A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Chapter 690 Helping Taohua Make a Wedding Dress

After hearing this, Gui'er felt very emotional. She and Taohua had been in trouble together since childhood and had experienced so many things. Now she was about to marry her own brother, which made them even closer relatives. However, she had to leave the Marshal's Mansion, and it might not be easy for them to see each other in the future.

Seeing that Taohua didn't have any gold or silver jewelry, she thought to herself that she had to make one or two pieces for her as a treasure.

So she asked Taohua, "How is your wedding dress preparation going?" She knew that Taohua was very good at embroidery, and she would probably put even more effort into her own wedding dress.

When Taohua heard her mention this, she took out a piece of cloth from the closet and said excitedly: "I plan to dye this cloth red, and then make a jacket with a Yuanbao collar to match the pants. I will dye it that dark red color. This way I can wear it on ordinary days. I have already made the buttons, look." Then she took out a few pairs of buttons made of cloth from the closet. Although the material was ordinary, the style was very beautiful. It was in the shape of a chrysanthemum and very delicate.

Gui Er frowned and said, "You only get married once in your life, why bother to think about what you wear everyday? How about this, I'll go to Yunshang Tower and order a set of silk fabrics for you. You give me the buttons. You make them beautifully, and I'll have them make buttons based on your style."

Taohua waved her hand and said, "No, that's such a waste of money. You'll need money a lot in the future. Even though I can't help you much these years, we're still together. If anything comes up, there's someone you can talk to. I'm afraid we'll have fewer opportunities to see each other after I get married, and you'll have to do everything by yourself. You should keep some money for yourself so I can rest assured."

Gui'er's nose felt sore after hearing this. She said, "Because we've been sisters for so many years, this wedding dress should be considered my wedding gift to you. Don't refuse it."

Seeing that she couldn't persuade her, Taohua had to agree. The two of them fell silent for a while, as if they had a lot to say but didn't know where to start.

Just as they were sitting facing each other in silence, the Third Concubine suddenly pushed the door open and said to them with a smile, "Are you two sisters still chatting? By the way, Taohua, I heard the dowry has been delivered. Let me see, oh, it's here."

As he spoke, he walked over to the box containing Taohua's dowry, opened the box without permission, and rummaged through it to see what was inside.

I saw her flipping through the porcelain plates, and touching the quilts. Seeing that they were made of coarse cloth, she felt a little disgusted. Then she picked up the cheongsams, spread them out one by one, and found that the materials were not very good, so she stuffed them back in at random.

Gui'er felt a fire rising in her heart. She knew it was not a good time to have a conflict with the Third Concubine, so she endured it.

As the Third Concubine was rummaging through the things, she said to Taohua, "Look at these things, they are just ordinary things. I am sorry for putting you in such a difficult position. But it doesn't matter. When you go back to your husband's house, serve your parents-in-law and husband well. Your life will get better."

Suddenly, she found the copper hand warmer and said in surprise, "This is quite good. When my sister Sanmei got married, I forgot to arrange one for her. You and sister Sanmei are sisters, and you have lived under the same roof for so long, so I think you have feelings for each other. I'll leave this hand warmer for your sister Sanmei as a souvenir."

Guier couldn't help it any longer and opened her mouth to retort.

Taohua quickly held her hand. Smiling, she said to the Third Auntie, "Auntie, you're right. I should have given Sister Sanmei some gifts when she got married, but unfortunately, I don't have much money. Now, since you like this item in my dowry, it means it's quite good. You can give it to Sister Sanmei and bring her good luck."

The third concubine said with satisfaction, "Alas, you have finally grown up and are about to get married. It seems that your temperament has become much more virtuous now. You are no longer like a gourd without a mouth. Okay, then you two sisters can chat first. I will send the things to Sanmei right away."

Taohua said sweetly, "Okay, take care, Auntie."

Seeing that things had come to this, Gui'er had no choice but to smile along.

As soon as the Third Wife left, Taohua sighed and said, "Forget it. It's come to this point. I'm too lazy to argue with her. I've put up with her for so many years. If she hadn't pretended to be nice and tricked me into coming here, maybe I could have gone to school like you, learned culture, and maybe become a lady from a noble family like you. I was too young back then, and I didn't have much time for that."

Gui Er was very surprised. It was the first time she heard Tao Hua say this. It turned out that Tao Hua envied her so much. If she had known this earlier, she could have helped Tao Hua, but now it was too late.

She consoled him, "I'm not some lady from a wealthy family. I'm just like you, I just know a few more words. You've also learned women's virtues and training from the teacher in the mansion, and that's enough. In troubled times, sometimes even the most learned are useless. Otherwise, why would they call a scholar useless?"

The two chatted for a long time, even reminiscing about their childhood. It was almost time for dinner when Guier reluctantly left and returned to her own yard.

The next day, before going to Zhenxiufang, Guier asked Acheng to stop by Yunshang Tower first.

Knowing that Yunshanglou's clothes were expensive, she chose a somewhat ordinary-looking piece of silk. She then took out a peach blossom-shaped buttonhole and said to the shopkeeper, "Could you please make me a wedding dress? I want a Xiaofengxian style, with a Yuanbao collar and buttonholes that follow this pattern. Could you please calculate the approximate cost?"

The shopkeeper smiled and said, "Miss, you and the young marshal are both our regular customers, so there's no need to ask for the price. We'll send the bill to your house when the time comes. The young marshal has instructed you that no matter what you buy here, you don't have to pay for it; he'll pay the bill."

Gui'er was stunned for a moment. She hadn't expected Sha Yanxiao to have such an agreement with the store. She thought the prices here were too high and had never bought anything there before. She quickly smiled and said, "Oh, boss, it's like this. This Xiao Fengxian is a wedding dress I gave to a sister for her wedding, so I paid for it personally. Could you help me calculate it?"

The shopkeeper heard her say this and made a few ticks on the abacus. Then he said with a smile, "Oh, the material you chose is not expensive. A set of clothes will cost about 1 yuan."

Gui'er was shocked. She didn't expect it to be so expensive. Although she also wanted to make a nice wedding dress for Taohua, this was beyond her budget.

She hesitated for a while, but finally couldn't bear to leave and said to the shopkeeper, "I remembered that my sister seems to want a more special style. I'll go back and ask her before coming over." Then she ran away.