Wendy Lynch’s heart began to race. She moved her mouse over the red hyperlink and gently clicked. The page refreshed, displaying a new entry before her eyes:
[Catalog of Prohibited Cosmetic Ingredients]
Prominently displayed on the screen was an official document issued by the National Medical Products Administration.
As she typed Morning Glory Seeds into the search bar, the page quickly scrolled down. A moment later, the relevant entry appeared in her line of sight.
[Name: Morning Glory Seeds]
[INCI/English Name: PHARBITIS NIL SEED]
[Source: Dried, mature seeds of the Convolvulaceae family, specifically the lobed or round-leaf morning glory.]
[Reason for Prohibition: This raw material is classified as a toxic plant.]
Wendy’s mind went completely blank with a loud BUZZ. She switched back to the product’s encyclopedia page and carefully reread the ingredient’s name: Morning Glory Extract.
Although it differed slightly from the "Morning Glory Seeds" listed in the prohibited catalog, the source was written in black and white—morning glory.
This wasn’t a smear campaign. It wasn’t a fabrication out of thin air. Verdant’s flagship product genuinely contained a toxic plant extract strictly prohibited by official regulations!
A chilling sensation shot up Wendy’s spine. She finally understood why their opponents were acting with such impunity. They weren’t spreading rumors; they were simply exposing a brutal truth for the whole world to see. What Verdant faced wasn’t a mere public relations crisis, but a ticking time bomb capable of obliterating the entire brand in an instant.
Leaning back in her chair, Wendy forced herself to calm down, her mind racing as she mapped out the enemy’s method of attack.
Step one: prime public opinion. They used the word "carcinogenic"—a term guaranteed to strike a nerve with the public—across various social media platforms. By employing paid internet trolls and professional copywriters, they fabricated numerous seemingly independent "victim" cases to rapidly ignite mass panic. The focus of this stage was speed, reach, and emotional incitement.
Once Verdant was overwhelmed, mistaking this for an ordinary smear campaign and scrambling to prepare various product testing reports to prove their items were non-carcinogenic...
Step two: the decisive blow. The opponent would immediately drop the bombshell of the "prohibited ingredient."
"Morning Glory Seeds, a toxic plant material strictly prohibited by the state!"
This accusation, coupled with screenshots of official documents found on Google, would serve as irrefutable proof. By then, public sentiment would completely shift from panic to pure outrage.
Any attempts to dispel the rumors would appear pale and powerless, simply because Verdant’s products genuinely contained this ingredient. What would follow was an official investigation, a complete removal of all products from shelves, the destruction of the brand’s reputation, the termination of distributor contracts, and the withdrawal of business partners.
It was a meticulously calculated, step-by-step assault. When that time came, Verdant would be doomed beyond redemption.
What a vicious scheme. This wasn’t corporate warfare; this was premeditated murder.
Wendy shook her head slightly. Initially, she had been thinking of ways to help them weather this storm of public opinion. However, since this was Verdant’s own doing, there was absolutely no need for her to intervene. For such a massive brand to use illegal ingredients strictly prohibited by law was absurd.
At this thought, her brow furrowed. Something wasn’t right. She couldn’t shake the feeling that something was fundamentally off.
It would make sense if it were some fly-by-night company using illegal materials to cut costs and boost efficacy. After all, those shady operations likely consisted of just a handful of people who closed up shop and moved on after a single scam. Such companies naturally used whatever yielded the strongest results, completely disregarding whether it was toxic or illegal.
But Verdant was a rapidly rising cosmetics giant. Their legal and product compliance departments couldn’t possibly be that incompetent. Adding a strictly prohibited, toxic raw material to their products—and explicitly listing it in the ingredient breakdown—was no different from corporate suicide. It completely defied all business logic.
Suddenly, she noticed the update timestamp on the prohibited catalog.
Release Date: July 15, 2025.
Wendy immediately realized that this catalog had been updated just two months ago. Her fingers flew across the keyboard as she searched for the older version of the prohibited ingredients list.
Sure enough! In the pre-2025 version, Morning Glory Seeds wasn’t listed as a prohibited item at all!
The situation was far more complex than she had imagined. When Verdant first used Morning Glory Extract, the ingredient had been perfectly legal. It was only after their product had already hit the market and generated massive sales that the state introduced new regulations classifying it as prohibited.
This created an incredibly delicate time gap.
Wendy’s train of thought instantly cleared. But she still needed to verify one crucial question: how did Verdant handle the situation after the new regulation was issued? Did they continue production, or did they change the formula?
She wouldn’t find the answer to this merely by searching the internet. She needed inside information.
Opening her drawer, Wendy pulled out an exquisite cardholder from the very back. Inside rested a silvery-white membership card that gleamed with a metallic luster. It was the platinum card Evans had given her. She had never used it, but it seemed it was finally coming in handy.
She dialed the 24-hour exclusive concierge hotline printed on the back.
"Hello, Miss Lynch. I am your concierge, Sasha. It is a pleasure to serve you," a gentle and melodious female voice answered.
"I need an urgent business consultation. I need to speak with a senior executive at Verdant Group who handles product compliance or someone from their R&D department," Wendy stated concisely. With very little time left before the press conference, she had to sort out all the logical details before then.
"Understood, Miss Lynch. Please hold for a moment; I will transfer you right away."
The efficiency was astounding. In less than two minutes, the call was connected.
"Hello, is this Ms. Lynch? I’m Howard Warren from Verdant’s R&D department. The concierge service contacted me," a steady male voice said.
Wendy didn’t waste any time with pleasantries and cut straight to the chase.
"Hello, Mr. Walker. I’d like to know what the standard industry practices and regulatory requirements are for old batches of products already circulating in the market that contain a newly prohibited ingredient, following an update to the National Medical Products Administration’s catalog."
On the other end of the line, Mr. Walker was clearly very familiar with this issue. "According to the Cosmetic Supervision and Administration Regulations, once a new regulation is issued, enterprises must immediately cease production of any products containing the prohibited raw material and alter the product’s formula."
"And what about the old batches that have already been manufactured and entered the market?" Wendy pressed.
"For products that were legally manufactured and launched, the regulations do not mandate an immediate recall or removal from shelves," Mr. Walker explained. "To give you the most common example, the traditional Angong Niuhuang Pills used to contain rhino horn and natural realgar, both of which were later banned. However, the old medicines produced before the regulations took effect remained legal. In fact, due to their scarcity, they fetch extremely high prices on the market."
Wendy’s heart gave a heavy thud.
So that was it!
Hanging up the phone, all the chaotic clues in Wendy’s mind finally connected. She completely understood!