FID – Chapter 414

Chapter 414: Phoenix in Flight

  Who was Dowager Consort Liu?

  She now ruled the harem. Now that everyone heard her praise him, would the Shangyi Workshop dare to refute her head on?

  Even the Emperor had to give five points of respect to Dowager Consort Liu when it came to the harem trivial matters.

  Victory was in hand, so Fu Shuyuan secretly gave Fu Yuzheng a meaningful gaze.

  Fu Yuzheng brushed his provocation off.

  ”Since Consort Liu has given her a compliment, the fabric is certainly not bad,” Feng Mohan slowly said. Before Fu Shuyuan could rejoice again, he immediately added, “But today’s selection, the participants are a gathering of the many skilled craftsmen throughout Nanling. Their fabrics may not be inferior to Lord Fu’s. It’s been ten years since Lord Fu became a special supplier to the palace, right? So many years have passed, and perhaps in the matter of the dyeing process, there may be a new generation who excels the previous.”

  ”Your Majesty is so kind-hearted and can’t bear to see many candidates who have come from afar to return in defeat without showing their fabrics off. That being the case, let’s continue with the show. As His Majesty has said, there may indeed be a new generation who excels the previous. Lord Fu, be at ease.”

  ”I dare not be arrogant.”

  Because of this episode, the candidates who had already displayed their fabrics and those who have yet to display theirs all withered. They brought their fabrics, but even if they were exquisite, they weren’t as good as receiving a compliment from Consort Liu. Even if there was a dissenting opinion from His Majesty, in their opinion, it was just the same as letting them go through the motions. 

  When there was hope and no momentum, with it, the hearts of the merchants were also disturbed.

  Everyone was disillusioned.

  When it was Fu Yuzheng’s turn to show, few were still interested in seeing her fabric and listening to her explanation.

  Seeing this, Fu Yuzheng did not immediately get into detail, but instead picked up what Fu Shuyuan had said just now and argued, “Lord Fu said just now that clothes made of expensive cloth can set off the status and identity of a noble man. This lady isn’t talented, but I beg to differ. The moment a woman enters the harem, she already has a noble identity. However, in terms of clothing, this lady always believes that it is man who makes the clothes, not clothes make the man. To set someone apart, it’s also people who set off clothes. People with different temperaments will exude different feelings even when wearing the same clothes.” 

  Fu Shuyuan’s eyes turned gloomy and cold, looking daggers at Fu Yuzheng.

  This b-i-t-c-h, she was truly going against him to the end!

  The other candidates heard Fu Yuzheng’s argument and were shaken.

  Didn’t this mean catching a fault in Lord Fu’s words and delivering a blow, huh?

  Which of the women who entered the harem did not have their own pride and arrogance?

  If you wore a piece of clothing, and others said that the clothes made you beautiful, that was a million times less than a sentence alone saying that the dress you were wearing gave you a unique temperament.

  Fu Shuyuan was pleased with the fabric, but inadvertently offended all the women in the harem, including Consort Liu.

  That being the case, Consort Liu’s compliment just now probably could be eliminated as a criterion for judging.

  If Consort Liu insisted on choosing Fu Shuyuan alone, then she’d be demeaning herself.

  After pulling back the attention of the people in the hall, Fu Yuzheng began to explain the merits of her fabric, “This fabric is called Phoenix In Flight. Although there’s no gold or silver threads woven in it, it used a special dyeing technique, forming a smooth dark pattern on the fabric. When displayed against the light, the dark pattern will disappear faintly, turning into two phoenixes flying side by side, soaring up to the sky.”

  While speaking, Fu Yuzheng cleverly found a position and spread the cloth. Between the falling and shaking of the cloth, it was clear that the dark lines on the top were floating, and one phoenix with its wings spread wide appeared so lifelike that it seemed to rush out of the cloth.

  This kind of craftsmanship attracted a lot of admiration in the hall.

  All cloth dyers knew that dark patterns were created during the dyeing process, but only a few could accomplish something so realistic!

  The craftsmanship made Fu Shuyuan’s face heavy, and a cold glint flashed from the bottom of his eyes.

  He had never seen this craft in the formula! Fu Yuzheng obviously hid the mastery of this trade. The secret formula she gave him wasn’t at all complete!

  This was the main reason she rushed to the selection, right?

  Want to suppress me? Dream on!

  With a sneer, he bowed to the people behind the curtain and said, “The name of this cloth is Phoenix In Flight. Those who dare to compare themselves with the Phoenix in the whole world must be the noblest woman in the world. It needs an Empress to wear it! If other noblemen wear clothes made of this fabric, wouldn’t they be suspected of wild ambitions? Is Miss Fu honoring or harming people by bringing out such fabric?”

  Silence spread in the hall.

  Fu Shuyuan opened his mouth and immediately brought the matter to this point, so who would dare to speak up?

  Whoever put a word forward would die.

  Phoenix, only the Empress was worthy of it, and only the Empress’s clothes could be embroidered with phoenixes. Fu Yuzheng was indeed too audacious for coming up with such fabric for the competition.

  Hearing how Fu Shuyuan broke no delay in pinning a label on her, Fu Yuzheng curled his lips and smiled without panic: “Only the noblest woman in the world is indeed worthy of wearing this fabric. However, Lord Fu, I think you’re going too far in saying whether I’m respecting the people or harming them. The selection test didn’t explicitly specify what kind of fabric is required. Moreover, this is not only a competition, but also a comparison of personal weaving and dyeing skills and the quality of weaving and dyeing fabrics. This fabric isn’t meant for all noblemen’s use for their clothes. Whoever wins the competition will naturally then supply the fabric production needed by the Shangyi Workshop afterwards. What’s wrong with my entry this time with the Phoenix In Flight?”

  ”Exactly, today is a selection competition, not picking fabrics to make clothes for the nobles immediately. There’s really no problem ah.”

  ”Lord Fu may have been confused for a moment and failed to think of the key.”

  ”There are both losers and winners in competitions. Winners or losers should be open and aboveboard. It’s not a gentleman’s virtue to belittle others and exalt yourself.”

  Fu Shuyuan’s face immediately burst into blue and white, which was wonderful.

  The argument between the two ended there.  Others still needed to continue the competition, while the others waited.

  In the end, the competition between more than thirty people took nearly two hours.

  At last, the winners were finalized both by the Manager of Shangyi Workshop and Consort Liu.

  While waiting for the final results to be announced, the atmosphere inside the hall was very constrained and dreary. All the participants were extremely nervous.

  Still standing side by side in line, Fu Shuyuan looked at Fu Yuzheng without hiding the coldness and hostility in his eyes: “You can’t win the selection by your eloquence. In a competition like this, it isn’t just a matter of craftsmanship. Fu Yuzheng, don’t celebrate too early!”

  ”You should preach this sentence to yourself. Lord Fu.”

  No matter how Fu Shuyuan provoked her, the woman remained unflustered, calm and composed. Her posture in the eyes of the onlookers seemed like victory, making them even more panicked.

  Fu Shuyuan was acting so because he leisurely believed that Consort Liu would be on his side. Even if Fu Yuzheng won a headstart with her explanation just now, he wouldn’t lose in this way. However, looking at Fu Yuzheng’s determined front, his certainty dimmed little by little, and in the end had difficulty insisting on his belief. Fine sweat also slowly seeped out between his brow.