It was noon.
Nangong Meijiao and Aunt Mu came out of the last shop with hot cheeks.
They went to seven stores in a row throughout the morning.
I visited almost all the shops in the inner city, but without exception, I was politely rejected.
No one wants to hang such shameful clothing in a store.
Although they were all very respectful, said nice things to her, and even begged her, in the end no one dared to agree to her request.
Although these seven shops are all owned by the Southern Prince's Mansion, there is competition between the shops.
If someone doesn't sell well, not only will the store owner have to close down, but the store may also be closed.
So no one dared to take the risk of agreeing to her request, even though she was the princess of the Southern Prince's Mansion.
Nangong Meijiao stood on the street, frowning, thinking about the looks of those people just now, her cheeks still hot, and she suddenly felt a little regretful.
If nothing unexpected happens, those people will definitely tell the people in the palace, and then spread it to my mother and even my father...
"Damn it! How could I, a princess, agree to such a shameful and humiliating thing! It's all because of that shameless bastard who designed such clothes. I clearly made a bet with him, so why did I help him?"
She clenched her fists and couldn't help but curse angrily under her breath.
Aunt Mu stood aside, holding a black package in her hand, with an equally embarrassed expression on her face.
Nangong Mei said arrogantly: "Let's go to Qin's house. We don't care about this matter anymore."
Aunt Mu followed silently behind.
There are no horse-drawn carriages out today, so I can only go to the crossroads to hire one.
But when they were about to reach Moxue Bookstore, Nangong Meijiao suddenly stopped again, looked towards the bookstore in front of her, her face changed for a while, and she turned around and asked, "Auntie Mu, does Xueyi have many friends?"
Aunt Mu thought for a moment after hearing this and said, "Miss Xueyi often goes out to attend various literary gatherings. She has a good relationship with the ladies in other royal and marquisate mansions. She should have a lot of friends."
Nangong Meijiao said with a cold face: "Then tell me, if this kind of clothes is given to her, will she be able to do it?"
Aunt Mu glanced at her face and said, "Ms. Xueyi only knows daughters of wealthy families. They probably wouldn't be interested in such clothes. Besides, I guess Miss Xueyi wouldn't dare to show such clothes to others."
Nangong Meijiao sneered: "That's not necessarily true. If Luo Qingzhou came in person to ask her for help, do you think she would shamelessly help him sell it?"
Aunt Mu didn't dare say anything else.
Nangong Meijiao glanced at the bookstore in front of her again, then suddenly turned around and said, "She has friends, so why don't I have any? Let's go on."
Aunt Mu followed behind without saying anything.
Cross several streets.
Nangong Meijiao stopped at the intersection with a frustrated look on her face, looking around blankly, and muttered: "Well, I really don't have any friends..."
She sighed and said, "Auntie Mu, who should we ask for help? I promised Wei Mo, and I can't break my promise."
Auntie Mu thought about it carefully, and suddenly an idea came to her mind. She said, "Miss, we actually have a shop that specializes in custom outerwear and underwear. But that shop is not on the main road, and the business is not very good. Compared with other shops, it has been at the bottom for two consecutive years, so we plan to close it this year. But there are still a few months, we can try there."
Nangong Meijiao said helplessly: "Let's go, no matter whether it can be sold or not, as long as we can hang it there, even if I have completed the task assigned to me by Wei Mo, I will not be too ashamed to see her."
The two walked through the alleys and went to the west of the inner city, and soon came to a street.
It was noon and there were still many people on the streets.
Aunt Mu walked in front with the package and soon entered a clothing store.
Besides a young woman, there was only a maid in the shop. The two of them were sitting in the shop and talking boredly.
There were no customers coming into the huge shop.
This is when the sun is at its hottest, and women are afraid of getting their skin tanned, so they rarely go out shopping.
After Aunt Mu brought Nangong Meijiao in, the young woman and the maid thought that there were guests coming in and hurriedly stood up to greet them.
But when she saw the person coming, the young woman was surprised and quickly walked over and said, "Sister Mu, what brings you here? Please come in. Do you want to see some clothes?"
Aunt Mu pointed at Nangong Meijiao in the back and introduced her, "Xu Mei, this is Miss Meijiao. I have nothing to do today, so I came to your shop to take a look and to talk to you about something."
Xu Mei was shocked when she heard this, and quickly bowed and said, "Xu greets the young lady. I didn't know that the young lady came the day before yesterday. I am sorry for not welcoming you in person. Please forgive me."
She secretly wondered in her heart, this young lady never cares about these things, why did she suddenly come here today
Nangong Meijiao had something to ask for, so she said politely, "Aunt Xu, you're welcome. I just happened to come here today."
Then he continued, "I heard from Aunt Mu that your store will be closed this year, right?"
Xu Mei's heart skipped a beat, and she said with an unpleasant expression, "Miss, it's us who are useless. Our sales have been at the bottom for the past two years, and we can't sell many clothes..."
Nangong Meijiao waved her hand and walked into the store. While looking at the clothes hanging there, she said, "Don't be afraid. I'm not here to question you today. I'm just here to take a look and ask for your help."
Xu Mei was surprised when she heard this, and immediately said, "Miss, if you have anything to ask, just tell me. There's no need to ask for help. This is embarrassing for me."
Nangong Meijiao walked into the inner room again, observed for a while, and asked, "Why are the clothes here not selling well? Do you know the reason?"
Xu Mei said quickly: "My lord, first, there is a clothing store at the end of the street. The fabrics we use are inferior to ours, but the prices are cheaper. In the shops on the street, there are many clothes imported from other countries with new and unique styles, so we can't compete. Second, the flow of people here is not as good as the main road, and the other seven stores are in better locations, so we can't sell as well. Third, it may also be that Xiaohuan and I are indeed not as good as the people in other stores..."
After listening to this, Nangong Meijiao said, "Aunt Xu, if this store closes, where will you go?"
Xu Mei's eyes suddenly turned red, and she said, "Miss, if this store is really closed, Xiaohuan and I may have nothing to do. We have several stores competing with each other, and the one at the bottom will be eliminated in the end..."
At this point, she rubbed her eyes and begged, "Miss, can you go back and tell Manager Ning that if this store is closed, don't drive us away, let Xiaohuan and I go to other stores to help out, and pay us less so that we can have something to eat, okay? I have children to raise at home, and Xiaohuan has a younger brother to raise..."
Nangong Meijiao frowned and said, "Don't worry, I won't chase you away. If our store doesn't want you, I will help you find a new store. Aunt Xu, I came here today just for the new store. I have a bellyband and a pair of stockings here. I want to hang them here to see the effect. Do you think it's okay?"
Upon hearing this, Xu Mei immediately expressed her gratitude, "Of course, Miss, just bring it over. Not just one, ten will do."
Nangong Meijiao showed an unnatural look on her face, turned to look at Aunt Mu and said, "Take it out and show it to Aunt Xu."
Aunt Mu unpacked the package, took out the bellyband and the pair of stockings from inside, and spread them out in front of her.
Xu Mei: “…”
The maid behind her suddenly opened her eyes wide and blushed.
Nangong Meijiao said awkwardly: "Aunt Xu, we'll just hang it here for three days. If it doesn't sell, we'll come and take it away. Is that okay with you?"
Xu Mei opened her mouth, hesitated for a moment, and said respectfully: "Miss, this dress... I'm afraid it will be difficult to sell."
Nangong Meijiao saw the expression on her face and knew that she regretted it. She made up her mind and immediately ordered, "Auntie Mu, go hang the bellyband and stockings in the inner room. We will come back to pick them up in three days."
Aunt Mu was stunned for a moment and immediately went into the house.
"Miss, this..."
Seeing this, Xu Mei wanted to stop it, but she didn't dare. She said with a bitter face: "Miss, this dress... this dress... can't be sold. It's too... Hey..."
Nangong Meijiao said shamelessly: "It's okay, your shop will be closed soon anyway, so even if people laugh at you, what does it matter? Aunt Xu, you are not willing to help me with even this little thing?"
At this time, Aunt Mu had already hung up her bellyband and stockings and came out of the house.
Xu Mei secretly complained in her heart, but seeing that the matter was settled, she could only force a smile on her face and said, "Since Miss wants to hang it up, then hang it up. Miss is right, the store will be closed this year anyway, it doesn't matter, hey..."
Nangong Meijiao was afraid that she would regret it, so she didn't dare to stay any longer and said, "Aunt Xu, thank you. You don't have to take the initiative to introduce the bellyband and stockings to the guests. If they go into the inner room, they will naturally see them. It doesn't matter if they don't see them. Anyway, we will come to pick them up on time in three days, and we won't delay your business."
After saying that, he said goodbye to Aunt Mu and left.
"Why… "
Xu Mei sent them to the door, and when she saw them both walking away, she sighed.
Xiao Huan said weakly from behind: "You can see inside those bellybands and stockings... I'm afraid that if customers see them, they will scold us for being shameless and selling such things..."
Xu Mei turned around and said with a wry smile: "Forget it, it's only for three days anyway, the princess will take it away after three days, it doesn't matter if it affects our reputation, anyway our store can't continue to operate..."
Xiao Huan whispered: "It will definitely not sell, who would buy it?"
In the afternoon.
Three waves of guests came in, and only one wave went into the inner room to look at underwear and other garments.
One of the women saw the strange bellyband and stockings and her eyes widened: "Such... Such embarrassing clothes..."
When the other women saw this, they were also speechless.
"Is this kind of clothing... wearable? Look, you can see inside. The middle of this bellyband is actually split, and it's only tied with a thin string. It can't even cover the belly underneath..."
"Touch these stockings, they feel so soft and smooth, but when I wear them on my legs, it's like I'm not wearing anything, and they're flesh-colored... So embarrassing, like I'm not wearing pants..."
"It's so embarrassing, so shameful..."
Several women were talking in the inner room for a long while, then came out with red faces and spat, "What a filthy shop! We will never come here again."
Xu Mei and Xiao Huan immediately lowered their heads in shame, not daring to talk back, and were unable to cry.
At this time, the news also reached the Prince of Southern Kingdom’s Mansion.
The princess immediately sent someone out to bring Nangong Meijiao back home and asked her what she had been doing that morning.
Nangong Meijiao knew that the truth had been exposed and did not dare to hide it, so she told everything.
After hearing this, the princess thought that it was the Qin Mansion's business, so she didn't pursue it any further. She just scolded him: "You are a princess, next time don't show up in public to do such things, just let the servants do it, so as not to make a fool of yourself."
He added: "After three days, you must take it away. You are not allowed to bring it here again."
After hearing the scolding, Nangong Meijiao left in frustration.
When she returned to the room, she became angrier and angrier, thinking to herself: It's all that bastard's fault, I must go find him to vent my anger today.
She took Aunt Mu and Aunt Jiu out of the house and went straight to the outer city.
At this time, Song Ruyue had already entered the Zhou Mansion with several of her friends and was eating melon seeds and chatting in the back garden.
Liu Honghua, the second wife of the Zhou family, accompanied them in person.
From time to time, bursts of laughter could be heard from the back garden, attracting other guests to glance over.
A few middle-aged men passed by and chatted on purpose, stole a few glances, and whispered, "What a pretty lady, look at the one wearing the moon-white dress..."
"It's really top-notch. Whose is it?"
"I don't know. I'll ask my sister-in-law later."
In the evening.
After leaving the martial arts hall, Luo Qingzhou, Sister Dao, and Chu Xiaoxiao headed towards Zhou Mansion together.
Chu Xiaoxiao chattered all the way and looked very excited.