As soon as Qun Qing stepped out the door, many gazes converged on the stack of wooden boxes that Ruo Chan was carrying. Eunuch Liang’s gaze was particularly burning.

Qun Qing acted as if she hadn’t noticed. Ministry of Rites Vice Minister Pei Jia walked over, bowing with cupped hands to urge: “The envoys are already waiting at Jade Spring Palace. Once the Chamberlain has prepared the gifts, follow me.”

Eunuch Liang quickly exchanged glances with several young eunuchs: “After today, we probably won’t see this female chamberlain anymore.”

Up ahead, Qun Qing suddenly stopped and said to the Vice Minister of Rites: “I suddenly feel dizzy, probably because I didn’t eat well this morning. Lord Pei, Eunuch Liang is the Bedchamber Bureau supervisor—let him go in my place.”

Eunuch Liang froze as he watched Qun Qing hand two wooden boxes to Pei Jia: “Among the gift items, this rosewood carved fan stand and lamp stand are the smallest but most precious. I’m afraid they might fall through gaps and crack if dropped. Please hold them personally, my lord, and deliver them to the envoys.”

Pei Jia nodded but seemed somewhat displeased. He handed the wooden boxes to Eunuch Liang: “The Chamberlain is meticulous, but I am Vice Minister of Rites and have other duties. Since Eunuch Liang is going in your place, let him carry them.”

Under everyone’s gaze, Eunuch Liang suddenly looked toward Qun Qing. This young woman’s face was full of concern, her expression seemingly completely oblivious.

The weight of the boxes made Eunuch Liang break out in cold sweat. His mind went blank for a moment, his eyes suspiciously fixed on the brocade boxes, then shifting to the young eunuch beside him.

Could the wooden carved fan stand still be inside the box?

“Supervisor Liang, what are you standing there for?” Pei Jia kept urging. Eunuch Liang could only select two people and hurry to catch up.

Qun Qing stood under the eaves, her expression indifferent as she watched the group depart.

Upon entering Jade Spring Palace, Eunuch Liang’s forehead was covered in sweat. Lu Huating, wearing purple official robes, sat beside the envoys. Instead of taking the items from his hands, he smiled and said: “Coming from the Bedchamber Bureau isn’t that far. Why is the supervisor sweating so much? Wipe it off.”

Eunuch Liang hurriedly used his sleeve to wipe his forehead. Lu Huating’s smile faded slightly as he said to the envoys: “The Bedchamber Bureau supervisor has come to present gifts.” He then gestured with his eyes for Eunuch Liang to present them.

The brocade box opened in the envoys’ hands.

The Gaochang envoy froze, then praised it endlessly.

Lu Huating looked at the box—the rosewood carved fan stand was intact and undamaged. Eunuch Liang stood to the side, his face deathly pale. Seeing Lu Huating look over, he forced out a smile.

After returning, the more Eunuch Liang thought about it, the angrier he became. He wanted to curse loudly, but just as he stepped over the threshold of Chongwen Hall, he heard Qun Qing say coldly: “Seize him.”

Immediately a group of eunuchs rushed out and bound him and the two young eunuchs behind him with rope. Eunuch Liang’s hands and feet flailed as he said indignantly: “Chamberlain Qun, I am the Bedchamber Bureau supervisor. If you treat me this way, you must have proof!”

Qun Qing said: “Originally I truly had no proof and couldn’t be certain whether the Bedchamber Bureau theft was connected to you. But today I’m certain—you’ve actually been stealing from your own storehouse all along. Didn’t all the previously stolen items pass through your hands?”

“Nonsense, you’re slandering me!”

“Just now the rosewood carved fan stand that was stolen from the hall—I don’t even know where it is,” Qun Qing’s slightly upturned eyes contained a hint of amusement. “If it wasn’t in the supervisor’s hands, how did you return it intact?”

At these words, the surrounding eunuchs cried out in shock, looking at each other. Some felt guilty and frightened, others were angry: “Eunuch Liang, every time something was stolen you punished our salaries. Who knew you were doing it yourself?”

“You wicked Chamberlain Qun, you deliberately tested me…” Eunuch Liang’s lips trembled with rage.

“You deliberately gave me the item in front of Ministry of Rites people. How could this humble official dare not exert every effort? Just now, if I hadn’t opened the brocade box and seen that you’d replaced the fan stand with stones, you would have nearly caused me harm!” He looked at the young eunuch behind him. “It was this one with sticky fingers who took the tribute items. I searched him and just discovered it—it has nothing to do with me.”

“I imagine you also have an accomplice, working from inside and out.” Qun Qing’s gaze swept over the young eunuch who had closely followed him. “To take items right under my nose shows some skill. Take him down too.”

Ruo Chan asked: “Take them where?”

Qun Qing said: “Inform Lord Lu and send them to have his people interrogate them.”

“Interrogate?” Seeing Ruo Chan run off, Eunuch Liang had already heard. He shouted loudly: “This official and Lord Lu are both court officials appointed by the court. By what authority does he dare interrogate me? What qualifications does he have to conduct interrogations in the palace? Acting this way is just like a cruel official. And you too—aren’t you afraid of being impeached?”

He cursed and reviled her. Qun Qing stood on the steps looking down at him: “Have you forgotten that Lord Lu, by the Saint’s decree, has been investigating spies in the palace? You stole palace property and sold it to Gaochang people. You’ve clearly had long-term dealings with Gaochang people. Whether you’re a Gaochang spy—shouldn’t we interrogate you to find out?”

Stealing palace property was already a serious crime; colluding with the enemy was a capital offense. Eunuch Liang had no idea how she knew about the Gaochang matter. He froze for a moment, unable to defend himself, and immediately knelt down: “I’m not a spy! Chamberlain, those are just a few Gaochang merchants I befriended, drinking buddies—there’s absolutely no collusion with the enemy. Can’t I confess everything?”

Qun Qing smiled: “You said you’d confess everything. Go wait in the hall first.”

When she smiled, it was like frozen streams suddenly breaking, light bursting forth, possessing a power that awed hearts. At some point the Bedchamber Bureau crowd had fallen silent, all eyes focused on this young female official. How had they ever thought she was a soft persimmon?

When she raised her eyes, her pale face showed no expression: “I’ve memorized all your names one by one. From today on, Liang Yun and Liang Xing will be responsible for re-inventorying the treasury. If there are more thefts in the future, once caught, you can go keep Eunuch Liang company.”

Everyone responded in unison. As Qun Qing moved to push open the door, she paused. Two young eunuchs rushed in ahead of her, arranging desk, chairs, brush, and ink for her, just as they had previously done for Eunuch Liang.

Qun Qing entered the hall, finally relaxing. She wasn’t accustomed to lecturing people publicly, but if she didn’t establish authority, she would only be looked down upon, making things even more difficult in the future. Thinking of this, she said: “You don’t know Sanskrit—how did you connect with the Gaochang people?”

Eunuch Liang knelt until his legs hurt and hurriedly explained: “No, I do know a little Sanskrit. If that doesn’t work, gesturing works too. In business talk, there’s nothing difficult.”

Qun Qing glanced at him.

In her memory, Gaochang people were suspicious and guarded, not that easy to approach, so there were very few Gaochang merchants in Chang’an. It was also very difficult to become drinking buddies with them. Though this person was a palace eunuch, he had some talent in business matters. He might be useful.

As she was thinking, Ruo Chan returned: “Lord Lu has agreed to help Elder Sister with the interrogation, but he wants you to go to Jade Spring Palace right now.”

Qun Qing set down her brush: “Has something gone wrong with the negotiations at Jade Spring Palace?”

If she remembered correctly, today was already the final deadline for the trade negotiations. All the national gifts and trade samples would be packed today. Tomorrow afternoon, the Gaochang envoys would depart to return to Gaochang.

Ruo Chan said: “It’s Lady Meng. That batch of silk tapestry embroidery has problems.”

Qun Qing pushed open the hall door and saw Baoshu’s rigid figure standing there, with the envoys’ whispered discussions floating through the hall.

Qun Qing had anticipated this scene long ago, but she hadn’t expected it so soon.

The Gaochang queen was obsessed with silk tapestry embroidery and had specifically asked the envoys to bring a scroll of “Siamese Butterflies at Play,” placing high hopes on this three-dimensional embroidery style. However, when this batch of embroidery samples was obtained, they weren’t as exquisite as imagined. The flower and leaf parts of the Ten Thousand Flowers design were still fairly detailed, but the higher up, the looser and coarser they became.

The envoys merely passed the embroidery samples around for viewing, yet the embroidery threads bounced loose and scattered. Seeing the colored threads come loose, Baoshu was greatly alarmed and immediately said: “This one is an embroiderer’s mistake. Fetch a good one.”

However, the new embroidery sample also had threads coming loose when lightly pulled. Seeing this, the envoys couldn’t help but shake their heads in disappointment: “This shouldn’t be the embroidery sample the queen wanted.”

“This is exactly the embroidery sample your honorable country’s queen wanted.” Qun Qing said. She walked forward. Baoshu glanced at her, feeling she’d been sabotaged by Qun Qing, and said tolerantly: “This is the female official from the Garment Bureau who was previously responsible for this batch of embroidery samples. Let her explain.”

The envoys saw her dressed entirely in plain clothes, not adorned with pearls and jade like Baoshu, and couldn’t help saying: “I’ve heard that after the Chu Kingdom split north and south, its national power is far inferior to before. Northern Chen only retained the imperial house’s shell, with treasures and skills all flowing to Southern Chu. Though cloud brocade is good, this silk weaving craft doesn’t look as good as old Chu’s. It seems the queen’s price was too high.”

In his words, there was actually hesitation about breaking the agreement.

From behind the curtains came sounds of movement. Qun Qing glanced in that direction and knew Prince Yan, unable to bear hearing this, had shifted position. His illness had persisted since his injury, requiring bed rest, so he’d had people carry his bed to attend directly.

Recently Southern Chu had been frequently provocative, showing signs of preparing for war, which greatly vexed Prince Yan. Qun Qing was certain that if Prince Yan hadn’t been injured this time, according to his temperament in her previous life, he might have immediately prepared for war with Southern Chu. Only because he was injured did he have to establish good relations with Western Region kingdoms through trade to suppress Southern Chu and delay warfare.

This was a good thing for Qun Qing—provided the trade deal was reached.

At this moment, everyone heard sounds and looked toward the door.

Carried into the hall from outside was a wooden loom. One of those carrying the loom was the sweating Eunuch Liang. After carrying the loom, he stood with hands hanging at his sides beside Qun Qing.

Qun Qing noticed Lu Huating’s gaze fall on her face. She glanced at him, then calmly walked toward the loom and stroked it: “The envoys probably haven’t seen the silk tapestry embroidery process before?”

She stopped the Court of State Ceremonial translator. The one translating for her was actually Eunuch Liang. This person’s Sanskrit was jumbled and accompanied by gestures. The anxious translator looked toward Lu Huating. Lu Huating shook his head slightly, stopping him.

This woman had another solution.

The envoys didn’t answer. Qun Qing continued on her own, setting up the fabric, placing the warp threads, tying the cloud shuttle—a series of movements flowing like water between her fingers, bathed in heavenly light.

Finally, when she moved the pedals, the Gaochang envoy left his seat, harboring some curiosity, and walked to the loom to observe.

He too was seeing a wooden loom for the first time. Watching Qun Qing place the base pattern underneath, the cloud shuttle weaving between warp threads as the underlying pattern slowly emerged, his eyes widened slightly.

“The three-dimensional embroidery sample the queen wanted isn’t needle and thread embroidery, but uses a cloud shuttle to hook colored threads onto warp threads. This way, as long as there’s a base pattern, even the most complex pictures can be embroidered.” Qun Qing said. “Weaving this way is inherently slower than ordinary embroidery, more taxing on eyes and skill. Hasn’t the envoy noticed that the embroidery sample’s colors are richer than ordinary embroidery?”

Eunuch Liang said: “In our Da Chen, one must select palace maids with large eyes who have embroidered for ten years before they can use this type of loom. Such a large piece of fabric requires a month of work.”

After hearing this, the envoy froze and couldn’t help picking up the embroidery sample with loose colored threads to examine it carefully. He indeed saw the difference: “The colors are truly more vivid, but it really isn’t uniform.”

Eunuch Liang said: “Didn’t I say? One piece of embroidered cloth takes a month—it can’t be rushed. The lower half of the Ten Thousand Flowers design shows the normal craftsmanship. The upper half is slightly loose because you were rushing back to Gaochang and we had to rush the work. If there was sufficient time, it would certainly be a batch of perfect embroidery samples.”

Unexpectedly they were so confident and justified that the envoys momentarily couldn’t judge truth from falsehood. Could it really be for this reason?

But Qun Qing’s hand movements grew faster and faster. The cloud shuttle wove back and forth, almost to a dazzling degree. She pressed the pedals faster and faster, the beater pressing down faster and faster, until with a crack, the beater’s movement stopped.

Baoshu couldn’t help but focus intently. The loom—this was how the looms broke!

Qun Qing crouched down, removed a small wooden rotating shaft, and showed it to the envoys. A crack clearly traversed the shaft: “Working day and night, the loom can’t withstand the wear and tear and will damage components. Our silk tapestry embroidery is inherently fine craftsmanship. Embroiderers only take the three hours of their best energy each day to work, which is how we obtained the small piece of embroidery on Princess Changping’s fan. If we damage our looms by rushing to produce tribute items for your honorable country’s queen, I think our Garment Bureau’s loss would be greater. Other countries have long been willing to pay and willing to wait. Selling to other countries would be better for us.”

The envoys looked at the loom before them, gripping the embroidery samples in their hands, momentarily hesitant again.

If silk tapestry embroidery was truly this precious and they couldn’t complete the queen’s commission, they would be punished upon returning.

However, he said: “This rotating shaft was worn through. Even if sold to other countries, as long as so many pieces of cloth still need to be embroidered, it will break the same way. It’s a problem with your loom, unrelated to rushing the work.”

“The envoy is correct.” Qun Qing drew another wooden rotating shaft from her sleeve and showed it to him. “The person who invented the loom discovered exactly this point, which is why the loom body uses ordinary wood, but only this rotating shaft is made of solid rosewood, precisely so it could be used longer.”

“But I don’t know why, this month the palace suddenly couldn’t spare even half a measure of rosewood, so the Garment Bureau could only use ordinary wood to make rotating shafts. They kept wearing through repeatedly, affecting the embroidery in your hands due to the looms stopping.”

Hearing this, the Gaochang envoy’s face immediately turned guilty and pale. He glanced at Lu Huating, thinking of that batch of rosewood the Minister of Rites had privately promised him. He hadn’t imagined this matter was actually related to himself. His tone immediately improved considerably: “Since the lady guarantees the silk tapestry embroidery has no problems, then we’ll pay half the silver first. After the silk tapestry embroidery is embroidered according to the palace’s quality standards, it can be transported to Gaochang.”

Qun Qing drew out the small piece of embroidered cloth, on which was simply embroidered a pure white udumbara flower. She bowed: “This small embroidered piece is already complete. Please have the envoys take it back to the queen to set her mind at ease.”