The overwhelming popularity of Yueyan Fang left Yun Li astonished. Even after more than ten days since the initial hype, the momentum showed no signs of slowing down. Customers streamed into the shop every day without interruption. This was because the young ladies who had purchased skincare products on the opening day, after using them as instructed, woke up the next morning to visibly noticeable changes in their skin—plump, hydrated, smooth, and radiant. Even older noblewomen who tried the products found their wrinkles reduced, giving them a fleeting sense of rejuvenation.
The high-end skincare sets priced at ten thousand taels made them feel they were getting their money’s worth, so they didn’t mind the cost and wanted to place new orders.
Some even tried to be clever by visiting the shop for several consecutive days to sample the trial products. However, once Shopkeeper Qi recognized them, he promptly showed them the door.
The shop gradually settled into smooth operations. Since its opening, Angelica and Blueberry had been handling daily customer reception at Yueyan Fang. They were tasked with training the three maidservants purchased from Yafang, teaching them everything from makeup application and facial treatments to product explanations and sales, until they could independently manage the shop.
On this day, Yun Li came to the East City Courtyard after Raspberry informed her that the gowns she and the five seamstresses had been sewing were ready for inspection.
The progress had been painfully slow. With only four design sketches provided, it had taken them nearly twenty days to complete the work. At this pace, it would be impossible to open the Caizhi Ge store.
So, she instructed Ying Tao to purchase more maidservants skilled in needlework from Yafang. She relaxed the age restrictions this time, reasoning that if their embroidery skills were exceptional, even women in their forties or fifties would be acceptable. These older women might even be more experienced and work faster than the younger maidservants.
Ying Tao ended up buying twenty skilled embroiderers for her. While this solved the manpower issue, the courtyard could no longer accommodate everyone.
Thus, Yun Li purchased another estate in the southern part of the city and moved all twenty-five seamstresses there, placing Raspberry in charge of managing them.
In the courtyard, Yun Li stared thoughtfully at the five completed garments made by the seamstresses.
There was no faulting the embroidery skills of these seamstresses. The patterns were exquisite, the stitching neat, and overall, the dresses were beautiful and finely crafted. Yet, to Yun Li, something seemed missing.
They were beautiful, yes, but lacked novelty!
Moreover, if these designs became popular upon release, they would be highly susceptible to imitation by competitors. Her design sketches would essentially become public property…
Customers wouldn’t care about exclusivity or knockoffs. As long as the products looked identical, the ones with better value and lower prices would gain popularity.
Wouldn’t that mean all her efforts would simply pave the way for others? That was not what she wanted.
She entered a side room, closed the door, and asked Ying Tao to guard outside before slipping into her space.
She planned to search the supermarket shelves for something that could be incorporated into the clothing—something that others couldn’t replicate or substitute. Only by having exclusive designs could Caizhi Ge establish a foothold in the capital.
Unique designs and one-of-a-kind customizations were what would win the favor of noble young ladies.
To her surprise, she actually found supplementary materials for handmade clothing: beaded lace, ultra-sparkling glass, acrylic and crystal imitation gemstones in various styles and colors…
There were also exquisite lace trims, silk threads in thousands of colors, and threads embedded with dazzling sequins. Yun Li imagined how stunning a dress sewn with such threads would look—absolutely dazzling!
These little things really can solve the problem of imitation. Don't underestimate these inconspicuous small sequins and lace trims—ancient craftsmanship simply couldn't produce them. Even the thousands of colors of silk threads would be difficult to replicate with ancient dyeing and washing techniques.
And those imitation gemstones can achieve the same decorative effect as real gems. Although genuine gemstones existed in ancient times, they came at a high cost! Otherwise, who would refuse to embed diamonds in clothing?
She planned to prepare these clothing accessories and silk threads when she returned in the evening, and have Ying Tao and the others deliver them to the embroiderers tomorrow. She intended to turn all the stockpiled fabrics into finished garments, transforming waste into treasure!
She also instructed the former cloth shop's Shopkeeper Wang to travel south to Jiangnan, negotiate collaborations with cloth shops there, and bring back the most fashionable fabrics currently popular in Jiangnan.
…
Since it was still early, she decided to return and teach Strawberry how to cook a few dishes, just in time for dinner. These past few days, she had been craving sweet and sour pork ribs, pickled fish with chili, spicy stir-fry hot pot, sour and spicy noodles, hot pot, barbecue, fried chicken… She couldn't dwell on it, as just thinking about it made her mouth water.
To get back quickly, she had the carriage guard take a shortcut. As the carriage entered an alley, it suddenly stopped at an intersection.
"Huh, why did we stop, Miss?"
Just as Ying Tao lifted the curtain, the carriage guard said, "Miss, there's a carriage blocking the road ahead."
"I'll go take a look," Ying Tao said, bending down and jumping off the carriage.
Soon after, Ying Tao returned. "Miss, there's a pregnant woman in the carriage ahead, and it seems she's bleeding. One of her maids has gone to fetch a doctor."
Hearing it was a pregnant woman and that she was bleeding, Yun Li frowned. Perhaps because she herself was currently pregnant, she decided to get off the carriage and check. Today, she had gone to the East City Courtyard without disguising her face, so the maids and guards didn't recognize her as the Third Miss of the Prime Minister's Residence. The Night Phantom Twelve Guards had also been sent out on missions.
So, she casually took a veil from her space and covered her face. She hurried toward the carriage at the intersection and saw a woman inside, pale and unconscious, lying in the carriage. Her belly was frighteningly large, and a maid beside her was crying anxiously.
Yun Li frowned. "Stop crying! Will crying solve the problem? What happened?"
The maid, seeing Yun Li's elegant attire and noble demeanor, quickly explained, "Miss, my mistress went to offer incense today. On the way back, the horse ran too fast, and the coachman somehow lost control. The carriage crashed into a wall, frightening my mistress. The coachman ran away in fear, and another maid has already gone to fetch a doctor."
As Yun Li checked the woman's pulse, she listened to the maid's account. "Is your mistress about to give birth?"
The pulse indicated the woman was carrying twins! And the due date was within the next few days. Logically, she should have been resting at home during this time. Why was she out and about…
The maid nodded hurriedly. "The doctor said my mistress would give birth in the next few days, but carrying twins makes delivery difficult. The old mistress of the household insisted she go to Han Shan Si to offer incense, praying for the safe delivery of the babies in her womb."
"If you don't want anything to happen to your mistress, step outside! Guard the carriage from the outside!"
The maid hesitated for a moment, looking at Yun Li. "Miss, do you know medicine?"
Yun Li nodded. "Yes. The space inside the carriage is small, and the air isn't circulating well. It will make it hard for her to breathe!"
Hearing this, the maid bowed to Yun Li. "Thank you, Miss, for your help. This servant will step outside now!"
She dismissed the maid because she wanted to wake this lady up, as her condition was currently precarious—she still had poison in her body. If she didn’t undergo a cesarean section within three days, it would likely result in the death of both mother and child! Fortunately, the poison in her body had only been ingested in the past few days, and the two fetuses in her womb were already full-term, having absorbed very little of the toxin. If the poisoning had lasted longer, even a great immortal might not have been able to save the lives of this mother and her two children!