"Cousin, I've been living in my chambers for a long time and I'm not familiar with these fabrics. Can you help me take a look?" Lin Zhiqing extended her chin towards the fabrics, but her eyes were fixed on the viewing platform.
Lin Shi'an frowned upon hearing her words.
In his eyes, Lin Zhiqing deliberately mentioning her unfamiliarity with fabrics was actually an accusation against the Lin family for being negligent towards her.
Moreover, the second round of the competition had already begun, and Lin Zhiqing wasn't carefully selecting fabrics. She seemed to be in a daze or doing something else, as if she didn't care about the competition at all.
Sure enough, she couldn't be relied upon. He shook his head and chose the fabric himself.
And Lin Zhiqing, after confirming that the old lady was constantly observing the selection process from there, finally moved. She walked to the back of the maids.
Most people usually chose from the front, but Lin Zhiqing chose an unconventional path.
This action earned her several eye-rolls. Princess Pingning snorted: "Show-off."
Lin Zhiqing completely ignored her. Instead, using the maids as cover, she looked back at the old lady on the viewing platform.
The old lady and Miss Hua were chatting and laughing, occasionally glancing at everyone's selection progress.
It was their eyes! Their eyes!
Lin Zhiqing noticed that the old lady's gaze lingered on the red fabrics for a longer time, and the corners of her mouth would slightly curl upwards.
This indicated that she preferred red fabrics.
In contrast, when Lin Shi'an picked up a piece of gem-green brocade, the old lady's eyebrows raised, and her reaction was rather subdued.
Following this pattern, Lin Zhiqing discovered that the old lady preferred bright-colored fabrics, such as rouge red, lake blue, and goose yellow.
For other colors like black, brown, and green, she didn't show any special expression, remaining neutral.
However, when the old lady saw white, the corners of her mouth instantly dropped, and her eyelids lowered. This was an expression of dissatisfaction.
She really disliked white!
Having collected so much color information, Lin Zhiqing quickly found Lin Shi'an, who was holding a gem-green fabric.
"Look at this moon-white brocade. It should look great as clothing," he said confidently.
Lin Zhiqing's lips twitched slightly. Her cousin had good taste, but he was prone to making mistakes.
"It does look good." Out of politeness, Lin Zhiqing wanted to compliment him first, then subtly decline the moon-white fabric. But her cousin was quick:
"You think it looks good too? Then this is it!"
Saying that, he reached out to grab it.
Wait... Lin Zhiqing hadn't even finished saying "wait" when a pair of soft, boneless hands reached out from the side and snatched the moon-white fabric.
Lin Zhiqing followed that hand upwards and saw Princess Pingning's face and her provocative smile:
"Excuse me, first come, first served."
"Princess, we saw this fabric first." Lin Shi'an cupped his hands: "And I had already decided on this fabric. Please, Princess, be generous and give it to us."
She would give it only if pigs flew!
Lin Zhiqing calmly crossed her arms and stood to the side, saying nothing.
Princess Pingning wanted to target Lin Zhiqing. She feigned touching the fabric. "Everyone in Shengjing knows that I am the easiest to talk to. If Miss Lin begs me, I'm not unable to give it to you."
Hearing this, Lin Zhiqing inwardly rolled her eyes: "You're that fond of this fabric?"
"Of course." Princess Pingning proudly raised her head: "This is moon-shadow gauze, only found in foreign lands. When you walk, it's like a fairy descending from the heavens. It's normal for commoners like you to have never seen it."
Lin Shi'an clenched his fists. He could tolerate the Princess insulting him, but not the Lin family: "Princess, you..."
"Enough. Since the Princess likes the moon-shadow gauze so much, why not let her have it?" Lin Zhiqing interrupted Lin Shi'an, pulled his arm, and walked to another spot:
"We abide by the rules. Do you want us to fight her for it?"
"What are you doing?" After walking some distance, Lin Shi'an softly called Lin Zhiqing's name: "She's already bullying us directly. Can't you have some backbone?"
"Cousin, instead of sulking, you should pick out some fabrics," Lin Zhiqing said, turning over a piece of red fabric in front of her.
Since coming to this world, she hadn't put much effort into fashion.
Although Da Sheng was not any dynasty she was familiar with from her past life, the clothing here was most similar to the Song Dynasty.
Women mostly wore beizi (a kind of jacket) with skirts and outer robes. The beizi was a woman's top, usually made of luxurious materials like silk.
However, unlike the Song Dynasty, Da Sheng's beizi had limited colors and simple patterns. Even very expensive fabrics were simply sewn together, with styles that were largely the same.
Men's clothing mainly consisted of robes and shirts, most commonly single-layered zhiluo (straight robes), predominantly in light colors.
In such a situation, to stand out, one had to do something different.
But if she only adjusted the colors and patterns, it was possible that other places in Da Sheng... like Bianliang, already had such improved methods.
Miss Hua, a native of Bianliang, was present, so she certainly wouldn't find it outstanding.
In that case... Lin Zhiqing pinched her chin, and many clothing designs instantly came to mind.
If she wanted something distinctive, Tang Dynasty ruqun (skirt suits), Qing Dynasty qizhuang (Manchu-style clothing), and later qipao were all good choices.
However, for the "simple and unadorned" Da Sheng, the qipao might be too "revealing."
Lin Zhiqing selected fabrics while contemplating the clothes she wanted to design. Her brows were tightly furrowed, her thoughts complex for a moment.
Just as she was struggling, a tray held by a maid in the corner caught her attention.
On the tray lay a thin layer of gauze, which looked to be of poor quality.
Perhaps it hadn't been cared for, as it had some wrinkles, forming a stark contrast to the other fabrics.
Everyone else avoided this area, as if even a glance would contaminate their eyes.
Lin Zhiqing's eyes, however, lit up, and some ideas formed in her mind.
She reached out towards the tray and grabbed a layer of netting, but her wrist was suddenly pulled by Lin Shi'an: "What are you doing? This netting is mostly used by fishermen to catch fish; it can't be used for clothing."
His words immediately drew the attention of others. Jiang Liuyun, not far away, shouted loudly:
"Qing'er, if you don't have suitable fabric, come and pick from Lu Huai and me."
Hearing this, Lu Huai frowned almost imperceptibly at the fabric in his hand.
After his shout, everyone else noticed the cheap netting in Lin Zhiqing's hand.
"Has the Lin family fallen so low? Can that kind of thing even be made into clothes?"
"Lin Zhiqing's own clothes aren't made of good fabric. What kind of taste do you expect her to have?"
"So what if she entered the first round? Looking at this situation, Lin Zhiqing is in danger!"
Lin Zhiqing ignored them, smiling at the maid: "Do you have more of this fabric?"
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