All Hail Cousin Brother

Chapter 75: Yao Yao Has Been Extraordinary Since She Was Young

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

That was the end of the topic about Yu Qingning. Yu Youyao quickly took the yellow rosewood box from Chun Xiao and stuffed it into her grandmother’s hands. “Grandmother, take a look. What is this?”

Old Madam Yu looked down at the box in her hand. She knew that Yao Yao had learned something from Nanny Xu again, so she had specially brought it over to please her.

She turned around and saw Yao Yao dressed in peach and cherry red, looking delicate and sweet. She wasn’t wearing this in the morning, but she had changed into it specially to meet her.

When one was old, they liked to look at red and green as they were likable and auspicious!

Of course, Old Madam Yu understood what Yao Yao was thinking. “Don’t worry about Grandmother anymore. I’ve already lived for so long. What haven’t I seen and experienced? How can I be so easily angered?”

With that, she lifted the lid of the box and saw a navy headband.

The surface of the silk was smooth, and there was a ginger-yellow Buddhist swastika embroidered on it. Although it was a little crude, it looked like it was emitting a Buddhist glow. There was a circle of Buddhist Seven Treasures sewn along the side. In the middle, there was a thumb-sized yellow amber that had a warm luster and exuded a noble aura. It looked very unique.

“Yao Yao embroidered this herself?!” Old Madam Yu fell in love with it at first sight. She held it in her hand and looked at it left and right. No matter how she looked at it, she was delighted. She smiled so widely that her eyes were almost invisible, and her face was covered in wrinkles.

Seeing that her grandmother liked it, Yu Youyao also laughed. “Grandmother, you can’t laugh at me if my embroidery isn’t good.”

Old Madam Yu couldn’t be happier, so how could she dislike it? Not only did she keep looking at it, but she even called Nanny Liu over to take a look.

Nanny Liu came over and took a closer look with Old Madam Yu. “Eldest Miss has only been learning embroidery for more than ten days. Others can’t even learn needlework well, but she can embroider so well. She’s really amazing!”

These words made Old Madam Yu’s heart skip a beat. She pointed at the swastika on her forehead. “Look at these stitches. They’re so smooth. The Buddhist Seven Treasures are also well matched. They’re rich, generous, auspicious, and beautiful.”

Nanny Liu smiled and nodded. She pointed at the back. “Old Madam, look, there are also embellishments on the back.”

When Old Madam Yu heard this, she quickly turned around. Before she could understand, Nanny Liu’s eyes widened in shock, and her tone became a little exaggerated. “Oh my, Old Madam, look. There’s actually a longevity pattern on the back. I’ve lived for most of my life, but I’ve finally seen a two- embroidery that has been lost among the commoners. This is an eye-opener.”

Old Madam Yu took a closer look and saw that it was indeed a longevity pattern. She immediately beamed with joy and revealed a proud expression. “On one hand, it’s an auspicious sign of the Buddha, and on the other hand, it’s a blessing of longevity. This thoughtfulness is really ingenious and meticulous.”

Nanny Liu sighed. “I’ve heard that double-sided embroidery isn’t as famous as Su Embroidery or Xiang Embroidery that anyone can learn. Those who are slightly less talented won’t even be able to learn the needle technique. Although the double-sided embroidery technique has been lost to the public, many families still have some incomplete manuals and patterns that they’ve kept, but I’ve never heard of anyone learning it.”

Old Madam Yu touched the longevity pattern on her forehead and couldn’t bear to part with it. “Isn’t that so? When Yao Yao was just born, her eyes were closed, and she didn’t cry or make a fuss. As soon as I hugged her, she opened her eyes and looked at me. Her big eyes were dark and bright. I could tell from a young age that Yao Yao wasn’t an ordinary child.”

She had lived for most of her life, but she had rarely heard of a child who could open their eyes so wide and spiritedly the moment they were born.

Nanny Liu had seen this with her own eyes, and it was also for this reason that Old Madam and Eldest Miss hit it off very well. “The most rare thing is that Eldest Miss is so filial to Old Madam. Old Madam is very blessed.”

Yu Youyao, who was sitting beside her grandmother, watched as her grandmother and Nanny Liu exchanged words and kept praising her. No matter how thick-skinned she was, she couldn’t help but blush. She opened her mouth a few times, wanting to interrupt her grandmother, but she couldn’t even find a chance.

Nanny Xu said that embroidery tested one’s hands and eyes the most. Her body was delicate and soft, and she was quick-witted. She was in the best condition to learn double-sided embroidery.

The pattern of the word “wan” which meant ten thousand in Chinese was very simple, and the stitching technique was not complicated. With Nanny Xu’s guidance, it was also very easy to embroider. If it were a more complicated word, even the stitching would probably not be smooth. It was really not as good as Grandmother and Nanny Liu had said.

Her grandmother’s words, “I could tell from a young age that Yao Yao wasn’t an ordinary child,” made her feel embarrassed.

It was also because of that dream that she seemed to have lived for many more years. Her mind had been enlightened, and her thoughts had become much sharper. Furthermore, without Nanny Xu’s guidance, how else could she have learned so much in such a short period of time?

“I didn’t expect to be able to wear something personally embroidered by Yao Yao in my lifetime.” Old Madam Yu turned to look at Yu Youyao. Seeing that her face was red and she seemed a little embarrassed, she held her hand. “Yao Yao, you must be tired.”

When she was young, she was also not used to needlework. Her embroidery skills were very poor, and she had been taught needlework by her mother countless times.

In the past, Yao Yao did not like needlework, and she had never forced her either. She thought that Yao Yao had taken after her personality.

However, although Yao Yao looked delicate, she was actually a capable and hardworking person.

Yu Youyao shook her head. “Nanny Xu has stipulated that I can only embroider for two hours a day. It’s just that I feel that it’s difficult when I’m learning, but it’ll be very simple once I learn it. If Grandmother likes it, I’ll embroider something else for you in the future.”

Old Madam Yu laughed when she heard that.

Suddenly, she remembered that a few days ago, Yu Qingning had given her a hand-embroidered handkerchief. When she received the gift from her granddaughter, how could she not be happy? She immediately asked Nanny Liu to help her put it on.

After that, Yu Qingning beat around the bush and said that she had spent a lot of time and effort on this embroidery. She even bragged about how filial she was and how impressive her embroidery skills were.

At first, Old Madam Yu was happy to listen to her granddaughter.

Not long after, she could tell that Yu Qingning was flaunting herself and stepping on the other sisters. She felt sick of it and immediately sent her away. She was unwilling to wear it again and asked Nanny Liu to keep it.

Yu Qingning had been learning embroidery from Concubine He since she was three or four years old. Her embroidery skills were the best in the residence. How much effort and time could she spend on just one stroke?

She was happy to play dumb and enjoy the filial piety shown by her granddaughter.

However, she was unwilling to be fooled.

Old Madam Yu glanced at Yu Youyao again, thinking about why there was such a big difference among grand daughters.

Everyone couldn’t stand the fact that she was biased towards Yao Yao, but deep down, they didn’t want to think about how they had treated her.

Seeing that her grandmother was about to praise her again, Yu Youyao quickly took the headband from her grandmother’s hand. “Grandmother, you won’t know if it’s good or not until you wear it. I’ll put it on for you to take a look.”