Chapter 41 Preparing to Rebut

Li Tie withdrew, but his eyes were still filled with anger.

In his view, the First Prince was still too soft-hearted.

If they were to arrest a batch of those gossiping bastards and execute them, leaving heads rolling at the vegetable market, the rumors naturally would have ceased.

However, without an order from the First Prince, it was not his place to say too much.

As soon as Li Tie left, Bi Ruxue entered the room.

"Miss Ruxue, are you also worried that this Blossom Cream will cause skin ulceration?"

Bi Ruxue revealed a gentle smile.

"How is that possible? I have seen the manufacturing process of Blossom Cream with my own eyes. If these products could cause skin ulceration, it would be far too simple."

"Yet if things continue like this... we won't be able to sell them going forward."

Bi Ruxue sighed, her eyes filled with worry.

Ever since she had recognized and accepted Zhou Hao in her heart, she had paid extraordinary attention to every aspect of Blossom Cream.

One had to realize this was their foundation for the future; how could it be abruptly cut off by mere gossip from others?

"Unable to sell them? Miss Ruxue, you are overthinking. Our order books are still completely full. As long as we maintain good relations with the ladies who have already placed orders, we don't have to fear being unable to sell."

"What's more, if they were truly worried, they would have rushed over by now instead of listening to other people's nonsense."

Even if they did come, Zhou Hao had a way to handle it.

Wasn't this just the simplest form of a trade war?

He had experienced plenty of those.

While they were talking, a servant walked in with small, hurried steps.

"Your Highness, Miss Hu Xiaoxia has arrived. Would you like to see her?"

"See her, of course I must."

Zhou Hao sneered. This was precisely what he wanted.

If he refused to see her, people would probably really think he was scared.

Hu Xiaoxia walked into the hall and bowed to Zhou Hao.

"Has the First Prince been well lately?"

"Of course I am well. Miss Hu cannot simply be here just to exchange pleasantries, can she?"

Since Zhou Hao went straight to the point, Hu Xiaoxia dropped the formalities as well.

"Has Your Highness heard the rumors circulating in the markets? They say that your Blossom Cream is made from corpses and will even cause skin ulcers."

Zhou Hao smiled and said slowly.

"Could it be that Miss Hu believes this matter is true?"

Hu Xiaoxia let out a scoff, her eyes brimming with confidence.

"Only a fool would believe it. Overnight, all the storytellers in the imperial city began speaking ill of Blossom Cream. It would be a miracle if someone wasn't pulling strings behind the scenes."

"The more they claim there is something wrong with this product, the more it proves that Blossom Cream is entirely fine."

Since Hu Xiaoxia did not believe it, what was she doing here?

A trace of doubt finally surfaced in Zhou Hao's eyes.

"Then what is your purpose in coming here?"

"Naturally, it is to set the minds of the buyers at ease. I am clever, but a few of those women have no brains at all—they believe whatever the wind tells them. As long as we dispel their concerns, that will be enough."

Hearing this, Zhou Hao chuckled softly.

Did Hu Xiaoxia have such a kind heart? He certainly didn't believe it.

The fewer people who bought his Blossom Cream, the more Blossom Cream she and her circle would be able to claim for themselves.

Clarifying this matter only benefited Zhou Hao; it offered zero benefit to Hu Xiaoxia and the others.

How could she possibly be kind enough to come and help him?

Talking around in circles like this showed very little sincerity.

"If Miss Hu is going to continue playing games, then someone send the guest out."

With those words, Zhou Hao stood up to leave, preparing to summon a few servants to escort her away.

"Why is Your Highness in such a rush? This humble woman merely has a favor to ask of Your Highness, which is why I resorted to this lesser measure."

"As long as Your Highness is willing to spare a little more of the Blossom Cream output for this humble woman."

The First Prince claimed to produce one jar of Blossom Cream every two days?

Hu Xiaoxia simply didn't believe it.

Lowering output while raising prices was a trick she had played herself. As long as one squeezed hard enough, new production would always appear.

Only then did Zhou Hao stop in his tracks, a smile carrying a hint of amusement on his face.

"Of course that can be arranged. If you can quell this storm, I can make the decision to send you four jars of Blossom Cream every month with your choice of fragrance. How does that sound?"

"Naturally, that would be wonderful. However, this matter requires the First Prince to make a small personal sacrifice."

A trace of a smile flickered in Hu Xiaoxia's eyes, making her look truly like a little fox.

"A personal sacrifice? You wouldn't be asking me to submit a petition of self-blame to His Majesty, would you?"

When the Great General submitted a petition of self-blame, he did so out of absolute confidence. Even if the General submitted hundreds of such petitions, what could anyone do?

As long as he still held military power in his hands, even if the Emperor of Zhou were angered to the point of a heart attack, he still couldn't touch him.

And himself?

The moment he submitted a petition of self-blame, the Emperor of Zhou would undoubtedly approve it swiftly and casually exile him along the way.

"How could that be? Your Highness's imagination runs far too deep. It simply requires Your Highness to wash your face and hands with Blossom Cream in full view of the public, and the rumors will naturally collapse on their own."

If even the First Prince dared to wash his face with Blossom Cream, it would prove that there was fundamentally nothing wrong with the product.

Those who doubted would naturally shut their mouths.

This was the simplest yet most effective strategy.

Upon hearing this, a smile appeared on Zhou Hao's face.

"A fine strategy, but this method alone is still not enough."

If those women truly believed the product would cause skin ulceration, it would be better to simply refund their money directly.

As for the future?
There would be no future.

Future batches of Blossom Cream would not be sold to them.

If he found out anyone was reselling Blossom Cream to these women at a high price,
they would simply be banned from purchasing it permanently.

"As long as they take their deposits back, they won't get a single fraction of future Blossom Cream."

"Whoever acts as a middleman scalper will never be allowed to buy it again."

Zhou Hao's words left both Bi Ruxue and Hu Xiaoxia looking somewhat astonished.

To speak with such absolute certainty showed just how confident Zhou Hao was in his own creation.

And upon hearing Zhou Hao's declaration, a smile flickered in Hu Xiaoxia's eyes as well.

"It is naturally a good thing that Your Highness possesses such bold resolve. Although this will offend a few people this time, it will definitively prove to everyone that Blossom Cream has zero problems."

Zhou Hao nodded, then slowly spoke.

"Miss Hu, come and act as my intermediary. Link all the women who placed orders together and tell them to gather at the First Prince's residence tomorrow."

"As for those who still fail to see the situation clearly then, let them stay blind. They are just a bunch of fools anyway."

Zhou Hao wouldn't even consider extracting silver from the purses of such fools.

They were too stupid to be of any use; they couldn't be counted as useful connections, and as for buying products?
They weren't quality customers at all. It would be much better to switch to alternative channels.

Having figured this out, Zhou Hao exchanged a few pleasantries with Hu Xiaoxia and then, accompanied by Bi Ruxue, sent her off.

"Does Young Master Zhou truly intend to abandon a portion of the aristocratic and official ladies?"

Bi Ruxue harbored quite a bit of worry in her heart.

At this critical juncture, if they abandoned a segment of the populace, many of the plans they had previously laid out would become unusable.

Their network of connections would also suffer a heavy blow.

It wasn't a fatal trouble, but it certainly wouldn't go as smoothly as anticipated.

Zhou Hao sneered.

"Abandonment is definitely necessary. Those fellows who fail to see the larger picture deserve to rot in the mud."