Ch64 - He was probably about to be inextricably intertwined with this person (1/2)
5.8 – He was probably about to be inextricably intertwined with this person
translator: xiin
editor: BlueBug & alamerysl
A few days ago, a small, exquisitely decorated shop appeared in the Capital. It wasn’t very well frequented, but most of the clientele were noble ladies.
They gave the store’s products a very positive review, and were willing to spend a lot of money. Even the shop attendant’s hand was tired from all the collecting.
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The Capital was a place that could not be understood through common sense; business here had its own set of rules. No matter how high the status of one’s backer was, one’s master’s name could not be brought up when one was outside. It was one thing for it to be known behind the scenes, but there were some things that could not be shown on the surface.
Although this dynasty did not regard businessmen as the lowest caste, the rule that members of the royal family could not be involved in business absolutely had to be obeyed. The Emperor could keep one eye closed while the other remained open and pretend not to notice, but one definitely could not attract fame and be caught by others, otherwise the Emperor would definitely not easily let it go.
It was the same for everyone.
Many people knew that the backer behind this shop was Gongqin Prince’s Palace, because Princess Mingyue, whose personality changed so much recently, was often seen coming in and out of the shop. But having such an identity did not mean that she had the ability to hold onto the things that belonged to her.
Only orphans and widows were left in the Gongqin Prince’s Palace, and in a place like the Capital where one could encounter a noble personage every three steps along a road, they carried no weight at all. People whose backing was stronger than theirs could be found everywhere, so when they saw that their business was doing well, many others also came up with the idea of opening a store to do the same business.
The shop was called Mingyue Pavillion, and it sold rouge powder and other similar products. It was only because the products’ effects were very good that the noblewomen in the Capital all liked to make purchases there, which led to many people coveting their recipes.
After beating back several waves of people both in the open and in the dark, Wenren Yingyue felt that going on like this was impossible. She would never be able to hold onto the store by herself, and finally could only give up a portion of the earnings and find a partner.
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Wenren Yingyue picked and chose from several options as the situation in the Capital was complex nowadays, before finally deciding to embrace His Royal Highness the Crown Prince’s golden thigh.
The Prince had too many people and needed a lot of money. He had always dabbled in business; as long as it could make money, he would most likely be involved. This was not a secret in the Capital, but because he did not go too overboard, nobody actively went against His Highness the Prince.
Wenren Yingyue straightforwardly found a shop that was run by the Prince, looked for the manager, and put forward a proposal for cooperation.
Everything went smoothly after that. In a sense, she and the Crown Prince were cousins, and she even called him ‘royal cousin’. Although the Prince did not appear in person to handle this affair, according to the plot, he would not be surprised at the change in this royal cousin of his until he learned that Wenren Yingyue had made him a lot of money. He would then start looking out for her, and his feelings would develop from there.
After experimenting with Wenren Yingyue’s products, the shopkeeper felt that the business opportunities were bigger than he had imagined as women were always willing to spend money on these kinds of things in any era. So, they invested a lot of money in order to increase the output of the products.
Wenren Yingyue was sitting at home waiting for a lot of money to come her way when the maid brought over a box of things.
“Princess, this is from the palace. They said it was a gift from the Empress, and every Palace was sent some. This maidservant has taken a look – there is rouge powder inside.” The maid held up a small box. It was very small, and beautifully decorated, but Wenren Yingyue was not interested in it at all.
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“I see. Put it away.”
Wenren Yingyue did not plan to make use of it even though it was gifted from the Empress. Although it might be considered a token of privilege to people from ancient times, she was not confident that there was anything contained within that might be harmful to her. Her rouge powder came from her own hands, and had never been touched by another. For a vigilant assassin like her, this was the right choice.
But it was also because of this choice that she missed the only means with which to save herself.
When he had the final product, Xue Ling had brought it into the palace and gifted it to the Empress as well as all kinds of young ladies. They had all praised it after giving it a try, and even the Emperor complimented him, saying that with such talent, she was really deserving of her beautiful face.
Her Royal Highness, who normally did not wear makeup at all, laughed very shyly, making those who saw her feel all kinds of tender affection. Even the Emperor was coaxed into laughing heartily, and when he heard that she researched these things in order to add some extra income for the General’s Manor so that the General could have more than a few sets of clothing every year, he even joked that he had married her off to benefit others.
Perhaps because it was a casual joke from a woman, the Emperor did not pay any special attention to it. He waved his hand and permitted Xue Ling to do some small business. The next day, he even rebuked Zhan Shaoxi during morning court for being unable to coax his wife, causing her to worry about the household’s livelihood.
This caused rare laughter to sound out in the hall, and Zhan Shaoxi also had a trace of laughter on his face. A few people to the side who already had wives felt somewhat blinded by this display of love.
Story translated by Chrysanthemum Garden.
General Zhan had never shown this kind of expression before. It really was different when one had a wife.
The Emperor was gratified that this marriage that he had arranged was proceeding well; it seemed that the sentiments between the two were pretty good.
As for the nonsense about the General never entering his wife’s room that was circulating in the marketplace of the Capital, well, everyone who attended morning court disdained this gossip. If they could still say that their feelings for each other was not good after seeing Zhan Shaoxi’s foolish way of showing affection, then they could only be praised for being blind.
After Xue Ling carefully spent some effort to increase awareness of his products to the group of Princesses and Imperial Concubines, people who tried his products turned into fans and showed up at the door one after another, hoping to meet with the Royal Princess and ask for more.
Xue Ling used this to spread word that he intended to open a shop, and that he had imperial approval to do so. Many people began to look forward to it.
The people who originally used Wenren Yueying’s products, but later received Xue Ling’s, all compared the two and discovered that Xue Ling’s products had a better effect. They naturally switched over. One had to understand that within the circle of noblewomen in the Capital, if any one of their cosmetics lagged behind other people’s, then that would mean that they themselves were also one level behind, and they would no longer be able to raise their heads in front of their peers when they admired flowers and compared poetry together.
Once several Princesses from the royal family began to use the products, the ladies who were close to them would naturally also learn of them. One person told ten, who then spread it to a hundred, and when Xue Ling’s shop opened, business boomed and absolutely no one could match up to it.
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