“Please convey this to Her Highness.”
Madam Loren faced the princess’s secretary with determination.
“There are many clothiers in the world, but no one can replace me, Madam Loren.”
Madam Loren, even past forty, stubbornly wearing high heels, never ran, no matter the situation. As a commoner who worked her way up by serving nobles, she had acquired a dignified posture and noble-like pride through painstaking efforts. She could have knelt and begged, but her scant pride wouldn’t allow it.
“To Lancelot House.”
Leaving the palace in a huff, she shouted to her coachman.
Edgar Lancelot Lancelot wasn’t someone you could just visit unannounced, especially not someone like a discredited tailor. He was in his office at Lancelot Hotel, not at the Lancelot House office.
Madam Loren’s sharp heels caught the sunlight that filled the lobby. It was a deliberate snub, a blatant rejection. However, if she had retreated every time she faced such treatment, Madam Loren wouldn’t be where she was today. She knew when to abandon her petty pride.
After waiting dutifully for five hours, she felt it was enough. Madam Loren took out her notepad and pen from her tawny leather bag.
After scribbling something, she tore out the page, neatly folding it. She approached the front desk with her dignified walk.
“Please deliver this to Mr. Lancelot.”
The puzzled clerk waited for the manager, who eventually arrived and was handed the note. As Madam Loren stood steadfastly during the wait, the elevator returned with Edgar’s secretary.
“You seem quite adept at threats.”
Edgar gestured to the note on his table with a chuckle.
「Anne Juleber. It seems Miss Blanchett isn’t aware you lent her that necklace.」
“You have ten minutes.”
His smile vanished, his face turning stern.
Madam Loren began, her eyes heavy with regret.
“My mother was a chambermaid for the nobility. I started sewing at ten to help her. I’ve been pricked by needles and made clothes since that young age.”
Seems he gave her too much time.
“If you’re not expecting a tearful story, let’s get to the point.”
Cutting off the lengthy preamble, Edgar’s narrowed eyes fixed on Madam Loren.
“I’ve climbed from the bottom to where I am now. This position I hold now.”
His indifferent gaze shifted to the wall clock behind her.
“A royal exclusive designer. That title was myself, at least until now.”
“So, what do you want to say?”
Growing bored with the predictable flow, Edgar interrupted.
“You’ve put me in a difficult position.”
“And you’ve done the same to me.”
Idly fingering the dewy edge of his glass, Edgar spoke indifferently, a sneer slipping through as he recalled Annblin mentioning that damned necklace.
“I’ve lost my biggest client. Soon, high society ladies will stop coming.”
“So, you want compensation for your losses?”
“No. As you said, I also leaked client information, so I won’t make such a one-sided request.”
Madam Loren firmly denied his suggestion.
Edgar’s eyes narrowed. The fox was a fox indeed, but not without some shame. However, he quickly retracted his judgment at her next words.
“I want you to buy my fashion house.”
Edgar laughed at the sudden proposal.
“Purchase? Why should I do that?”
“Miss Blanchett’s trouble began because of the necklace. I’ll make it known that it was your intention.”
“You’re willing to lie.”
Edgar’s only request to Madam Loren was to make it ‘undeniably apparent that it was Olivia Blanchett.’
The two exchanged a tense look.
“I never mentioned the necklace.”
“It’s up to Miss Blanchett to believe or not, but from what I see, she probably will. And,”
The serpentine woman toyed with her emerald ring, stalling. Madam Loren then spoke in a threatening tone, her gaze sharp.
“This is just my speculation, but I think the scandal might also be your doing.”
“So?”
Edgar’s sharp gaze fell upon her.
“Unfortunately, Miss Blanchett seems unaware.”
She acted as if she had a significant advantage. Edgar chuckled at her smooth and skilled threat.
“Just a tailor shop.”
Edgar’s voice was low.
“Which do you think is easier? To purchase it or to destroy it? What do you think?”
A counter-threat.
His cold, predatory eyes narrowed. Madam Loren inhaled sharply.
She knew he was a tough opponent. If she backed down now, it would be the end. The luxurious Eve Loren Boutique would vanish into history.
It’s not about how many times you fall, but how many times you get back up that counts in success.
A fiery determination rose within her.
“It won’t be a loss-making venture.”
“You just said all your business deals were off.”
“We’ll produce high-quality garments at reasonable prices for mass sale.”
Madam Loren continued calmly and convincingly.
“A new motto for Lancelot Loren.”
“We’ll make ready-to-wear clothes.”
This implied a significant investment was needed. Factory setups to sales networks across the kingdom. Such a bold proposal for a soon-to-be-failed tailor shop. Truly a fox.
“We’ll target the well-off middle class.”
Times were changing.
After Being Cheated On, She Picked Up a Treasure (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: The husband I married on a whim had been secretly in love with me for a long time.
On the day when Jun Shao finally obtained the imperial decree for her marriage, Lan Qu, the person she had admired for six years, defied the decree and ran away.
Her gentleness and devotion, her promise of a lifetime together, were all disregarded by him. Instead, he dreamed of entering the palace to serve the Emperor’s sister as a sixth-rank attendant.
News of this incident spread throughout the capital, and the alleys in front of and behind the Lan mansion were crowded with people who came to watch the commotion.
Jun Shao should have been embarrassed and angry.
But someone stepped in to protect her dignity.
The figure was in a miserable state, yet still possessed an undeniable elegance and handsomeness.
The young lord struggled to climb the wall of the Lan mansion and shouted to her, “If he won’t marry you, I will!”
So, Jun Shao took advantage of the situation and married the person.
She thought the young lord did it to save the Lan family from the crime of defying the imperial decree, but never imagined that from beginning to end, what he coveted was her.
*
After the wedding, Jun Shao felt like she was living in a dream.
Her Wife-master was as beautiful as a fairy in a painting, skilled in the six arts, well-versed in poetry and literature, capable of being gentle and attentive, and also grand and dignified. Most importantly, she was the only one in his heart and eyes.
Jun Shao didn’t know how Lan Shiwu, as a illegitimate son without a father and blessed with beauty, had managed to preserve his purity, recklessly escape, and use his last ounce of strength to ruin his own reputation, all because of his love for her, just to stand before her.
She could only see him gazing at her with eyes full of love, and when she bestowed a name upon him, his eyes shone like stars.
“You have come to me like a weary bird perching on a branch. I shall call you A Qi.”
