Expelled from the Duke's mansion, the fake heiress is richer than a country.

Yu Wanran opened the note and looked at it. It clearly listed the shop name, owner information, competitor information, and address.

Narrow down your search, and with a bit of luck, you might find your target within two days.

Satisfied, she led her father and brothers through the streets and alleys, searching for cloth merchants. Directly trying to sell them red velvet grass wouldn't work; the merchants had no need for it, were indifferent to buying, and wouldn't offer a high price.

She was determined to find the fabric merchant who had strict requirements for dyeing.

What I thought would be a simple matter turned into two days of searching for twelve cloth merchants, only to find that none of them had a particular need for red dye.

She carefully examined the red cloth in each cloth shop; the color was average, not particularly vibrant. Moreover, it was said that in the last generation, cloth merchants used red grass to dye finished products that would even glow at night.

How could there be no demand for this? Perhaps the time isn't right yet?

She walked out of the last cloth shop on the list, feeling dejected.

Yu Man, who already felt the whole thing was unlikely, was disappointed but managed to comfort her daughter, "Ranran, if we can't find that cloth merchant, let's just forget about it. We can ask other cloth merchants if they need this."

Wild, unripe grass is good enough to sell for a little money. But the journey of transporting it all the way to the capital is too costly.

Yu Wanran was unwilling to give up. Most of the dyeing workshops and cloth shops didn't even listen to her finish speaking before dismissing them for their unfashionable attire. A small number, however, claimed to have family secret recipes that didn't require improvement.

If they can't find the legendary cloth merchant, they probably won't be able to sell the red velvet grass at a high price.

Yu Wanran considered staying in the capital for a while longer to search slowly. Little did she know, no sooner had they stepped out of the cloth shop than a man who had been watching their movements from across the street stealthily followed them.

Fearing that her father and brothers would be alarmed, Yu Wanran kept quiet. In broad daylight, under the emperor's nose, she figured the other side wouldn't dare do anything evil.

Only after getting out of the cloth shop's line of sight did the man quicken his pace and hurriedly catch up with the three.

"Old man, do you have any secret dyeing formulas?"

The father and his two daughters turned around in surprise. They saw a round, plump man wearing a loose, royal blue silk robe, with a worn-out fur coat over it. He had only run a few steps, yet his chubby face was covered in cold sweat.

The Yu father and son were unsure how to answer, and both looked at Yu Wanran.

Yu Wanran's heart skipped a beat, but she remained calm on the surface: "We don't have a secret recipe, but we have herbs that can extract pure red color!"

How pure is it?

The fat businessman pressed for an answer.

He had recently heard rumors that a princess from the royal family was about to be married but disliked the dull red of the wedding dresses available on the market. If he could improve the formula and dye the dress the purest and most vibrant red, wouldn't that save the family business from its precarious state?

Yu Man asked warily, "How did you know we were selling grass?"

City people are very cunning.

The fat businessman smiled.

"Have you been wandering around these streets for the past couple of days, inquiring about this matter?"

The guy who told him the news was just passing it on as a joke, and he was immediately intrigued.

The large workshop held itself in high regard and distrusted anything of dubious origin. But it was willing to try something new and innovate. What if it succeeded?

If you remain stagnant and don't improve your dyeing recipes, you'll never be able to compete with those big cloth merchants and dyeing workshop owners.

After glancing around cautiously, the portly merchant extended an invitation to the father and his two daughters: "My surname is Wei, and my given name is Yu Cai. It's not convenient to talk here, so please come with me back to my shop to discuss this further."

The other person even gave his name, so the three of them lowered their guard a little and followed him, turning left and right, into an alley.

This alley was lined with small shops, mostly dye houses. But the information the gossipmonger gave them all pointed to large shops, which explained why they hadn't found this place before.

Wei Yucai led them into one of the shops. A black signboard bore three large, gilded characters: Ruicaifang.

Ahead was a small stall selling fabric. Passing through the passageway into the backyard, the first thing you saw were eight dyeing vats, each three or four feet in diameter. Several workers were busily moving about, hanging the newly dyed fabric on rows of ropes to dry.

This took up a small space, and the Yu family had to watch their step carefully, afraid of damaging someone else's tools.

Wei Yucai led the guests into the main house, personally poured three cups of tea, and placed them on the peeling wooden table next to the guests with a slight apology.

"My family's little shop has been passed down from my grandfather's generation. It hasn't been improved in many years, so please excuse the poor quality of it!"

A seasoned businessman has a keen eye; from the three men's different reactions and expressions, he could tell that Yu Wanran, who appeared calm and composed, seemed to be the one in charge.

He did not look down on her because she was a young woman. On the contrary, he mainly looked at Yu Wanran when he spoke.

Yu Wanran recalled the shops she had visited along the way and nodded sincerely: "In a place like Beijing where every inch of land is precious, it's quite impressive that Boss Wei has managed to secure a place here."

Selling this courtyard and shop would be enough to ensure an ordinary family's livelihood for a lifetime; it's just that businessmen have different goals.

Wei Yucai smiled and sat down.

"Now, could the three of you show me those dyed herbs?"

The three men before him looked travel-worn and spoke with a distinctly foreign accent. What they had brought all this way to the capital must be no ordinary dye plant. Therefore, Wei Yu, with high hopes, invited them into the shop.

Yu Wenbin glanced at his third sister, and seeing her nod, he immediately stood up. He lifted the lid of the basket and took out two red straw mats and a handful of red velvet grass that had dried out a bit from the cold.

Wei Yucai first took the red velvet grass in his hand and examined it closely. After some identification, he realized he had never seen this material before and asked with interest, "Can this herb really be used for dyeing? Where does it grow?"

Before signing the contract, Yu Wanran naturally wouldn't reveal the secret, and said with a smile, "This kind of herb should only exist in one place, and we discovered it by chance when we went into the mountains."

Wei Yu squinted, concealing a glint of light in his eyes.

"how?"

Yu Wanran hesitated: "Not many. But we can find a way to cultivate them, and we'll see initial results next year."

The Yu father and son twitched their lips, quickly pretending to lower their heads to drink tea, thus concealing their expressions.

If they hadn't known that this wild grass grew in the deep mountains next door and no one cared about it, they would have believed their sincere daughter (Third Sister)!

Wei Yucai was not satisfied with this answer.

To develop a new recipe, how can you succeed if you don't have enough ingredients? Next year, the daylilies will be too late!

However, thinking that he might miss out on the princess's order, perhaps there would be another opportunity in the future? He reluctantly nodded: "I need to see if this red herb can be used for dyeing."

With the intention of verifying the other party's authenticity, he tentatively asked, "I wonder what materials are needed to extract this plant color? I have alum and lime here."

"A bottle of white vinegar and a piece of white cloth."

White vinegar can change color. When mixed with other mordants, it can produce special dyeing effects. Hearing Yu Wanran's affirmative statement, Wei Yu believed it somewhat and personally got up to go to the outer room to fetch the materials.

Yu Wanran took out the prepared scissors and, with the help of Yu Man and his son, cut a small piece off a straw mat.

The grass has withered, making it difficult to extract color. However, the grass mat has been carefully selected, treated to prevent insect infestation, and specifically undisturbed to retain some of the vibrant color of the red velvet grass during its growth period. It should be able to extract color perfectly.