Chapter 499 - Public Reputation (2/2)
When Lady Yu came to pick up her daughter to go home, there was only a little over twenty thousand taels left in her gold members.h.i.+p card. Over the month, the money was not only spent on Yu Wanqing’s skin condition, but Lady Yu also spent a large sum in the shop. For example, she bought medicinal tea for hair care, wrinkle-reducing products, and facial and shoulder physiotherapy that was by the spa portion of the shop.
Therefore, at the celebration party hosted for her daughter, the n.o.ble matrons at the party enviously said that her skin looked much healthier and she appeared younger! When these madams learned that Lady Yu had been receiving care from ‘Blossoming Beauty’, they all inquired about the price and effects of their products and services.
When they learned that the mother and daughter had nearly spent thirty thousand taels of silver in one month at the shop, many of them were disheartened. Not everyone was as rich as Lady Yu. Facial treatments and body physiotherapy treatments at the spa were incredibly expensive, but they could afford to buy a few skincare products to try out at home. Those who were more wealthy would also buy some herbal and flower teas to maintain their beauty from the inside out. Maintaining their beauty from the inside out was much more effective than just applying skin care products on the face. Even so, it would cost them at least two to three thousand taels a month!
Some of the madams who wanted to be cheap had invited professional doctors over who were experts on Chinese medicine to find out the ingredients in the flower and herbal tea. They managed to formulate part of the tea, but no matter how much they tried, the tea they made could not achieve the same effect that the tea from ‘Blossoming Beauty’ could attain. After using the products from ‘Blossoming Beauty’, the results could be seen within a month and the effects were remarkable. The self-made products had little effect, and some people even had side effects after taking it. When the news came out, the madams and young ladies did not dare to try alternative products.
Afterwards, ‘Blossoming Beauty’ received many new clients who had pimples and acne on their face. After all, it was normal for young ladies to have a few pimples and acne on their face during p.u.b.erty. However, the n.o.ble young ladies of the capital all went to the spa to treat it as they feared that their faces would develop rashes just like Miss Yu.
Ever since Yu Wanqing’s face was cured, the kaffir lilies and other plants that caused her allergies had been completely cleared out of the residence. She started paying attention to her diet and skin care, and, as a result, she never developed an allergic reaction again. The left a.s.sistant minister’s daughter finally presented herself before everyone else in the capital.
Yu Wanqing had a pet.i.te and well-proportioned figure, an oval face, big eyes, a tall nose bridge, a small mouth, and skin as fair and delicate as a piece of white jade. She was a remarkably beautiful young lady. If people examined her appearance closely, then they would notice that her appearance was about 30% similar to Yu Xiaocao’s face. They were both beautiful ladies with small faces and large eyes.
Yu Wanqing became more and more confident and was no longer afraid of others knowing about the previous state of her face. During parties and celebrations hosted for young ladies, she would generously satisfy the other young ladies’ curiosity and tell them about the miserable state her face was previously in. After learning about the before and after of her face, the n.o.ble young maidens in the capital were even more convinced by the effectiveness of ‘Blossoming Beauty’s’ services and products.
The few n.o.ble young ladies that had seen her face before it was cured respected Yu Wanqing a lot more when they saw that she didn’t hesitate to talk about her past to others. Their att.i.tude towards her became more friendly. The young ladies’ families were already close. Now that their daughters had become close friends, the families’ relations.h.i.+p became even closer.
Many people asked the young ladies who had seen Yu Wanqing’s face before to confirm her story. Looking at Yu Wanqing’s fair and soft skin and her rosy complexion, it was hard for them to believe that just over a month ago, her face would easily scare people to tears. After obtaining consent from Yu Wanqing, the n.o.ble young maidens who had seen her appearance before would describe Yu Wanqing’s previous appearance in detail to other curious young ladies. They did not exaggerate or lie while telling the story.
As a result, more and more people who knew Yu Wanqing’s backstory and the number of ladies who believed in the ‘Blossoming Beauty’ shop’s effectiveness also increased. The young ladies in the capital with several minor skin problems such as enlarged pores, rough skin, sallow complexion, acne, and pimples...all of their problems were solved after using the skin care products or the facial treatments from ‘Blossoming Beauty’. The reputation of ‘Blossoming Beauty’ grew rapidly.
The products in ‘Blossoming Beauty’ were selling out faster and faster, and business was booming. If the product was selling well, then she would have to expand the production of the product. This meant that the courtyard she bought in the capital for manufacturing skin care products was not large enough. Yu Xiaocao bought the entire back mountain and the large stretch of uncultivated land behind the Royal Prince Yang’s farmstead from him. She built a skin care product workshop and a flower and herbal tea workshop. The numerous courtyards were all connected together in a grand scope.
Originally, Zhu Junyang wanted to give the farmstead and everything along with it to Yu Xiaocao, but she rejected his offer. The relations.h.i.+p between the two was becoming more and more stable. Zhu Junyang would send some material goods, jewelry, and other toys as gifts to her from time to time. However, before their relations.h.i.+p was officially determined, Yu Xiaocao would drown in gossip from the busybodies in the capital if she accepted his farmstead.
[1] fire cupping - A form of alternative medicine in which a local suction is created on the skin with the application of heated cups.
[2] gua sha - A type of traditional treatment that involves lightly sc.r.a.ping the skin with an instrument, leaving behind red marks on the skin. It supposedly releases unhealthy bodily matter from blood stasis within sore, tired, stiff or injured muscle areas to stimulate new oxygenated blood flow to the areas, thus promoting metabolic cell repair, regeneration, healing and recovery.