Four Seasons Brocade – CH 075

Chapter 75 ☆、

Actually, it was not Fourth Young Lady Rong’s aunt, the Lady of Marquis of Jianning, who deceived her, but rather her subordinates who deceived the Emperor. The pre-Qing-Ming tea of ​​Lion Peak Longjing was the best, but only a few genuine Longjing tea plants existed, resulting in limited production. In years of famine, the harvest was even worse. To meet quotas, who would dare offer the best tea as tribute? What if they could not supply it the following year? So, while the tea was marketed under the name “Lion Peak Longjing,” the actual tribute sent each year was tea from surrounding areas. And since the Emperor was far away, local officials in Jiangnan, if they were lucky, could receive a tael and a half of genuine tea buds, just for a sip.

Ah Wu left leisurely; she no longer had the patience to play along with Fourth Young Lady Rong and Fifth Young Lady Rong’s hypocritical act. It must be said that with Third Master Rong’s promotion, Ah Wu’s former princess-like temper had resurfaced.

Besides, a falling out was inevitable sooner or later, and Ah Wu was now just waiting for Zi-Yan to arrive.

Two days later, Zi-Shan returned with news that Zi-Yan wanted to come and kowtow to Lady Cui and Ah Wu. Ah Wu agreed, and Zi-Shan led Zi-Yan and her son to Lady Cui’s room to kowtow. Lady Cui, seeing the child’s robust appearance and feeling sorry for Zi-Yan, who was widowed at such a young age, rewarded her with five taels of silver.

Zi-Yan kowtowed and followed Zi-Shan to the Yongtian Courtyard.

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When Zi-Yan entered, Ah Wu was lying on her side by the south window, leaning against a large pillow embroidered with jade lions playing with balls in indigo and silver thread, holding a book in her hand. She sat up straight when she saw Zi-Yan enter.

“Sister Zi-Yan,” Ah Wu called out.

Tears streamed down Zi-Yan’s face. She knew that Ah Wu’s casualness in front of her meant she still considered her one of her own, as if she had been serving the Sixth Young Lady just yesterday.

Zi-Yan quickly took two steps and knelt to put Ah Wu’s shoes on.

“Sister Zi-Yan, please do not be like this. You are the head manager now, after all,” Ah Wu said with a smile.

“This servant will always be my mistress’s servant,” Zi-Yan said, wiping away her tears.

“So many years have passed, but it feels like it was all yesterday. I still remember how Sister Zi-Yan called me to get up this morning,” Ah Wu said, also somewhat emotional.

“Indeed, but I hardly recognize you now, Miss. You’ve grown up.” Zi-Yan stared at Ah Wu, somewhat dazed. Her son, Hu-Wa, whom she had forgotten, stepped forward and tugged at Zi-Yan’s sleeve, saying timidly, “Mother, Fairy Sister.”

Hu-Wa’s words amused everyone present. Zi-Shan quickly grabbed a handful of candy for Hu-Wa. “Good nephew, that’s Fairy Aunt.”

Zi-Yan quickly pulled Hu-Wa forward. “Quick, quickly kowtow to your mistress.”

Before Hu-Wa came, Zi-Yan had repeatedly taught him at home, and he was a clever boy, obediently kowtowing to Ah Wu.

Ah Wu helped him up and took a purse from a small table beside her, containing two gourd-shaped gold ingots, for children to play with.

This was a casual gift from Ah Wu. Zi-Shan had already brought over a black lacquered, gold-painted plate with a set of jade writing implements and two boxes of books on it. “Sister Zi-Yan, you are not short of money now, so I will give Hu-Wa a set of stationery and two boxes of books, hoping he can make something of himself and one day get you an official title,” Ah Wu said.

Zi-Yan was even more grateful. Her only wish in life was for her son to be able to study and pass the imperial examination, which would bring her honor and completely change her family’s status.

The two chatted about their past relationship for a while before Zi-Yan was finally allowed to sit down, but she only dared to sit on the edge of the embroidered stool. Having spent many years in the capital, Zi-Yan knew that nobles there valued etiquette. Although she and Ah Wu were former mistress and servant, and Ah Wu now helped her manage a large family business, she dared not be presumptuous.

A young maidservant who had accompanied Zi-Yan carried a bundle, which Zi-Shan took and brought into the room. This bundle contained the accounts kept by Lady Cui in the capital over the years.

Ah Wu put down her book without looking at it. “Sister Zi-Yan, please tell me more about the situation in the capital.”

Zi-Yan nodded. “The young lady instructed us before that the shops in the capital should remain as they are, without expansion. We will rely on the areas surrounding the capital. Later, I thought of Jinkou, a crucial crossing point on the nine rivers. Goods from the south and north all pass through Jinkou, a bustling hub of merchants and a melting pot of all ethnicities. It’s the most prosperous place. People going to the south and those going to the capital all converge there. For our Cui Embroidery to spread, we must establish a foothold there. So we opened a shop in Jinkou. Fortunately, the young lady sent us new-weave and new-dye satins from the south, and our goods are in high demand.”

Ah Wu nodded.

Zi-Yan, eager to impress Ah Wu, added, “The young lady instructed us to set up shops along the northwest route, so I had my younger brother do it. Now we have shops in all three northwestern provinces, and the trade routes are smooth.”

Ah Wu nodded again. She was aware of these specifics, but she wanted to hear Zi-Yan’s account firsthand, giving her a chance to demonstrate her abilities—this was the way to manage subordinates.

“How’s Cui Embroidery doing in the capital?”

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On this point, Zi-Yan truly admired her mistress’s foresight. When she opened a shop in Jinkou, she almost could not control the local tyrants. She only managed to expand by secretly borrowing the name of the Duke of Anguo’s Mansion and spending a fortune. The waters in the capital were even more treacherous.

Cui Ji only had one storefront in the capital, and its business was not large. Cui Embroidery, under the strategy devised by Ah Wu and Liu Jingniang, was positioned as the highest-end, unavailable even to wealthy ordinary people. Currently, their order book was already three years in advance. In other words, if you placed a deposit this year, you would not receive a piece of Cui Embroidery for three years.

Cui Embroidery was unique in itself, with delicate stitches that appeared seamlessly integrated with the fabric from a distance. But its most exquisite feature was its unique “brilliant color”—the embroidery threads refracted different colors depending on the light and even changed patterns throughout the day with the changing sunlight.

Ah Wu owned a Cui Embroidery dress, but it was too dazzling, so she rarely wore it.

Despite its eye-catching nature, Cui Embroidery remained a small and low-key business. Zi-Yan managed to maintain its position, and no powerful figures took notice of the shop, allowing Cui Embroidery to steadily thrive in the competitive market.

Ah Wu was relieved to hear Zi-Yan’s explanation. The struggle for the throne was approaching its most crucial stage, a time of great upheaval in the capital, which would be detrimental to businesses. Moreover, Ah Wu knew the Fourth Prince’s route for raising an army, and her shops had been strategically located away from key areas.

Ah Wu then discussed the future plans for Cui Ji with Zi-Yan. Following Liu Jingniang’s advice, she decided that to truly expand Cui Ji throughout the country, it needed to open stores in three tiers: high-end, mid-range, and low-end.

Cui Ji primarily dealt in Cui Embroidery, catering to the aristocratic families of the Great Xia Dynasty. Their proprietary dyeing and weaving formulas, however, appealed to both established families and wealthy merchants, while cotton, linen, and cloth were sold to ordinary people—truly making the most of every penny.

Therefore, Ah Wu now owned not only Cui Ji, but also Four Seasons Brocade and Desheng Cloth Shop. These three businesses had gradually flourished under her management since she saved Liu Jingniang in the 25th year of the Longqing reign. While not comparable to the major textile houses or the generations-old renowned embroidery shops of Jiangnan, they had achieved considerable success.

Cui Embroidery had also gradually gained fame, becoming a coveted item even for the wealthy. However, all of this remained confined to the common people. Now that Ah Wu had returned to the capital, she naturally intended to target the noblewomen and even those in the palace. But this required not only planning but also a stroke of luck.

Ah Wu chatted with Zi-Yan for a while before turning to her most pressing concern, “How is Concubine Wang doing now?”

Zi-Yan’s heart pounded. Her mistress was finally going to use this pawn. “Concubine Wang gave birth to a son for the Eldest Master two years ago, and now she has him completely under her spell. He spends half the month at her house under various pretexts, but I reckon it will not be easy to hide it from the First Madam any longer.”

Before leaving for Jiangnan, Ah Wu entrusted Zi-Yan with the shops in the capital, and another important task was for her to keep an eye on Concubine Wang, helping her if possible, and ensuring her safety.

As a result, Concubine Wang fully demonstrated her skills as a Yangzhou courtesan in winning over the Eldest Master, while the Eldest Master, in turn, displayed his superb ability to conceal his woman and deceive his wife, managing to keep Concubine Wang’s affair a complete secret for several years. Even if the First Madam knew that the Eldest Master had someone else, she would never know that person was Concubine Wang.

After Zi-Yan left, Ah Wu’s jade-like fingers tapped on the small table. After hesitating for less than a quarter of an hour, she made up her mind. Hesitation and indecisiveness only lead to more trouble.

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Since returning to the capital, Lady Cui had many more social engagements. Third Master Rong was the Vice Minister of Rites, and there were many interactions with the families of civil officials. Furthermore, as women of the Duke of Anguo’s family, they also had interactions with other noble families. Lady Cui was so busy that she had to go out every few days. Meanwhile, for Ah Wu’s sake, Lady Cui herself actively visited relatives and friends, eager to learn more about any young men of marriageable age she encountered.

Ah Wu suggested a solution to Lady Cui, saying that in the entire capital, no one knew these noble families better than Madam Jin nee Luo, the Second Madam of the Marquis of Anping.

Lady Cui, heeding this advice, indeed cultivated a close relationship with Lady Luo. Madam Jin nee Luo, being a gossipy woman, loved to discuss everyone’s affairs, which suited Lady Cui’s purposes perfectly. The two gradually became close.

One day, Madam Jin nee Luo arrived uninvited, catching Lady Cui completely off guard. Unless they were close family friends, noblewomen in the capital required an invitation to visit; otherwise, it was considered beneath their dignity. Lady Luo, however, seemed unconcerned and even brought her two daughters with her.