Chapter 341: I Have a Request

Gu Fei was incredibly displeased, but she patiently said, "Then why don’t you tell us how you’d like this resolved, Miss? As long as you propose a solution, our shop will do everything in its power to make it happen."

Shen Qingluan snorted coldly. "I don’t care. It’s not my job to figure out a solution. All I know is that for the poetry gathering the day after tomorrow, I must be wearing a phoenix hairpin that is to my liking."

It was impossible to reason with her.

Gu Fei desperately wanted to storm out. She forced herself to take a breath, silently repeating the mantra, ’A pleasant attitude brings in business.’ Then, she bent down, picked up the phoenix hairpin from the floor, and examined it closely. Gold is soft and easily bent out of shape, but thankfully, the floor was carpeted, so the pin wasn’t damaged.

Gu Fei’s gaze fell on an old man standing silently in the corner, his head bowed. Guessing he was the craftsman, she walked over to him. "Let me see the design drawing."

The old man immediately pulled the drawing from his robes and handed it to Gu Fei.

Gu Fei studied it for a moment, then lowered her voice. "If we were to inlay the pointed edges on the outside of the phoenix’s tail with small pearls, it should make the tail appear a size larger. Is that something that can be done?"

The old man nodded. "It can be. It’s just a bit tricky."

"How long would it take?"

The old man hesitated. "If I get a few more hands and we rush the job, we can have it done in a little over a day."

Gu Fei nodded. "In that case, please alter the drawing. Add the small pearls to the entire phoenix tail so we can see the effect."

The old man agreed and hurried out.

Gu Fei set the phoenix hairpin down and smiled at Shen Qingluan. "Miss Shen, you’re right, the phoenix tail is a little on the small side. I just spoke with the craftsman and asked him to revise the drawing. In a moment, you can see if the new version is to your satisfaction."

Shen Qingluan snorted, looking as if she couldn’t be bothered to acknowledge her.

Before long, the craftsman returned and handed the revised drawing to Gu Fei.

Gu Fei glanced at it and felt it looked quite good. She passed the drawing to Shen Qingluan. "Miss Shen, please take a look. Would this be acceptable?"

Xiao Qing, who was standing nearby, also leaned in to look at the drawing and clapped her hands. "This revision is perfect! The phoenix tail looks much bigger, and adding the pearls makes the hairpin even more exquisite."

Shen Qingluan studied it for a moment before sneering, "It looks somewhat better than before. But who knows what a monstrosity it’ll be once it’s actually made!"

Gu Fei smiled. "I’m confident the result will be excellent. For the next two days, I’ll have our craftsmen drop everything else and focus solely on making this phoenix hairpin for you. The moment it’s ready, I’ll have it delivered to your estate. I guarantee it won’t interfere with your plans."

Xiao Qing chimed in, trying to smooth things over. "Sister Shen, I think it looks fine. Just let them make it."

Shen Qingluan neither agreed nor disagreed, simply keeping her eyes downcast, her thoughts a mystery.

Xiao Qing glanced at Gu Fei with deep sympathy. ’Qingluan’s temper is just too difficult,’ she thought. Then she smiled and said, "Sister Shen, you probably don’t know this, but Sister Gu is acquainted with my second brother and my cousin. We even watched the lanterns together on the Lantern Festival. So, Sister Shen, for my second brother’s sake, why not let Sister Gu make up for this?"

"If it doesn’t turn out well, we can just have them alter it again."

She took Shen Qingluan’s arm and gave it a little shake. "Besides, Sister Shen, you have so much jewelry you can’t possibly wear it all. It’s not like you’re desperate for this one phoenix hairpin."

At these words, Shen Qingluan’s head snapped toward Gu Fei, her gaze frighteningly sharp. "Oh? So the Young Master Heir knows Miss Gu as well. In that case, it seems I have no choice but to give face to the Young Master Heir."

Gu Fei kept her eyes downcast, studiously avoiding her gaze.

Shen Qingluan slowly withdrew her gaze and said with a smirk, "Fine. We’ll go with this alteration for now."

"However, I have one condition. When the phoenix hairpin is ready, on the day after tomorrow, I want *this* Miss Gu to deliver it to Luan Garden personally."