“Princess, Princess Serveyia; Princess Yiselinzhuo has arrived and is waiting for both of you in the reception room.”
Lien’s voice came from outside the door, making Liuli, who had almost relaxed, tense up again.
“I understand. We’ll be right there.”
After Serveyia replied, she shifted her gaze back to Liuli. “Alright, Little Fox, relax. This is just an ordinary meeting. No need to be nervous, okay?”
“Mm, I will.”
Liuli kept encouraging herself in her heart.
Taking Serveyia’s hand, she walked to the reception room.
Seeing Yiselinzhuo already sitting there sipping tea and waiting, Liuli suddenly felt that this might be what she imagined a real dragon lady should look like.
Her platinum blonde hair was casually draped behind her, reaching her waist without a hint of disorder—clearly the result of meticulous care.
She was tall and slender, wearing a dress that seemed forged from ancient ice. Under the sunlight streaming through the window, it was dazzling.
“Princess, you’ve arrived.”
Even her voice matched Liuli’s imagination—clear and cool like a spring, refreshing the soul.
Upon seeing Liuli, Yiselinzhuo stood up, lifted her skirt, and executed a perfect human noble’s greeting.
“I’m very happy to meet you.”
“I—I’m also happy to meet you.”
Liuli actually wanted to extend her hand for a handshake, but since the other party hadn’t offered, she didn’t know whether to initiate it.
Serveyia hadn’t told her about this either.
“I apologize. There were urgent family matters to handle, so I couldn’t make it to your inauguration ceremony. My deepest apologies. This is a small token of my regard; I hope Your Highness will not take offense.”
Yiselinzhuo took an exquisite small box from her handbag and placed it in front of Liuli.
“I don’t hold any grudge. May I open it?”
Although normally gifts, especially those on first meeting, should be opened and thanked for in front of the giver, Serveyia had told her that not all races had similar customs.
As a princess, asking wouldn’t hurt.
“Of course. Please don’t be so formal in front of me, Princess. Just be yourself.”
Hearing Yiselinzhuo’s words, Liuli’s nervousness eased a bit.
It seemed that, as everyone said, Yiselinzhuo might really be a kind person.
Opening the box, she found a completely transparent crystal inside.
Curiosity getting the better of her, Liuli touched it. It was somewhat cool. Could it be… ice?
“What’s this?”
“Ice crystal. Strictly speaking, it’s not something particularly valuable, but it’s found almost exclusively in the Ice Dragon Clan’s territory—a specialty of theirs. Your Highness can think of it as an eternal piece of ice that never melts.”
“It’s beautiful.”
Transparent all the way through, regular in shape, and cool to the touch.
Even though Yiselinzhuo said it wasn’t precious, Liuli really liked this little thing.
“It’s not just beautiful; it also has some practical daily uses, like cooling down, lowering temperature, and keeping things chilled. Moreover, it’s related to the matter I’d like to ask Your Highness for help with.”
“Eh? What is it exactly?”
“As I mentioned earlier, ice crystal is a specialty of the Blue Dragon Clan and an important item for our foreign trade. However, the market for ice crystal hasn’t been good lately. With the impact of modern high-tech products, the market has shrunk even further.”
“I roughly understand the problem, but what can I do?”
Though she was the princess of Saint Laia, she had no business acumen or knowledge.
Asking her to handle business issues was really putting her on the spot.
“I hope Your Highness can help us promote ice crystal. If possible, I would like you to endorse our ice crystal.”
“Endorse?”
Liuli was a bit uncertain. Endorsements involved too many variables, and she was a public figure. Was it really appropriate?
“Allow me to interrupt, Yiselinzhuo. You should know that the princess, as a public figure, is not supposed to participate in such commercial activities. That would be disrespectful to herself and to the institution and identity of Saint Laia’s princess. If the princess agrees to your request today and sets a precedent, what will happen in the future? You should be clearer about this than I am, Yiselinzhuo.”
Mm, Serveyia was very stern and decisive when rejecting such requests. While Liuli was still thinking, Serveyia’s refusal had already been spoken, and it sounded quite logical.
“I know it’s a difficult request. So if not an endorsement, perhaps you could introduce some livestream hosts?”
“But in terms of connections, you and your clan must know more people than I do. And if you’re looking for cooperation, shouldn’t there be many big-name hosts available?”
“Most of the top hosts have already signed contracts with competing companies. Investing in smaller hosts is uncertain—whether their influence is worth our investment or how much profit they’ll bring is completely unknown. We don’t dare gamble on that.”
“But I don’t know any hosts either—” Liuli was about to refuse when she suddenly remembered she did know one host, so she changed her tone. “And I’m not sure how effective a host would be.”
Livestream selling was essentially an endorsement effect, and sales weren’t just determined by having a host.
Liuli could only say Yiselinzhuo’s idea seemed a bit unrealistic.
“We’ve been thinking about that too, but the simplest approach we can think of for now is to find a host.”
Market research, product advantages and disadvantages, competitor positioning—all these should be considered.
But Liuli didn’t know if she should bring them up, or if Yiselinzhuo had already looked into them.
“I do have a friend who is a host, but I’m not sure if she’ll agree to your request, nor how effective it will be. Honestly, instead of looking for a host to sell, I think you should study how to make your product more competitive.”
“We know. But completing that research takes time. In the meantime, we still want to try our best. Regardless, we thank Your Highness for your help. When you visit our tribe, we will give you a warm welcome.”
After saying this, Yiselinzhuo bowed deeply and left the room.
“Little Fox, what do you think of Yiselinzhuo’s request?”
After Yiselinzhuo left, Serveyia asked this question.
“I don’t know. I just feel it’s not that easy…”
“Indeed. Business matters aren’t something you can explain in a few words, nor can you help with just passion.”
“So you think Yiselinzhuo’s approach is a failure?”
“Not exactly a failure. It’s more that she’s panicking a bit—like reaching for any straw. But I believe she’ll figure it out slowly. However, having you, Little Fox, endorse a product is impossible. Saint Laia’s princess cannot be overly involved in commercial activities. That’s why I said Yiselinzhuo seems desperate.”
“But I feel like the way she put it made the problem sound really serious. Is that okay?”
“There’s no major issue. Ice crystal is just a specialty of the Blue Dragon Clan. Although it’s an important export, it won’t bankrupt them overnight. It’s a common tactic when asking for help. You can learn from it too, Little Fox—when seeking help, appropriately exaggerating the severity makes it easier to gain sympathy.”
“Is that… not considered deception?”
“Of course not. Most people you go to for help probably won’t care about the details. And I believe the vast majority would actually be happy to see you acting vulnerable, Little Fox. Though it might not be appropriate, there’s a saying: a woman who knows how to act spoiled has better luck. An adorable girl being a little cutesy is always endearing.”
What Serveyia said wasn’t wrong. As long as she didn’t show it, exaggerating a bit seemed fine.
“Also, Little Fox, you said you know a host friend. Will she really help you with this?”
“Yike should help, right?”
Just promoting it in her own livestream shouldn’t be too hard, right?
“That I don’t know. You can talk to Yike yourself this afternoon. When you meet her, do you want me to step out?”
“Huh?”
“After all, you used to be roommates. You might have things you don’t want me to hear. But of course, if you want me to stay, that’s fine too.”
“Then… stay with me.”
Liuli thought for a moment. She didn’t think she had anything she didn’t want Serveyia to hear. Or rather, Serveyia might already know all her secrets.
As for whether Yike had anything she didn’t want Serveyia to know?
Liuli could only think: she deceived her about her real gender, so why shouldn’t she get a little payback?