The Female Supporting Role Shows Out - Chapter 95

To show that he was really rich, the wealthy businessman from the capital stayed in Meng Clan Embroidery Shop and waited for his servant to bring the silver banknotes here. Meng Zhong poured him a cup of tea. While chatting with him, he inquired about his background secretly.

Outside the shop, some people began to disperse. They seldom saw such huge embroidery, so they gathered around to have fun. But if you hold them and want to ask where this embroidery is good, they couldn’t answer. What kind of art style and aesthetic will were too abstract for them to understand. In their eyes, this painting was just a picture of a horse. Several black silk embroidered horses were galloping on the road like ink paintings. At first glance, it was quite imposing, and then it was the same.

Many scholars still stood in front of the door for a long time, chanting, “骏骨千金产 (handsome bones produce a thousand gold)、名王万里归 (famous kings travel ten thousand miles home)。风烟辞大漠 (wind and smoke leave the great desert)，云电赴皇畿 (clouds and lightning pay a visit to the imperial capital)…” and so on. 

(Note: this poem is called 胡马图 (Hu Horse Picture), from the Ming dynasty, written by 祝允明 (Zhu Yunming)

骏骨千金产，名王万里归。风烟辞大漠，云电赴皇畿。

立仗容陪舞，从龙敢假威。此来空地类，苜蓿近郊肥。

If you want to know more, please google it.)

“A long time ago, I heard that Miss Meng’s embroidery was completely comparable to that of Master Wu (Note: 吴道子 (Wu Daozi)). At that time, I thought it was an exaggeration, but today I know that I am too ignorant. Miss Meng is the best embroiderer in the world. She is invincible.” The wealthy businessmen in the capital city looked at the infatuated scholars and gave a thumbs up to Meng Zhong.

Meng Zhong waved his hand with a smile. Just as he was about to apologize, a loud shout came from outside, as if something big had happened. The two of them immediately went out to check.

Because her embroidery was sold at a high price of nearly ten thousand taels of silver, and it shocked so many scholars and won the first assessment in the world, Meng Si was in a good mood at the moment, so she opened the window with a smile, trying to see who was shocked by her embroidery again. However, in the next moment, the expression on her face froze. A deep sense of fear and powerlessness emerged from the bottom of her heart uncontrollably.

A huge painting with a width of ten feet and a height of ten feet was hung in Danyan Embroidery House. On the black cloth, there was a beast with scales, which looked like a lion, or a horse, roaring and roaring. It spat out flames, four-legged lotus, and golden threads all over its body. Its appearance was so intimidating that no one dared to look at it. On top of the ferocious beast sat a Bodhisattva in white gauze, twirling willows in one hand, and holding a jade bottle in the other. His eyelids were slightly closed, and the corners of his lips were slightly raised. He looked sad and happy as if he was crying.

“This is the Guanyin and his golden-haired hou (Note: a mythical creature that looks like a wolf-dragon)!” The passer-by looked up at the embroidered work in horror.

They were all frightened by this lifelike beast. They saw flames burning in its black and red eyes as if it was going to choose a person to devour; the large bloody mouth was roaring, and the sharp teeth stood up one by one, making people chill; the mane on its neck was thick and thick, fluttering in the air as if one could touch it with one’s hand; the scales that covered its body gradually turned from pure black too strong red, and golden threads were mixed, faintly flashing with light; when the golden and red two colors extended to the tail, they had turned into real flames. The four claws, which were like steel blades, stepped on the four blooming lotus flowers and spurted a blazing flame from their mouths and noses.

This beast was so ferocious as if it had the power to destroy heaven and earth. Just a glance at it would make people’s legs and feet tremble, and their liver and gall were about to crack. However, on its back sat a peaceful and kind-looking Bodhisattva. The Bodhisattva’s robe fluttered in the air as if it had brought out a wisp of wind, extinguishing the flames all over the body of the fierce beast, making those shivering passers-by immediately feel safe. That was the so-called great mercy, taming the demon and subduing the demon?

The embroidery was divided into two parts, the lower part was a beast and the upper part was a Bodhisattva; the lower part was ferocious, and the upper part was mercy; the lower part was flame, and the upper part was the wind. The two totally different images and styles, however, were strangely and perfectly mixed together, forming a masterpiece with strong color, distinct style, and skillful operation of needles.

“This, this is the Guanyin and his golden-haired hou!” Someone called out in a trembling voice, and then several Buddhist believers knelt down devoutly, chanting, and their expressions were excited and impatient.

Before that, their knowledge of the Guanyin and the golden-haired hou was limited to the Buddhist statues in the temple, or the legends passed down from generation to generation. No one in the world knew exactly what the Guanyin and the golden-haired hou looked like. But now, when they looked at the embroidery, they understood. It turned out that the Guanyin was so kind and holy and the golden-haired hou, who was transformed from zombies, was so ferocious.

Those figures and beasts that only existed in fairy tales seemed to break through the clouds and come to reality, bringing them an unusual shock.

Another warrior asked in surprise, “Are they alive? No matter where I stood, his eyes were always staring at me as if he can see me!”

“Really? That’s true!” Many people echoed. They had already discovered that there was a faint flow of spiritual light in the eyes of the Guanyin. No matter from which angle, his gaze could meet the gaze of the onlookers. This was simply a god!

There were more and more followers kneeling on the roadside, and even those scholars were standing quietly in the corner with solemn expressions on their faces. They didn’t dare to comment on such a marvelous work at all, because the beasts and characters on the embroidered cloth were too real as if they would fly in the next moment and overlook the sky.

Phoenix Avenue was a famous street for embroidery in Lin’an Prefecture. On both sides of the avenue, there were many embroidery houses and cloth shops of various sizes. There were also 80%-90% of the Lin’an Prefecture’s embroidery houses and cloth shops. As the saying goes, an outsider sees the fun, and an insider sees the way. They were all sensible people, so they naturally saw something different outside the lifelike embroidery.

Guanyin’s face was lifelike. When his eyelids were slightly closed, there were some small wrinkles at the corners of his eyes, and when the corners of his mouth were upward, there were some dimples on his cheeks, all of which had the same texture as his skin. To be able to do this with silk threads, it was impossible to achieve it without Embroiderer Fang’s face stitches; the golden mane was fluffy and soft, with distinct roots, as if it was a real thing. It was clearly the unique and lost hairy needle method that was created by Embroiderer Su. There was a faint halo shining above the head of the Guanyin, and the embroidered lines were neat and smooth as a mirror. The golden hair was covered with scales all over his body, and the texture was uneven and the color was natural. This was the galaxy needle and the metal frowning skill. In addition, the raging lotus flowers and the blazing flames had used some other techniques, such as mixing needles, applying needles, rotating needles, and so on.

This embroidery work contained almost all the known techniques in the world. The colors were used boldly and warmly, and the figures were lifelike. The design was compact and there were white marks on the pattern. Among all the top embroiderers or painters in the world, no one’s work could compare with it. Against its background, the horse painting in black and white looked so monotonous and ordinary. Meng Si’s embroidery skill was nothing compared to that of Lin Dan’s.

“I counted carefully and found three to forty kinds of needle methods! Tell me, did I make a mistake?” One embroiderer asked her companions.

“I’m also confused! I thought I was wrong!”

“We didn’t see it wrong. Is that true?” The two looked at each other in shock.

“Oh my God! Take it seriously! Lin Dafu had a good daughter! With such extraordinary skill, sooner or later, the Lin family will be able to regain its former prosperity!” The several bosses gathered together and whispered. They made up their mind that they could not make things difficult for Lin Dan in the future.

After a long while, Meng Si staggered downstairs and looked up at the embroidery. Then she distinguished the needle techniques used by Lin Dan one by one. Her face turned paler and paler until she completely lost her color. The fear in her eyes had almost condensed into substance. Looking at the embroidery, she felt as if she were looking at a mountain, and her heart was filled with an insurmountable sense of powerlessness.

Meng Zhong pulled his sister behind him and wanted to say something to comfort her or to belittle Lin Dan, but he couldn’t find a word to say. Even blind people could see that her painting skills and embroidery skills had already surpassed Meng Si’s. When Meng Si was copying other people’s paintings, Lin Dan had been able to create by herself. When Meng Si was still thinking about the Meng family’s inherited skills, Lin Dan had even figured out the lost embroidery technique.

Two embroidered images were hung opposite each other. One was not cared about by anyone, while the other was surrounded by onlookers; only scholars could understand one painting, but everyone praised the other. Was it hard to tell which one was better?

Looking at his sister who was about to faint with red eyes, Meng Zhong hated himself for hanging her embroidery on the wall. If he didn’t hang it up, his sister wouldn’t have to suffer this kind of blow. What was the difference between the current situation and the public execution of her? Her painting and embroidery skills were compared with that of Lin Dan by passers-by one by one, and then they were belittled as useless. Could she take up the embroidery needle from now on? Did she still have the confidence to embroider in front of the embroidery rack? Without her, what should Meng Clan Embroidery Shop do?

For a moment, he had thought a lot. But before he could figure it out, the wealthy businessman from the capital who had taken a picture of Meng Si’s embroidery smiled awkwardly and said, “Mr. Meng, I won’t buy this embroidery. Keep it yourself.” As soon as he finished speaking, he rushed to the other side and shouted, “Shopkeeper, I’ll pay eight thousand silver to buy this picture!”

Hearing his bid, everyone finally came to their senses and then burst into an uproar. Who didn’t want to take this work home for collection? It was said that the more realistic the portrait was, the more spiritual it was. This picture of Guanyin was moving even his eyeballs, and the golden hair of the steed shook as if it was about to come back to life. If it was hung at home, it would definitely produce a spiritual aura!

The horse picture could only be kept in the house. If one bought this picture back, it would be the treasure of the mansion. However, it was passed down from generation to generation, and the more it was passed down, the more bizarre it became!

The ladies who had just watched the fun before couldn’t wait any longer. They ran out of Danyan Embroidery House and bid continuously. “Eight thousand is nothing. I’ll offer twelve thousand!”

“I offer eleven thousand!”

“I’ll pay twelve thousand!”

“……”

Du Ruyan was dumbfounded. Lin Dan couldn’t help rubbing her hands to restrain her excitement. Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the “Novel Multiverse dot com” website @ novelmultiverse.com