Chapter 15: Trouble in the Embroidery Room

When Siyun arrived at the embroidery room in Sicity, it was surrounded by a crowd three layers deep, with the floor in utter disarray. Most distressing was that some of the embroidery pieces she had prepared herself were damaged.

Siyun’s expression immediately darkened.

“Miss Yun!” her assistant Xiaohan called out. The quarrels ceased, and everyone turned to look at Siyun standing at the doorway. She slowly approached, crouched down, and picked up an embroidery piece that had taken three months to complete. Someone gasped in shock.

“How... how could this be left on the floor?”

“It was stepped on.”

“What do we do now? This is one of the key pieces for the exhibition. Won’t we be one short?”

A few younger embroiderers whispered anxiously.

Siyun patted the shoe print on the piece regretfully, realizing it couldn’t be repaired. She placed it back on the display table and walked further into the hall, surveying the even greater chaos inside the embroidery room.

In just one day, the once orderly room had turned into a dump.

“What’s going on?” Siyun looked at the two older embroiderers, Elder You and Aunt Guo, who still held several pieces, also intended for the exhibition.

“Miss Yun, Elder You and Aunt Guo want to leave our embroidery room, and they want to take these with them,” Xiaohan explained.

Siyun’s eyes darkened further as she regarded the two elders, who suddenly seemed uneasy. Both had been with the embroidery room for at least twenty years.

“Elder You, Aunt Guo, what do you mean by leaving?”

“What do you mean? Little Yun, we’ve worked here all our lives. It’s about time we retired, isn’t it?” Aunt Guo replied.

Elder You quietly agreed, but before Siyun could respond, another woman of similar age, Aunt Hua, spoke sharply, “You want to retire? You’re just running off to someone else. You’re both over fifty; I really don’t know what you’re thinking. Can a little money compare to the loyalty Sister Zhu showed you all those years ago?”

Aunt Hua’s sarcastic words enraged the crowd. The Sister Zhu she mentioned was the late Madam Si, who had passed away years ago.

“Hua Ying, don’t say that. Sister Zhu has been gone for years, and we’ve stayed loyal to guard this embroidery room all these years. We didn’t sign any lifelong contracts. Why can’t we leave?” Aunt Guo argued.

“You can leave, but the embroidery pieces must stay,” Aunt Hua said flatly, not wanting to argue further. Aunt Guo immediately became agitated.

“Why should they stay? These are the pieces Elder You and I made ourselves. They’re our private property. It was agreed from the start that the works belonged to us.”

Whispers spread around—Aunt Guo’s claim was true.

Siyun finally understood: these two embroidery veterans were about to defect. Was this another scheme by Si Mianmian, or someone else?

In any case, there was such a person behind this.

“The embroidery pieces are your personal property; there’s no dispute about that. You can take them,” Siyun said at last. Aunt Guo and Elder You brightened with smiles, but others grew anxious.

“Yun!” Aunt Hua objected strongly.

“Miss Yun, these are exhibition pieces,” Xiaohan reminded her.

Siyun knew full well they were among the most important exhibits.

“But Elder You, Aunt Guo, you also must understand that while the works belong to you personally, their circulation is controlled by Sicity. These are Su embroidery pieces created in Sicity’s embroidery room. The contract clearly states that any work produced here must indicate its origin, and when circulated externally, must be accompanied by a sales certificate and authentication from our embroidery room. Neither you nor anyone else may circulate them privately. If you just want to take them home as mementos, I won’t stop you, in recognition of your years of service. But if any piece is displayed or circulated publicly, you will be liable to pay Sicity a heavy penalty—ten times the value of the work. I believe this was a rule set by my grandmother; you haven’t forgotten, have you?”

Siyun’s words were sharp and resolute, leaving Aunt Guo and Elder You stunned.

“We never said we wanted to sell them,” Aunt Guo stammered, trying to hold her ground.

“Then suit yourselves. But Aunt Guo, those pieces in your hands are masterpieces you labored over for seven or eight years. You surely know their value. If you don’t want to sell them, do you intend to keep them as a legacy for your children?” Siyun asked pointedly.

Aunt Guo’s expression shifted as she looked at the pieces.

Elder You tugged at her sleeve.

“I’m relying on these to buy a house for my son.”

Aunt Guo shot her a glare, then turned to Siyun, regaining her defiant stance.

“Siyun, is this how you treat us? After all, Elder You and I have been pillars of the embroidery room for years. We’ve contributed greatly to its success. Is it right for you to treat us like this? Who would want to stay here after seeing this? Are we destined to end up like this?” Aunt Guo raised her voice deliberately.

Some embroiderers who had joined in recent years, as well as their apprentices, whispered among themselves.

Siyun lowered her gaze, letting out a light laugh.

“Aunt Guo, has the embroidery room ever treated you poorly all these years? Has my grandmother been ungrateful to you? You’re leaving now, taking so many pieces with you—isn’t that ungrateful, disloyal, and unfaithful? Not that I, Siyun, am cold-hearted.”

“That’s only because you failed to secure the partnership project. You promised us the cooperation with the Ning family would showcase our embroidery on the world stage and fetch high prices. We trusted you wholeheartedly. But what happened? You’re just the adopted daughter of the Si family. Shouldn’t we trust Si family’s true heiress, the real future owner of Sicity Embroidery Room?” Aunt Guo bluntly exposed the truth.

Some were shocked, others helpless, while Siyun’s face remained expressionless.

“So, was it Si Mianmian who bribed you?”

Aunt Guo hesitated, realizing she had spoken too much.

“No, but it’s almost the same,” she confessed confidently.

Siyun studied her resolve.

“Then it must be the Ning family. Did Ning Muhe approach you?”

This time Aunt Guo didn’t deny it, still holding her chin high.

“The Ning family offered us generous terms. Siyun, if you value our past ties, just let us take the things and leave. Otherwise, I can’t say what will happen to you. After all, this embroidery room might not belong to you much longer,” Aunt Guo continued.

Aunt Hua snorted.

“No one can wrest Sicity Embroidery Room from Siyun’s hands. It was left to her by Sister Zhu.”

“Ridiculous. Hua Ying, don’t you get it? The Si family’s true heiress has returned, Sister Zhu’s own granddaughter. Even if Siyun is skilled in Su embroidery, can she compare to the Si heiress? The family’s legacy belongs to Si family members. Who does she think she is?” Aunt Guo argued.

“Aunt Guo, you’ve gone too far. How can you say such things about Miss Yun? Have you forgotten who helped support your family for a whole year when you broke your leg? And your good-for-nothing son? You’re heartless. Our Miss Yun has always sincerely cared for you, but you...”

“Young girl, what do you know? I’m doing this for Sicity Embroidery Room. The pieces Elder You and I made will still appear at exhibitions. Once they’re out there, who took them out matters little! As long as they’re sold, Sicity Embroidery Room’s name will spread. What’s wrong with that?” Aunt Guo blurted out.

The truth was clear. Ning Muhe had indeed played a brilliant move. This act of defection was flawless.

“People can leave, but the pieces must stay,” Siyun repeated firmly.