PFC Chapter 165
Chapter 165
Women were not allowed to attend academies, but wealthy families would hire tutors to teach them. They couldn't take the imperial examinations, so studying was only for cultivating their moral character. They also learned other skills, such as painting, playing the zither, and embroidery.
The Jia family had a female tutor, the daughter of a convicted official who had been sold into slavery. Old Lady Jia happened to meet her and brought her back. She was proficient in all the arts, including music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. She also had an embroiderer who taught her embroidery, and a nanny who taught her manners.
Jia Wanlin said her mother had intended to bring up the matter a long time ago, but hadn't mentioned it because Jia Qingwu wasn't feeling well. Now that Jia Qingwu was getting better, she thought of asking her to ask if Xia Chu wanted to go and study with the other sisters.
Xia Chu, Xia Chu didn't really want to go. Why did it seem like they were going to stay here forever? She still had to go back to Lin'an.
Jia Qingwu took a closer look at her expression, then smiled and changed the subject, "Is Linlin seeing anyone lately?"
After hearing this, Jia Wanlin blushed and bit her lip shyly and said, "Aunt, why do you say this to me? This is not something I can listen to." After she said that, she covered her face and ran away.
"Huh? What's the matter?" Xia Chu looked up in confusion. Is this something embarrassing? Then why not talk about going to class? Xia Chu breathed a sigh of relief and looked up to see Jia Qingwu looking at her with a smile, a hint of teasing in her eyes. "Don't you want to go?"
"Not really." Xia Chu pursed her lips, still not telling the real reason.
"Go and have a look. You don't have to learn anything," Jia Qingwu advised. "Just treat it as fun."
Having said that, Xia Chu nodded. She was really a little curious.
On the second day, they practiced the Five Animal Exercises as usual. Madam Gong did not take her leave as usual, but instead said, "You have mastered the Five Animal Exercises now. I will not come here anymore. You can practice at home."
Xia Chu was stunned for a moment, but she had gotten used to it during this period of time.
"Thank you, Madam Gong." Jia Qingwu knelt down to express her gratitude, and the other party returned the greeting.
Madam Gong was not a maid in the mansion, so Madam Jia did not say anything about rewarding her. She turned around and glanced at the nanny behind her and said, "Send Madam Gong out."
The nanny understood and took Madam Gong away, taking two ingots of silver. Madam Gong said that Madam Jia had already given it to her, but the nanny insisted that she accept it.
Xia Chu packed up, changed her clothes, and followed Cui Ya to the small courtyard specially set aside in the Jia family for the girls to attend classes.
The others had already arrived. I had thought it was just Jia Wanqing and Jia Wanlin, but I didn't expect there were a few unfamiliar girls. After Jia Wanlin introduced them, I realized they were relatives. Knowing that the Jia family had a tutor, they had sent the girls here specifically to study together.
They were currently learning embroidery in the embroidery room, but each one was at a different pace, embroidering different things. Xia Chu was already discouraged by this. She had learned a little from Dong Xiaohuan, but it was both eye-straining and neck-straining. She only knew how to make shoes; everything else wasn't very good, and her embroidery was a mess. Dong Xiaohuan didn't even know where to start praising her embroidery.
"Master Fang, this is my cousin. She wants to learn from me." Jia Wanlin pulled Xia Chu over and introduced her softly, "This is Master Fang. She's very skilled in Suzhou embroidery, and double-sided embroidery is a specialty."
Double-sided embroidery? Xia Chu had seen it before. It was so lifelike, just like the photo, and the colors on both sides were completely different. It was magical.
"Okay, have you learned this before?" Fang Ke nodded to indicate that he understood, and stretched out his hand, "Let me see your hand."
Xia Chu handed her his hand, and Fang Ke immediately frowned, "This hand is a bit rough."
Are they rough? Xia Chu hadn't done anything during this period, and she felt that her fingers had become much more delicate. Is this still rough? However, judging by the touch of her hands, Master Fang's hands are really delicate and smooth. "Well, does learning embroidery also require hands?"
"Of course I have to." Fang Ke put down her hand. "If your fingers are too rough, you can't do this. First, it's difficult to split the thread and it's easy to scratch it. And second, this silk fabric can't stand rough hands. If you snag one or two threads, the whole piece of cloth will be ruined."
Xia Chu was secretly amazed. She didn't expect that learning embroidery had to be so particular.
"Your hands need some more training." Fang Ke took a piece of embroidery cloth and said, "Practice with this cloth first. Try a few stitches so I can see your skills."
"I can't..." Xia Chu said awkwardly under the gazes of others, "I can't at all."
Fang Ke frowned and looked her up and down, "You haven't learned anything at all?"
"I've learned a little, but I don't have much talent." Xia Chu laughed dryly, "I'll just watch from the side. Master Fang, don't pay any attention to me. I won't make any noise or disturb you."
Jia Wanlin frowned and looked at her, "You haven't learned anything at all? You've never embroidered a handkerchief?"
Xia Chu nodded, thinking to herself: Needlework isn't a necessary skill, right? These ladies from wealthy families wouldn't make their own clothes or anything like that. They just haven't learned it, so why are they looking at me with such...surprise?
"How can a woman not know how to do needlework?" Fang Ke disagreed. "You look unmarried, so do you think you're going to have someone else make your wedding dress?"
If I said I didn't want to get married, they wouldn't jump up. Xia Chu wanted to leave.
"My cousin has been practicing pipa since she was young and has spent a lot of effort on it. She has not yet mastered other skills." Cui Ya stepped forward to smooth things over for Xia Chu.
Fang Ke nodded. It wasn't that he was completely unlearned. "Learn a little bit, at least you can embroider a handkerchief sachet yourself, without having to ask others for help."
"Can I take a look first?" Xia Chu pointed at the others, "Everyone is in class, I'll try again later."
Fang Ke glanced at her and agreed, "Okay."
"Cousin, come here." Jia Wanlin pulled her over to her embroidery frame. She was embroidering a picture of fish playing in the water. It was almost finished, five red koi swimming beneath lotus leaves, a lifelike sight. She was now working on the lotus flowers, budding and about to bloom, as if they would sway gently in the wind.
"You embroider yours, and I'll take a look. Don't worry about me." Xia Chu said, and Cui Ya brought a small stool to her.
"Okay." Jia Wanlin nodded and picked up a strand of silk. Xia Chu thought she was going to thread the needle, but she ended up slowly splitting the thread with her fingers, splitting it in two in a flash. But unexpectedly, with it being so thin, she actually split another strand in two. "Master Fang can split it into sixteen strands, but I can only split eight," she explained quietly, turning back to smile at Xia Chu.
Sixteen threads? Such a thin thread, and yet one-sixteenth of it? Xia Chu couldn't help but stand in awe of the other master. Eight threads was quite impressive! If it weren't for Jia Wanlin's delicate and fair fingers, I'm afraid I wouldn't have been able to tell. No wonder he had to look at his hand. If his fingers were even slightly rougher, the thread would probably break after just two touches.