The Gift of Empress Dowager Cixi

  Song Lingyu slowly swayed the teacup in her hand: "How is Madame's situation?"

  Zhilan stood respectfully on one side and said, "Madam has been with Old Madam for less than half an incense stick, when she came out, there wasn't much change, just seemed to look a bit angry."

  Song Lingyu took a sip of tea, but in her heart she was thinking about what the old lady and the big lady had said. The time it takes to burn half an incense stick is not long, but if you hit the point directly and say a few words, it's indeed enough.

  Four days later, the Empress Dowager held a banquet and all civil and military officials were invited, which also reflects the Empress Dowager's emphasis on the eldest daughter of the Song family.

  On that day, Song Lingyu only allowed someone to apply rouge and other cosmetics after lunch. Zhi Lan applied a thin layer of powder to Song Lingyu's face, then added some rouge, making her skin look pale and delicate, with a hint of lip balm on her thin lips, which made them appear even more luscious. Zhi Lan only styled Song Lingyu's hair into a simple bun, adding some simple hair ornaments, and then inserted three small hairpins on the right side, wearing a lake blue silk dress with gold thread embroidery of lotus flowers, neither too gaudy nor too plain.

  As it was summer, the weather was quite hot and the banquet hosted by the Empress Dowager did not start until near dusk.

  When Song Lingyu arrived at the gate of Xiangfu, Old Madame, Madame, and Song Linglong were already waiting. Madame wore a bright orange-red dress, her hair was high up, with an air of a noblewoman. Song Linglong, on the other hand, wore a light purple dress, looking elegant and mysterious. Her face had a light makeup, making it even more beautiful and moving. The golden edge on her hair bun was not needed, which made Song Linglong look even more slender.

  At this time, the big madam was already a bit impatient, but still had to put on a smiling face with the old madam. As soon as she saw Song Lingyu come out, she beckoned to Song Lingyu: "Lingyu, you've finally arrived, we've all been waiting for you for half a day."

  Song Lingyu walked and smiled, "Have you waited for a long time? Isn't this saying that I'm arrogant in front of the old lady and even forgot about time?" Song Lingyu walked to the old lady's side and smiled, "Mother, this can't be blamed on me. This time, it was the Empress Dowager who personally hosted a banquet for me, so I had to give her some gifts. Otherwise, it would seem that I'm lacking in etiquette. The Empress Dowager doesn't lack delicacies from all over the world, and I've been racking my brains about this gift for a long time."

  The madam's face wore a smile, but in her heart she wanted to go crazy. This Song Lingyu, actually used the empress dowager again to suppress others!

  The old lady couldn't help but feel a little curious when she heard that Song Lingyu had prepared gifts for the empress dowager: "Lingyu, it's rare for you to have this kind of heart. I wonder what gift you've prepared for Empress Dowager?"

  It is a beautiful landscape painting of mountains and rivers.

  The madam spoke before the old lady could even open her mouth: "Lingyu, what's so special about this 'Mountain and River Painting'? It's probably not suitable for someone of your status. Besides, even if the empress dowager is a woman, giving her the painting might not be appropriate!"

  The old lady frowned, although the madam's words were somewhat unpleasant, but had to admit that what she said was also reasonable.

  Song Lingyu smiled and said, "Mother, you don't know this, do you? That landscape painting of mine is not an ordinary painting. It's a piece of embroidery, and it's double-sided with different colors on each side. Everyone knows that even embroidering the same pattern on both sides is no easy feat, let alone creating two completely different patterns. And to make matters more complicated, the design on the back of this landscape painting is yet another unique one. This requires extremely high skills from the embroiderer, who not only needs technical expertise but also rich imagination. This piece was created by ten top-notch embroiderers over a period of two years."

  ——

  Collection of fifty plus more will be at 6 o'clock this afternoon.