Challenge

After Madame Song had taunted her fill, Bai Yu Yan finally opened her lips to say, "The Gu house has been one of the most respectable houses in the capital which does not lack anything, be it treasures or rare medicinal plants. A small designer like me will not be able to give anything significant to Matriarch Gu. However, I wanted to give something that could be of use for the Gu house. That's why…remembering the contribution of Matriarch Gu for this kingdom, I decided to design winter robes for the frontline soldiers under the regiment of General Gu. With the remaining money, I have been creating sample robes for the first 1000 soldiers. So that in the future, the Gu house can use the design as per the soldier's need."

A brief surprise passed through Matriarch Gu's eyes which shifted from Bai Yu Yan's face to her eyes to see if the girl was really speaking the truth.

Bai Yu Yan also did not dodge the gaze and returned it with a serious face. She knew what she had told would not be taken lightly. However, she was betting on the fact that the General's house were not pretentious people and they valued honesty more than the fake silk of the cheongsam.

Gu Sheng and Master Gu were equally surprised with what they heard from Bai Yu Yan. Designing robes for the soldiers? No one had ever thought of it before. It might seem unnecessary to others but the General's house was well aware of the importance of robes for the soldiers. Winter in the borders was biting cold where even the stored water would freeze into ice. So in order to keep themselves warm, the soldiers would have to stuff themselves with many layers of clothes which obstructed their mobility.

But if there was a proper bodysuit for them, it would save the army a lot of troubles. Gu Sheng's eyes glinted in excitement just by thinking about it. He couldn't wait to rush towards the girl and shake her for more information if only Lu Tong Xiao was not standing there like a block of ice.

"Miss Bai's words may sound very good to the ears but in reality, it is too far fetched. The national budget allocated for the army and their supplies will not be enough to entertain such fantasy ideas," spoke the Princess who had come to sit on the chaise beside the Empress as looked at Matriarch Gu who had the authority to make decisions in this case. It was one thing to listen to the girl's words to humour her but to take it seriously was complete foolishness, she thought.

The nobles who had yet to make their mind immediately agreed with what the Princess said. Xin An Rou was a highly educated woman who had spent her time with the soldiers in Jin. So for them, her words were more realistic and trustworthy than the sheltered woman like Bai Yu Yan who had never even interacted with a soldier before.

Master Gu had a pensive expression on his face as he seriously thought about the matter before he nodded his head and commented, "What Princess said may be true. Even if it succeeds, the cost may be well over our budget. However, this is something we had never thought of before, so I don't think there is any harm in trying it."

An Rou's lips pursued at that, not very pleased at the response. Anyway, she didn't see the chance of it succeeding so there is no need to think about it, she thought.

At last, Matriarch Gu, who had not spoken a word until then looked at the girl before her and opened her mouth to solemnly say, "Very well! Ten days! You have ten days to bring me the robe that you have been talking of. If you are successful, this matter about the fake silk will be forgiven and you will also be handsomely rewarded. However, if you fail…" paused Matriarch Gu which prompted everyone to look at Bai Yu Yan to see if she will agree to the challenge.

After all, creating such a robe which had not been made before is no easy feat and that too in just ten days.

"She will close her shop forever and never again design for anyone," stated the Empress to fill in Matriarch's incomplete sentence, her hands rested on the top of her knees looking at Bai Yu Yan. Seeing a few people's mildly shocked expression as though the punishment was too harsh, she added, "Bengong just wants to make sure that only justice is imparted in my presence. In this case, the Gu house should be properly repaid by Madame Lu for the deceit she had done. Only then we can know if the thing about the robes for the soldiers is something said with sincerity."

Xin An Rou listened to her mother's words and her eyes trailed towards the girl kneeling on the floor. If it had been other instances, she would have probably felt the punishment was a bit too severe and objected to it, but strangely, this time around, she did not feel it was overboard.

Meanwhile, Bai Yu Yan raised her eyes inside seeing the female lead's silence in this matter. As the female lead of the story, she was supposed to be kind towards even the servants, let alone the people of her own standing, while being vocal about the wrong things going around her, a hero who protects other females and stands on equal footing with the male lead.

However, here the Empress was clearly making things difficult for Bai Yu Yan by not letting her a way out in a near-impossible task, still, she could not see even a hint of wrinkle on the female lead's forehead.

This made her wonder if it was because of the Empress of Bai Yu Yan herself.

But since the Empress had already put it as a way of imparting justice, Bai Yu Yan could not back away from the deal. Bracing herself for what is to come, she lowered her head and stated, "This one agrees to the conditions!"