Chapter 46 Difficulties

Difficult
Hui Xin smiled and took out walnuts, chestnuts, and various dried fruits from her pocket, saying, "Come and eat with me, sister."
Su Xin chuckled and lightly scolded Su Xin, "What kind of good things are these? I've never seen or tasted them before, how can I let myself freeze? Have you finished everything you had to do, miss? Be careful, Sun Mama might report to me!"
Huixin blinked her eyes and said, "Naturally, it's over. When I came out, the girl was still asleep, and Sun Mama was accompanying her. I just stepped out after fumigating the bedding."
Hui Xin pushed the dried fruits on the table towards Su Xin and said, "These dried fruits are really good. It's rare to see the little girl holding something like this. I think it looks like something from the main room. We are willing to accept them, which can be considered as accepting their goodwill. So, they sent it to Sister?”
"It's not a big deal if elder sister doesn't eat, I just wanted an excuse to come and see elder sister."
Huixin leaned closer to Suxin and lowered her voice, "I noticed that elder sister seems to have something troubling her today?"
“若不把妹妹当外人，不妨和我说说，咱们两个人总比你一个人心里难受着强不是？”
素心低着头，也不说话，拿了剪子慢慢拨弄烛花，抿着唇。
Huixing took a piece of dried fruit and slowly ate it, "Of course, Sister has her reasons for not saying anything, and I..."
Suxing held Huaixing's hand, "Good sister, I know you care about me, but I..."
Su Xin wanted to speak but didn't know how to start. She looked down at the dried fruits and had a thought, "These dried fruits look like they are meant for the master. Who brought them?"
"It must be Dan Er," said Hui Xin, surprised by Su Xin's question.
"This is it... How can an ordinary maid have such a good thing?"
Seeing Suxin's expression not looking good, Huixin spoke in surprise, "What's wrong, sister? Is there something wrong with this pill?"
"Without Dan'er, her mother is the painting lotus auntie by the lady's side."
"Hui Xin felt that she vaguely grasped the source of Su Xin's worries, 'Sister, are you afraid that she won't listen to discipline?'"
"I don't think so. This girl seems quite capable and not like someone who would be sly and deceitful. Maybe sis is being too suspicious? Besides, no matter who her mother is, once she enters Yixin Pavilion, she is just a third-class maid."
"If she is at fault, her older sister can naturally discipline her with a stern attitude, as long as it is known. Can Miss still show partiality?"
"Even if she is even more biased, she still cannot surpass her older sister. Her age is right there, so older sister should not get angry…"
"Where did I agree to this?" Su Xin chuckled at Hui Xin, "Do you think I don't understand this principle?"
Su Xin also felt that she should not argue with such a young girl. They should mind their own business. But Su Xin was afraid.
This kind of fear and understanding is beyond Xiao Huixin. She has parents and brothers outside. As long as her wife gives the go-ahead, the family must have carefully chosen someone for her.
Can't compare to myself, blind and uninformed. If Daniu manages to win over the lady, I don't know if my hard work and contributions over the years will be casually given to someone else... Then my whole life will be ruined.
Suxin doesn't know who to blame... Sometimes she pities herself for not having parents or siblings, and sometimes she is grateful that her family at least doesn't have to be slaves...
But she can't say these things to Huixin, as her clear eyes sort everything into right and wrong, making her already chaotic heart even more confused.
"Then why are you?" Hui Xin found Su Xin's behavior strange.
"Forget it..." Su Xin sighed, packed up the dried fruits, and handed them to Hui Xin. "I appreciate your kindness, but I can't bring myself to talk about what's on my mind."
"When I can speak, I will definitely be the first to let my sister know, okay?"
Upon hearing what Suxin said, Huixin couldn't continue with her questions and stood up to advise her, "Don't let your mind wander, sister. We're already doing pretty well. We still have some dignity in our own house."
“The master of the house is magnanimous and never scolds or beats anyone. He gives generous rewards and treats. It would be better for the sister to look at things in a positive light.”
Su Xin smiled absentmindedly and agreed, escorting Hui Xin out.
An Cheng listened to Sun Mama's words in the room. "It seems that Miss will start learning embroidery again in a few days, but it's just some small techniques like lockstitch, which are not difficult."
"If you really want to start learning embroidery, you have to wait until you are five years old and enrolled in school before inviting a master to come to our house. However, in our family, both the fifth and sixth sisters are of the age to learn embroidery, so the ninth sister should be studying with an embroidery master."
"So..." An Cheng calculated in her heart, "After the age of five, I have to go to school in the morning, learn embroidery in the afternoon, and only have some relaxation time in the evening?"
Sun Mama was afraid of boring An Cheng, who hadn't started school yet but already seemed to dislike studying. She quickly smiled and said, "Actually, even if young ladies learn embroidery, they gain more knowledge rather than just skills. In families like ours, young ladies don't need to embroider many things. They just need to know how to make fragrant sachets, purses, handkerchiefs... at most, embroidered shoe tops."
"But for example, the flowers on this dress, even though they may not be embroidered so delicately... one should be able to recognize what embroidery technique was used, what needle, what thread. For example, these flowers and these leaves, they do not use the same stitching method."
"Can you recognize it?" Ancheng looked at them and thought they all looked the same. The water-blue nightgown was embroidered with clusters of moon-white jasmine flowers and tender green leaves, which looked very attractive.
"The flowers on the girl are stitched using the Hang Xian method, with varying depths and shades. Although they all appear as moon white flowers upon closer inspection, they don't look dull and can be distinguished into main and secondary ones."
"The leaves are stitched using the Lou Zhen method. Since there are already few leaves, they need to stand out. Therefore, they have to be stitched layer by layer using the Lou Zhen method. Additionally, due to the thickness of this stitching technique, only a small amount is used on the leaves. Furthermore, the thread is divided into eighteen strands, so the girl won't feel uncomfortable when she's wearing it."
Sun Mama is afraid that Angcheng will eat too much at night, causing indigestion and deliberately leads Angcheng to talk. "There are ways to split this thread into several strands..."
"Like this winter clothes worn outside, the thread should be split into no more than twelve strands. If there are more, it won't hold down the fabric of the clothes, making it look frivolous and unworthy. If it's a summer chiffon dress, it should be split into at least eight strands, otherwise it won't be light and agile, even the best chiffon would be a pity."
"Furthermore, if this line is thickened, it will ruin the good fabric."
"Do you remember the emerald gauze quilt you made in the summer? The thread used in it is split into twenty-four strands, so when you touch it, there is no raised feeling at all."
"The embroidery is as if it is woven together with the yarn, not many people have such good craftsmanship. The one in our family was brought as a dowry by the Princess of Feng'an County for her wife. Later, that dowry taught more than a dozen disciples, but only this one mastered such fine craftsmanship."
安澄还在看自己衣服上那月白色的花，那颜色和徐姨娘身上穿的差不多。
这个人，安澄忘了整整一天，也不知怎的，现在就想起来了。