Morning sunlight spilled gently across the bustling streets of Wuzhen City, warming the stone roads as shops began to open for the day.
Inside Yunyan Pavilion, Wen Xianyi was already moving with her usual merchant precision.
She checked every corner, arrange everything neatly, following every section,
Fragrance Section — personal care products, skincare, cosmetics, Jewelry Section — gold, jade, pearls, hairpins, Fabric Section — fine silk, embroidered garments, Household Item Section — candles, soaps, detergent, Raw Material Store — herbs, oils, resin, powders.
Despite Yunyan Pavilion being large, busy, and constantly flooded with customers, Xianyi managed everything flawlessly.
As the heir of a great merchant clan, this was second nature to her.
Meanwhile, across the street at the Sacred Lotus Medicinal Hall, Bai Rouyuan was arranging the clinic for a new day of patients.
She checked medicine stocks, sharpened tools, prepared heating herbs, and reviewed past case documents.
Master Su prepared teaching materials to guide the young disciples and students from Sacred Lotus Pavilion, who were helping today in both diagnosis and treatment.
Everything was peaceful…
Until it wasn't.
A Scream Shatters the Morning
"AAAHHH—!!! Look at my face! Look at what Yunyan Pavilion's cream did to me!"
A young lady stood outside the shop, wailing dramatically.
Her face was bright red and swollen with exaggerated blotches.
A small crowd began forming.
Then another woman shouted, "And their soap! My arms turned red and itchy! I have scars now!"
A third chimed in, "And their sunscreen burned my skin! Yunyan Pavilion's products are poisonous!"
Whispers erupted.
"Did Yunyan Pavilion use fake ingredients?"
"So they lied about using rare herbs?"
"They're harming others to get rich!"
"I heard that, because the owner's face is disfigured, she wants everyone to be like her!"
The moment that line came out—Rouyuan froze for one breath.
Xianyi's eyes filled with fury.
And at the edge of the crowd…
Zhao Shaoqin and Bai Zhenying exchanged smug, poisonous smiles.
Rouyuan kept her expression calm, "Give me three days to investigate."
"No!" the women shouted. "Pay compensation now!"
"I will pay five times the compensation if the fault is ours."
That shut them up.
"Fine. Three days."
They sneered as they left.
Rumors Spread Like Wildfire
At a noble tea house across town, Zhao Yunxiang and his group of notorious wastrels were loudly exaggerating the incident,
"That disfigured woman spreads poison through her shop!"
"She wants every woman in the capital to be ugly like her!"
"Trash pavilion! Using rotten herbs!"
Bai Yuxin and Bai Yulan eagerly fuelled the flames.
By noon, the entire capital buzzed with Yunyan Pavilion gossip.
Yunyan Pavillion — Courtyard
Rouyuan walked in with a cold expression.
"Xianyi," she said firmly,
"Close the shop for the next three days."
Xianyi nodded instantly.
Rouyuan continued: "Gather every worker—from raw materials reception to end-product finishing. And bring me all the Fragrance Section documents."
Next, she summoned a technician from the Research Division.
"Prepare the testing tools. We need to test everything today."
Product Testing
Rouyuan and the research team lined up every item, 'facial cream, foundation powder, body soap, sunscreen, lip balm, and perfume oil.'
Rouyuan performed tests one by one, of the item,
➤ Oil purity test
She dropped each oil onto heated copper plates.
Authentic herbal oils evaporated cleanly.
These… left black residue.
➤ Resin identification test
She mixed resin samples with alcohol.
Real resin dissolved evenly.
These clumped together — cheap substitutes.
➤ Herbal composition test
She added tincture drops to herbal extracts.
True herbs changed color gently.
These turned murky brown — contaminated.
➤ Safety patch test
She applied tiny samples to treated leather patches.
Real products left it smooth.
These burned the surface.
Every test failed.
"These are not my oils… not my herbs… not my resin…"
Rouyuan's voice darkened.
Someone had switched her raw materials.
She immediately wrote a message on a paper and handed it to Xiaoya.
"Ask the servant to deliver this to Yanyu-ge at the Cloud Mirror Division.
Now."
Xiaoya ran.
Interrogation of Staff
All workers from every unit gathered.
Rouyuan questioned them one by one, how raw materials been received, warehouse storage, fragrance production, mixing and bottling, and packaging and sealing.
Every process was correct.
No mistakes.
Then Wen Xianyi entered carrying several documents.
Her face was pale.
"Rouyuan… look at this."
She pointed at a raw materials receiving document.
"This order from the last shipment…
it does not have a delivery stamp.
Only a receiving stamp."
The head of the store unit explained nervously:
"A staff member from Wen Merchant's Logistics and Transportation came from Lingnan City. He said he was new…He forgot the delivery stamp…I didn't question him."
Wen Xianyi's face darkened. "And you didn't tell me?"
"I—I was busy organizing the materials…" He replied.
Reinforcements Arrive
The doors suddenly opened.
Bai Yanyu entered, followed by Prince Murong Yunxi.
"What happened?" Yunxi asked.
Rouyuan calmly explained everything,
Both men's faces turned cold.
Yanyu stepped forward. "I will mobilize the 'Silk Whisper Guild. We will track every batch and every courier."
Murong Yunxi added: "And the 'Strategic Intelligence Unit' will assist from the shadows.
Whoever did this… cannot escape."
Rouyuan finally breathed out.
The hunt had begun.