The disgraced official I took care of was actually Zhu Houcong's childhood friend.

Chapter 305

As the Lantern Festival approaches, in addition to the Lu family, some other high-ranking officials and nobles will also hold poetry gatherings. Of course, each social class will only have one or two such gatherings.

For example, among the top circles, once the Lu family announces a poetry gathering, even if others have the same idea, they will cancel it, because no one wants to offend the Lu family, which is currently at its zenith.

In lower social circles, the poetry gatherings would typically be hosted by the wife of a powerful third-rank official, just like the one Sun Jiaojiao and others attended, which was held at Han Yuan'er's home.

However, most daughters of officials of the third rank would not attend such poetry gatherings. Officials of the third rank and above would try to attend such poetry gatherings held by the Lu family to socialize and try to curry favor with higher-ranking officials.

The biggest beneficiary of these poetry gatherings is Yun Gui Fang.

In fact, Yun Gui Fang was already packed every day before the Lunar New Year. Which family doesn't order a few new outfits for the New Year? But after the news of the poetry gathering spread, more and more noble ladies came to Yun Gui Fang to order clothes.

Of course, Yun Gui Fang's business scope has long since expanded beyond clothing to include jewelry, and the quality of Yun Gui Fang's jewelry is much higher than that of other shops.

All of this was because Zhou Chu and the Embroidered Uniform Guard had confiscated too many items in the past year, and countless jewels and ornaments had entered the emperor's private treasury. There was so much that it was almost overflowing. After all, these jewels and ornaments were not like money, which could be piled up at will.

So, more than half a year ago, Jiajing had already started to have these jewelry pieces sold off. Some of them were sold to Yun Gui Fang. Moreover, Jiajing knew that Yun Gui Fang was the business of Princess Deqing and Zhou Chu, so the jewelry sold to Yun Gui Fang was much cheaper.

Of course, Yun Gui Fang's capacity to absorb the remaining jewelry was limited, and most of the jewelry was handed over to imperial merchants for sale.

The imperial merchants of the Ming Dynasty used to have a miserable life, barely making any money. After all, working for the royal family involved many rules and regulations, and they had to be very meticulous in everything they did. They would rather not make any money than make a mistake.

However, the situation of the imperial merchants improved greatly that year. They were not only able to obtain white sugar and glassware from Jiangnan to sell throughout the Ming Dynasty, but the jewelry, antiques and calligraphy that the emperor had given them over the past six months were enough to make them very wealthy.

However, the quantity of these items was too large, and even for imperial merchants distributed throughout the Ming Dynasty, it would take a certain amount of time to sell them slowly.

Things lose their value when there's too much of them, and the imperial merchants naturally understood this principle, so even if they had a lot of inventory, they wouldn't take it all out at once.

To buy a decent outfit, Qin Wan took out the money she had earned from writing storybooks for several years and asked her mother for two hundred taels of silver.

This amount of money was a considerable expense for their family.

Neither Qin's father nor Qin's mother objected. For the Qin family, being able to participate in such a poetry gathering was already an honor. As a family of scholars, they would not lose face because of this. Therefore, they readily agreed with Qin Wan's idea of ​​going to Yun Gui Fang to buy clothes.

"Is two hundred taels enough?"

Qin's mother said with some concern.

She had heard about the prices of clothes in Yun Gui Fang, but even she couldn't bear to buy a single piece.

"Don't worry, Mother, I've saved up some money."

Qin Wan dared not say that she had made a lot of money writing novels. She didn't even dare to imagine what kind of disaster it would be if her parents found out about her pen name.

"That's good. When we go to the Lu family this time, we shouldn't try to show off. Only young ladies and gentlemen from high-ranking families can attend. It's already good enough that we from humble families can participate. Just don't embarrass the Qin family."

Qin's mother instructed.

"I know, Mother."

Qin Wan said obediently.

Qin Wan took the money and headed straight for Yun Gui Fang with her maid.

Soon, the two arrived at Yun Gui Fang. Yun Gui Fang was even more bustling than usual at this time. The entire shop was full of people, and judging from their attire, they were mostly daughters of officials or servants of wealthy families.

"Everyone, there's no need to rush. Let's take it one at a time; that will be faster."

Shen Qing clapped his hands and shouted.

Upon seeing Shen Qing, Qin Wan's eyes lit up. She knew Shen Qing; she had even visited Yun Gui Fang to see him before, and Qin Wan had even written a story about Shen Qing and Zhou Chu.

The woman used to have a confident and powerful aura in her eyes, which made people subconsciously believe what she said.

This made Qin Wan extremely envious. She had lived in the inner quarters for a long time and rarely went out. The woman she admired most was Shen Qing, a confident and powerful woman.

"Miss, we are really lucky today. Manager Shen runs so many Yun Gui Fang stores, and she has rarely shown her face since her wedding. I guess she only came out because Yun Gui Fang has been too busy lately."

Qin Wan's maid naturally knew her thoughts. Usually, the only person she could confide in was her personal maid, and only this maid knew her pen name.

The maid knew what Qin Wan was thinking just by looking at the gleam in her eyes.

"You were really lucky."

Qin Wan smiled.

Qin Wan waited in line for about fifteen minutes before finally getting to Shen Qing.

"Hello, are you looking to buy ready-made clothing or have it custom-made?"

Shen Qing looked at Qin Wan and asked.

If they were buying fabric, they wouldn't have lined up in front of her; someone else would have served them.

"If it's a custom order, how long will it take to make? Is it possible before the Lantern Festival?"

Qin Wan said somewhat nervously.

"Yes, we at Yun Gui Fang have trained a large number of embroiderers in the past year. They can definitely make them. Do you have any designs? Or would you like us to help design them?"

Shen Qing's tone of voice made Qin Wan feel very comfortable, like a spring breeze, which was a stark contrast to the powerful aura she had just exuded.

After saying this, Shen Qing took out several blueprints for Qin Wan to refer to.

"These are just sample designs; we can discuss specific requirements later."

Shen Qing said.

"For this one, embroider a flowing cloud pattern in this area..."

Qin Wan pointed to one of the drawings and began to state her customization requirements.

Shen Qing listened and took notes, quickly memorizing all of Qin Wan's requirements.

"This is a deposit."

As Qin Wan spoke, she took out a one-hundred-tael silver note and handed it to Shen Qing.

"You can have someone pick it up the day before the Lantern Festival, or you can come in person. If the size is not right, it can be altered on the spot."

Shen Qing smiled.

"Ok."

After Qin Wan finished speaking with Shen Qing, she felt lightheaded. Only then did she understand Shen Qing's charm. No wonder this woman could support Yun Gui Fang. Even Qin Wan, who rarely went out, looked forward to coming back to Yun Gui Fang to buy clothes again after shopping here once, preferably with Shen Qing serving her.

Soon, the Lantern Festival arrived. Qin Wan went to Yun Gui Fang to pick up her custom-made horse-face skirt, put it on, and was very satisfied.

It wasn't that she didn't want to customize the Liu Yun Zhao, it was just that the Liu Yun Zhao was too expensive, even she couldn't afford it.

Moreover, those in the capital who can afford to wear Liu Yunzhao are basically daughters of officials of the third rank or above. Even if Qin Wan could afford it, she wouldn't wear it. She understands the principle of what kind of person wears what kind of clothes.

"Miss, do you think Lord Zhou will show up at the poetry gathering?"

On the day of the Lantern Festival, the Lu family's poetry gathering was about to begin. Before Qin Wan went out, her maid said with some anticipation.

"Should I?"

Qin Wan asked somewhat uncertainly.