Several women who were selecting items in the shop all turned to this side. The regular customers naturally recognized Lian Sheng, and seeing that Xiao Cui was dressed as a maid, yet she kept mentioning her master, it was simply absurd!
"What are you doing, a mere maid, shouting like this? Didn't your mistress teach you any manners? This Jinxiu Pavilion is a century-old establishment, far more established than your Xie family. How dare you, a lowly maid, dare to slander it! I think Wan Nanyu's steward is nothing special!"
Wan Nanyu is the current mistress of the Xie family and Xie Yuyan's legal mother.
Xiao Cui didn't know the name of the Xie family's mistress, but seeing that the woman speaking was adorned with kingfisher feathers and her pure gold and jeweled hairpin was dazzling, she knew she was not someone to be trifled with. However, she was also someone who couldn't keep her mouth shut and was not easily taken advantage of. After all, these weren't her masters, so what was there to be afraid of?
Straightening her back, she forced herself to remain calm and said, "Although the fabric of this headband is nice, it's not worth a tael of silver, is it? After all, who knows how many headbands can be made from this bolt of fabric after it's been cut!"
As she said this, she acted as if she had discovered the shop's shady secret, speaking to the wealthy woman from before with an air of importance.
Even if this silk brocade is extremely valuable, a single bolt of cloth could certainly make many headbands! Yet nowadays, they sell each headband for one tael of silver—what is this if not unscrupulous merchants?!
The other person seemed to be dumbfounded by her stupidity, snorted coldly and stopped talking. It was like talking to a brick wall!
Lian Sheng wasn't ungrateful. He thanked her and bowed to the lady, saying, "Madam, please calm down. We have private rooms on the second floor. Our young master knows you prefer peace and quiet, so he specially invited you to a private room on the second floor. We will arrange for you to choose whatever you need!"
As he spoke, he summoned a young waiter and gestured for him to take the lady upstairs.
Hearing that this was Lan Yao's arrangement, the lady covered her mouth and smiled, "Good, it's rare that he still has this filial piety! If your young master is free later, have him come and have a chat with me!"
Lian Sheng readily agreed!
After watching the woman go up the stairs, he turned around, still speaking politely to the still angry Xiao Cui.
"Young lady, while our silk fabrics are readily available, the printing techniques on them are truly rare. It is said that they were made by a reclusive family. To be honest, using them to make headbands is a bit of a waste!"
When he first heard his eldest son's mother mention this reclusive family, he was truly astonished. Even as a young master, he felt it was a terrible waste of talent! The level of skill in dyeing cloth was beyond the capabilities of ordinary people!
Therefore, even if the headbands provided by Qin San Niang and the others were simple and lacked pearl and silver thread decorations or exquisite embroidery, they could still sell for a high price of one or two taels of silver!
Women from all walks of life flocked to it, the reason being the colors. Whether vibrant or understated, the colors were all very clear. What was most amazing was the magnificent color matching and the fact that the colors were complex yet not easily faded, demonstrating that the dyeing technique had reached a state of perfection! Nowadays, most fabrics are solid colors, and wealthy families decorate with embroidery. It is rare to find fabrics with such multiple colors as those of Qin San Niang.
Among them were descendants of prominent families who purchased the dyeing materials in batches, intending to have their own dyeing masters study them to see if they could figure out the secrets...
At this time, more and more people were coming into the shop. If she delayed any longer, she would only embarrass herself. Xiao Cui gritted her teeth and handed over all the money! There was also ten taels of silver in it, which was a reward from the master. It hadn't even been warmed in her embroidered pocket yet!
Knowing that he was sent by the master, Lian Sheng didn't want to make things difficult for her, so he directly issued her a receipt, similar to a modern invoice.
Although Xiao Cui kept saying, "No need~ No need!", she still took the receipt immediately and carefully placed it in her breast pocket. She had just added ten taels of her own savings!
Without this proof, the young lady wouldn't believe her!
However, she still wouldn't mince words, saying it was too expensive! Besides, what's the point of this dyeing technique? It's just a fancy trick!
When Qin San Niang came downstairs, Xiao Cui had already left Jinxiu Pavilion. Although the two hadn't met, Da Wa'er still told his mother what he had seen that day.
Jiangzhou City is both large and small, so it's quite normal to run into someone you know! Besides, Xie Yuyan isn't the kind of woman who likes to stay secluded in her house.
"Don't worry, Da Wa, even if we really run into trouble, there's nothing to be afraid of! We're not people who can be easily manipulated. Just be more careful in your daily life and think things through more often! However, we don't cause trouble, but we're not afraid of trouble either. After all, she's just a concubine's daughter. If she wants to break off relations, your mother won't let her get away with it!"
She was confident about this! Although she wanted to live a peaceful life in a secluded corner, if anyone dared to try and destroy the home she had worked so hard to build, Qin San Niang guaranteed that no matter who they were, they would have to pay a hundredfold price!
Hearing his mother say that, Da Wa felt a little more at ease! He wouldn't have felt this way before, but now that everything at home is going well, he's terrified that this happy and stable life might be disrupted! No one can break it!
"Alright, the New Year is almost here. Let's be happy! Don't let your grandma and the others worry! What are we going to buy today?"
Speaking of the Chinese New Year, it is indeed a joyous occasion. The family has prepared most of the food! The mother and daughter discussed going to the market to buy some fresh fish, which is an indispensable dish for New Year's Eve!
Unbeknownst to the two, Xiao Cui had just returned from Jinxiu Pavilion to look for the purse she had left there, which was the very purse Xie Yuyan had given her.
The purse itself wasn't worth much, but it clearly belonged to a woman of the Xie family, and absolutely couldn't be left out in public. Right now, the young lady was at a crucial juncture in her marriage negotiations; if anything went wrong with her, even if the mistress didn't punish her, Xie Yuyan would sell her off!
As Xiao Cui watched the mother and child pass by, her eyes widened suddenly. She thought to herself, "Why does that woman's figure look so familiar?" After a moment's thought, she realized, "Isn't this the family I met on the road before? That fierce peasant woman?!"
It's no wonder that Xiao Cui was able to recognize them so quickly; it's because her young mistress suffered a great loss at the hands of Qin San Niang, losing half of her belongings and being humiliated.
Of course, that's not the most important thing. What she resented the most was her face. It was so itchy that she couldn't help but scratch it. Plus, she's prone to scarring, so she ended up with several scars on her face. She had to cover them up with several layers of powder every day, otherwise she really couldn't go out and see people!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com