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"Mother, you always ask me to look at the ledger, look at the ledger, do you know that I don’t want to look at it at all? I just like cooking!"

Cheng Haoxuan didn’t understand, even though he was only Madam Cheng’s adopted son, not her biological child, she had pampered him since he was young, giving him whatever he wanted. But the one thing she insisted on was that he should be involved in business and not learn culinary skills.

Could it be that in Madam Cheng’s eyes, only taking over Red Smoke Pavilion and engaging in business was the proper thing to do, and learning culinary skills was not?

Seeing Cheng Haoxuan’s eyes filled with both questioning and pleading, Madam Cheng closed her eyes, feeling a slight reluctance in her heart, but she still firmly said, "No matter what you say, I won’t agree to you learning culinary arts. Let that thought die!"

After uttering those words, Madam Cheng turned and left the room, no longer sparing him another glance.

Cheng Haoxuan bit his lip and dejectedly sat back down in the chair.

Upon leaving Red Smoke Pavilion, Lin Wei’s spirits were evidently much higher, chatting nonstop to Xiao He all along the way.

Lin Yuan greatly appreciated Lin Wei’s positive attitude; it was precisely because she could view things lightly and openly that she managed to complete the embroidery in just four hours.

However, there was one thing that puzzled her, so she couldn’t help but ask, "Elder sister, you just mentioned that a friend showed you double-sided embroidery, who was it? I don’t recall you mentioning this before."

Lin Wei, who had been happily joking around with Xiao He, suddenly stiffened, and her lips moved unnaturally, "It, it was Sister Mo!"

Xiao He also chimed in, nodding, "That’s right, elder sister. It was Boss Mo. I remember I once went to look for Lin Wei at Boss Mo’s place, and just happened to see them studying some double-sided embroidery together!"

Lin Yuan frowned, feeling that something was amiss, but she couldn’t quite pinpoint what it was. She muttered under her breath, "Really, it was Sister Mo."

Seeing that she clearly didn’t believe it, Lin Wei quickly added, "It really was Sister Mo. That double-sided embroidery was brought back from Jiangnan by a merchant, and later caught Sister Mo’s eye. She spent a lot of money to buy it!"

Lin Yuan raised her eyebrows, giving a slight nod, evidently believing the explanation.

Lin Wei and Xiao He exchanged glances, quietly breathing a sigh of relief.

Just as they settled down, Xiao He suddenly remembered something and asked, "Elder sister, didn’t Embroiderer Ru say you went to collect clothes? Haven’t all the clothes we made at Red Smoke Pavilion been delivered? Why are there more?"

This time it was Lin Yuan’s turn for her gaze to flicker. She rolled her eyes and said, "Oh, afterwards, it, that is, I ordered a few clothes for Miss Tian as gifts to thank her."

"Oh." Xiao He understood, and the mention of Tian Hui made her add, "Miss Tian’s wedding is on the sixth day of the third month, right? She’s been looking after us ever since we arrived in the capital city, shouldn’t we also give her some gifts?"

Lin Wei nodded in agreement, "When Sister Hui gets married, shouldn’t we go and add to her dowry? There’s only a month left, let’s prepare well."

Speaking of adding to the dowry, Lin Yuan smiled and waved her hand, "You two needn’t worry about that. I’ve already prepared what to give. As long as the things Xia Zheng brings back are suitable, they will definitely please Tian Hui."

The sisters, who always knew Lin Yuan was resourceful, couldn’t help but be curious upon hearing this and incessantly questioned her.

Lin Yuan certainly wasn’t going to tell them about the mirror, otherwise there would be no surprise.

"Stop asking, just know that this gift will definitely please Tian Hui, and it might even shock the entire noble circle of the Capital city!"

As Lin Yuan’s words became more and more mysterious, Lin Wei and Lin Shuang’s curiosity grew stronger, but even when the carriage stopped, Lin Yuan did not reveal the answer to them.

This time, the three of them had returned quite late, even Xiao Linshuang had arrived home, and the whole Lin family was sitting at the table waiting for them.

Lady Liu was extremely puzzled. In the afternoon, Lin Wei and Xiao He had hurried back home in a panic, saying nothing, and ran to pick up their embroidery materials before rushing out again, which left her utterly baffled.

Now that she had finally waited for the three to arrive home, she was eager to ask them properly.

Before Lady Liu could ask, Lin Yuan had already explained everything clearly about the selection of the embroidery lady at Red Smoke Pavilion, Lin Wei rushing to finish work at the tea house, and the praise from Madam Cheng, leaving Lin Jiaxin and Lady Liu absolutely dumbfounded.

After Lin Yuan finished speaking, Lady Liu hadn’t even recovered from her shock.

Although she had only been in the Capital city for a few days, she had already heard of the Red Smoke Pavilion not just once or twice.

The Princess Anle had praised it several times.

That such a prestigious Embroidery Pavilion’s Madam would praise her Lin Wei? It was truly unbelievable.

Sister Chang, who had been sitting quietly, rarely spoke up: "Madam Cheng from the Red Smoke Pavilion is no ordinary person. If she has taken a liking to our Second Young Lady, chances are she will be able to enter Red Smoke Pavilion."

However, Lin Wei spoke with some disappointment, "But Madam Cheng said that she can’t guarantee my selection."

Sister Chang nodded: "Naturally, she can’t guarantee it, for the final decision is made through on-the-spot embroidery in front of everyone. That is the real test of patience and skill."

What she didn’t mention was that the annual selection of the embroidery lady for Red Smoke Pavilion was considered a major event in the Capital city.

Many women who were passionate about embroidery rushed to the capital to participate.

Not to mention the ladies from other regions, even some young ladies from influential families in the Capital city who rarely stepped out of their homes had stepped forward to participate in the selection, hoping to learn the exquisite skills of the Red Smoke Pavilion.

With such a grand occasion, how many people would be watching is needless to say.

Sister Chang was not one to speak much, almost always silent except when teaching rules, which also had to do with her many years of life in the palace.

Yet today, after hearing about Lin Wei’s matter, she rarely took the initiative to offer a reminder, which was quite unusual.

Lin Yuan, who was extremely clever, almost immediately understood Sister Chang’s hint and couldn’t help but feel concerned.

She was not worried about Lin Wei’s skills, but Lin Wei was too soft-hearted and a very introverted person.

She had even been nervous when rushing the embroidery work this afternoon.

If on the day of the competition, faced with so many spectators, what would she do?

She hoped dearly that Lin Wei wouldn’t start trembling from fear!

Lin Yuan didn’t plan to tell Lin Wei these thoughts, but she had already made up her mind to help Lin Wei build her self-confidence, especially in front of many people, to ensure she wouldn’t lose her nerve.

After dinner, Lin Yuan had just returned to her courtyard when she remembered the pastries she had packed while waiting for Lin Wei at the tea house earlier that day. Focused on Lin Wei’s competition during dinner, she had completely forgotten to bring out the pastries.

She sent Yin Xing to fetch the pastries and also took Shui Xian with her as she stepped out.

She remembered that among the packed pastries was a particularly soft and glutinous chestnut cake, perfect for the elderly.

It would be just the thing to bring over to Lao Fan and Sister Chang, as a token of gratitude for the reminder she had given her that evening.