"Who dares to be so arrogant here? They've got quite the nerve."
A cheerful voice came from afar, drawing the onlookers to look outside.
The furious young lady and her maid were also startled by the voice and broke out in a cold sweat.
Froze in place, the master and servant hunched over, not daring to turn around and look at each other.
A moment later, the three of them, master and servant, entered through the door. They were dressed in long, silver-white brocade gowns and dresses, with matching silk linings, adorned with plum blossom embroidery, and the collars and cuffs were trimmed with gold thread.
She wore a pair of white, plum-patterned high heels, which made her walk taller and more distinguished, highlighting her noble and luxurious status.
Three thousand strands of hair, as smooth as satin, were styled in a high bun with just the right amount of looseness or tightness. A pair of gold and white jade hairpins swayed gently on either side of the shoulders, giving the wearer a dignified, steady, and imposing presence.
Seeing her standing steadily at the door, the crowd quickly abandoned their interest in watching the show and hurriedly knelt down to pay their respects.
"Greetings, Princess Zhou! May Your Highness enjoy boundless blessings!"
It turns out that he is the youngest brother of the current emperor. Because the Prince of Zhou dislikes participating in politics, he requested the emperor to move his fiefdom to Fuzhou.
Although this place is thousands of miles away from the capital, the deep brotherly affection between the Emperor and Prince Zhou is still unmatched by any other prince in the capital.
Therefore, the greatest power in Fuzhou was none other than that of the King of Zhou.
Princess Zhou had heard from other officials' wives that the Hefang Rouge Shop was opening today, and she wanted to see what kind of good stuff it was that made them so raving about it.
Before she even stepped into the shop, someone dared to act so arrogantly right under her nose. She hadn't left the palace for many days and had no idea that such a spoiled and domineering person had been born in the city.
"Rise, Your Highness. I've come to join in the fun!"
"What? Did I just hear that someone was going to smash up someone's shop?"
Everyone immediately fell silent, clearly sensing that Princess Zhou's tone was unfriendly.
Manager He steeled himself and stepped forward, kneeling before the young lady to reply.
"Reporting to Princess Zhou, it is indeed this young lady. She threatened to order her maid, Cui Tao, to smash up our Hefang Rouge Shop."
"How dare you! You've come to see our Princess Zhou, yet you don't kneel and pay your respects?"
The head maid beside Princess Zhou, with her peach-leaf eyes glaring angrily, loudly reprimanded the woman and maid who had their backs to her.
The voice, carrying an irresistible official air, pierced the backs of the master and servant, and pounded into their hearts.
The two couldn't help but shiver. Their bodies stiffened as they turned their faces. When their eyes met the majestic and domineering Princess Zhou, their lower bodies felt like lead, and they collapsed heavily to the ground.
"Zhou...Zhou Zhou...Your Majesty and Your Highness...Peace!"
Seeing this, Princess Zhou sneered, crossed her arms over her chest, and glared at her sharply with her phoenix eyes.
The other maid beside him squinted and looked around carefully, then covered her mouth and laughed disdainfully.
"Fenling, what are you laughing at?"
Fenling's smile faded slightly. "Your Highness, Sister Weilan, you still don't know who this woman is, do you?"
Wei Lan, who was supporting Princess Zhou on the left, suddenly became curious after hearing what Fen Ling said.
"Her? She's the young lady from the Liu family, Liu Yuanyin, who came to our Prince's Mansion the other day with ten thousand taels of gold to ask for an official position!"
"Oh, oh, oh~" Wei Lan suddenly realized.
"I remember now, the prince was furious about this!"
"Desperate, they've actually set their sights on the Zhou Prince's mansion. Humph, wishful thinking!"
Wei Lan stared angrily at Liu Yuanyin, the image of her elderly father pleading for an official position for her brother the day before flashing before her eyes.
The crowd began to whisper among themselves: "So she's just a nouveau riche. Look at how arrogant she was just now, she really thought she was some noble lady!"
"Tch, she doesn't even deserve to be a daughter of an official! What bad luck!"
Realizing the situation was detrimental to her and her family, Liu Yuanyin quickly knelt at the feet of Princess Zhou.
“Princess Zhou, it’s not my fault. This shop is just being too arrogant. I only wanted to teach them a small lesson on behalf of the people of the city. I didn’t mean to cause trouble.”
Liu Yuanyin angrily pointed at Steward He, who was kneeling to the side, and shifted the blame to the He Fang Rouge Shop to absolve herself of any responsibility, thinking that this way Princess Zhou would not blame her.
Perhaps, Princess Zhou will even personally take action to eliminate this arrogant and disrespectful cosmetics shop.
Just as she was feeling pleased with herself for being clever, she heard a mocking voice coming from above.
Princess Zhou raised her red lips contemptuously, her voice tinged with disgust: "What? Are neither the Prince of Zhou nor the Prefectural Governor here?"
"Is it really necessary for Miss Liu to worry so much about the people of Fuzhou?"
"No, no, Your Highness, you've misunderstood..."
Princess Zhou's words were clearly not what Liu Yuanyin meant, so she hurriedly grabbed Princess Zhou's dress, trying to defend herself.
But were the two head maids flanking Princess Zhou actually vegetarians?
Her hand was still far from the princess's dress when it was kicked away by the maids on both sides. She was in pain but didn't care. All she wanted now was to save her life.
However, Princess Zhou did not give her a chance to speak and leaned down to warn her.
"This princess had no idea that Fuzhou had become the domain of the Liu family's daughter, who struts around the streets with such arrogance. How powerful your Liu family is!"
"Guards, throw this presumptuous person out of here!"
"Yes!" the guard behind him immediately responded.
Princess Zhou pointed at Liu Yuanyin's eyes and commanded sternly, "You, stay at home and reflect on your mistakes. Do not step out of your room without my order!"
Liu Yuanyin was truly weak and limp at this moment. She must have forgotten to check the almanac before going out today. If she had known she would run into Princess Zhou, she would have come tomorrow instead, and she wouldn't have ended up like this.
Two guards came up and ruthlessly pulled Liu Yuanyin onto her family's carriage, "escorting" her back to the mansion to issue the Princess Consort's orders.
After dealing with the troublesome personnel matters, Princess Zhou regained her gentle smile.
"Please make yourselves at home. I'm just here to join in the fun. Please feel free to be casual and don't stand on ceremony!"
"yes!"
Everyone turned around carefully, casually choosing their attire. The once bustling hall became quiet and orderly because of Princess Zhou's status.
While receiving Princess Zhou, Steward He secretly gave Hong Niang a meaningful look.
The matchmaker immediately went upstairs quietly.
"I've heard that your rouge is quite special, so I, the princess, have come to see for myself. Please recommend some to me, and tell me which rouges would be suitable!"
"Princess Zhou has a beautiful, smooth complexion; it's clear she takes good care of herself!"
A clear, melodious voice came from the stairwell, and everyone, including Princess Zhou, looked up at Tian Sangui standing on the second floor.
She was dressed in elegant silk, her long skirt swaying gently as she walked gracefully towards me.
"Tian Sangui, the owner of Hefang Rouge Shop, pays his respects to Princess Zhou!"
Despite Tian Sangui's cheerful laughter, Princess Zhou remained as uninterested in looking people in the eye.
Moreover, he was just a small shopkeeper from all walks of life.
"The rouge used by our Princess Consort is a gift from the Imperial Palace in the capital. Her Princess Consort is naturally fair-skinned and beautiful, how could your small shops compare?"
The arrogant Fenling, seeing Tian Sangui's short and thin appearance, and knowing that although he was dressed in silk, he was the lowest-class person in the city, not even as good as the brocade she was wearing, naturally did not give him a good look.
Although Wei Lan didn't speak, the disdain in her eyes was no less than that of Fen Ling on the right.
Princess Zhou also didn't take her seriously.
I thought a mature and tall woman would be the manager, but it turns out to be a girl of about ten years old. What can she possibly accomplish?
She had overestimated the shop. Princess Zhou looked disappointed and turned to go home.
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