The merchant's rebirth led to the complete downfall of the Marquis's mansion.

Chapter 98 Jewelry Conference

Before we knew it, the big day for Diancui Pavilion arrived.

With prior publicity and Qin Yao occasionally mentioning it to influential people, invitations were sent out like snowflakes.

The number of people attending this jewelry forging competition was more than in all previous years combined.

The Diancui Pavilion certainly didn't have enough capacity, so Qin Yao specially had someone empty the shop next door and open it up to incorporate it into the Diancui Pavilion.

That's barely enough.

The craftsmen have already finished crafting their jewelry, and the shopkeeper has assigned them spaces and used screens to divide the space so that guests can admire it on the spot.

Of course, some people had already sent over their designs and discussed the details of the jewelry with the craftsmen, and they would come over to pick up their items in person.

These are all top-quality items, and the ladies should take this opportunity to show them off.

That day at the Princess's residence, Qin Yao specifically mentioned the forging competition and extended an invitation to them. Everything is ready now.

Early in the morning, Diancui Pavilion opened its doors to welcome guests.

Most of the guests were women, so Qin Yao naturally had to keep them company.

Liu Qingping was definitely the first to arrive. Before Diancui Pavilion even opened, she had already arrived at the Qin family home, having come with Qin Yao.

Although not the owner, it's better than being the owner.

In her words, "If this store hadn't opened a long time ago, she would definitely have reserved a spot!"

Qin Yao didn't care. With the princess as a living advertisement, how could her business be bad in the future?

So I discussed it with her, and in return, if she helped me recruit people to promote the brand, I would make any jewelry she wanted for free!

Liu Qingping was naturally unwilling. Putting aside the question of whether the materials were precious or not, the craftsmen rarely had time to take on private work.

This is tantamount to giving her special treatment.

After that, weren't all the gifts she gave me unique?

Especially since the Empress Dowager's birthday is just around the corner.

Although she always talks about Buddhism, she actually loves receiving sparkly things as gifts.

Last year, they even praised the glass ornaments that Jing'an had brought in.

This time, she's going to turn things around for her mother, the princess.

Liu Qingping was completely focused on selecting materials. The items couldn't be small, lest she be accused of being stingy. She had to find these materials at the Princess's residence.

The store was all ready, and customers started arriving one after another.

The guests were led to a side hall to rest, have some tea and snacks, and have the artist draw some small sketches for them to admire, so they could see what they needed and know what was available in advance, making it easier to buy later.

Once most of the people had arrived, someone led them to visit the masterpieces of the day.

The more you sell, the higher the price, which proves the skill level of the craftsman.

The ladies and young women shall make the decision.

A staff member helped write down the price and quantity on the side.

Qin Yao stood on the second floor, with Madam Wu and Wu Shiyun, who had been there for a long time, beside her.

They had already ordered their jewelry, so they weren't going to join the fun downstairs.

They waited until there were fewer people before retrieving their belongings.

Qin Yao immediately spotted the girl in the pinkish-purple dress downstairs and asked Wu Shiyun in a low voice, somewhat puzzled.

"Why isn't the girl who came with you coming up here?"

Wu Shiyun looked down and frowned unhappily.

"That's my half-sister, she's got a lot of pride." If she hadn't wanted to go out, she wouldn't have walked with them at all.

Qin Yao knew immediately that they didn't get along, so she stopped talking.

This kind of person doesn't need to be maintained; as long as things are superficially acceptable, that's enough.

After many people had walked around and bought almost everything, someone took them to rest.

The ladies who had ordered jewelry also sent people to pick it up.

Madam Wu chose the jewelry herself. The craftsman who made her jewelry was surnamed Xu, and he had made many famous pieces of jewelry.

More importantly, the Xu family used to exclusively supply the royal family, but few people know this.

Madam Wu's actions were naturally for the Empress Dowager's birthday.

Qin Yao continued watching with Wu Shiyun, leaving space for Madam Wu.

Unfortunately, they were on their way to retrieve the things that Madam Wu had given to Wu Shiyun when they ran into Wu Shiyun's half-sister.

Since the visitor was a guest, Qin Yao didn't want to say anything. She nodded and tried to walk past her, but was unexpectedly stopped.

Qin Yao looked at her, puzzled.

Wu Shiyun rolled her eyes so hard they almost reached the sky, but she didn't stop her from coming over.

"Sister, aren't you going to introduce me to someone?"

Hearing her seemingly nonchalant words, Wu Shiyun replied without thinking.

"No!"

After Wu Shiyun finished speaking, she pulled Qin Yao to leave, but Qin Yao spoke again.

"Oh~ I thought you came to take this rose hairpin, but it turns out you didn't! Then I'll take it back! Perfect! I really like it."

Wu Shiyun stopped and turned to look at her.

It would have been better if I hadn't looked; once I did, my hair stood on end.

"You! Wu Shiqi!! Put those things down right now!"

That was specially made by Wu Shiyun's mother, and Wu Shiyun came to get it. Now it's in the hands of the maid behind her.

"Sister, really! It's just a hairpin, is it worth all this fuss about? Well, you're not like me, spoiled by Father, you've seen all sorts of nice things!"

Wu Shiqi exaggeratedly touched the gold hairpin in her hair and smiled very proudly.

Her mother didn't have much money, but her father did!

Compared to Wu Shiyun, who could only rely on her monthly allowance and her mother, her father was very generous to her.

This is something Wu Shiyun can only envy.

"A hairpin?! Give it to me!"

Thinking about why her mother made this hairpin, Wu Shiyun just wanted to take it, but how could Wu Shiqi give it to her so easily?

He gave his maid a wink, and the box in the maid's hand fell to the ground with a thud.

"Oh dear! Sister, look at you! You've scared this girl! How could you be so careless!"

Wu Shiyun stared blankly at the broken hairpin on the ground, momentarily speechless.

Wu Shiyun tried to pick it up, but Qin Yao pulled her up, and the two went into the resting room.

Qin Yao then asked the shop assistant, and found out how Wu Shiqi knew. She said she was the daughter of the Wu family and had come to pick up something.

The information matched, so the guy gave her the item.

This……

When Madam Wu was summoned, she was a little confused, but she understood when she saw the box in the maid's hand.

"That little bitch!" Madam Wu disregarded her composure and turned to find Wu Shiqi.

"Auntie!" Qin Yao grabbed her.

She probably understood something too. Wu Shiqi wasn't afraid of them at all, and Madam Wu and Wu Shiyun's positions in the family were probably in jeopardy.

"I'm furious." Madam Wu sat down, and seeing that Wu Shiyun didn't react, she patted her hand to comfort her.

“This is not your fault, your grandmother will not blame you.”

"Grandma already likes Wu Shiqi, and now that she's finally asked me to do something and I've messed it up, she'll definitely be even more..."

Wu Shiyun said sadly.

Madam Wu also sighed immediately.

Qin Yao was puzzled.

"She's the one who broke it, so how can you be blamed?"

Wu Shiyun lowered her eyes. "You don't understand. She won't admit it, and Grandmother won't believe it either."

Qin Yao: "Then let her see it with her own eyes!"

"Huh?" Wu Shiyun looked up at Qin Yao. "How did you see that?"

Isn't it all in the past now?

Madam Wu, however, had already figured it out.