Letter from the Palace

The heavy monsoon ensued after the departure of Lu Tong Xiao. Bai Yu Yan got busier with her shop which was already getting a fair amount of customers on a daily basis. Words had spread in the noble circle about the fashionable and high-quality clothes in the Silver Closet which raised the popularity of the shop with the females of the capital.

After much practice, Bai Yu Yan's hands were becoming deft in the impeccable embroidery which now was second to none. Her embroidery was delicate and clean with a distinct style of her own. When matched to her design, each pattern in the dresses she made were life-like and attractive.

Her days passed just like that, busy with the shop and learning new designs that would be more suitable for the ancient time.

The orders from customers were rapidly increasing, not giving a single minute for her and the staff to remain idle. Seeing this, Manager Gao suggested, "Boss, how about we hire more tailors? The orders have doubled since last week. If this goes on, we won't be able to finish the orders in time."

The two of them were inside Bai Yu Yan's spacious office where she was drawing new designs on blank sheets of paper. Staring at the paper, she would occasionally frown and bite her lips while focusing on the drawing.

The freshly brewed tea on her side had already gone cold. Xiao Fan had become used to it and would regularly come to change the tea in her cup lest her Miss got a stomach ache from the cold tea.

Bai Yu Yan put down the charcoal stick on the table and looked at Manager Gao who had come to report the weekly sales. She leaned back on the chair and asked, "Do we have difficulty finishing the order with the current number of staff?" She was concerned if the workload might affect their performance which she didn't want.

Manager Gao calculated it and honestly answered, "No, Boss. We can still manage with our workers. But if the order increases with the same rate, it will be difficult to finish the orders on time. Also, we can take more orders if we have more workers."

They had given a very large order for the fabric and other raw materials for their shop. So Bai Yu Yan could understand his intention. She turned around to look outside the window right behind her working desk where she could see the busy street below. Zhongyuan street was always bustling with people who come to shop, eat or just roam the vibrant street filled with the chatter of buyers and sellers.

The scene caused by Song Mei Lin, fortunately, turned out to be in Bai Yu Yan's favour which helped in free promotion of her shop which eventually brought her more customers.

Manager Gao intended to use this opportunity to expand the shop by hiring more workers and taking more customers' orders. With this, their shop could expand and their turnover would grow drastically.

Bai Yu Yan pointed down at the street vendor which had a long line of customers and asked, "Manager Gao, why is there such a long line of people in that vendor?"

Stretching his neck to look outside, he answered, "Boss, that's a jiaozi vendor. It's very famous in this area. People come from far away to eat the jiaozi from this shop. The old man of this vendor makes the most authentic and delicious jiaozi in the whole capital. I've eaten it many times, Boss, it's very tasty. You should also try it once." Manager Gao was excited when talking about the food.

Bai Yu Yan nodded her head and asked in curiosity, "So many people eat from this shop and that old man is making everything by himself. Why doesn't he keep more workers to help him?"

Since Manager Gao had been managing this shop for quite some time, he knew about the vendor. "The old man had once tried to hire a helping boy but suddenly the number of customers coming to his shop decreased. Later, the old man heard the complaint that jiaozi made by the new boy wasn't comparable to what the old man-made. So he dismissed the boy he had hired and made jiaozi all by himself. Many of his customers returned after that but it still wasn't the same as before."

At that moment, Manager Gao head jerked towards Bai Yu Yan. He had a sudden understanding of why she was asking him about the old man's jiaozi shop.

"Boss, now I understand. We cannot hire more workers," shouted Manager Gao.

Bai Yu Yan propped her chin on her fist and looked at him with a light smile.

"The reason why people are coming to Silver Closet is for the design and authentic fabric that we sell. We can provide the best service to a certain number of customers but beyond that, it will be difficult to maintain the same value of service. The quality of the fabric will decrease as the fabrics we use are already rare, to begin with," analyzed Manager Gao seriously. He looked at Bai Yu Yan with respect and said, "Moreover, we only have you as our designer. If your workload increases more than what you already have, then there will be compromisation in the design when trying to mass-produce it."

Bai Yu Yan knew that Manager Gao was not stupid but just needed a little push sometimes. "Remember, we are striving for quality rather than quantity. As long as I can earn enough to operate this shop and give you all your salary, I don't mind what little profit remains." Her husband is rich after all, she thought and smiled to herself.

In the middle of their discussion, there was a knock on the door. Bai Yu Yan always left the door of her office open if there was any male inside her office. Knocking on the open door to interrupt them was Xiao Fan who came inside holding a letter in her hand.

"Miss, the order has been sent out. The fabric and other materials will arrive by the end of next week," reported Xiao Fan, "And the Third Princess has sent a letter addressed to you."

With a nod, Bai Yu Yan took the letter from her hand and opened it. She hadn't met Li Ling since the latter was injured in the restaurant when they were eavesdropping outside Fan Li Wei's room. She wondered why the girl had sent her a letter.

Xiao Fan had also brought fresh peaches which she cut in similar size and placed the plate on the desk. She always made sure that Bai Yu Yan ate fresh fruit in the afternoon to dispel the heat of the summer.

Munching on the juicy peach, Bai Yu Yan read the letter. There was a long explanation of Li Ling regarding the severity of her wound and how much she was suffering because of it. Then she had mentioned how the doctor had told her that she could be disfigured for life but she still kept the secret from Consort Shu and the emperor about where she got the injury from. Indirectly implying that she was saving Bai Yu Yan and doing her a favour.

Bai Yu Yan found it quite funny. She could already imagine Li Ling's angry expression while writing this letter complaining about why she didn't visit her even once all this time when she was injured.

It wasn't that Bai Yu Yan had never thought of visiting Li Ling after she got injured. But she was hesitant to go to the palace after what happened the last time when she was there for the banquet. The matters of the royal palace and the people living there were complex and the women in the harem schemed on a daily basis as if they were just breathing.

Bai Yu Yan experienced it first hand and wanted to stay away from the royal family members if she had the choice. But since Li Ling had invited her with a personal letter, Bai Yu Yan could no longer avoid it. It seems that she has to make a trip to the palace.