It was late spring in the seventeenth year of the Republic of China. The rain in the Jiangnan water town is always lingering and poetic, pattering on the bluestone slabs and splashing fine water. Deep in Pingjiang Road, Suzhou, the wooden signboard of "Qingyuan Embroidery Workshop" swayed slightly in the rain and fog, and the vermilion paint color had a warm luster due to the years.
In the embroidery workshop, Su Qingyuan was sitting in front of the rosewood embroidery stand near the window, twisting silver needles on her fingertips as she shuttled over the plain white silk. She was wearing a moon-white cheongsam, with a circle of elegant orchid grass embroidered on the collar. Her long black hair was pulled into a bun loosely, with a jade hairpin stuck in it. The rain outside the window fell on the window lattice, making her brows look even more beautiful, like a lady in an ink painting.
"Qingyuan, please take a rest. The rain won't stop for a while, not less than half an hour." A Chun, a boy from the embroidery workshop, came over with a cup of hot tea and said softly. Achun has been working with the Su family for five years. Watching Su Qingyuan grow from a cardamom girl to the graceful figure she is today, she has long been regarded as her own sister.
Su Qingyuan stopped what she was doing and raised her head, revealing a pair of clear almond eyes. She looked at the "Picture of Fishing Alone on the Cold River" that was about to be completed on the embroidered cloth, and sighed softly: "This is what Commander Zhang ordered. He said it was going to be given to the distinguished guests from Nanjing, so there is no delay."
