Chapter 35
The draft of the "Articles of Association of the Great Qin Royal Maritime Trade Co., Ltd.", filled with ink-stained words and chilling details, was carefully put away and hidden in the deepest secret compartment of the study.
It was like a wild beast temporarily imprisoned, lying in wait, waiting for the day it would be thrown into the enormous arena of the imperial court.
Cui Yunshu knew that from the moment her father, Cui Wen, submitted the first draft of this charter to the council through the Crown Prince's channels, a war without visible swords and shadows, yet more dangerous than any battlefield, had begun.
What follows will be a long, drawn-out tug-of-war, enough to grind human will to dust, involving the exchange of interests and power struggles behind every word and every punctuation mark.
She couldn't place all her hopes on this beast.
Because it was too massive, too uncontrollable. It was a high-stakes gamble, the stakes being the entire future of the Cui family, with the most powerful people in the empire sitting on the other side of the table. Win, and the Cui family would have a bright future; lose, and be doomed.
Cui Yunshu, on the other hand, never liked to completely entrust her fate to gambling.
She needs a backup plan.
A safety net that is independent of anyone and any power, completely and utterly her own. A safety net that can provide her with a steady stream of cash, giving her the confidence to walk away in the most critical moment.
In Qing Shu Courtyard, in the warm pavilion next to the waterside pavilion, the charcoal fire was burning brightly.
Looking at her daughter sitting opposite her, Mrs. Song felt a mix of emotions.
Ever since that deadly imperial edict was issued, she felt like she was in a dream from which she couldn't wake up. First came the overwhelming despair, then the shock of her daughter's outrageous "shareholding system" remarks, and then her husband's narrow escape from the imperial court...
All of this revolves around his sixteen-year-old daughter.
She watched Cui Yunshu slowly brewing tea. Her eyes, which used to light up when she read interesting stories, were now as calm as a bottomless lake.
Song felt an unprecedented sense of pride, but also waves of indescribable heartache.
Her daughter seemed to have grown into someone she couldn't understand overnight.
“Mother,” Cui Yunshu pushed a steaming cup of tea in front of Madam Song, breaking the silence, “the matter of the Royal Shipping Company cannot be rushed. The power struggle in the court will take at least three to five months, and at most a year and a half, to reach a conclusion.”
"Mother knows." Madam Song took the teacup, the warmth calming her troubled mind slightly. "But... Mother still feels uneasy. Those people are wolves who devour people without spitting out the bones. Can we... really win?"
"We can win." Cui Yunshu's answer was simple and certain. But she didn't elaborate further.
She changed the subject and asked, "Mother, do you remember the shop on Suzaku Avenue that His Majesty bestowed upon me when I presented the ice-making method?"
Madam Song was taken aback, then nodded: "Of course I remember. That's a prime location, and it's been vacant all this time. Mother was even thinking about whether to rent it out or open a regular silk shop..."
“We’re not opening a silk shop,” Cui Yunshu interrupted her. “We’re opening a shop that has never existed in the entire Qin Dynasty, no, in the entire world.”
As she spoke, she picked up a pre-prepared booklet from the low table beside her and handed it to Mrs. Song.
The booklet is not thick, and the cover is an elegant moon white with three characters written on it in delicate small regular script.
"Yun Jian Ge" (Cloud Pavilion).
Ms. Song opened the booklet with a puzzled look.
The first page featured a stunning rendering of a shop. It was a style of decoration she'd never seen before: bright, elegant, with floor-to-ceiling windows (she didn't know they were called glass), exquisite tables and chairs, and unidentified paintings hanging on the walls. It didn't look like a shop; it resembled a quiet retreat for scholars and gentlemen to compose poetry and engage in refined conversation.
"This is... a teahouse?"
“No.” Cui Yunshu shook her head, a mysterious smile on her face. “This is a dessert shop.”
"A dessert shop?" Madam Song was even more confused. There were countless pastry shops in the capital, what was so special about them? Why would they need a shop on Zhuque Street?
She continued scrolling down.
Then, her breathing gradually became more rapid.
The booklet was filled with pictures of all sorts of "desserts" that she had never heard of or seen before.
A type of cake called "birthday cake" consists of layers of soft, fluffy cake, coated with a delicate, snow-white paste called "cream," and topped with bright red, juicy fruit.
A type of dessert served in a glass, colorful and crystal clear, called "mousse".
There are also cookies, cream puffs, macarons, and other small, exquisitely shaped treats that look incredibly tempting...
Next to each dessert, there are detailed labels indicating the ingredients and general steps required for making it. Many of these details, such as the whipping of the "cream" and the special design of the "oven," were things that Song had never imagined before.
"Shu'er, all of this... you came up with all of this?" Madam Song's voice was filled with disbelief and shock.
"Yes." Cui Yunshu nodded calmly, "I am not very talented, but I like to think about food."
I'm too lazy to explain.
Song's fingers traced the exquisite paintings, and she could almost smell their sweet and alluring fragrance. She was a woman, and she knew better than anyone the fatal attraction these things would have on the noble ladies of the capital once they were unveiled.
This is no longer a business plan.
This is a gold mine.
A gold mine that could drive all the women in the capital crazy!
But what truly shocked Song was yet to come.
Following the product introduction came the business strategies that left her even more dizzy.
First, market positioning: targeting the most elite social circles of wealthy women and ladies in Beijing. Yunjian Pavilion doesn't sell desserts; it sells status, taste, and a kind of trendsetting social capital.
Second, marketing strategies: membership system, limited supply, and scarcity marketing.
"Membership system?" Song looked at the three words and was completely baffled. "Why set up a threshold when you're running a business? Doesn't that keep customers out?"
“Mother, we don’t need that many customers,” Cui Yunshu explained patiently. “We only cater to a very small group of people at the very top. Membership cards are divided into three tiers: gold, silver, and jade. Only by obtaining a membership card can one be eligible to enter the store and make reservations for the latest desserts. Moreover, the higher the membership level, the more priority the services one will receive.”
"Isn't this dividing people into different classes? Won't those who didn't get the card resent us?"
“They won’t resent it; they’ll just try to become members themselves.” A glint of insight into human nature flashed in Cui Yunshiu’s eyes. “When having a Yunjian Pavilion membership card becomes a symbol of status, it gains value. What we sell is no longer just desserts.”
Mr. Song seemed to understand, but not quite.
"Then what are limited supply and scarcity marketing?"
"We only make that much each day, and we close down once it's sold out. The rarer something is, the more people want it. We want the noble ladies of the capital to be proud to snag a 'limited-time' Yunjian Pavilion cake, and for them to fight tooth and nail for a 'birthday cake' reservation."
“We want to make ‘Cloud Pavilion’ the most talked-about topic in their social circles. Who went to Cloud Pavilion today, who pre-ordered the new mousse tomorrow—these will become new topics of conversation among them. In that case, will we still have to worry about not having customers?”
Song fell completely silent.
She stared blankly at her daughter, at the thin booklet, feeling as if her mind was a tangled mess, yet within that mess, she saw a crystal-clear golden road leading to the pinnacle of wealth.
For decades, she had managed the household affairs, believing herself to be an expert in interpersonal relationships and business calculations. But only today did she realize that in front of her daughter, her methods were nothing more than child's play.
"Shu'er..." After a long while, Madam Song finally found her voice. She closed the booklet and looked at her daughter with an extremely complicated expression. "What do you want your mother to do?"
She was a smart woman; she knew that her daughter had brought out this plan not just for her to see something new.
“I need a partner.” Cui Yunshu’s gaze was frank and sincere. “A partner who can help me handle all external affairs, who can keep things in order, and who can uphold the style of Yunjian Pavilion as the host.”
“I stay behind the scenes, responsible for the products and operations. You step into the limelight, become the owner of this store, and be its ‘chairman’.”
"Chairman?" is yet another new term.
“It’s the one with the most power.” Cui Yunshu smiled. “It’s inconvenient for me to show my face in public, but I can, Mother. With your status, it’s most appropriate for you to deal with those princesses and noble ladies. Besides…”
She paused, her voice carrying a hint of coquetry: "I don't have that much start-up capital. This shop needs renovation, equipment, ingredients, and a group of specially trained cooks... everything costs money. So, I'd like to ask my 'chairman' to be my first 'angel investor'."
Looking at the sly glint in her daughter's eyes, Madam Song couldn't help but burst out laughing.
All the previous worries, heartache, and unfamiliarity vanished at this moment.
This is still her daughter.
She was her most beloved daughter, who was clever, bold, and occasionally played little tricks on her.
"good."
Without the slightest hesitation, Song nodded vigorously, her eyes shining with an unprecedented brilliance.
"I'm giving you all my dowry! Just consider it... just consider it my mother, to go crazy with you one more time!"
The mother and daughter held hands tightly.
A warm feeling welled up in Cui Yunshu's heart. She knew that from this moment on, she was no longer fighting alone. She had the strongest and most reliable support in the world.
I'm too lazy to wait any longer.
The plan should be launched immediately.
The shop, which had already been secretly scouted by Cui Yunshu's people, immediately began its bustling decoration process.
A group of the most clever and discreet cooks, selected from the Cui family's sons, were secretly sent to a manor on the outskirts of Beijing for closed-door "pre-job training."
Everything is proceeding with unimaginable efficiency and in an orderly manner.
Two weeks later.
On Zhuque Street, the most bustling street in Beijing, a shop decorated like a fairyland quietly hung up its signboard.
"Yun Jian Ge" (Cloud Pavilion).
Dressed in her finest attire, Mrs. Song stood in front of the shop, looking at her daughter beside her, who remained calm and seemed to take everything for granted. Her heart was filled with boundless anticipation for the future.
A new business legend is about to begin.
Meanwhile, deep within the palace, the emperor, still vying with his ministers over a clause in the "company charter," and the nobles who believed they controlled everything, would never have imagined this.
Right under their noses, a true dragon in the making had silently dug its own first channel to the sea.
Chapter Thirty-Seven: A Shop Becomes a Sensation in the Capital, and the Second Prince Feels Resentful
The capital has gone mad.
For a piece of pastry.
Zhuque Avenue has never been this congested since the previous dynasty established its capital there. It's not because of the emperor's tour, nor because of any prince's wedding. It's because of a newly opened shop, a shop called "Yunjian Pavilion."
Horse-drawn carriages lined up one after another from one end of the street to the other, completely blocking the road. The finest golden nanmu wood carriages, carved, inlaid with jade, and adorned with tassels, were all crammed together like a pile of ornate toys carelessly discarded. The drivers cursed impatiently, and the horses snorted restlessly, their breath condensing into puffs of white mist in the cool autumn air.
The people in the car didn't utter a single complaint.
They merely lifted a corner of the carriage curtain, craning their necks with the most reserved posture, gazing longingly in that direction.
Yunjian Pavilion.
The storefront wasn't actually that luxurious. There were no tacky gold-painted phoenixes, only large expanses of crystal-clear glass windows, supposedly imported from overseas. Through those windows, you could vaguely see elegant tables and chairs inside, and paintings on the walls that you couldn't understand but felt were extremely stylish.
The worst part was the smell wafting out from under the door.
It has a sweet aroma, with a rich milky and fruity fragrance.
The aroma was like an invisible hand, drawing the souls of everyone who passed by. It made them unable to move, wanting only to come closer and see what this divine concoction was all about.
"My goodness, isn't that the carriage of the Duke of England? I heard that their young lady sent people to queue up yesterday, but they still didn't get a number."
"It's not just the Duke of Ying's mansion; look over there, the one with the insignia of Princess Anyang's mansion is also blocking the way!"
"Shh... Keep your voice down. I heard that to get into that store, you have to become a 'member.' There are three levels: Jade Card, Gold Card, and Silver Card. Without a card, even if you pile up a mountain of gold, they won't let you in!"
"What? You're in a business, and there's no reason to turn away customers?"
"You wouldn't believe it. This is called class! My cousin, who works at the Ministry of Rites, told me that nowadays, the noble ladies in the capital don't talk about the latest hairpins and clothes anymore; they talk about who has a card for Yunjian Pavilion and who has reserved a 'birthday cake' for next month!"
Birthday cake.
Another word I've never heard of before.
But these unheard-of things, like a boulder, crashed into the stagnant pool of Beijing's high society, which had been calm for decades, stirring up a monstrous wave.
Owning a membership card for Yunjian Pavilion, especially a "Jade Card" which is said to have been issued in fewer than twenty years, has replaced "owning a set of South China Sea pearl jewelry" as the latest standard for measuring a woman's status.
Cui Yunxi, the future Crown Princess, is sitting right in the eye of this storm.
She looked at the cake in front of her, called "Black Forest," with its chocolate-colored crust, snow-white cream, and a bright red cherry on top, and the corners of her mouth unconsciously turned up.
Her close friends, a select few of the most elite ladies in the capital, were chattering excitedly about this incredible delicacy.
"Oh my god, Yunxi, what... what is this 'cream' made of? How can it be so sweet and soft like a cloud?"
"And this cake is so soft it's unbelievable! Compared to it, all the pastries I've eaten before are like bricks!"
"My mother said that I'm turning 18 next month, and she absolutely has to order a birthday cake like this! Yunxi, you have to put in a good word for me with your sister!"
Cui Yunxi smiled and agreed.
Looking out the window at the carriages that were so crowded they couldn't get in, and at the envious, jealous, and resentful expressions on the faces of the noble ladies, she felt a sense of awe for the first time towards her fourth sister.
Her sister doesn't sell pastries at all.
What she sells is vanity, status, and a unique sense of superiority that can drive all women crazy.
That's terrifying.
That's... amazing.
...
Tang Pu was also in a corner of the private room.
He was dressed casually, sitting at an inconspicuous table with a cup of overly sweet "milk tea" in front of him that he didn't like.
Looking at the scene before him, he felt his mind was a little overwhelmed.
He couldn't understand it.
Why would a group of women go to such lengths for a piece of food?
He couldn't understand how Cui Yunshu had managed to do it. She was like a spider hiding in the very center of its web, motionless, yet drawing all the prey in the capital to willingly, desperately, crash into her web.
This is more terrifying than war.
In war, the enemy will resist.
These women are enjoying the process of being "plundered".
He watched as the wealthy women nearly came to blows over a single reservation spot, and watched as those usually haughty young ladies beamed with smiles just to get a word in with a waiter.
He suddenly realized how naive and ridiculous his previous plans to burn ships, sink ships, and contact the border troops had been.
Real wars don't require swords.
He looked at the back of Cui Yunshu, who was chatting and laughing with her sister in the distance.
The worship he felt for the "great cause" was now mixed with something he couldn't quite explain.
Reverence.
And... a trace of fear that he himself didn't even realize.
What exactly does this woman want to do?
...
The popularity of Yunjian Pavilion spread like a plague, quickly reaching every corner of the capital.
Naturally, the news also reached the ears of the Second Prince, Tang Jingming.
The Second Prince's Residence.
The study was filled with a suffocating, oppressive scent of ambergris.
Tang Jingming held a white jade teacup in his hand, his knuckles turning slightly white from the pressure. He listened to his subordinate's report with a blank expression, but his sinister eyes seemed to be covered with a thick layer of ice.
"...It is estimated that 'Yunjian Pavilion' has already generated over 500,000 taels of silver in revenue in just half a month since its opening. Its net profit is even more astonishingly high..."
"...Nowadays, all the noble ladies in the capital consider it an honor to own a membership card, and even several empresses in the palace have sent people out to inquire about it..."
"...The eldest daughter of the Cui family, the future crown princess, is holding banquets there every day to build her reputation..."
*Smack*
A crisp sound.
He crushed the fine white jade teacup in his hand.
Sharp shards of porcelain cut his palm, and blood dripped from between his fingers onto the ground, like tiny, blood-red plum blossoms in bloom.
But he couldn't feel any pain.
He felt a surge of anger, mixed with jealousy and humiliation, suddenly rise from his chest, burning so intensely that his internal organs ached.
The Cui family!
It's the Cui family again!
It's that Cui Yunshu again!
In the imperial court, he was thoroughly humiliated by that damned "joint-stock company," watching helplessly as a huge piece of fat was divided up by the princelings.
He endured it.
He thought to himself that these were nothing but empty fame and fleeting gains. As long as he could survive until his father passed away and ascend to the throne, he could take them back at any time.
But what about now?
This Cui Yunshu, after turning her head, created another "Yunjian Pavilion" for him!
This is not a store.
This is a slap in his face!
This is using piles of silver to tell the whole world that Tang Jingming can't beat the Crown Prince, let alone the Cui family!
Every single penny, every single tael of silver, would become the Crown Prince's military pay for recruiting soldiers! It would become a poisoned arrow aimed at his chest!
He couldn't take it anymore!
If he continues to endure this, he'll be finished!
"Someone come here."
His voice was hoarse, like a demon crawling out of hell.
A dark figure appeared silently behind him.
"Your Highness."
"I want that shop dead." Tang Jingming looked at his bleeding hand and said, enunciating each word clearly, "I don't care what methods you use, within a month, I will make the name 'Yunjian Pavilion' the biggest joke in the capital. I will make the Cui family lose everything!"
"yes."
The shadowy figure accepted the order and silently withdrew.
Tang Jingming was the only one left in the study.
He slowly picked up a silk handkerchief with his uninjured hand and carefully wiped the bloodstains from his hand.
His movements were slow and elegant.
But his eyes were like those of a venomous snake eyeing its prey, filled with a cold, ruthless killing intent.
Cui Yunshu...
We will meet again soon.
...
Night has fallen.
In the private room on the top floor of Yunjian Pavilion, only Cui Yunshu remained.
The daytime hustle and bustle has faded away, leaving only the lingering, sweet aroma in the air.
She looked at the astonishing numbers in the ledger, but felt no joy whatsoever.
She knew this was just the beginning.
She knew that by making such a commotion, she would inevitably attract hungry wolves.
really.
There was a gentle knock on the door of the private room.
It was Tang Pu.
He took off his civilian clothes and put on a black outfit of the Imperial Guard, making him look like a sharp knife drawn from its sheath.
His face no longer held the astonishment of the day, but only a solemn expression.
"Something's happened." He said as soon as he came in, his voice very low.
Cui Yunshu raised her head and looked at him quietly.
“My men just intercepted information from the Military Intelligence Bureau,” Tang Pu walked up to her, his eyes carrying a familiar worry that belonged to an “ally,” “The Second Prince has made a move. They are preparing to cut off our supply chain from the raw materials, undermining our resources.”
"They bribed all the fruit farmers and dairy farms that could supply you, and they also controlled all the icing shops in the capital. Their plan is to make you run out of supplies and force you to close down."
Cui Yunshu listened, her face remaining expressionless.
She simply picked up the tea that had gone cold from the table and took a small sip.
Looking at her calm and composed demeanor, Tang Pu's initial worry suddenly transformed into a deeper emotion, a mixture of admiration and curiosity.
He didn't believe she hadn't anticipated this.
He wanted to see how his "chief strategist" would deal with this most direct and unscrupulous business attack. What kind of shocking plan was hidden in her mind, which seemed to be able to calculate everything?
He looked at her, waiting for her to speak.
Waiting for her to give the next instruction.
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