362 Return to the Capital

With that said, she scolded a few servants standing by the door who were watching the excitement, then turned and returned to the workshop.

Inside the Zhao Embroidery Workshop, customers were enthusiastically discussing the dress worn by Lady Li.

"It's gorgeous. The style of this dress is really unique."

"Yes, indeed. Lady Li looks like a fairy who has descended from the heavens wearing it."

...

Lady Li was all smiles from the compliments. Indeed, the dress was beautiful, and it perfectly accentuated her charms.

It had to be said that Zhao Ya hadn't lied. The dress was genuinely designed with her as the model.

Then, Lady Li inquired about the price of the dress from Zhao Ya. With the new opening, she was prepared to give Zhao Ya a lucky start.

Zhao Ya immediately replied, "Lady Li, this dress was specially designed for you. I intended to give it to you as a gift for the grand opening."

Upon hearing this, Lady Li immediately declined, "How could I accept such an offer?"

At this moment, Zhao Zhitong intervened, "My lady, please consider this a gift of gratitude from us sisters. Please accept it. Otherwise, Sister Yaya will be upset for quite some time."

Although others didn't quite understand her words, Lady Li knew that Zhao Zhitong was referring to how she had helped delay the competition that day.

Lady Li laughed and said, "There's no need to thank me. I didn't help you for any gifts. Besides, shouldn't I give you a lucky start on the first day of your business opening?"

Zhao Zhitong said, "My lady, please accept it. Your coming here today and wearing this dress is the greatest and most meaningful lucky start you could give us. If you don't believe me, just look around."

Following Zhao Zhitong's words, Lady Li finally noticed that the Zhao Embroidery Workshop was already packed with people, and guests had already selected almost all the other embroidered pieces in the shop.

Lady Li immediately understood Zhao Zhitong's intention and stopped refusing. Nodding with a smile, she said, "Then I will respectfully accept your gift."

Afterward, Lady Li graciously accepted the grand opening gift from Zhao Ya.

Just then, Wei Shulan and a few embroiderers came down from the second floor, holding several books. These embroiderers were assistants Zhao Ya's master had recruited for her. After all, one person alone couldn't manage an embroidery workshop. These embroiderers had all been vetted by Yunniang and were deemed trustworthy; they would help Zhao Ya with the shop's tasks. The books they held were today's main event. Seeing this, many ladies in the shop grew quite curious.

Zhao Ya then explained with a smile, "Ladies, this is our newly introduced fashion magazine."

This novel term left everyone even more puzzled.

"Fashion magazine? What is that? Have you heard of it before?"

"No, what is it?"

"I've never heard of it either."

"Miss Zhao, what is a fashion magazine? Stop keeping us in suspense and tell us."

"Yes, tell us quickly."

...

Seeing their confusion, Zhao Ya no longer hesitated and began to explain, "This fashion magazine is my younger sister Tongtong's idea. In the future, our Zhao Embroidery Workshop will announce, every seven days, the new clothes and accessories that would be available in the shop for the upcoming week."

"The models in these booklets are drawn based on the original inspirations for my clothing designs. Just like Lady Li today, who is the inspiration for our first piece, named 'Unparalleled Beauty'."

As she spoke, Wei Shulan instructed the embroiderers to distribute the small booklets to the ladies present.

Still holding the booklets with some confusion, the ladies were amazed once they opened them. Beautiful women adorned with different attires were portrayed in the booklets, each looking as gorgeous and celestial as a fairy descending from the heavens. The first illustration, depicting a beautiful woman, bore a striking resemblance to Lady Li in aura.

For a moment, many ladies engaged in excited speculation about the identities of the remaining six beauties in the booklet. The booklets not only featured illustrations of beautiful women but also showcased suitable matching accessories and makeup styles for each outfit. Some of the novel makeup styles particularly caught the eye of many ladies.

As a result, the fame of the Zhao Embroidery Workshop spread rapidly throughout Suzhou City. The fashion magazine, released every seven days, especially became a trend among the ladies and young misses in their private chambers. Even before the new designs were released, many ladies eagerly anticipated them.

Consequently, Zhao Ya captured a significant portion of the Fei Clan's business. The Fei Clan, surprised by this development, naturally attempted to counter Zhao Ya. However, their efforts, such as price reduction promotions and gift giveaways, were futile against the fashion magazine's momentum.

In the end, the Fei Clan abandoned their pretense of superiority and imitated the 'fashion magazine' concept. With many years of well-established business, the Fei Clan Embroidery Workshop managed to regain some ground, despite being criticized for copying the Zhao Embroidery Workshop's 'fashion magazine' idea. However, Zhao Ya's workshop introduced new clothes and makeup styles weekly, attracting more customers and causing the Fei Clan to suffer significant losses.

Not long before this, Lord Li had been ordered to return to the Capital City. Lady Li held a banquet there and asked Zhao Ya to design her new dress in advance. That day, Lady Li appeared at the banquet wearing the new dress designed by Zhao Ya, stunning the entire room. As a result, clothing from the Zhao Embroidery Workshop became massively popular in the Capital City. Orders from ladies in the Capital City kept pouring in, leaving Sir Fei fuming.

He had been waiting for Zhao Ya to run into trouble so that she would have to join the Fei Clan, allowing him to acquire her embroidery skills. But unexpectedly, not only did Zhao Ya avoid any setbacks, she also took a significant share of his business!

Meanwhile, while Zhao Ya's workshop continued to flourish, trouble arose for Qiao Muchen and his group. Two months after Li Yu was ordered to enter the Capital City, an imperial edict arrived, urgently summoning Qiao Muchen and Zhao Zhitong back to the capital. Although the imperial edict didn't state the reason, Qiao Muchen keenly sensed that something was amiss. Consequently, he prepared to set off without delay.

Since Zhao Ya needed to stay behind to manage her embroidery workshop, she could not accompany them back to the Capital City. However, Zhao Zhitong was worried about leaving Zhao Ya alone in Suzhou. In the end, it was decided that Zhao Ya, Yunniang, Wei Zijian, and Xiao Ge would stay behind, while the others returned to the capital with Qiao Muchen.

On the day of departure, Zhao Zhitong gave Zhao Ya many instructions, making her promise to write often. Only after Zhao Ya's repeated assurances did Zhao Zhitong reluctantly bid her farewell and leave.

By the end of the year, Zhao Zhitong and her companions finally arrived back in the Capital City after their hurried journey. As soon as they reached the palace, Zhao Zhitong was summoned by the emperor. Upon hearing the emperor's words, Zhao Zhitong learned that Song Renying had fallen ill!

When they heard this news, Zhao Zhitong, Qiao Muchen, and the others were shocked.

Saving a life was paramount. Without further delay, Zhao Zhitong was escorted to Song Renying's room. There, she saw the once infinitely wise old man now lying on his bed, pale-faced and seemingly lifeless.