The Female Supporting Role Shows Out

Chapter 79 (Arc 4 Embroiderer)

Translator: NovelMultiverse | Editor: NovelMultiverse

Lin Dan was awakened by a feather duster. When she opened her eyes, she found herself curling up in a corner. A thin woman was scolding while beating as if she was furious. Before Lin Dan figured out the relationship between the woman and herself, she didn't dare to resist. She held her head and curled herself up even tighter and tried to sort out her memories.

Although she didn't figure out who she was and what she had experienced, she was already used to this situation.

The original host was called Lin Dan. Her father, Lin Dafu, was a brigand who made a fortune by robbing merchant caravans. He had no son. He guessed that he had done too many evil deeds and lost his Yin Virtue, so he donated most of the robbed money to build Buddhist temples, Taoist temples, roads, bridges, and so on. The other half was used to do silk business and slowly embarked on the right track.

Perhaps because he had done a lot of good deeds, Lin Dafu's wife gave birth to Lin Dan when she was fifty. Although she didn't bring her with her, she was also the root of the whole family. Naturally, she was as precious as a pearl as if she would melt when put in the mouth and as if she would fall when held in hands. She was too pampered. When she was sixteen-year-old, she was ready to find a husband to inherit the family business.

However, good times didn't last long. When Lin Dan had just reached fifteen and was about to become a big girl, Lin Dafu was punished for his past evil deeds. The descendant of a family he robbed plotted to switch the Shu Brocade that he bought from Shu Province with a lot of money into sackcloth, which made him lose a fortune.

Lin Dafu felt sorry for his wife and daughter, so he fell ill and died in less than two months. The family who plotted him made a fortune with the Shu Brocade. Moreover, his family had excellent embroidering skills and was favored by the nobles. So he took the opportunity to settle down in the Lin'an Prefecture, and from then on, he replaced the Lin family and became the largest embroidery shop in the place.

The Lin family had no more reputation, no more shop, no more money, only left an orphan and a few widows. Life was tough. The thin woman who was whipping Lin Dan with a feather duster was Lin Dan's mother, Zhang Hui. She had just recovered from a severe illness. Seeing that her daughter was still so unruly, she was so angry that it caused her to beat her.

While she was beating, she scolded in disappointment, "I asked you to learn embroidery and needlework from Third and Fourth Aunt. Yet, what did you do today? Do you still think the Lin family is still as wealthy as before and can do whatever you please? One hundred and twenty taels of silver for a pottery jar. How could you do such a stupid thing! Do you know how long one hundred and twenty taels of silver can last for our family? You have spent the money that can last for the entire year. From today onwards, are you going to live with just breathing the air? If you learn the embroidery skill well, you can also make a lifelike and invaluable embroidery like Meng Si. Then why should we worry about not having back the glory and falling into straitened circumstances? When your father was alive, he always asked you to learn something to support the family business in the future. But look, he just died not long ago, and you have used up the last bit of money. Do you want to make him come back to life, or do you want to piss me off to death? Do you have a conscience?"

The original host had a conscience; it was just that she was naive and was cheated. Someone told her that the pottery jar was an antique from the early Qin Dynasty and was worth tens of thousands of gold, so she bought it. Initially, she wanted to give it to her mother to make her happy, but she didn't expect that would cause her mother to almost die of anger.

"From now on, you will stay at home and learn embroidery and needlework. When your skills are comparable with Meng Si, then you are allowed to go out." Mother Lin whipped her another two times before she stopped. A pitying look appeared on her face. As the saying goes, a mother's heart hurts while beating her children.