Drunken Flower Room - Chapter 76  

Following the shopkeeper’s instructions, a young assistant soon carried over the newly arrived fabrics from the previous night and laid them out on the counter one by one. There were dozens of bolts, each with a unique color, vibrant and exquisite. Among them, more than ten shimmered with an almost dazzling radiance. Even someone completely unfamiliar with fine textiles could tell at a glance that these were of exceptional quality. 

Xie Lin let out a surprised sound. “Huh? Your Jinxiu Pavilion is almost on par with Qianjin Fang in the capital. How did you manage to acquire such fine materials?” 

Zhou Gu didn’t know much about fabrics, but he could tell these were anything but cheap. He glanced at Xie Lin, who looked visibly impressed. Not wanting to expose his own lack of knowledge and risk being laughed at, Zhou Gu maintained a calm and composed silence. 

Xie Lin leaned in closer, inspecting the fabrics with growing astonishment. Clicking his tongue, he muttered, “Even the imperial supply doesn’t have colors like these.” He then turned to the shopkeeper and asked, “What connection does your Jinxiu Pavilion have with Lingshan Weaving House? These materials are clearly from Lingshan.” 

The shopkeeper’s eyes flickered as he glanced at Su Rong, realizing that this young man actually recognized the origin of the fabrics. 

Su Rong smiled and introduced him. “This gentleman is the young prince of Rui’an Palace. He came along to Jiangning because he heard Young Master Zhou was visiting and wanted to have some fun.” 

The shopkeeper immediately understood and respectfully cupped his hands. “So it’s Young Prince Xie, my apologies for not recognizing you sooner.” 

Xie Lin waved a hand dismissively. “That’s not important. Just answer my question.” 

The shopkeeper chuckled. “Our Jinxiu Pavilion is just an ordinary embroidery house, but because Seventh Miss is an investor, Master Xie has given us some extra attention. Master Xie happens to have connections with the head of Lingshan Weaving House, so every now and then, a few bolts of high-quality fabric slip through from the imperial supply and end up here.” 

Xie Lin raised an eyebrow. “Master Xie?” 

“Master Xie Yuan,” the shopkeeper clarified. 

Xie Lin finally understood. “Oh, I see.” 

He turned to Su Rong and asked, “Miss Su, you know Master Xie well?” 

Su Rong smiled. “More than well, Uncle Xie has been in Jiangning for years, and I practically grew up by his side.” 

Xie Lin looked at her in surprise, then studied her closely before nodding in comprehension. “That explains a lot.” 

If it was Xie Yuan, then everything made sense. Even Grand Tutor Qin from the Eastern Palace held him in high regard. Despite having left the capital years ago, Xie Yuan was still widely praised for his extraordinary talent, some even said he had the makings of a marquis or prime minister. Yet, he had chosen to relinquish his official post, a decision many deemed a great loss. If Jinxiu Pavilion had access to Lingshan Weaving House through him, it wasn’t surprising at all. 

Before Su Rong could say anything further, Zhou Gu decisively said, “Put these away. I don’t want them. Bring out regular fabrics instead.” 

The shopkeeper hesitated, looking at Su Rong for guidance. 

Su Rong tugged at Zhou Gu’s sleeve and coaxed, “Brother Zhou you just agreed with me earlier. How can you go back on your word? That’s not allowed.” 

Zhou Gu: “…” 

Xie Lin: “…” 

Zhou Gu might not be an expert on clothing, but he wasn’t ignorant. He had grown up surrounded by wealth and luxury, and he knew that when something was labeled imperial-grade, it wasn’t just about being expensive, it was rare, exclusive. Either it was so scarce that it had no set price, or it was so valuable that no amount of money could guarantee its purchase. 

Keeping his stance firm, he said, “Yes, I agreed. But I didn’t expect…” 

That it would be this expensive. 

Su Rong cut him off mid-sentence, lowering her voice slightly with a half-truthful, half-joking tone. “Years ago, this Jinxiu Pavilion was on the verge of closing down. At the time, I was short on money, and I saw that the shopkeeper was struggling to keep the business afloat. So, I helped him clear out over ten thousand bolts of old stock that had been sitting in the warehouse. He promised me a thirty percent cut of the profits. After earning my share, I convinced him to let me reinvest it as equity. So, in a way, this place is also my business.” 

The implication was clear: giving you a few outfits is well within my means. 

Seeing that Zhou Gu remained silent, Su Rong continued, “All these years, I haven’t taken any dividends. At most, I accept a few seasonal outfits from Jinxiu Pavilion. The business has been doing quite well, and I imagine my share of the profits has accumulated into a substantial sum by now.” 

Still, Zhou Gu said nothing. 

Su Rong pressed on, “If you don’t take these fine fabrics now, they’ll be gone by tomorrow.” 

She tugged at his sleeve again. “Look at these colors, they’re absolutely stunning! If you wore them, you’d look incredible. Since you arrived in Jiangning, you’ve only been wearing black or dark blue. That’s way too plain! Even my father, when he’s not in his official robes, dresses in all sorts of bright colors. You’re still young, why dress so conservatively? I can guarantee that if you wore these, people wouldn’t be able to take their eyes off you.” 

Zhou Gu turned his head slightly. “Would you not be able to take your eyes off me?” 

“I would.” Su Rong wanted to add, If you weren’t so ridiculously good-looking, I wouldn’t even bother giving you such fine clothes. 

She then asked, “Do you dislike brightly colored clothing?” 

Zhou Gu finally responded, “Not exactly. It’s just that both my grandmother and mother believe I already attract too much attention. Darker colors help tone it down a bit, so I don’t stand out too much.” 

He had never had to worry about his wardrobe, his grandmother and mother handled everything. Whatever they chose, he wore. He had no objections. He couldn’t have objections. 

Su Rong suddenly understood and found it amusing. “Oh, so that’s why!” 

She thought for a moment before saying, “That was before you publicly had a fiancée. Now that I exist, and everyone knows about us, you can wear brighter colors without any issue, right?” 

Her implication was clear: You already belong to someone. If some love-struck fool gets heartbroken over you, that’s not your fault. The title fiancée serves as a natural shield against admirers. 

After all, even dressed in dark colors, he still managed to attract Duanhua County Princess’s attention. His face alone was a crime. 

More importantly, she wanted to see him in brighter colors. He wasn’t an old man, why should he dress so solemnly and hide away three-tenths of his handsomeness? 

“R-right… I guess?” Zhou Gu wasn’t sure how to respond. 

“Then it’s decided.” Su Rong beamed. “Would you like to choose the fabrics yourself, or should I pick for you?” 

“You choose.” Zhou Gu glanced at the vast selection of fabric laid out before him and felt overwhelmed. If he had to pick, he’d probably just point at random. 

Su Rong nodded and began making her selections carefully. She held each bolt of fabric up to Zhou Gu, assessing how well it suited him. Moon white was elegant, deep purple exuded nobility, sky blue felt fresh and refined, lake green had a graceful charm, and crimson was bold and striking… 

As she picked, she either nodded in approval or shook her head in disapproval. The ones she liked were set aside, while the rejected ones were tossed aside without hesitation. Once she finalized the colors, she moved on to the fabric textures, comparing them one by one. 

It took her nearly half an hour before she was finally satisfied. She let out a delighted laugh. “This batch of fabric is truly exceptional! I didn’t expect to end up selecting twenty bolts. That’s settled, twenty sets of clothing.” 

Zhou Gu was stunned. “No way! I can’t possibly wear that many.”