"What about the stock in the silk warehouse?"
Madam Fan was far more to the point than Madam Chang, immediately pulling a ledger out of her sleeve.
"These are the materials currently stored in the silk warehouse. Please have a look, my lady."
Efficient and concise, Madam Fan's style instantly outshone the long-winded and off-track Madam Chang.
Lin Wanyi flipped through the records carefully, then smiled.
"Madam Fan is thorough in her work. Bring me the ones you have annotated."
"Yes, my lady."
They only exchanged a few short lines before the matter was settled.
Seeing this, Qiu Ming called in Xiao Luzi and Xiao Hezi and spoke calmly:
"Follow the two madams back, bring everything here, and be careful not to dirty or lose anything. Understood?"
"Yes, we obey!"
With such clear coordination, even if Madam Chang had wanted to speak further, there was no chance to butt in.
Since Madam Fan had already withdrawn, she couldn't very well stand in the inner room alone and had to follow along.
She left a bit unhappily, feeling she hadn't had the chance to show off her abilities.
Madam Fan, however, didn't bother with her petty resentments and quickly went back to gather the materials.
Once everyone was gone, the courtyard finally quieted.
Xia An brought over a cup of red date and ginger tea to warm Lin Wanyi, then asked curiously:
"My lady, won't this silk thread be too little? Last time Madam Fan brought some over, there wasn't any left."
Lin Wanyi reassured her:
"Don't worry, Madam Fan knows what I mean. I deliberately chose fewer silks from the embroidery workshop, so she will prepare them for me. Anything she approves will be no worse than those from the embroidery workshop."
Lin Wanyi only requested rare, hard-to-find silks from the embroidery workshop.
For more common colors, she preferred getting them from Madam Fan.
Although the warehouse had fewer supplies than the embroidery workshop, it still kept some stock, which people gradually forgot about.
Last time Madam Fan had brought over so much in one go; surely this time she would manage it again.
Sure enough, when Xiao Luzi returned, he brought more than ten bolts of cloth, and a tall stack of silk threads.
There weren't many colors, just twenty or thirty kinds,
but each one perfectly matched Lin Wanyi's vision.
Truly worthy of being the disciple personally taught by her grandmother — her taste and mind were far superior to others.
It was a pity she was only managing the silk warehouse.
"My lady, where should we put these?"
"Xia An has prepared a cabinet — put them there first, and take them out when we need them."
Xiao Luzi and Xiao Hezi stuffed the cabinet full to the brim before they could stop.
Luckily the cabinet was big enough, or there might not have been room.
Xia An brought Lin Wanyi paper, ink, and brushes. Lin Wanyi thought for a moment and began sketching a few patterns.
Having visited Wen's old residence once, she now had new ideas for designing the Emperor's clothing.
One pattern after another, with detailed notes in between.
When she had drawn nearly everything she envisioned, Qiu Ming strode quickly inside.
"My lady, a message from Qian'an Hall — His Majesty will arrive shortly."
Lin Wanyi's apricot-shaped eyes widened with surprise.
In recent days, the Emperor had not come to see her; how was he suddenly free today?
"Understood. Xia An, help me freshen up."
"Yes, my lady."
Since she was still recovering from illness, "freshening up" meant nothing more than tidying her hair and smoothing her clothes.
Xia An helped her off the bed, and she moved slowly to the corridor.
Just in time to see Emperor Yuwen Hong striding in, bathed in sunlight, a commanding figure.
"Your humble consort, Lin, greets Your Majesty."
"Your foot is injured. No need for such formalities."
He stepped forward to support her, then let go once she was steady.
In front of so many palace staff, Lin Wanyi did not like showing too much intimacy with the Emperor.
It always felt like a performance for others — tiring and meaningless.
Once inside, Qiu Ming took over the serving duties.
Seated on the couch, the Emperor picked up the tea Qiu Ming brought and took a sip.
He had meant only to quench his thirst, but to his surprise, found it quite pleasant.
"What tea is this?"
"Replying to Your Majesty, it is fruit tea. I had them blend jasmine tea with a bit of grape, so there is both the floral aroma of jasmine and the sweetness of grape."
"How could there be grapes at this season?"
The Emperor was puzzled. Normally grapes would never last this long, and there were certainly no fresh ones available now.
Lin Wanyi smiled.
"It comes from a honey jar I brought from my family. Inside are six kinds of fruit honey, prepared in advance. The grapes were wild ones, not good for eating directly, but excellent for honey — they keep their tart sweetness, which I often add to my tea."
"I thought you only liked spicy food."
"Sour, sweet, bitter, spicy, and salty — they are the five flavors of the human world. I love spicy food, but do not refuse the other four."
Hearing these words, the Emperor fell into a brief contemplation again.
For some reason, Lin Wanyi always spoke with a kind of subtle wisdom that made him want to ponder her hidden meanings.
Lin Wanyi did not interrupt him, simply continued sketching with her brush.
In this calm, natural manner, the servants quietly withdrew, leaving only the two of them together by the window, in perfect peace.
"What are you drawing?"
"These are patterns I plan to embroider on clothes for Your Majesty. Please take a look — do you like them?"
The Emperor took the papers, and Lin Wanyi explained beside him.
"For this one, I want to combine purple with gold threads, adding some black satin and lake-blue accents. The dragon's head will appear regal yet solemn, and the seed-stitch technique can really bring out the dragon scales. I think it will look beautiful."
"For this one, I'm borrowing the color palette from Wang Ximeng's A Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains. With vast rivers and layered mountains, embroidered subtly around the buttons, it will have its own unique charm."
Although Yuwen Hong didn't know embroidery, hearing her clear and serious explanation, he could almost picture it in his mind.
Her clever hands and creative ideas were truly different from the ordinary embroidery workers.
"You once said you only learned a bit — I thought you were being modest out of fear of showing clumsiness. I didn't expect you were simply being humble. With skills like this, it's hard to believe you came from the Prime Minister's house as a second young miss."
That single remark took all the joy out of Lin Wanyi's face.
A moment ago, her eyes had sparkled with enthusiasm, but after hearing him say that, it all faded away.
Yuwen Hong studied her expression carefully, catching every shift.
"You don't like it when I bring up the Prime Minister's house?"
Lin Wanyi looked up at him, her gaze containing both confusion and a subtle test.
She wasn't sure how much he actually knew about the affairs in the Prime Minister's residence.
After all, she entered the palace as a legitimate daughter, yet Lin Guifei (the Noble Consort) had started off with the rank of pin, while she had only been granted daying status.
If the Emperor couldn't see the hidden manipulations behind that, she certainly could.
So Lin Wanyi held his gaze firmly, then slowly spoke each word.
"Your Majesty misunderstands. The Prime Minister's house is my foundation — why would I dislike you mentioning it?"