Chapter 368 – The Sweet Princess Was Here – Misty Mountain Green (13)
With Bai Tang’s design, Wu Chenyi’s financial support, and the assistance of Suwen and Fang Xianglian, the newly designed outfit was completed two days earlier than planned.
Bai Tang excitedly brought the clothing over for Suwen to try on. The white and leaf-green color combination, the delicate embroidery, and the skirt that fluttered lightly in the wind made the wearer look like an ethereal celestial maiden—otherworldly yet still touched with a hint of earthly warmth.
Suwen lowered her head to look at her new attire, spinning left and right, not hiding her fondness for the outfit in the slightest.
“It’s so beautiful, it’s… Young Master Bai’s design will definitely be a big hit.” Suwen almost blurted out “Princess Consort” out of habit, but seeing Fang Xianglian beside her, she forced herself to swallow the words back down.
“It’s not just my work. It turned out this well because everyone worked together and offered guidance,” Bai Tang said shyly.
“Young master is getting embarrassed. In my opinion, even though everyone contributed, the main reason is still your excellent design,” Fang Xianglian praised generously. After spending the past few days together, she had found Bai Tang warm and unpretentious—an uncommon trait among the wealthy.
Bai Tang would even pull her into discussions about patterns and humbly ask for advice, which greatly narrowed the distance between them.
Bai Tang and Wu Chenyi had saved her and even provided her lodging. Since Fang Xianglian was not someone to repay kindness with ingratitude, she naturally gave her best, using every bit of embroidery skill she had learned back when she was a seamstress.
They designed a total of three sets, but planned to release only one to test the market. They named the green set “Misty Mountain Green”—evoking freshness, nature, and a fairy born of emerald mist.
As soon as Misty Mountain Green was released, it triggered a trend across Ning City. Any household with a young lady who owned one instantly rose to the forefront of social fashion.
Misty Mountain Green was sold in limited quantities. Not only was the craftsmanship exceptional, the fabric itself was extremely rare. Wu Chenyi and the others had chosen it specifically for that uniqueness.
Just as expected, as the wife of Ning City’s governor, Zhu Lanxiao could not possibly miss out. Wanting to please his wife, Li Xiuming abused his authority and pressured the fabric shop owner into bringing the designers of Misty Mountain Green to the Li residence to tailor a custom set for Zhu Lanxiao.
The fabric shop owner was overjoyed—if he could earn the governor’s favor, business would flourish effortlessly!
He informed Wu Chenyi of this, and Wu Chenyi exchanged a glance with Bai Tang. Their plan had succeeded.
They were outsiders, and the shop owner feared Wu Chenyi and Bai Tang might unintentionally offend Li Xiuming, so he began lecturing them on the etiquette of dealing with officials—don’t speak unless spoken to, don’t interrupt, don’t look directly at the governor’s wife, and so on.
Just as he was speaking, someone from Li Xiuming’s household arrived.
“Boss Chen, have those two arrived?” The man who came was a guard from the Prefect’s residence. His voice was rough and loud, showing no regard for anyone around him.
Boss Chen bowed repeatedly. “They’re here, they’re here—these two.”
He pushed the two forward for display. The guard looked them up and down. They were decent-looking, sure, but with such thin arms and legs, could they really make clothes?
“Alright, you two—come with me,” the guard urged impatiently.
Bai Tang wanted to bring needles, thread, and other tools along, but the guard saw how slowly he was moving and grew anxious. If he returned late and delayed his report, who knew how the Prefect would punish him?
So he reached out to grab Bai Tang—but before he could touch him, his hand was smacked aside by Wu Chenyi’s fan.
“Hiss—!” The guard looked at the back of his hand, which had turned almost black with redness. Clearly, Wu Chenyi had struck with considerable force.
“You must be tired of living…” Ever since becoming a guard in the Prefect’s residence, he had never been humiliated like this. Furious, he reached for his sword.
“Sir, sir—please, calm down! Lady Prefect is still waiting for her clothes to be made. Look, this…” Boss Chen saw danger rising and rushed to intervene. If someone died in his shop, who would dare buy from him again? And Prefect Li would never spare him.
The guard snapped back to his senses and withdrew his sword, though he was still holding back a bellyful of anger. “Hurry up.”
Wu Chenyi, however, said to Bai Tang, “Ignore him. Tang Tang, take your time—don’t leave anything behind.”
The young man hummed in reply. After packing the fabrics, patterns, and tools, he checked once more to be sure he’d forgotten nothing before following the guard outside.
Xiao Duzi saw his young master emerge and quickly drove the carriage up to them. “Young Master, please get in.”
“Huh? But aren’t we supposed to go to the Prefect’s residence with him?” Bai Tang whispered, sneaking a glance at the guard. Sure enough, the guard’s face darkened upon seeing their imposing setup.
Wu Chenyi lifted the carriage curtain and said gently, “It’s fine. Du Bao knows the way. It’s far from here—walking would take a long time.”
“That’s right, young master. Please get in. I know the way to Prefect Li’s residence,” Xiap Duzi said cheerfully.
Bai Tang glanced toward the guard just as the guard looked over too. Wu Chenyi stepped in front of Bai Tang and addressed the guard politely, “This guard brother looks strong and powerful. Your martial skills must be exceptional. You can surely walk back to the Prefect’s residence on foot. So we won’t trouble you by inviting you into our carriage.”
With that, he helped Bai Tang into the carriage and climbed in after him. The curtain fell, Xiao Duzi snapped the reins with a “Hyah!”, and the horses surged forward.
They weren’t blood-sweat horses, but they were still excellent steeds—swift and tireless. In no time at all, they left the guard far behind, disappearing completely from his sight.
The guard walked down the street under the scorching sun. He wasn’t sure if it was his imagination, but a faint ache spread through his right arm. The pain grew worse and worse. He tried to lift his arm to check, but it felt as heavy as a thousand catties—completely immovable. He could only lower his head to look, and to his alarm, the dark bruising on the back of his hand had expanded. The blackened area was now spreading up his forearm.
Another wave of pain hit. The guard let out a howl and collapsed to the ground.
Meanwhile, the carriage arrived at the Prefect’s residence. A gateboy at the entrance ordered them to stop. “Halt. Dismount.”
Xiao Duzi reined the horses to a stop. Lifting the curtain, he said to the people inside, “Master, we’ve arrived at the Prefect’s residence.”
A moment later, an exceptionally handsome man stepped out before the gateboy—gentle as warm jade, unmatched in grace.
Everyone around held their breath, as if even breathing too loudly might disturb this otherworldly immortal-like figure.
But the “immortal” did not head toward the gate. Instead, he reached into the carriage and took the hand of a baby-faced youth.
“Tang Tang, careful,” Wu Chenyi said as he helped Bai Tang down.
A little squirrel suddenly hopped down from the shaft of the carriage, startling Wu Chenyi for a second.
“Hehehe~ It’s fine. I’m very agile~” Bai Tang said with a cheerful grin.
“Mischievous. Don’t do that again,” Wu Chenyi said, tapping Bai Tang lightly on the nose.
The pairing of one strikingly handsome man and one adorably beautiful youth drew a crowd of curious onlookers in front of the Prefect’s residence.
The gateboys finally snapped back to their senses and hurried to disperse the gathered townsfolk. With so many people crowding the entrance, those who didn’t know better might think something serious was happening.
“My master is the creator of Misty Mountain Green. Prefect Li invited him to come and make a dress for Lady Prefect,” Xiao Duzi said smoothly. Handling such matters was exactly his strength.
The gateboys looked them over carefully, especially Bai Tang.
Goodness… how could such an adorable young master exist? Compared to the man beside him, the youth seemed even softer and more harmless—clearly someone sheltered and innocent, the easiest kind to deceive. One couldn’t help wondering whether he had been tricked into following that elegant young gentleman.
In the Wu Dynasty, relationships between men were common; it wasn’t unusual for households to keep male companions in their inner courtyards. Even Li Xiuming had taken a liking to a young man just last month, hiding him away in a small alley so Lady Prefect wouldn’t find out.
Fortunately, the gateboy still had some sense and didn’t do anything inappropriate.
Before coming, Xiao Duzi had already sent word to Fang Xianglian. After Suwen returned from outside, the two of them were to come to the Prefect’s residence as well. Since Fang Xianglian had been desperate for a chance to see the Prefect of Ning City, they might as well help her to the end—this was her opportunity to see up close whether the Prefect sharing her husband’s name was really her lost husband.
While Wu Chenyi and the others were waiting to be announced, Suwen arrived at the Prefect’s residence with Fang Xianglian. The group met at the gate, and when Fang Xianglian learned she would be allowed inside to search for her husband, she was so overwhelmed she didn’t even know what to say.
If the timing hadn’t been inappropriate, she might have dropped to her knees right there in the street to kowtow to Wu Chenyi and Bai Tang for their help.
“Miss Fang, calm yourself first. Whether the Prefect of Ning City is truly your husband or not, you must stay composed,” Bai Tang said. If Fang Xianglian acted impulsively and tried to reunite with Li Xiuming on the spot, it would ruin A-Yi’s plan—and that would be terrible.
“I will, I will…” Fang Xianglian nodded repeatedly.
To prevent any mishap, Bai Tang quietly used his ability to soothe Fang Xianglian’s emotions, forcing her to stay calm.
After all, no one was allowed to interfere with A-Yi’s plans.
A gateboy came out to invite them inside and noticed two unfamiliar faces.
Wu Chenyi said, “Lady Prefect is a woman. It would be inappropriate for me to take her measurements, so I brought two maidservants to assist with crafting her garments.”
No matter how open the customs of the Wu Dynasty were, propriety between men and women still existed.
The gateboy found Wu Chenyi’s explanation reasonable and no longer questioned the number of people, leading all of them inside.
Li Xiuming was still out and had not yet returned. Only Zhu Lanxiao was at home.
They were brought to the main hall. The servants served tea, and they had barely taken two sips when Zhu Lanxiao entered with her four senior maidservants.
“Greetings to Lady Li,” Wu Chenyi and Bai Tang cupped their hands in greeting. Their conduct was not disrespectful, though not strictly formal either.
One of the maidservants behind Zhu Lanxiao scolded sharply, “How dare you! In the presence of the Prefect’s Lady, you should kneel!”
At those words, the little squirrel bristled with anger—You? Worthy of demanding such a thing?!
Wu Chenyi held Bai Tang back. His expression did not change as he said, “I am but a rough commoner unfamiliar with court etiquette. I beg Lady Prefect’s forgiveness.”
He said the words, yet he clearly had no intention of kneeling.
Zhu Lanxiao took a closer look at Wu Chenyi. His refined, noble aura was unmistakable—not at all like an ordinary craftsman. He might even be someone of significant background. It was best not to offend such a person, so she decided to spare them from performing the formal salute.
“I heard that the ‘Misty Mountain Green’ was made by your hands. I wish to have a custom set tailored. Would that be convenient?”
“Of course,” Wu Chenyi replied. With a wave of his hand, he signaled Suwen and Fang Xianglian to follow Zhu Lanxiao to the side chamber for measurements and fabric fitting, while he and Bai Tang remained seated in the main hall to wait.
Author’s Note :
If you dare lay a hand on Tang Tang, without asking whether Wu Chenyi agrees or not—well, that guard is in for some suffering. Just wait.