Zhong Suihua

Biodata

History

Wager with Ye Fu

Zhong Suihua first meets Ye Fu and Qin Sanyue when they visit the Cloth Robe Workshop to buy fabric and commission clothes. After a clerk attempts to turn them away, she intervenes, apologizes, and welcomes them. Although she immediately recognizes Qin Sanyue as a beggar, she gives no outward sign of disdain 20.

Her attention is drawn to Ye Fu’s unfamiliar clothing, particularly its fine seams and unusual construction. When he asks to use a sewing room rather than wait seven days for Qin Sanyue’s clothes, Zhong Suihua proposes a wager: if he completes two sets within a day, she will charge nothing; if he fails, he must surrender his outfit for her collection 20.

News of the wager brings her admirers to the workshop. She tries to keep Zhou Ruosheng from disturbing Ye Fu and threatens to bar him after he insults her customer. Once the disturbance ends, she watches Ye Fu work, abandoning her flirtatious manner as she becomes absorbed in his craftsmanship 21 22.

Ye Fu finishes two identical garments simultaneously in the time it takes an incense stick to burn. Zhong Suihua readily admits defeat and offers him free service in the future, provided she may watch whenever he makes clothes. She also offers her entire fortune for a garment of her own; he declines but makes her a red lady’s fan as a courtesy 23.

Unusual Customers

During a later rainy day, a loose-haired young woman insists on buying the rough gray cloth used to cover the workshop’s merchandise. A white-haired youth and his tall female companion arrive seeking the same cloth. Zhong Suihua cannot see anything special about it, but maintains that the first customer has priority 46 47.

The youth becomes far more interested when she takes out her red handkerchief. He grabs her hand, apologizes, and offers any price for it, eventually mentioning Appearance-Preserving Pills and Lifespan Pills before his companion silences him. Zhong Suihua refuses to sell, explaining that its importance to her is not monetary 47.

Suspecting that the visitors are cultivators searching for something in Black Stone City, she closes the workshop early while guaranteeing her employees their full day’s wages. On her way home, she reflects on the handkerchief’s calming effects and becomes convinced that Ye Fu’s work possesses extraordinary qualities 47 49.

Murder

Zhong Suihua avoids unfamiliar people as she walks home through the rain, but encounters the tall woman from the workshop in an alley she must pass through. The woman closes in before Zhong Suihua can escape, seizes her by the throat, and lifts her off the ground. Unable to break the grip, Zhong Suihua dies as the attacker takes the red handkerchief from her clothes 50.

The killer dismisses her death as that of a fragile mortal and assumes the Forest Guardians will not oppose the Spring and Autumn Sect over it. Qin Sanyue, following Zhong Suihua’s windblown umbrella in hopes of returning it, discovers her body beside the murderer and cries for help 50.

Appearance

• Build and complexion: A plump woman with fair skin and a graceful bearing 20 21 22.
• Face: Alluring eyes, a broad smile, and even, pearly-white teeth 20.
• Clothing: Initially wears revealing clothing; her workshop attire includes a green skirt and silk draped over her shoulders 20 21.
• Reputation: Described as a beautiful proprietress with numerous admirers among local young masters and dignitaries 21.

Personality

Zhong Suihua is socially experienced and usually presents herself with coquettish laughter, flattering remarks, and a welcoming smile. Her courtesy extends to Qin Sanyue despite the girl’s poverty, and she later offers her cloth when she passes the workshop. She balances tact with firmness, initially handling the influential Zhou Ruosheng cautiously before threatening to exclude him for insulting a customer 20 21 22 50.

Her interest in clothing is genuine rather than merely commercial. She openly explains her desire to collect Ye Fu’s outfit, becomes completely absorbed in watching him sew, and accepts her lost wager with admiration rather than resentment. She values cherished possessions above money, refusing extraordinary offers for her handkerchief 20 22 23 47.

She is also observant and cautious. Her experience reading customers helps her recognize that the strangers visiting Black Stone City are not ordinary travelers. Rather than pursue their business, she closes early to avoid trouble and tries to keep her distance from outsiders on the journey home 47 49 50.

Abilities & Skills

Tailoring and Craftsmanship

• The most accomplished seamstress among those gathered in the workshop’s sewing room 22.
• Recognizes the unusual techniques used in Ye Fu’s cuffs, collar, waist, and seams despite the ordinary material of his clothes 20.
• Understands the individual transformations produced by his cutting, stitching, folding, and pressing, though his overall skill exceeds anything she has previously witnessed 22.

Business Management and Judgment

• Runs the Cloth Robe Workshop, employs skilled needleworkers, and arranges access to its sewing equipment 20 21.
• Uses years of business experience to read expressions and judge unfamiliar customers 49.
• Enforces first-come priority during the dispute over the gray cloth 47.
• Notices the outsiders’ unusual behavior but cannot identify the gray cloth’s significance herself 47.

Limitations

• Has a mortal body and cannot resist the tall woman’s physical assault 50.
• Does not understand the Great Dao mysteries behind Ye Fu’s craftsmanship, despite appreciating its technical excellence 23.

Items

• Red lady’s fan — Made by Ye Fu from red cloth chosen to suit her after he declines her request for a garment 23.
• Red handkerchief — Later identified as Ye Fu’s handmade gift, in her favorite shade of red. Zhong Suihua reports that possessing it calms her mind, ends her insomnia, improves her energy, and seems to improve her complexion. The white-haired youth recognizes its exceptional craftsmanship; his companion later steals it during Zhong Suihua’s murder 47 49 50.
  • Description discrepancy: The gift is described as a lady’s fan when made, but subsequent passages call Ye Fu’s gift a handkerchief 23 47 49.
• Umbrella — Dropped during the attack and blown over the alley wall. Qin Sanyue’s attempt to return it leads her to Zhong Suihua’s body 50.

Relationships

• Ye Fu — Customer and admired craftsman. Their wager leads her to offer him free workshop service in exchange for opportunities to watch him sew. She considers herself unworthy of him despite her attraction and gratitude 20 23.
• Qin Sanyue — Customer whom she treats courteously despite recognizing her beggar background. She later offers Qin Sanyue cloth; Qin Sanyue is deeply distressed to discover her murdered 20 50.
• Zhou Ruosheng — An influential, unwelcome admirer. Zhong Suihua objects to his interference with her business and subsequently avoids him; Zhou blames Ye Fu for the change in her behavior 21 22 31.
• Tall woman of the Spring and Autumn Sect — Initially a customer accompanying the white-haired youth; later murders Zhong Suihua and steals her handkerchief 47 50.

Notable Quotes

“A customer is a customer, no question about it.” 20

“I lost. … Thank you so much, honored guest, for letting me witness such divine craftsmanship.” 23

“It's not a question of money. I'm not fond of money, and once something I like is in my hands, there's no way I'll let it go.” 47