Chapter 66 - Glamour And Fashion

When Jiang Ying Yue woke up the next morning, she once again felt her body filled with energy because of the blood of the Second Prince that was running through her veins. 

The time that she spent in the company of the three princes the previous day was mostly filled with her and Silver explaining to them about the soulbond and what soulmates were. They also came out clean with her and Silver's bond that was never meant to exist and to her surprise, the Princes seemed to accept her relation with Silver even though they did not look too happy about it.

She was also surprised when Wu Xie didn't freak out or become defensive when she mentioned that there was a high chance that he was her third and final destined soulmate. The Third Prince was more focused on complaining to his brothers for not telling him anything about the soulmate thing before he returned to the Capital City.

Fortunately or probably, unfortunately, none of the Princes brought up the topic of the deal that Qing Shan and Wang Shu had mentioned during their second encounter.

According to Qing Shan's words, they had decided to take a step back and let things unfold at a normal pace. They wanted her to learn more about them and their world before they revealed their deal to her and let her made the so-called choice.

Jiang Ying Yue also decided to not pursue the topic as she really was not looking forward to getting into the wrong books of the Princes just in case she didn't like their deal and ended up refusing. Becoming an enemy with her soulmates won't be a pleasing experience for sure..

A soft sigh left Jiang Ying Yue's lips as she recalled the memories of the previous day. So far, she only felt her connection with Wang Shu developing a little bit in a positive direction. As for Qing Shan, his dominating personality clashed directly with her personality that disliked being dominated by anyone and she could tell that it would probably take some time for the two of them to find a balance.

The Third Prince gave her mixed feelings. She could tell that he was so much like her. Just like her, he knew how to use others for his own benefit. Just like her, he knew how to play sweet and kind in front of others while in reality, he was the complete opposite. One moment, he could be all soft and caring while the next moment he could turn into a cold and cruel person. This type of person was the one she dreaded the most because she knew how mean and self-centered they could be. 

But again, she had known the Princes for such a short time. It was completely sensible that she was having problems in deciding what to think of their characters. Since they had decided to give their bond a chance, then she was going to do the same. Let fate decide if she could find the same love and trust in the Princes that she found in Silver.

"My lady, you are glowing today." Li Qi's comment pulled her out of her thoughts as she was the first one to notice as she helped her lady get ready for the day.

"Really? It's probably because I'm excited about the opening ceremony of the 'Glamour and Fashion'. Today, the final batch of furniture and clothes will be arriving and I'm sure by this time tomorrow morning, we will be able to finally open the shop." Jiang Ying Yue answered as she recalled that the current and the coming day were very important to her.

After a lot of thinking, she had changed the name of the store from 'Blessed Silk' to 'Glamour and Fashion'. After all the expenses during the last few days, her treasury which held hundreds of silvers was now completely cleaned off. She was only left with a few silvers and ten copper coins which she needed for buying rations.

As soon as she recalled that she had once again become poor, her happy mood turned sour, making the smile disappear from her lips as she started pondering on how to earn some more silvers.

"My lady, breakfast is ready." Li Qi informed her after the girl was done styling her long hair in a simple hairstyle with a single silver hairpin holding it.

"Alright. Let's go." Jiang Ying Yue stood up from her seat in front of the bronze mirror and headed out of her bed-chamber along with Li Qi. 

- - -

"You... You can design clothes..." 

It seemed like Gu Chen was having a hard time believing that Xiao Yue also had the talent in the clothes section. He just kept staring at the sketches of dresses that she had just shown them.

"Why? Do you think that these are not worth putting some effort into?" Jiang Ying Yue questioned as she looked at her sketches with a doubtful gaze. She had wracked her brain the entire previous night to find a way to mix modern and ancient styles to create something new.

"Don't even think like that. These designs are so good and new in the market. If we really succeeded in creating these beautiful pieces, I'm sure that our store will become popular in no time." Gu Chen excitedly spoke as he once again looked through the sketches all over again.

Seeing his enthusiasm, Jiang Ying Yue was left a little bit surprised. She folded her hands over her chest as she stared at the young master while arching her eyebrows in question. "You want to stay hidden from the prying eyes and don't want to help with the store's business... but look at you now, all happy and eager just thinking about the silvers that will be filtering in the future." 

Her words made the smile on Gu Chen's lips disappear. He turned his eyes towards her as he defended himself. "How can you even say something like that? It's not like you are not aware of my situation. Do you think it will do the shop or even you any good if I decided to openly support the store? It will only lead to unwanted troubles." 

Jiang Ying Yue knew that he was speaking the truth but that did not mean that she was happy to see him getting all giddy while she had to be the one who needed to go broke and stayed up all night to come up with new ideas for dresses.

In the end, she just decided to drop the topic. "Whatever you say. Let's focus on the important matter. I told you that I want you to find someone reliable and also expert in this line of business so that I can let him/her take charge of the store as the manager. How's it going so far?" 

Gu Chen seemed to be hesitant about his answer but when he noticed her cold glare, he just decided to come clean with her. "All the capable candidates are already working under the other stores. So far, I'm unable to find anyone who suits this position and is available."

Jiang Ying Yue took in a deep breath as she tried to think of what to do next. "Keep searching. Other than that, I want you to look for the prices of the different types of fabrics. For now, we will open the store with regular ready-made dresses and cosmetics. It's good to stay low-key before we can get a complete look at the overall situation of the textile market in the Capital City."

Gu Chen nodded his head in understanding and then took his leave as he headed to spend, or waste, some time in the popular tavern a few blocks away from the 'Glamour and Fashion' where he was preparing to show another set of his natural skills. After all, he still needed to keep up the facade of being a good-for-nothing.

A few days ago, Jiang Ying Yue noticed someone looking around the store as if he was trying to search for some knowledge, or more like he was there to find out about the new owner of the store and all the progress.

The good thing was that she had decided to start the business on a small scale. Not only because she was short on money but also because this method would keep the unnecessary people away from her store for the time being as such a small shop was not worth their important time. Another good thing about her small-scale business was that it would give her time to build a good connection with the locals.

Jiang Ying Yue looked through the sketches of the dresses that she had designed. They looked not only beautiful but also graceful. But these dresses were more suited to the ladies of novel families. Since she was starting small, she would need to think of ideas that could impress the general people. And she also had a manager to find.