Chapter 2849: A Dilemma of a Letter

And so the matter was resolved through the "Summary Procedure," much like the countless petty disputes that arose daily in East Gate Market. Once the police arrived, the Qu family offered their apologies, paid compensation for the damaged store items, and accepted a fifty-yuan fine for "disturbing business order." With that, the incident was officially closed.

He Xiaoyue and Guo Xi'er did warn the Qu family contingent that this was Australian Song, not the Great Ming. Should they do anything excessive to Zhou Suniang upon returning home, they would face legal sanctions. Beyond this, however, there was truly nothing more they could do.

As Zhou Suniang was leaving, He Xiaoyue glanced at her, struck by the thought of how this woman had taken such an enormous risk to come here for Wu Xinsheng's sake—while she herself had tried every possible means to decline helping. A pang of guilt struck her. She opened her mouth to offer some words of comfort, but before she could speak, Zhou Suniang turned and walked away. He Xiaoyue watched her disappear at the end of the corridor, surrounded by several maids.

"What a mess!" Guo Xi'er let out a long sigh. "Zhou Suniang really is something else! What's so special about Old Wu anyway? Why does it have to be him?"

He Xiaoyue said nothing. She couldn't shake the feeling that something about today's events had been inappropriate—something that left her conscience unsettled.

Now that Zhou Suniang had returned, she would inevitably suffer for this. Even though she was favored, a female family member venturing out without permission was a grave offense in any wealthy household. The Madam had every justification to punish her—and to make matters worse, her protective talisman, Master Qu, was away.

The more she thought about it, the guiltier she felt. If she had known this would happen, she should have simply accepted the letter, sparing Zhou Suniang the need to make these dangerous trips again and again.

Yet if she truly helped connect her with Wu Xinsheng, wouldn't the aftermath be even more difficult to untangle? She sighed inwardly. Actually, if the two of them simply eloped, that would settle everything cleanly. The Qu family could only fume in helpless rage...

While she was caught in this internal tug-of-war, a perceptive salesgirl brought fresh tea for the guests to help them "calm their nerves."

The fragrance wafted through the studio, rich and soothing, easing their momentarily troubled states of mind.

"A perfectly good day, ruined!" Guo Xi'er continued muttering. "I had planned to finish two more sketches this afternoon."

He Xiaoyue had no desire to chat. She casually pulled up the blinds. The sunlight poured in, blindingly white, making her feel dizzy.

A familiar fear suddenly gripped her—memories from her childhood, when her own mother had been ostracized by the first wife in their household. That feeling of being helpless, alone, and trembling with terror. The fear that others would stop loving her, would no longer want her. That she would have to abandon all dignity and kneel just to survive...

He Xiaoyue sensed vaguely that she shouldn't dwell on such thoughts anymore.

She drew a deep breath, shook her head, and was about to return to the design room when something caught her eye—a paper edge protruding from a crevice in the reception room's sofa.

The color and pattern... it appeared to be the letter Zhou Suniang had just asked her to deliver to Wu Xinsheng.

Without further thought, He Xiaoyue hurried over and pulled the paper free. It was indeed the letter. The envelope was the kind custom-made for wealthy families, with subdued tones and elegant patterns. Not a single word graced the cover—only Zhou Suniang's personal seal affixed to the closure.

The envelope felt very thin; there was likely just a single sheet of letter paper inside, with no other enclosures.

Zhou Suniang must have deliberately tucked it there. He Xiaoyue understood at once—She still harbors that intention. With an inward sigh, she found herself no longer feeling as repulsed by the matter as before. After a moment's thought, she slipped the letter into her pocket.

She didn't tell Guo Xi'er about it. Not only would Guo be unable to offer any useful ideas, but she would also probably chatter about it until the whole world knew.

Back in the design room, He Xiaoyue immediately threw herself into work. Recently, Wanzi Pavilion had hired Senator Liu Shuixin as a "Consultant" and was promoting "New Fashion." Beyond catering to wealthy households, they had also begun considering the "light luxury" demands of the upper-middle class among naturalized citizens. Following this creative direction, He Xiaoyue had been racking her brains over new design drafts.

Ever since the "Drizzle on Duckweed" design she first led had performed well, both the long and short versions had achieved considerable success—though orders for the short version came mostly from female Senators and those in their circles. The matter of skirt length simply couldn't be rushed.

Nevertheless, He Xiaoyue had since become a prime candidate for Liu Shuixin's personal cultivation. Anyone could read fashion books; copying styles from the old timeline would provide enough material for decades. But cultivating genuine "fashion sense"—that was a discipline both scientific and intuitive. Designers like Guo Xi'er, who relied on flipping through Reference Materials and cobbling things together, would be a dime a dozen in the future. But individuals with natural fashion intuition were rare indeed.

Talents like He Xiaoyue likely existed in abundance among the naturalized citizens—they simply hadn't been discovered yet. When Pei Lixiu had been in Lingao, she mentioned bringing fashion magazines to Guangzhou to spark a new wave of style and unearth fashion talents. At the time, Liu Shuixin had merely echoed the sentiment, but now she was giving it serious consideration.

Liu Shuixin understood well that changing clothing habits couldn't happen overnight. She had always scoffed at the rhetoric of those who claimed "changing customs must start with skirt length." The conservatism or openness of women's clothing was directly tied to social environment and women's status within it. Women in the civilized world of the old timeline could unabashedly wear short skirts and off-shoulder tops because, in that environment, such attire was unremarkable in others' eyes. They faced neither moral criticism nor physical attacks for their choices.

In today's Lingao, women's clothing had become considerably more open over the past decade. While the trend-following effect driven by the Senate's influence played a role, the fundamental reason was the improvement of women's social standing. He Xiaoyue's own transformation was the clearest proof of this.

Changing customs was easy to proclaim but difficult to achieve. Lingao was a blank canvas, simple to paint upon. But Guangzhou had deep-rooted traditional culture, and its public order couldn't compare to Lingao's.

Liu Shuixin had pondered at length how to crack open the market and how to "change customs." Promoting through Purple Ming Pavilion was the wrong approach; these were ordinary clothes, and they shouldn't be too closely associated with the... special services of Purple Ming Pavilion, lest women be afraid to wear them in public. Opening a shop in the Great World? It seemed straightforward but presented significant problems—who would actually buy these things? The female family members of Guangzhou's wealthy households? They couldn't be counted on.

Liu Shuixin thought long and hard. Apart from opening a Guangzhou version of Wanzi Pavilion—which held some practical promise—she couldn't devise any other methods, so the matter had been shelved for now.

Though no clear strategy had emerged yet, talent cultivation could proceed in the meantime. Under her direction, He Xiaoyue had been formally appointed by Wanzi Pavilion as an Assistant Designer and enrolled in systematic design studies. Assistant Designer represented a step up from her previous position as Trainee Designer.

This afternoon, Liu Shuixin was coming to Wanzi Pavilion to "guide the work" and incidentally review the "homework" she had assigned to He Xiaoyue.

The outfit currently taking shape on He Xiaoyue's drafting board was a women's ensemble intended for sale in "New Areas" like Guangzhou. Thematically, it fell under "Han Element" fashion. This type of design was a common project for Wanzi Pavilion; He Xiaoyue had created several before. But this time, Liu Shuixin had pointedly raised the concept of sales regions: "It must fit the needs of customers in New Areas like Guangzhou."

That statement was worth pondering. It meant the design not only had to be "attractive," "fresh in style," and "incorporate traditional elements"—it also had to cater to "demand."

Yet this demand was the most elusive aspect of all. Liu Shuixin had discussed concepts like "customer personas" and "cultural conflict" with her, but for He Xiaoyue, truly understanding and applying these ideas remained somewhat beyond her grasp. No matter how she pondered, the resulting drafts always seemed to be missing something.

"This Australian Newspeak is really hard to understand." He Xiaoyue gazed at the sketch on her drafting board and sighed. Never mind Liu Shuixin—even she herself was dissatisfied with what she saw.

While she was fretting over this, the salesgirl pushed open the design room door again, peering in tentatively.

"What is it?" Guo Xi'er looked up, startled.

"Master Wu is here!"

At this, both He Xiaoyue and Guo Xi'er's expressions turned incredulous: Did those two arrange this?!

After Wu Xinsheng had returned, he had sent a liaison letter. Originally, besides escorting the female workers from the Nansha Mill back for training, he had also brought two others—they were scheduled to learn lace-making techniques at Wanzi Pavilion's garment factory, with plans to promote it as a household sideline industry upon their return.

But when he had contacted them regarding business matters that time, Wu Xinsheng had shown nothing unusual, nor had he expressed any interest in a certain customer.

Could this simply be coincidence? He Xiaoyue was filled with suspicion.

Should she give him the letter? In her heart, she sympathized deeply with Zhou Suniang. The woman had gone to such extraordinary lengths, risking danger time and again to transmit that letter. If she received no response whatsoever, wouldn't that be too cruel?

But if she handed it over, the situation could spiral beyond anyone's control. If it caused a scandal, Zhou Suniang and Wu Xinsheng would suffer—and she herself would be implicated as well.

She struggled internally for a long while, unable to decide whether to surrender the letter.

Before she could make up her mind, Wu Xinsheng had already arrived. Since leaving for Nansha, he had grown thinner and more sun-darkened, but his features appeared sharper than during his days at Wanzi Pavilion. Upon entering the design room, he greeted them with warm enthusiasm.

"Sister Xi!" "Xiaoyue!"

"Oh my, Brother Xinsheng!" Guo Xi'er didn't have the letter, nor did she carry as many worries as He Xiaoyue. Seeing an old acquaintance, she immediately welcomed him with open arms. "What brings you here?"

"Coming to catch up." Judging by Wu Xinsheng's expression, he seemed quite pleased, without a trace of worry clouding his features. "Also coming to ask a favor."

(End of Chapter)