"Prince An speaks wisely. Earlier, I hadn't given adequate thought," uttered Old Master Song, eyes glinting with a barely suppressed flame.
The people had suffered under the hand of Xuanping House for a long time.
He was determinedly neutral, but when it came to overthrowing Xuanping, he would be obliged to lend a hand.
He desired that Xuanping's heir should face justice as soon as possible, so the suffering common folk could finally see their salvation.
"Rest assured, he will soon pay the price, principal and interest," Li Shuchen picked up his teacup, only to notice Old Master Song's grimace out of the corner of his eye as he brought the tea to his lips.
He halted his drink midway, raising an eyebrow at Old Master Song.
Upon finding himself the subject of Li Shuchen's gaze, Elder Master Song scratched his head, saying forthrightly, "My niece once said, the temperature of tea matters greatly. Too cold, it can bring out the cooling properties of the tea leaves; too hot, it can burn your esophagus and stomach. Warm tea is best."
"My niece's father was once a royal doctor, so I take her words to heart. Seeing Your Highness consume cold tea, I couldn't help but feel unsettled. I hope you can pardon my intrusion."
"No harm done," Li Shuchen placed his tea cup down.
Huan once said: the first duty of a man is to respect his wife's opinions.
Even though he did not believe that Master Song would betray today's confidential discussion to Qi Huan, wherever she could not see him, he would still honor each of her words as law.
Aside from terms like 'stop' or 'don't want', he almost always complied with Huan's wishes.
A mere cup of tea? Just switch to a warm one.
*
Meanwhile, within the Flower Chamber.
Wooden mannequins, meticulously polished and varnished, dressed in a variety of dresses lined up neatly inside the lobby on the first floor. The peculiar thing about it was, each mannequin had different body proportions.
Yuan Yuan, with a pleasant smile, explained, "Our master says that simply designing clothing on paper or hanging them on a wall doesn't suffice. It's not demonstrative enough.
So we made these dummies for display.
The clothes on these dummies are size 'S'. The second rank are 'M', the third are 'L', the fourth are 'XL', and the fifth are 'XXL'. We can also provide custom fittings."
"What do these 'S', 'M', and 'L' stand for?" asked Elder Madam Song, curious.
She had read a good amount of literature, but stepping into this shop, why did she suddenly feel illiterate?
Yuan Yuan patiently clarified, "S stands for small, M stands for medium, L stands for large, XL stands for extra large, XXL stands for double extra large..."
Hearing this, Qi Huan is taken aback.
She had clearly told Xiu Yuan, XL meant extra large, why did it turn into 'large large' in Yuan Yuan's words?
Also, why didn't Xiu Yuan simply translate the S/M/L codes into words that are easily understood in this era?
Actually, Xiu Yuan did it on purpose, for the sake of a unique trademark.
Not only did they continue with the S/M/L usage, but on the cuff of every piece of clothing, a small flower was embroidered, signifying the Flower Chamber.
Below the small flower embroidered with silk, there was also a simple serial number to prevent counterfeiting.
The Flower Chamber was decorated tastefully throughout. The fabric used was of the highest quality, and quality control was strict. After the seamstresses completed their work, it had to pass several inspections before it was ready for sale or delivery.
At the same time, Xiu Yuan also encouraged the seamstresses to innovate on the existing designs.
Every month they would settle on a theme, and introduce a series of patterns as a hit new product, accompanied by matching scarves and jewellery.
For seamstresses who came up with patterns, extra rewards and commissions are given.
The unique display method and exquisite style of clothes at Huayong Pavilion have quickly attracted a group of noble ladies.
They casually swept their eyes over the wooden mannequins in the room. A touch of interest arose in their beautiful eyes. One by one, they took their maids and entered the private rooms on the second floor.
Everyone wants to be at the helm of fashion, shining brilliantly at banquets, winning a good reputation. The novel and chic Huayong Pavilion is their top choice.
Huayong Pavilion's fashion is innovative, the color match is bold, the workmanship is exquisite, but the price is not cheap.
The ready-to-wear clothes on the first floor are all clearly priced. After a round, Elder Madam Song secretly smacked her tongue: Is there still time to go to the Rainbow Garment Pavilion opposite?
What shocked her more was that Qi Huan was actually telling Old Lady Song: “Grandmother, shall we go upstairs and have a look?”
“Good, good.” Old Lady Song patted the back of her hand, with a kind smile on her face.
“Spring is here, we need to get some good clothes for you sisters. I think this place is very good; we should call the tailor upstairs to take our measurements. The clothes will look best only when they fit perfectly!”
"Thank you, grandmother," Qi Huan replied sweetly.
Upon accidentally spotting Elder Madam Song’s ‘crossed fingers’, she knew that Elder Madam Song was worried about the silver.
This was easy to solve.
She had shown them the booming business at the restaurant today, giving the Song family a little more profit, which won’t arouse their suspicion.
After reaching the private room, Yuan Yuan personally came up.
The little maid served flower tea and pastries swiftly, Yuan Yuan began to take measurements for Qi Huan and Song You'an.
Old Lady Song was gobbling cakes happily, while watching her granddaughters, who were as beautiful as flowers.
After Yuan Yuan took the measurements, she took the catalog from her apprentice and handed it over,
“Miss, these are all original styles from Huayong Pavilion. Please take a look, do you like any?”
Qi Huan stepped aside and replied with a turn-back smile: “You first, You'an.”
“There is an order for seniors and juniors, please make your choice first, cousin.”
Looking at her soft and watery eyes, Qi Huan smiled gently: “Let's look and choose together.”
In the end, she chose a set named “Tale of Roses”. The light pink and lavender combined made black people blacker and white people whiter.
Fortunately, at this moment, she was no longer as pale and sickly as when she first arrived. Instead, her skin was luminous, like milky skin, smooth and elastic.
Yuan Yuan made a note of the style and thought to herself: Miss Qi can look good even in a potato sack and could blindly select. This outfit is lucky; it will be worn by such a beautiful woman.
After flipping through a few more pages, Song You'an chose a pink outfit that matched her adorable baby face.
"Cousin, I'll take this one." It was the cheapest.
When she finished, Qi Huan did not immediately close the catalog. Instead, she said: "Since we're here, let's choose a few more."
"No, no." Panic fills the eyes of Song You'an as she hurriedly waves her hands.
If she continues to choose, she estimates that her mother and father will secretly weep for days when they return home.
Coming from a modest family, she's always been frugal.
Furthermore, after reaching the age of womanhood, her height hasn't increased much. She can still wear last year's clothes. She only needs to make an outfit for going out.
Seeing through her thoughts, Qi Huan signals Yuan Yuan and the others to step back for now.
"Grandmother, Aunt, surely you've seen earlier how well our restaurant is doing. According to Xiu Yuan who secretly reported to me, today's profit is around this figure."
She extends six slender, fair fingers and brings them together.
Elder Madam Song gapes, "Sixty taels?"
"No, six hundred taels."
Elder Madam Song instantly pinches herself in disbelief, afraid she might faint from excitement.
Six hundred taels in a single day, thirty times that in a month, that's a lot of money!
She laughs and cries in delight, "Huan Huan, you're just like a living God of Wealth. What kind of pastry do you like?"
In the future they could just worship Huan Huan instead of any God of Wealth!
Qi Huan blinks, smiling cheerfully, she continues:
"There are plenty of rich people in the capital. If each one plucks a hair for us, our days will get better and better!
The Song family will also become more and more prosperous. After all, we are the lucky ones who can find coins in our dumplings on New Year's Eve!"
Xiu Yuan very much has the potential of a cunning merchant. He says to do high-end business, prices must be expensive.
The simple-minded gents would not only not feel cheated, but would feel that it's a symbol of their noble status.
Plus, the seasonal vegetables used in the restaurant are indeed difficult to obtain, thus ensuring a ready source of considerable income.
Qi Huan smiles brightly:
"Before, we agreed that my Grandmother would lend me the starting capital, so this restaurant would be mutually owned by us, and so the profits would be divided equally. If my Grandmother doesn't want to, then I will... throw a tantrum."
"You, this child."
Old Lady Song is filled with laughter: "Your Grandmother has nothing to say, you've preemptively sealed up all possible objections. Alright, I'll go along with your wishes."
Elder Madam Song also says: "This is my first time seeing someone so adamantly giving away money... and yet it's being given to me, which honestly makes me feel quite delighted. Huan Huan, you're truly our little lucky star!"
Qi Huan grins freely, after all, it's because the Song's have been sincere to her, treating her truly as a family member, that she is willing to reciprocate in this way. Otherwise, she isn't a fool, why would she be eager to give money?
"Aunt, we're soon going to have money, come and join me in picking the clothes fit for a future noblewoman."
Her gaze falls on Elder Madam Song, a glint in Qi Huan's eyes.
She's ready to gift Elder Madam Song another talisman of confidence!
