The Li Family's "Jinxiu Cloth Shop" was located at the other end of Vermilion Bird Street, directly facing the back door of "Qingcheng".
The cloth shop, which used to be bustling with customers, had been so quiet these past few days that one could hear the sound of moths fluttering against the lamps.
Li Wan sat by the second-floor window, watching the long line forming at the entrance of "Qingcheng" in the distance. She was so angry that she slammed the account book in her hands onto the ground.
"Father! Look! Just look! Ever since that bitch Xue Tingxue opened her shop, our family's business has suffered so much!"
Master Li picked up the account book with a worried expression, "Wan'er, keep your voice down. She is selling rouge and powder; it is not the same path as our cloth shop."
"How is it not!" Li Wan stood up and pointed at the noblewomen outside, "In the past, they would come to buy new cloth to make new clothes. And now? They have taken all their silver to buy that so-called 'Immortal Highlight'! Who still cares about buying cloth!"
The more she spoke, the angrier she became, pacing back and forth in the room.
"No! I cannot let her be so proud!"
Li Wan's eyes darted around, and she suddenly had an idea.
"Father, isn't it just some shiny powder and paste? I do not believe that only she, Xue Tingxue, knows how to make it!"
She leaned over to Master Li's ear and whispered a few words.
"We will find a few master craftsmen in the Capital City and imitate it! If she sells it for twenty liang, we will sell it for five! I do not believe those women can resist the temptation of cold, hard silver!"
Master Li hesitated, "This... isn't this smashing someone else's reputation?"
Li Wan snorted coldly, "When she snatched our business, did she ever think about leaving us a way to survive? Father, it is settled! I am going to find the Wang Family Rouge Shop in the south of the city right now; they specialize in imitations and have the best craftsmanship!"
Three days later.
On Vermilion Bird Street, several rouge shops had hung up an identical sign.
"New product 'Fairy Glow'! The effect is comparable to 'Immortal Highlight', only five liang of silver per box!"
Once the news broke, all the women in the Capital City were tempted.
Twenty liang versus five liang—the difference was not small at all.
Many noblewomen who were originally queuing at the entrance of "Qingcheng" hesitated and turned to the shops across the street.
At the entrance of "Qingcheng", the line was visibly much shorter.
Bi Tao was so anxious that she paced around the shop, her palms sweating.
"Miss! This is bad! That wicked person from the Li Family has teamed up with several other shops to imitate our 'Immortal Highlight'! They are selling it so cheaply that many people have been lured away!"
She looked toward the accountant's office; today's revenue was nearly half of what it was yesterday, and her heart ached.
"Should we lower our prices too? Otherwise, all the customers will run away!"
Xue Tingxue was sitting behind the counter, holding a charcoal pencil, writing and drawing on a piece of paper.
After hearing Bi Tao's words, she did not even lift her eyelids.
"What is the rush?"
She blew the charcoal dust off the paper and handed it to the steward in the shop.
"Follow what I wrote and hang a sign at the entrance."
The steward took the paper, looked at it, and was stunned.
Bi Tao also curiously leaned over and read it out loud.
"Can imitate my face, but cannot imitate my beauty?"
She blinked and looked at the small line of text below.
"From now on, for every purchase of 'Immortal Highlight' in this shop, buy three boxes and get one free!"
"Additionally, we are launching a membership card! A silver card with a top-up of one hundred liang grants a ten percent discount on future purchases! A gold card with a top-up of five hundred liang grants a twenty percent discount and priority purchase rights for new products!"
Bi Tao's mouth opened into a circle.
"Miss! We are not lowering prices, and we are doing a buy-three-get-one-free deal? Wouldn't that mean losing even more money?"
Xue Tingxue put down her pen and picked up the tea water nearby to take a sip.
"We won't lose money."
She stood up, walked to the door, and watched the scene at the shops across the street, which were temporarily lively.
"Bi Tao, remember this. In business, competing on price is the lowest form of play."
She turned back and spoke to the somewhat panicked shop assistants in the store. Her voice was not loud, but everyone could hear it clearly.
"Go, spread the word. Say that 'Qingcheng' products are one of a kind. We are not selling rouge; we are selling the only prestige of its kind in this Capital City."
This move directly exploded the circle of noblewomen in the entire Capital City.
Lower prices?
No, they simply disdained lowering prices.
They went straight for the unheard-of "buy-three-get-one-free" and "membership cards"!
Especially that line, "Can imitate my face, but cannot imitate my beauty," which spoke directly to the hearts of all women.
Use imitations? How tacky would that be!
We are using "Qingcheng"! It is a symbol of status!
Early the next morning, the line at the entrance of "Qingcheng" was longer than any day before.
"Give me three boxes! No! Six boxes! I want to make two sets of 'buy-three-get-one-free'!"
"I want to get a gold card! Five hundred liang, right? Here! I must be the first to get the new products in the future!"
"Exactly! Using those five-liang imitations, what if it ruins my face? It is still safer to use 'Qingcheng' products!"
The scene was so explosive that they almost trampled the threshold.
Meanwhile, the Li Family's cloth shop and those rouge shops faced a catastrophe.
"Shopkeeper! What is going on with this 'Fairy Glow' of yours! I used it on half my face, and it is dry, cakey, and I have broken out in red rashes!"
A noblewoman rushed into the Wang Family Rouge Shop and slammed the small porcelain box in her hand onto the counter.
"That's right! The paste inside is full of grit and cannot be spread evenly at all! I think five liang of silver is too expensive!"
"Refund! You must give me a refund!"
"You black-hearted merchants, using inferior products to cheat us! Smash their shop!"
Angry customers surrounded those shops, and the sounds of cursing and crying filled the air.
Li Wan stood on the second floor of her cloth shop, watching the chaotic scene downstairs. Her face was pale, and her whole body was trembling.
It was over.
Not only did she fail to bring down Xue Tingxue, but she also lost her family's century-old reputation in the process.
In the backyard of "Qingcheng".
Xue Tingxue flipped through today's account book with a smile on her lips.
After this commotion, the revenue not only did not drop, but it actually doubled compared to before.
Bi Tao was pounding her shoulders on the side, her mouth grinning almost to her ears.
"Miss, you are truly divine! Now the whole Capital City knows that when buying rouge and powder, one must look for our 'Qingcheng' brand! I heard that those imitation shops have all been sealed by the government!"
Xue Tingxue closed the account book, "As expected."
As she was speaking, Liu Fu walked in quickly from outside.
"Eldest Miss, a follower from Prince Ning'an's Estate has arrived and is waiting in the front hall."
Xue Tingxue raised an eyebrow, put down the account book, and stood up to walk toward the front hall.
The person who came was Qing Feng, the most capable follower by Fu Tingyuan's side.
Seeing Xue Tingxue enter, he immediately bowed and held up a black sandalwood box with both hands.
"Eldest Miss Xue, this is what our Prince asked his subordinate to deliver."
Xue Tingxue signaled for Bi Tao to take it.
The box was opened, and a card lay quietly inside.
The card was pitch black, made of an unknown material, with intricate patterns outlined in gold thread. In the center was the character "Ting" written in a bold, elegant style.
"This is..."
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