Chapter 86: CH 86

Xie Ying had left quite an improper time around noon and had not even brought any young manservants and attendants. The Xie Residence didn’t even know where he had gone and he did not return until evening, which made everyone feel uneasy. It was not until it was close to night curfew that he rode back home alone, smelling like alcohol which made people feel even more worried.

The Old Steward of the Xie Residence, Xie Yu, hurriedly asked someone to whip up some soup to sober him up, boil water for a bath and also called for attendants to help Xie Ying change his clothes, all the while nagging him from the side that the youth should not have come back so late.

“…Didn’t even know where you went, you ran around outside all day and didn’t even see your shadow. I almost sent someone to the Cui Residence to look for you. It is a good thing you are back now, else I would have gone over and asked where you were, wouldn’t the others make fun of us….”

Xie Ying changed into loungewear and used a hot hand towel to wipe his face. Casually throwing it into the basin, he grinned, “Alright, next time I won’t run into the mountains and just go to our family’s farmstead instead. Send someone to pass a message to the Cui Residence, saying that the two sets of clothes he sent are extremely precious and I am ashamed to receive such a gift. I would like to invite him to be a guest at our farmstead for a day during his break from the College.”

Xie Yu puzzledly asked, “It is enough to ask him to visit the Residence, why go to the farmstead?”

“It will already be May when his next break comes around. It will be too hot at home and it is better to go to the farmstead. What’s more, these clothes are what one wears when going out, it is not fun to wear it at home.” Xie Ying lips curved up and he ordered, “Get someone to tailor two tighter-fitting inner robes, so as to wear with these robes.”

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The Xie Residence was not the only one in a hurry to order garments this evening.

When Sun Yingjue returned to the Marquis’ Residence, he threw a fit and demanded a tight-fitting yesa be made for him. In the middle of the night, his wet nurse, his mother’s attendants and even his furen’s attendants were called to do needlework. They measured from his wrists to his ankles——even the boots had to be made new, hugging the calves so as to match well with the newly made robes.

The Marquis’ furen doted on her son and the Heir Apparent’s furen was considerate of her husband, both going along with his whims and taking out high-quality material from their storage to let him choose.

When the prices of clothing material came up, he did not even take a look at it and directly instructed the wet nurses and maids, “No need for those garish ones, I want white ones. The white can serve as a background for gold and after it is finished, sew heavily pigmented embroidery on the skirt hem to suppress it. Also want a raven-black cloak, made out of thinner material, without too much embroidery, just press a simple brocade design on the collar.”

The Marquis’s furen furrowed her brows thinking about the color, “White is much too plain, it is not the color the young men of our Marquis household wear. My son was born heroic, brightly colored garments look much better.”

The Heir Apparent’s furen also added, “White can be paired with black, but is it graceful to wear such tight fitting clothes? It is better to add some weight so as to appear relaxed and imposing.”

Sun Yingjue waved his hand, “You all haven’t seen what Xie Ying was wearing today! My bright maroon clothes covered with embroidery that I was wearing looked backwater in front of him. Even with the dark cloak overwhelming his white robes, yet, it did not seem flimsy. On the contrary, it was bright and beautiful looking. With the cuffs tightened and the waistline cinched, making the figure even more outstanding than mine!”

He stroked his flat abdomen and sturdy waistline, and could not help snorting two times, “He even refused to let me try it on, saying it was tailored to his body so I cannot fit it——there is nothing I cannot fit in, I don’t wanna push out a big fat belly like my father….”

His father had already been bothered by the three of them and entered the room just in time to hear his son say those unfilial words. Grabbing his son, he was just about to exit to the outer courtyard to teach his son a lesson. The Heir Apparent’s furen repeatedly called “Heir Apparent” and the Marquis’s furen also chased out to intercede on her son’s behalf. Sun Tai, the Marquis of Huaning angrily yelled, “You have spoiled this one and he even dares to ridicule his father now. If I don’t teach him a lesson now, he’s going to step over my head!”

Heir Apparent Sun threw caution to the wind on whether his father would be able to punish him or not, first prioritizing urging his mother, “Those garments must be made immediately! I am not the only one who met Xie Ying today, there is also the Shao Clan, Li Clan and Jiang Clan…..it must be made earlier, I need to wear it before them ….”

He intended to overwhelm them. After returning home from the outing today, those individuals were bound to be rushing to make garments mimicking the one they saw, so that they could don the new style of dress earlier than everyone else.

The entire family rushed to cut out white and black robes for him, adding cloud shoulders[1] while the decorated sleeve and knee hems were embroidered with what seemed to be a layer of gold…it took three or four days to finish and he tried them on as soon as they were completed.

It was indeed figure-hitting, the cuffs were taken in and slender and the belt was pasted against his hip. The outline of his muscles and tendons in his back and waist could be seen through the garments…but for whatever reason, the dress was inferior to Xie Ying’s slender waist, longlegs and outstanding stature.

Looking back and forth in the mirror, no matter how he looked at himself, the Heir Apparent Sun felt that there was something amiss. He could not refrain from touching his chest and said, “Could it really be that my build falls short of his? That’s impossible ah, this Heir Apparent is someone who rides horses and trains with swords all day long, and I am not shorter than him….”

The Heir Apparent’s furen, Fang-shi said, “Heir Apparent should not compare yourself to others. Just looking at your gallant appearance, even Zhao Yun from the Six Talents and the Three Kingdoms cannot beat you!”

Sun Yingjue immediately felt at ease.

Perhaps it was because he was looking at himself and was being too demanding while being tolerant of others? In any case, after wearing these well-fitting garments, he seemed to have a few more degrees of heroic spirit than before. This was a new look that a third person could not imitate in the city, so he must hurry up and wear it outside.

He tied the cloak around his neck, donned this three-crowned hat, and first headed to toe garrisons and Northern Administrative Division for a stroll. In any case, he was not on duty today and no one would care what he wore today. When those military officers and guards caught sight of his new robes, they enviously praised that his figure looked to be very stable and elegant in such dress. Even his figure seemed slender.

Sun Yingjue wanted to change direction and headed to the military academy to take a stroll, but was stopped by Assistant Commissioner Zhu Ji who had stepped out briefly for some fresh air and crinkled his brows, “Why is that all of you have changed into such tight-fitting garments these past two days? Can you still ride a horse and wield a sword? It seems that everyone is only fond of trying to be good-looking….”

Sun Yingjue said in surprise, “There is someone else who beat me to it? But I asked my entire Residence to make this throughout the night!”

Zhu Ji replied, “Yesterday, Commander Shao visited wearing similar garments, also dressed in all white much like you. When he dismounted, the robes nearly burst at the seam and he even went to ask Xie Ying about it. What does this have to do with Xie Ying? The other came dressed in a decent and serious yesa.”

Answering, Sun Yingjue clarified, “How can it not have anything to do with him? It was him who wore such a figure-hugging yesa first! I wanted to try it on but he didn’t let me, only caring that he looks good…”

Wasn’t it just a piece of clothing? Zhu Ji shot a glance at the other’s tightly bound waist and shook his head, “Only looks better, but it is so tight, isn’t it inconvenient in practice? I see that your belt is strapped tightly around your abdomen, can you still move?”

Sun Yingjue rubbed his belly and said, “That’s because Commander Shao has a big belly, it is absolutely fine when I mount and dismount, it has not stretched out at all.” While it was a bit stifling, Xie Ying didn’t seem to have a problem of his abdomen protruding out when stooping over. Since Sun Yingjue’s physique was good, he naturally must look similar!

Zhu Ji gave a cold snort, “You all can wear whatever you want outside, but don’t randomly change the official uniform. In my opinion, this tight-fitting look is not proper. Can people still eat when wearing this? Won’t the stitches at the waist snap after a single meal?”

But Xie Ying had eaten that day…

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Xie Ying….

Was there something different about the clothes Xie Ying had worn that day compared to his?

Sun Yingjue also wanted to go see Xie Ying, but Zhu Ji held him back and said, “Xie Ying is leading the military officers and guards in their drills. Do you think he’s like you and is taking his holidays in rotation? Don’t make trouble for him. Just look at how a set of robes made you so anxious, if you have something to ask, go bother Shao Hua. It is the same.”

How is it the same! Xie Ying was the first to wear such a style so it was natural to ask the originator of the trend about it. But, Shao Hua had stolen the limelight from him, so out of everyone else, he was exactly the person he could not go to find!

But Sun Yingjue did not know which tailor the Xie Residence had found…..Wait, it wasn’t the Xie Residence’s tailor, it was that Cui, Cui prodigy that had made it for Xie Ying!

He could order someone to ask the Cui Residence, which tailor did the Cui Residence use?

Sun Yingjue dismounted from his horse, felt the material around his waist and recalled how Shao Hua’s robes had almost torn and suddenly felt that his figure was quite good and that the clothes were also well made. He could first parade around for a while before making a new set.

He then went to various residences to pay his visits and then ordered his accompanying manservant to head to the Cui Residence and inquire as to how Xie Ying’s robes were made.

It turns out, it was not just the Sun Clan who wanted to ask about the tailor. The Cui Residence main gates had been as busy as a marketplace. Irrespective of whether it was morning or evening, there was always someone bearing a message from an official’s residence and bearing gifts asking the same question:  where did the Cui Residence have the robes tailored?

Head Steward Cui initially thought that their Young Master had established connections with high officials and happily accepted the gifts, even promising to pay a return visit one day. Once a few more households came to visit, he also felt that something was amiss so that night, he told Cui Xie about the matter and asked for help.

What else to do? Of course, it was to choose to tell them the address.

Looking at the gift boxes that had been gifted before, seeing that they were mainly just pastries and fruits, he knew that the others did not take him too seriously and were simply inquiring, nothing more. These visits were not something he needed to answer in person. Hence, Cui Xie instructed Cui Liangdong to take his invitation card and post it on the gates as well as give the visitors a box of similar refreshments in return.

And hence, the trend of people visiting his doorstep to ask for the address had ceased. Except for Cui Xie himself and a seven-year-old younger brother, the Cui Residence, there were only womenfolk and servants in the household, it was not decent to have people calling on them everyday.  He simply took a whole sheet of uncut paper and wrote down the tailor’s address on top. He then pasted it next to the gates, showing the way to the tailor shop and their garments so that people didn’t need to come into the Residence to give gifts. One could simply follow the address posted to make clothes.

The gatekeeper posted the notice for Cui Xie and said with some regret, “When our Laoye was still home, we never had so many official visits to the Residence. At least let them come in and have a seat. Those neighbors will take notice and that is also for the face of our Cui Clan.”

The gatekeeper was facing the wall and could not see Cui Xie rolling his eyes behind his back. He only heard the youth indifferently comment, “Is it very face-saving for the neighbors to see us being visited like we are the storefront of some tailor’s shop?

The gatekeeper didn’t dare to say any more after hearing that.

The two of them were about to go back inside the Residence when Tailor Yu, along with his assistants, quietly arrived outside the gates in a small palanquin. Tailor Yu lifted the curtain and softly called out, “Oh, my Young Master, just what have you done? This little one has just been scared to death by this group of noble customers!”

The fact that the Young Master had been serious about roping in noble customers had frightened them.

Cui Xie led the other into the Flower Hall in the outer courtyard, ordered someone to serve tea and beamed, “Weren’t you looking forward to making these robes for others? Now that someone has come to your doorstep to ask you to make it, just simply make it. I posted the address of your shop outside the Residence. Your business will prosper in the future, just don’t look down on one or two pieces of clothing from us small people and small households.”

Tailor Yu mopped at his sweat and rebutted, “How could this be possible? If it weren’t for the Young Master’s clothing designs were well-drawn and made such a good-looking tight-figging garment, why would others bother to come find me to make it for them?”

Cui Xie was still busy with his studies and did not have the time to continue exchanging pleasantries and instead got up to persuade, “Everything that was needed has already been made for the family, and the next time, it’ll be time to make autumn sets for everyone. Tailor Yu can just focus on making garments for others and do not worry about us. I still have to study and must head back. If you have other things to discuss, feel free to discuss it with Cui Liangdong.”

Tailor Yu also bolted up and stretched out a hand as if to grab Cui Xie and quickly retracted it when it fell aimlessly in the air. He quickly said, “This small one had already received at least ten orders asking for the yesa and cloak. And we are willing to make such garments using the materials granted to us by your Residence.. This small one is willing to follow the market price or have the Young Master set the price, and dare not bargain!”

Cui Xie paused slightly, glancing back at the other’s hands, he laughed, “I will not do things that cut off a person’s livelihood and will not give the clothing designs to a third party. However, there are many good tailors in the capital. If you make it today, tomorrow, they will know how to sew it the moment they take it apart. It is useless for you to do me favors.”

Tailor Yu hurriedly explained, “Young Master underestimates me. How can such an inferior person like me be so low-minded and make assumptions about others? This lowly one is earnestly and sincerely willing to acquire stock from that fabric shop associated with the Residence and only requests that when the Young Master makes new styles of garments in the future, you can entrust me to make them instead of others.”

Cui Xie was still standing by the table, tapping on the top of it with his fingertips and inspidly declined, “You think too highly. I’m afraid that in the future, I will not be able to draw out any good designs in the future and you may regret it.”

He clearly knew in his heart that some people were willing to ask for the making of these flying-fish python robes from that movie because Xie Ying had a good figure and made the robes look good. When he wore it, he looked like a model and the garments looked luxurious. If you change another person or the robes, you may not be able to achieve such an effect.

Tailor Yu didn’t feel the slightest bit of regret in the moment and repeatedly said, “This lowly one is sincere! This lowly one likes to make clothes for a person like Young Master, bright and insightful! Regardless of whether the garments designed by the Young Master can be as fashionable as this one in the future, this lowly one is willing to put other designs on the back burner to make it for the Young Master. Only the best materials will be used and the items will be made even more carefully and beautifully than these last two items.”

He then raised his hand and gestured to Cui Liangdong, asking him to say good things on his behalf and that he would be rewarded for his help today if he did so.

On his behalf, Cui Liangdong discussed the benefits of the cooperation between the two residences and how the fabric shop’s business operations had been in distress, to the point that it seemed like he was about to shed tears while recounting the situation. This made Cui Xie immediately agree.

Cui Xie’s stance gradually wavered.

He was thinking of the future when he was to visit the Xie Residence as a guest near the end of the month and he intended to order some new clothes. But, he felt that specially ordering new garments to be made to visit someone’s house was not in line with the non frivolous and plain style he took in front of Xie Ying. He wavered twice in his heart before and vaguely assented, “Then lets go about this case by case and see how it goes. I will have to think of a new design before I come visit you next time. If someone orders a new yesa, you can acquire the material from my shop. They will be sold to you at its current price. Just pay the initial deposit first and wait until the end to settle the bill to see if everything is suitable.”

Footnotes:

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