An Lingrong's Rebirth: Red

An Lingrong was awakened by the sound of thunder and rain. She opened her eyes dazedly and saw the paper window blown open by the wind, and rain was pouring all over the ground.

Her mind was still in a daze. She threw back the quilt and stood up, angrily scolding Baojuan, "Baojuan, it's raining heavily late at night, and you don't even know how to close the window!"

But the sound was light and agile, and her throat damaged by the poison definitely could not make such a sound. She also recalled that she had just eaten bitter almonds, and after Zhen Huan left, she fell to the ground in pain, her stomach felt like it was being tortured, she twitched and knocked over the table, the bitter almonds splattered all over the floor, her body curled up uncontrollably, the pain and the feeling of suffocation came together, she could only scratch her neck with trembling hands to try to breathe, but she eventually lost consciousness in the pain and fell into darkness.

She had checked before eating the bitter almonds. The toxicity caused by that amount was such that even a skilled doctor like Wen Shichu could not save her. She was probably dead. Considering how much the emperor hated her, her body might have been fed to wild dogs.

I planned all my life - no, I died at the age of only twenty-four, which is much shorter than the average person's life. I fought for eight years, but in the end, this life is the only one I can control.

It can be seen that the feng shui of the Forbidden City is a disaster for people, causing them to be imprisoned and unable to be released unless they die.

"Rong'er, did you have a nightmare?" The door was gently pushed open, and Aunt Xiao leaned half of her body in with a candle. The dim light dispelled the gloom in the room.

An Lingrong quickly closed the window, wiped her face with her hand and then let Aunt Xiao in. She held those warm hands tightly with both hands, and finally couldn't hold back her sobs and leaned into Aunt Xiao's arms.

"It was a nightmare, auntie. I dreamed that I left Songyang and was trapped in a dark room. I could never see you or mother again."

An Lingrong felt her hand being held tighter. "I have already discussed with the Madam that if I am not selected, we will not return to Songyang. We will stay in the capital. Even if we have to beg, I can still support Rong'er. Even if I have to risk my life, I will never let the Master marry you to County Magistrate Qian as a concubine."

"But my brother..."

"Don't worry about Ling Lang. With Madam here, he will grow up healthily like Rong'er."

An Lingrong felt heartbroken upon hearing this, and tears rolled down her face uncontrollably. Her mother was timid and cowardly, and although she had a loving mother's heart, it was difficult for her to live well in a backyard full of women, let alone raise Ling Lang well.

"I will definitely be chosen this time. When you return home, please tell my mother not to continue to work hard for my father." An Lingrong wiped her tears, took the candlestick and sat back on the couch with Aunt Xiao. "It's best to move to the manor to stay away from those aunts. Finding a doctor to treat my eyes is the most important thing."

"As for Ling Lang, he will be of school age in two years. By then, I will have established myself there and will be able to help my brother find a good school. I will also rest assured that my aunt and mother will take care of him."

Aunt Xiao nodded, and the two of them chattered for a while before they gradually felt sleepy. Because they were worried that An Lingrong would have another nightmare, the two of them simply slept on the same bed and had a good sleep until dawn.

After a night's rest, Ling Rong got up as soon as it was light in the sky, and hired a carriage with Aunt Xiao and headed straight for the capital. This place was not far from the capital, and with the wheels rolling, they entered the city at the beginning of the day.

During this time, Lingrong thought carefully and realized that those experiences were probably not just dreams. She didn't know what opportunity allowed her to live again, but she had no choice before and it was still the same now. She had to go back to the palace and spend her life in hard work.

Zhen Huan, Shen Meiyu, Concubine Hua, the Queen, the Emperor... These old friends will meet again eventually, but the past events were written off when she died. She has no resentment or gratitude now. At this moment, these people are still strangers to her, and it is unknown whether they will be enemies or friends in the future.

The most important thing right now is to rent a house. It is inconvenient with the coming and going of people in the inn. If you are not careful, you may have close contact with others. If something ambiguous really happens, I am afraid that not only will I be fired, but my family will also be reprimanded.

"Aunt, we need to rent a small courtyard to live in, but we don't have much money left now," An Lingrong raised her hand to take off the hairpin on her head and the bracelet on her wrist, "Although it is not expensive, it can be exchanged for some silver. After we rent a house, we can earn some money by doing embroidery."

"This..." Aunt Xiao took a few pieces of jewelry. The money given by the master was not much to begin with, and there was little left after the journey. Although it was enough to rent a small courtyard for a short period of time after pawning them, Lingrong would no longer have any jewelry to use. When she entered the palace for the selection, wouldn't she be looked down upon?

"Don't worry, Auntie. Among the girls selected in this pageant, I have the lowest family background. It doesn't matter whether I wear these hairpins or not. The most important thing now is to find a place to stay."

Aunt Xiao uttered an "eh" and walked slowly to the pawn shop with the hairpin in hand to inquire about the pawnshop. Ling Rong looked around at several ready-made clothing stores on the street, thinking about how to turn her embroidery skills into silver to make the rest of her life easier.

But many shops were busy, and the embroidery and ready-made clothes they presented were all exquisite. Although Ling Rong could embroider more beautifully, most of these shops had regular embroiderers, and they were unwilling to hire a temporary one like her.

She walked all the way to the end of the alley, avoiding the crowd and walking at a much faster pace. When she looked up, she saw a shop called "Duiyange" in the middle of the alley. There were bright red tassels hanging on both sides of the door, which made it different from other shops.

The shop owner was a woman. When she saw Lingrong come in, she greeted her with a smile and led her to see the treasures in the shop one by one.

"My lady, I have ready-made clothes, silk flowers, silk handkerchiefs, even sutras and folding screens. I wonder if there is anything you like."

"Excuse me, do you have double-sided three-dimensional embroidery in your shop?" An Lingrong looked at many shops, but there was no shop selling double-sided three-dimensional embroidery on this street. Occasionally there were one or two pieces of double-sided embroidery, and the price was quite high. She wanted to sell her embroidery skills, but because the concubines had to avoid the crowds, she could only start from this deserted shop.

"Double-sided three-dimensional embroidery?" The shop owner's voice became louder, and he couldn't help laughing. "Miss, let alone my shop, I'm afraid it's hard to find this double-sided three-dimensional embroidery in all the shops in Beijing. My shop doesn't even have double-sided embroidery."

"I was just asking," Lingrong smiled while hiding her lips with her handkerchief, and even shook it deliberately to reveal the pink and green lotus embroidered on both sides with different colors. "Although I am good at embroidery, I can only embroider on both sides with different colors, but I have heard of the embroidery method of double-sided three-color embroidery, and I really want to see it."

Although the words were handed out, the shopkeeper did not respond. Lingrong was not telling the truth after all. Her mother, Lin, knew how to embroider the double-sided three-dimensional embroidery. She had also taught her intermittently over the past three to five years. Although her embroidery was not as detailed and gorgeous as her mother's, it was still considered outstanding. If she was given a few more years, no one would be able to surpass her.

Ling Rong stopped smiling and looked over, only to find that the shopkeeper was staring at her handkerchief. She unfolded the handkerchief and handed it to him, who immediately took it and touched the lifelike lotus with his fingers, not knowing how to start talking for a moment.

"But you like it?"

"My lady, would you be willing to give me your handkerchief? I will pay any price."

"I'm afraid not," Ling Rong shook her head, touching the embroidery with her fingers, a nostalgic look on her face, "This was embroidered by my mother. I'm thousands of miles away from home, and this is the only one I have."

Seeing her nostalgic look, the shopkeeper knew that he could not get the handkerchief. But then he thought that the girl had also said that she could embroider two sides with different colors, and he sighed that his good fortune had come.

"In this case, young lady, are you willing to become an embroiderer in my small shop? I will compare your monthly salary with the most prestigious "Yuetai Huaxie" in the capital."

"To be honest with you, I have only lived in Beijing for a few days. I am really short of money now, so I thought of trying my luck in your store. If you are willing, please give me a white handkerchief. In less than three or five days, this double-sided lotus with different colors will be in your hands."

Ling Rong looked at the shopkeeper with a faint smile, and she couldn't help feeling a little embarrassed when she mentioned that she had no money. She had been burdened by these few pieces of silver in her past and present lives. Her mother had damaged her eyes, and she donated a small official position to her disappointing father.

But later, because my father indulged in sensual pleasures and married several concubines, my mother's savings were almost gone, and this time when she came to Beijing, she gave all of it to Lingrong.

But for her who was about to enter the palace, it was a piece of cake.

"It's just a piece of silk scarf. You can use it if you need it. My name is Liu Tuntun, I don't know..."

"An Lingrong, just call me Lingrong."

Liu Rongrong responded and asked a little maid to get the white handkerchief. While waiting, she did not forget to show Lingrong the name embroidered on her handkerchief, and joked that the word had too many strokes and it would be difficult to embroider it.

Soon the little girl came back with a few handkerchiefs, the material was light and soft. Ling Rong took one and held it in her hand, feeling it was smooth and tight.

"Miss Liu, someone will come to look for her in three days." An Lingrong nodded and said goodbye. Miss Liu walked her out the door. When Lingrong reached the alley and turned around, she did not forget to shake her hand vigorously in response.

When they returned to the place where they parted, they happened to meet Aunt Xiao who was rushing back. Seeing her smiling face, Lingrong knew that she had negotiated a good price for those ornaments. She also went to find a broker, so now she could go look for a suitable house.

Taking the rent issue into consideration, the two finally chose a place that was a little far away. Aunt Xiao also said that the mulberry tree in the middle of the yard was towering and majestic, and Lingrong would surely be a noble person in the future.

Ling Rong happily responded, thinking about the talent show in a few days, she felt a rare sense of confidence. If she was selected in her previous life, she would definitely be able to do so in this life.

"Auntie, let's take a break first. Help me find a smart girl these few days. It would be best if she knows some medical skills."