The Female Supporting Role Shows Out

The two aunts checked the silk threads several times and shook their heads. "There are four colors."

"Nope, there are six colors." Lin Dan took over the silk threads and arranged them in different types. One deep green, one dark green, one medium green, and one light green. She picked up the other two and said slowly, "This color is between deep green and dark green, and this color is between medium green and light green. The difference is so obvious. Can't you see it?"

Seeing that the two ladies shook their heads in a daze, she took out a white embroidery cloth and put the silk thread on it as a reference. Then, seeing that they still couldn't tell the difference, she placed the deep green silk thread at the bottom and put the silk thread between the deep green and the dark green color above. In this way, the two finally saw a slight difference between the two threads. But when they looked carefully, they felt that they saw wrong.

"There is really a slight difference, isn't there? The third aunt gave an uncertain looked to the fourth aunt.

"I think so?" The fourth answered reluctantly.

Lin Dan held her forehead and wanted to sigh. They couldn't even recognize these colors; how could they teach her? Two concubines were too unreliable.

However, soon, the two concubines laughed wildly and said proudly, "We thought that our child was not talented, but now it seems that's not the case. As you know, in the field of embroidery, the embroidery skill is important, but the color is even more important. A simple design, as long as little more color is added to it, it would become completely different. Ordinary people can't tell the colors you showed us just now. It can be seen that you are born to be extremely sensitive to colors. You are more skillful in color matching than others. This kind of talent is one in a million. Even Meng Si is far inferior to you. Today, we will show you the use of colors in embroidery."

The two concubines drew two five petals flowers on the embroidery cloth, one with a silk thread of different shades but of the same color, another with a single colored silk thread, and Lin Dan compared the difference. Although the single-colored five petals flower was adorable, it was dull compared to the multi-colored five petals flower.

The five petals flower was embroidered with silk threads of the same color. The tip of the petal was a little pinkish-white and gradually turned into water red. When it extended to the stamen, it had become a little purplish. The colors varied, layer by layer, and there was almost no trace of oddness.

It was just a regular pattern and a simple embroidery work, but it would bring such astonishing feelings after adding some color transformations. Lin Dan stared at the two flowers for a long time, realized, and said, "Auntie, I finally can understand. Color matching is the soul of embroidery. If you apply it well, no matter how common the pattern is, it will shine vividly. I will definitely learn up drawing and how to apply colors well."

"Great! Here are some drawings. You can learn to copy first, then only you learn to draw by yourself. You can draw whatever you want, and gradually you will acquire the draw skills." The two concubines gave a few drawing books to Lin Dan and went out to work.

The book recorded several of Meng Si's works, all of which were ink paintings. A small bridge, a river, people, and a boat sailing down with the current; it looked very artistic. Lin Dan had planned to copy her painting, but she didn't move her brush for a long time. These paintings should be inspired by Meng Si's memory. She discovered the beauty of life and engraved them in her heart. After returning home, she sketched them out with a brush.

But Lin Dan had no memory. What she could see in her mind was only the fragments of the original owner's memory. She couldn't find the beauty of life, nor could she sketch with her imagination. She had neither past nor future. She only had the existing.

She couldn't draw, so she stayed in a daze for a long time before she closed the album. She sketched a picture of a blooming peony in the garden. She could only draw the scene she saw right before her eyes. The reflection of the sun, the gradual changed in the shadow, and the vibrance of the colors. She recorded them on paper as they were. She used a brush and three primary colors mixed into countless shades of colors. She colored them bit by bit and slowly piled them up. She had no idea how incredible her work was.

Cui Lan, who was still a little careless, was now stunned. "Lad… lady, the peony you painted is the same as real!"

Lin Dan stared at the painting for a while, shook her head, and said, "If this painting was turned back to embroidery, I need at least more than a hundred colors. But, unfortunately, as far as I know, there are only thirty colors of embroidery threads on the market at most, so it still doesn't work."

"No, no, no. You're wrong, lady. Many embroiderers only buy white embroidery thread and dye them themselves after buying. If you want to embroider this flower, we can dye the colors ourselves. Third and fourth aunt can do it." Cui Lan waved her hands excitedly. She was astounded by her lady's painting skill. She had been in Lin's embroidery house for many years, so she naturally knew what qualities a top embroiderer should possess. Exquisite embroidery was just one of them. In addition, one also needed to possess excellent painting skills, stunning design, accurate and unique color matching, and a little ingenuity.

The young lady's embroidery skill was just average, but she had remarkable painting skills, design, color matching, and ingeniousness. As long as she was given some more time to practice the embroidery, she would definitely surpass meng Si! At first, Cui Lan didn't have much hope for Lin Dann, but she had completely changed her mind as time went by.

Lin Dan was confident in herself all the time. She took out a piece of white paper and wrote while talking, "Well, in addition to embroidery, drawing, and color matching, I have another skill to learn now." She wrote a word — dyeing.

From this day on, the Lin family had another expense, which was to buy dye. The dye in the market was costly. Zhang Hui gritted her teeth and sold some of her dowries, and bought carts of dye. She didn't know if the cost was worth it, nor did she know if her daughter could become a talent, but it was always good to have a thought in her heart.

In this way, Lin Dan led a busier life than before. When she came to her senses, more than half a year had passed. The woodpile in the woodshed was not wasted for three to four successive months. There was no need to vent her anger. She was calm for a whole day, and her embroidery skill had improved by leaps and bounds.

One day, when she passed by the garden, she heard the familiar sound of chopping wood posts from the next door. She couldn't help but feel curious. She leaped up the wall without hesitation and looked down. She saw Du Rusong was holding a broadsword, chopping the wooden posts around him. From his steps and body movements could know that he was actually skilled at kung fu.

Perhaps he was tired of chopping; he had taken off his shirt, revealing his muscular body. His body was covered with sweat. The sweat slid down along the muscle lines to the abdomen, merged into the mermaid line, and disappeared in the lower part of his robe. He usually liked to wear a smart and elegant robe, and his hair was neatly tied behind his head. He looked pretty noble. But today, his clothes were disheveled, with his hair dangling. There was indescribable wildness and temptation aura inside him.

He looked thin, but in fact, he was stronger than anyone else, and his martial arts were remarkable. Lin Dan had never seen anyone else kung fu, but she was inexplicably convinced that she would praise someone else's kung fu, which meant he was undoubtedly a master.

"What are you looking at?" Then, when she was in a daze, Du Rusong had turned around and wiped the sweat slowly.

"You are good!" Lin Dan said honestly.

Seeing that there was no shyness on her face and no flirtatious in her eyes as if she was looking at a wooden post. Du Rusong was at a loss whether to cry or to laugh. The little girl was not only tough but also, she saw no difference between genders. So how did her parents teach her?

Lin Dan didn't think there was anything inappropriate for the man to be topless. She seemed to have seen many of these scenes. She continued, "You used to practice swordsmanship, didn't you?"

Du Rusong took a glimpse at his treasured swords placed on the weapon rack. He nodded and said, "Yes, I've just practiced broadsword recently." He was depressed and still couldn't solve it. However, seeing that the little girl was so energetic while chopping the wood, he couldn't help but try. The result was quite satisfying. Since he began to practice sword skills, he hadn't thought about the bad things in the past for a long time.

"Your sword skills are stunning and mastered well. It is also very lethal when it's used on the battlefield. It is indeed more practical than swordsmanship. Since you are so skillful, why don't you join the army? With your strength, you can be a general in a few years!" Lin Dan straddled the wall and said in a serious tone with a hint of grief.

If she was as skillful as the boy, she would have already gone to the military. How could she stay at home to embroider?

Du Rusong couldn't help smiling when he thought of Lin Dan's bold words. He wiped his sweat, put on an outer robe, and said, "Do you think joining the military is realizable?" Not long after Li Rangang came to Zhejiang, he was only in charge of government affairs and didn't join the military. If he joined the army, he might have a way out. However, the relationship in the military was not as simple as in the imperial court. The battlefield was a cruel place to be at. He was not afraid of death. He was just scared that if he died, there was no one to take care of his sister and aunt.

Lin Dan didn't know his worries and said firmly, "It's realizable. In the military camp, the strong one could stand out. You are so skillful. It's a pity that you don't join the army."

Du Rusong pondered for a moment, then suddenly changed the subject, "How's your embroidery skill?"

Lin Dan stunned for a moment. Then she took out an embroidered cloth and said, "This is my new artwork. Have a look at it."

Du Rusong's careless expression was immediately replaced by astonishment. A peony was blooming on the white embroidered cloth. The light-yellow fluffy stamen seemed to be stained with some fine pollen. The petals spread layer by layer, and the color was from deep to light and gradually dyed. The side facing the sun was vibrant, while the side against the light was slightly darker and dull. It gave more texture to it. Several dewdrops rolled on the clearly-veined leaves as if they would fall off with a slight shake.

It didn't seem to be embroidery. It was a real blooming peony in the wind.

Du Rusong subconsciously touched the petals to confirm if they were real.

"How is it?" Lin Dan asked expectantly.

Du Rusong took a deep breath and smiled, "I'll join the army tomorrow."

Lin Dan frowned and didn't understand why he could change the subject swiftly.

Du Rusong gave the embroidered cloth back to her and explained, "Since you can cultivate the embroidery skill to such superb, I can also join the army." He had seen Lin Dan been through it step by step. At first, she couldn't even hold the needle steadily, but she never thought of giving up. Instead, she forced herself to sit in front of the embroidery rack and practice. Day by day, month by month… In the end, she mastered the embroidery skill and temper herself. Such perseverance was the only thing he had seen in his life.

He still remembered that Lin Dan's first work was a tuft of things that couldn't recognize the shape at all. However, it had only been more than five months, she could already embroider a flower onto her embroidery cloth.

Her painting was so vivid, and her embroidering skill was so extraordinary that he was amazed. But, at the same time, she let him realized that where there's a will, there's a way. As a grown-up man, why couldn't he do what a little girl could do?