Chapter 273: Lady Li’s Poison is Gone
It wasn’t just Madam Ding in the room; another woman was seated at the table, enjoying tea and conversation. Upon her entry, both turned to look at her, and to her surprise, the other woman was Madam Li, whom Bai Ruozhu had met before!
Bai Ruozhu couldn’t escape Madam Li fast enough, and the world really was small to bring them together again!
Madam Li, looking quite astonished, turned to Madam Ding and said, "Sister, is this the young lady you were talking about?"
Madam Ding, also surprised, asked, "How do you know her, my dear sister?"
Madam Li smiled, "I met her at Madam Xie’s Residence. Madam Xie knew I had been having troubling dreams, and asked her to check my pulse. I had no idea she was also the skilled craftswoman you mentioned."
She turned back to Bai Ruozhu, chuckling, "Exactly how many talents do you have? It’s quite astonishing."
Bai Ruozhu brushed off her astonishment and gently tugged at Fusa’s sleeve. They both paid their respects to Madam Ding and Madam Li. Only then did Bai Ruozhu respond, "Madam Li is too kind, these are just minor tricks, nothing much."
"Your hats are exquisite, calling them minor tricks is far too modest," replied Madam Ding, clearly delighted. "What a fortunate coincidence! Madam Li is my younger sister. I invited her here today to meet you and have you make some beautiful hats for her daughter."
Bai Ruozhu nodded with a smile, "I am grateful for your kindness, madam."
Making hats was far safer than diagnosing ailments. Why would she not seize the opportunity to earn some money?
Since Madam Li and Bai Ruozhu had previously met, the atmosphere became less formal. Bai Ruozhu asked both women about the age of the children who would wear the hats, and what design they would prefer.
Madam Li, having seen Xiuxiu’s hat, desired one just like it, but she couldn’t just snatch her niece’s hat, could she? She turned to Bai Ruozhu, and said, "Would you make one for my daughter following the design of Xiuxiu’s hat?"
Bai Ruozhu thought for a moment before replying. As she had explained to Fusa, wealthy clients preferred unique items. If she agreed to Madam Li’s request in front of Madam Ding, Xiuxiu’s hat would lose its uniqueness. What’s more, custom-made items always required higher quality, finer materials. Madam Li would doubtless supply her own pearls, thereby outmatching Xiuxiu’s hat. Bai Ruozhu would never risk upsetting an old client for the sake of a new one.
"Madam, I brought some new designs with me today. Why not look them over first, then decide what you would like made?" She said, then took out the patterns she had drawn. Seeing her signal, Fusa moved forward, opening a bag and saying, "Ladies, there are also many color options available."
Madam Li understood Bai Ruozhu’s subtle refusal and turned to her sister. Madam Ding gave her sister a reassuring smile, indicating that it was all right. However, she realized her request had been a bit presumptive.
No matter what Madam Li’s initial opinion of Bai Ruozhu was, she had to admit now that Bai Ruozhu was an extremely meticulous woman.
The women became excited as they perused the patterns—it felt much like browsing through a fashion catalog—they chattered away, paying no mind to Bai Ruozhu and Fusa.
"What do you think of this one for Xiuxiu? She loves pearls," Madam Ding suggested, pointing to a design in the pattern book. The design was inspired by the "Princess Huazheng"; it featured a square top similar to a Xinjiang hat, with strands of tassels hanging from the rim, adorned with small pearls. The pearls would sway as the girl moved, making her look especially adorable.
Madam Li agreed, "Xiuxiu will definitely like it. This morning her father was taking her out and she was upset about being unable to choose her own hat." Afterwards, she pointed to another design, curiously asking, "What is this? It looks very cute."
"It looks like a rabbit to me. Ruozhu’s son has a tiger hat and he looks absolutely charming," said Madam Ding, remembering seeing Dengdeng wearing it at the market the previous day.
Bai Ruozhu discreetly signaled to Fusa; today’s business was going to be quite successful. Fusa was overjoyed, but managed to stay composed, trying to emulate Bai Ruozhu’s calm demeanor.
The two ladies spent quite a while discussing their options, and finally each selected two designs. Bai Ruozhu offered them additional suggestions and they quickly finalized the colors and patterns.
"I will send someone to get you some pearls," Madam Ding said, and quickly sent a maid to get them. The maid returned shortly with a box containing several compartments filled with pearls of varying sizes.
Bai Ruozhu examined them, choosing those with a good lustre and round shape, but not too big, explaining, "The pearls on the tassels shouldn’t be too big, or they won’t look good."
"Good, let’s use these." Madam Ding nodded and had the maid pack some of the pearls that Bai Ruozhu had selected. Bai Ruozhu observed there were many extra pearls in the package.
"There’s no need for so many," she mentioned, but Madam Ding waved her hand dismissively, "Never mind, you can keep the extra."
See, doing business with the wealthy is truly enjoyable. Just a little reward is worth quite a lot.
After thinking a while, looking at the pattern, Madam Li said, "For the eyes of my rabbit, I’ll use red agate. I’ll have someone deliver them to the Xie Residence tomorrow."
"Yes," Bai Ruozhu answered.
Then both of them asked about the price, and generously paid Bai Ruozhu ten taels of silver as a deposit. Although Bai Ruozhu remained calm externally, she was exclaiming inwardly: Oh, how wonderful life is with money! A casual handout of ten taels of silver, they are truly wealthy!
"Ladies, because of the complexity of the process, even working together, Fusa and I will take half a month at least. However, the finer the output, the longer it takes. I want to make the hats with meticulous care," Bai Ruozhu added.
Madam Ding nodded, "Not a problem. If you finish one earlier, you can send it to us first. The children can’t wait, you know." She finished with a laugh, revealing her own anticipation.
"Okay," Bai Ruozhu nodded.
After finishing the discussion, she signaled to Fusa that they should take their leave, but Madam Li suddenly turned to her and said, "Since we’ve met, could you please check my pulse too, to see how my health has been lately?"
Bai Ruozhu’s heart skipped. She didn’t want to check Madam Li’s pulse, but as the request had already been made, she couldn’t refuse.
She nodded and moved her hand over Madam Li’s wrist, but a moment later, she felt a sinking sensation in her heart.
It wasn’t that Madam Li’s condition had worsened, or the poison had progressed earlier than expected. To her surprise, she could no longer detect the signs of poisoning in Madam Li’s pulse. Did she perceive it before because Madam Li had consumed incompatible substances? Or had the poison truly disappeared from Madam Li’s body?