The carriage of the Duke Yong's Mansion was drawn by three horses. The body of the carriage was luxurious and spacious. Whenever it went out, it was extremely ostentatious and hard not to draw people's attention.
When Madam Mo, along with Su Yuanyuan, Su Huaichen and others walked into the "Brocade Workshop", the shopkeeper, Madam Hua, greeted them with a smiling face.
"I never expected the arrival of the Duchess Yong. This humble shop is really honored."
Madam Hua recognized Madam Mo and Su Huaichen at first sight, which obviously showed that she knew well about the information in Shengjing.
Madam Mo was not surprised. She knew that these business - minded merchants all had sharp eyes, so she just nodded calmly.
"We just arrived in Shengjing. We heard that your shop has the best quality cloth and the latest styles of clothes, so we came to have a look."
"You've come just in time, Madam. A batch of new goods just arrived in the shop today. They were made by the best embroidery workshop in the South of the Yangtze River. I'm sure you'll like them."
Madam Hua led Madam Mo and the others towards the dazzling shelves in the shop. As she walked, she praised Wei Linlang:
"Look at the dress on the Lady of the Heir Apparent. It's obviously our shop's product at first sight. Both the material and the style are chosen perfectly. It makes the Lady of the Heir Apparent look more charming than a flower, swaying gracefully. I wonder who chose it for the Lady of the Heir Apparent. They really have good taste."
Wei Linlang was the daughter of General Wei Lang, a deputy general of Su Qing. She had always been straightforward and carefree. How could she have been praised so directly in person?
Two blushes appeared on her face. She said shyly, "It was a gift from my husband."
"The Heir Apparent and the Lady of the Heir Apparent are so deeply in love. It really makes me envious." Madam Hua said with a smile.
Su Yuanyuan was led by Madam Mo. As she walked inside, she quietly raised her eyes and glanced around.
The "Brocade Workshop" was really bustling with business. There were customers everywhere, selecting cloth and having their measurements taken. There wasn't a single clerk who was idle.
Listening to the familiar bargaining sounds in her ears, she couldn't help but think of the several shops in her hands.
These shops were the coming - of - age gifts from Madam Tong when she came of age. They were originally meant for her to play around with, but unexpectedly, after being managed by her, in just a few months, they had become the most popular rouge and jewelry shops in Shengjing.
She could always introduce new kinds of rouge and hairpins ahead of others. She could even customize them for different people. For a while, the noble ladies and young ladies in Shengjing were proud to wear the rouge and jewelry from her shops.
Even after her reputation gradually got worse, the business of the shops was not affected at all.
Sometimes she also thought that the noble ladies and young ladies in Shengjing were really strange. They hated her to the core, but they couldn't do without her rouge and jewelry shops. It was really a bit ridiculous.
However, later when she entered the Lu Mansion as a concubine, the property deeds of the two shops, along with other gold, silver and valuables on her, were all taken away by Madam Qin. They were never returned to her even after the Lu Mansion was raided.
She wondered if the two shops had also been affected by the raid on the Lu Mansion.
At this moment, Su Yuanyuan couldn't help but feel a bit annoyed. It seemed that she should find an opportunity to "return to normal". She couldn't be "stupid" like this forever. Otherwise, many things couldn't be done. Even going to the "Quyang Cloth Store", she couldn't go out alone.
When Su Yuanyuan came back to her senses from her memories, Madam Mo and Wei Linlang were happily selecting cloth, and Su Huaichen was being pulled by the two of them to ask for his opinion.
Clenching her fists, Su Yuanyuan knew that her opportunity had come.
She waited for the right moment. Taking advantage of the time when the three of them were discussing vigorously, she pretended to suddenly see something new. Hiding behind the figures of the customers coming and going in the shop, she quietly ran towards the outside of the "Brocade Workshop".
When she successfully stepped out of the "Brocade Workshop", Su Yuanyuan couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. She felt that she could breathe more smoothly.
The East Market was the most bustling market in Shengjing. The streets were filled with people coming and going. Su Yuanyuan didn't dare to delay. She carefully avoided the pedestrians on the road and walked towards the "Quyang Cloth Store" which was just one street away from the "Brocade Workshop".
Just as she was about to reach the door of the "Quyang Cloth Store", Su Yuanyuan was suddenly bumped into by a person who was walking in a hurry with their head down.
Su Yuanyuan was bumped back two steps and let out a little exclamation.
But luckily she was on guard and managed to steady herself, narrowly avoiding falling.
The other person was not so lucky. Not only did they sit down on the ground, but the things in their arms also fell, and the veil hat on their head was knocked askew.
When Su Yuanyuan saw the face of the person who had bumped into her, her pupils suddenly shrank, and she couldn't help but clench her fists.
It was actually Zining, the most capable maid beside Madam Tong, the Marchioness of Pingyang.
Why was she here at this time? What was she doing in the East Market?
Su Yuanyuan subconsciously looked at the things that had fallen beside Zining. But at this time, Zining had already come to her senses. She quickly wrapped the things with a piece of cloth, hugged them tightly in her arms, lowered her head and quickly said "sorry" to Su Yuanyuan, then walked away quickly.
She was so fast that Su Yuanyuan only had time to see that the shape of the thing looked a bit square. Then Zining's figure disappeared into the crowd in a few moments.
Forget it. In this life, she had become a young lady of the Duke Yong's Mansion. What happened to the Marchioness of Pingyang's Mansion had nothing to do with her.
Su Yuanyuan's eyes turned cold. Without any hesitation, she walked into the "Quyang Cloth Store" without looking back.
The business of the "Quyang Cloth Store" was a bit slow today. When Su Yuanyuan stepped into the store, she found that there wasn't a single customer inside. But this was just right. She was just worried about how to take out the token without attracting others' attention.
The shopkeeper was a middle - aged man. When he saw someone coming in, he immediately put on a bright smile and said:
"Welcome to our store. Sir/Madam, please come in..."
But after seeing Su Yuanyuan's appearance and dressing, the shopkeeper's smile froze on his face. He couldn't help but say, "Miss, are you lost? The 'Brocade Workshop' is over there."
Su Yuanyuan smiled. Her eyes curved into two crescents, looking extremely cute.
"I'm not lost. I just need a batch of ordinary cloth to make clothes for the servants in the mansion. I wonder if you've received any new goods in the past few days, shopkeeper?"
As she said this, she quietly showed the palm of her hand to the shopkeeper. There was a very familiar token lying on it.
When the shopkeeper saw the token, he quietly raised his eyes to observe the surroundings. His face still had that flattering smile, but his tone was a bit more respectful than before.
"You've come just in time, Miss. The new goods that arrived in our store yesterday are still piled up in the warehouse and haven't been put on the shelves in time. If you're really interested, why don't you follow me to the back to have a look?"
The shopkeeper pointed to the small door separated by a curtain inside.
Su Yuanyuan nodded. "Lead the way."