already hard to bear, but it turned out there were even more ridiculous names in the world.
Despite this annoyance, she still liked these young girls very much. In this era, most women were merely accessories to men, with few able to think for themselves. However, all the girls in this place could support themselves without relying on men, which was truly admirable.
*
Ten days later would be Princess Zhao Yingyun's wedding day. Chengyang Jun was still fighting on the battlefield and certainly had no time to hold a wedding ceremony; this princess was destined to marry alone into Wei Kingdom.
San Chun understood the pain of such political marriages well; it was usually the women who suffered. Especially marrying someone like Zhong Xue was certainly not a blessing for any woman. However, because of this princess's marriage, their Embroiderer's Workshop would gain some business.
When the palace couldn't prepare the embroidery items in time for the princess's wedding, a court official recommended the Embroiderer's Workshop. This was naturally due to Ying's good relationship with them; some of the princess's dowry items were embroidered by the Embroiderer's Workshop.
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