Chapter 246: Chapter 246: Doing It Myself
Having reached this point in the conversation, Qu Fulan naturally found it hard to refuse. However, she had already planned to prepare two gifts: one, a pouch, and another.
If by then he disliked her pouch, she would give him the other one.
After saying what needed to be said, Qu Fulan glanced at the Princely Heir a few times. Seeing he had no intention of leaving, she instinctively clenched her fingers.
She wasn’t accustomed to dragging things out; some matters had long been waiting to be clarified.
But initially, she really hadn’t reacted in time; by the time she did, the winter hunt had already commenced. Now, it was an opportune moment to clarify things.
"Heir..."
"Heir—"
Someone shouted from outside.
Qu Fulan sighed inwardly. In novels and TV dramas, right at the crucial moment, there’s always an interruption—just when the protagonist is about to say something important, they get interrupted.
It’s a classic trope.
But since she’s living in a novel, she can’t escape such a trope.
The Princely Heir went out.
After this departure, they wouldn’t meet again until two days later.
The seven "underwear" pieces Qu Fulan had earlier asked the embroideress to make were delivered, almost like a trial set. Inspecting them one by one was rather convenient and simple.
In winter, drinking water tends to increase urination. After examining just two pieces, she felt an urge to use the toilet. Upon returning from freshening up, she heard a maid say the Heir had arrived, sitting inside drinking tea waiting for her.
Qu Fulan was taken aback and hurried inside, only to see the Princely Heir holding a piece of "underwear" curiously examining it. As she entered, his slender fingers were still hooking the delicate strap of the "underwear," frowning as he spoke, "Why did you make such a big sleep mask, and so many at once?"
Sleep mask...
Qu Fulan stumbled, nearly falling over.
"Is there something the Heir wishes to discuss with me?" Qu Fulan tried her best to calm down, walked over, and collected the remaining "underwear" with composure.
However, the piece in the Heir’s hand remained in his grasp, which he continued to flip and examine.
"It’s stuffed with cotton inside? No wonder it’s soft; its light-blocking effect when worn on the eyes must be excellent."
He happened to be holding the black one, and with that, was about to put it over his eyes.
Qu Fulan felt the blood rushing to her head and quickly explained, "Heir, this isn’t a sleep mask!"
"If not a sleep mask, then what is it?"
He insisted on getting to the bottom of it.
Qu Fulan gritted her teeth, feeling utterly embarrassed to the extreme, but maintained a calm façade, "It’s just something I made out of boredom for fun."
Pei Ji’an squeezed the cotton a bit more, finding it soft and comfortable, "Then give this to me, I think it’s pretty good as a sleep mask. When I’m out on tasks, it would be perfect to use in broad daylight for rest."
Qu Fulan tried hard to ignore the "underwear" in his hand being toyed with, feeling her mind collapsing internally, "This, I really can’t give to the Heir. If you need a sleep mask, how about I make one for you later?"
"Can’t give this one?" Pei Ji’an looked at the sleep mask in his hand; the more he looked, the more he liked it, unwilling to let go.
"I have other uses for this." Qu Fulan insisted.
Seeing her genuinely troubled, Pei Ji’an didn’t press further and handed the sleep mask back, "Fine, take it."
Qu Fulan blushingly accepted it, quickly tucked it into a bag to hide it away, then continued speaking nonchalantly, "Did the Heir come over for something?"
Pei Ji’an took something from his sleeve.
Qu Fulan didn’t react in time; it felt as though something had been placed on her head.
Pei Ji’an took a few steps back, earnestly examined her, and then beamed with a bright smile, "Looks great, really nice."
Instinctively, Qu Fulan took it off; it was a jade hairpin. The jade was fine and smooth, with a soft, luminous glow, truly pleasing to the eye, and the hairpin was exquisitely carved in a shape she couldn’t quite describe but found extremely beautiful.
The key was that the top of the hairpin had a small hole that could hang beads, making it into a step shake, which was extremely practical.
"This is my coming-of-age gift to you," Pei Ji’an added.
Qu Fulan was momentarily stunned, then sincerely said, "The Heir must have taken great care in selecting such a precious jade hairpin. Thank you."
Speaking of which, she felt a bit ashamed; she hadn’t even started making his pouch yet.
She had planned on starting today.
Pei Ji’an responded with a casual "hmm" and then emphasized, "Wear it well, don’t lose it."
He seemed to have come specifically to deliver the coming-of-age gift, and after that, left in a hurry, likely with something pressing to attend to.
Qu Fulan breathed a sigh of relief and carefully put away the jade hairpin. Generally, she kept her attire simple at home unless going out.
Once she finished inspecting the underwear, she started making the Princely Heir’s pouch.
Even though she was only starting today, since returning from Yao Mountain, she had already instructed people to purchase fabric and decorations; all that remained was for her to cut and sew it together.
Seeing her movements lack precision, the two maids wanted to step in and help, but Qu Fulan refused, having promised to make it by hand herself, she would not allow others to take over.
However, she had no qualms about letting the two maids make her personal pouch. Disliking needlework, even making one left her exhausted, let alone two.
Anyway, she only needed to have a pouch, so it didn’t matter who embroidered it.
As for how adept the original owner was at needlework, the book didn’t specify, but Qu Fulan guessed she should know, since weren’t ancient women taught these things?
But regardless of the original owner’s skills, her family, who knew her needlework well, were all gone.
Needlework indeed proved to be tiring. After half an hour, Qu Fulan paused to rest, planning to continue the next day; today, she needed to take the "underwear" to see Madam Pei.
The black one previously touched by the Princely Heir wouldn’t accompany her, feeling somewhat peculiar about it.
Arriving at Pei Mansion, she surprisingly found the Grand Princess there too, which was excellent.
After a round of explanation by Qu Fulan, both Madam Pei and the Grand Princess showed intrigued expressions.
There’s no helping it; very few women are not concerned about their figure, especially their chest area; no one wants it to sag or spread.
However, everyone uses dudous, which can’t prevent those problems.
In the past, Qu Fulan had also used dudous—albeit pretty, they always left her feeling exposed. Thus, she would wrap an additional layer of cloth for a snugger fit whenever going out for peace of mind.
She had long intended to make underwear, delayed until today due to various issues, but now the timing was perfect.
Having Madam Pei and the Grand Princess collaborate with her, there could be nothing better.
Once both had donned the underwear inside the room, they felt completely supported!
This effect was nothing short of magical for women like Madam Pei and the Grand Princess, who had reached a certain age.
"Everything is gathered together, only now do I realize they are so big! Tsk tsk, if I appeared before a young lover like this, he’d probably have a nosebleed."
"Wearing clothes will look even better from now on."
"I’m going to showcase it to Consort Zhang; she cares the most about this. Seeing mine lifted so, she’ll certainly be infuriated, haha."
The two conversed in hushed tones inside, their words reaching Qu Fulan outside.
When they finally emerged again, faces brimming with satisfaction, they immediately placed an order with her.
"I’ll take a whole set, particularly in this color, switch up the pattern for another as well."
Qu Fulan measured both ladies on the spot, noting down their specific requests.
With the orders placed, Qu Fulan needed to recruit more embroideresses; fortunately, she had already instructed that one embroideress to keep an eye out for skilled workers, now ready to be utilized.
Making underwear for Madam Pei and the Grand Princess, they didn’t care about the cost, only quality, so Qu Fulan was particularly stringent about fabric control.
After bustling about for several days, the Princely Heir’s birthday finally arrived.
The pouch she made for him was also finally completed.