Assassin Farmer

61-70

Chapter 61: Let’s Start Embroidering!

The contract to become a lady chief embroider was gently placed into the book case. Sitting on a chair with an armrest, Su Shuilian sighed and thought.

Could it be fate? From the ‘Su Embroidery House’ to ‘Yue Yun Embroidery Floor’, her life was as if it was completely intertwined with embroidery.

Or perhaps, it should be because of Su Embroidery House’s influence on her to be able to embroider so well and thus allowing her to become so successful even in a completely foreign place.

Lady chief embroider? Su Shuilian pursed her lips and withdrew her thoughts. Since A Yao allowed her to decide, she will follow through; once she completes <Drunken Beauty>, then she will think about her decision.

After opening up the supplies given for <Drunken Beauty>, it was just as Su Shuilian guessed, this piece was going to be used as a dividing screen.

Su Shuilian then studied the three sample templates given. All of them were of Yang Guifei*, but each had different expressions and backgrounds. In the first image, she was holding a cup to the moon. In the second image, she seemed to have drank a few cups, seemingly tipsy with as she held her head up, heavy with hair ornaments behind a field of chrysanthemums. The last one, she was being supported and lead into a room, as if to rest.

(Yang Yuhuan, often known as Yang Guifei was known as one of the Four Beauties of ancient China. She was the beloved consort of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang during his later years.)

After reviewing the samples, Su Shulian’s first thoughts were that this was going to be made into a six panel screen and not eight. Otherwise the art would be obstructed. Just, with the embroidery about 5 meters tall, with just six panels, each panel should be longer than the standard width.

Su Shuilian held up the samples trying to decide the how to arrange the pieces if it were to be made into an eight panel screen. 

Compared to this, the previous <Paired Phoenix> was much easier since it was only to be used as a mural.

Maybe the embroidery floor was trying to test her? Su Shuilian tilted her head as she thought of this possibility. Normally, when embroidering a screen, there would be a line on the samples indicating where the screen would divide at. 

However, as a chief embroiderer, not only do they have to know the best suited stitches, but they also have to be able to coordinate proper composition.

In accordance to the standards of her previous Su Embroidery House…. Design, sketch, embroidery, and end product, each step of the process were to be judged, and the one with the highest totalled points would end up as the winner of the competition.

Therefore, Su Shuilian, as Su House’s legitimate daughter and as the fifth consecutive winner, whether it was design, sketch, or any other aspects of embroidery, she was considered first class.

So how could she fail such a small test given by Yue Yun Embroidery Floor?

With a thin writing brush, Su Shuilian confidently made small, gentle marks on the sample that only she could understand. Not only did it not ruin the art on the template, it also reminded Su Shuilian of sections that should be left blank as those places would be covered by the wooden beams.

The three images were made into eight identical screen size pieces. Of course, Su Shuilian had did it without ruining the amorous feeling of the whole work. There were occasional breaks at her skirt-end, flower petals, leaves, and plant stems, which created a unique flow in the overall image.