allonlinenovel Chapter 148 Canglan Ferry (18)
Chapter 148 Canglan Ferry (18)
Yan Zhen took out a dagger from his pocket, called Mingyu over, and in front of Madam Feng, pressed Mingyu's hand onto the table and slashed the back of her hand.
Blood gushed out instantly, and Mingyu cried out in pain, "Miss Jiang, you..."
Madam Feng was also taken aback: "What are you doing? Why did you hurt someone?"
"Don't rush." Yan Zhen calmly took out a box of beauty cream, applied it to Mingyu's wound, and the bleeding stopped immediately.
"Does it still hurt?" Yan Zhen asked.
Mingyu shook her head, her face full of surprise: "It doesn't hurt anymore, it feels cool."
In the short few seconds it took to speak, a thin scab formed on the wound on the back of Mingyu's hand.
"This beauty cream can not only stop bleeding and remove scars, but also beautify and nourish the skin. It works immediately after use."
Madam Feng was intrigued: "Is it really that miraculous? Could there be some kind of poison added to it?"
"What are you saying?" Yan Zhen scooped out a piece of ointment and applied it to his face. "If you don't believe me, I'll test it for poison."
Ms. Feng was impressed, but when it came to how to make the beauty cream famous, she was troubled again.
Yan Zhen had already planned it out. He asked if any ladies from prominent families had invited her to banquets recently, so that she could act according to the situation at the banquet and "inadvertently" let the ladies and young ladies see the effects of this beauty cream.
Ms. Feng readily agreed and immediately began planning.
Yan Zhen returned to the Bamboo Garden, where seven or eight servants were going in and out, carrying things inside.
She asked in confusion, "What are you doing?"
One of the servants said, "Replying to Miss Jiang, it was Madam who asked us to send over some chicken wing wood furniture."
The words were clear.
Yan Jinhe was more flexible and adaptable than she had imagined.
She suffered such a great injustice yesterday, and was even scolded and misunderstood by Pei Ji, her "husband," yet after just one night, she can fulfill her requests as if nothing happened.
With such a mind and spirit, there are so many other things to do, why waste it on scheming and backstabbing?
As Yan Zhen was sighing, he caught a glimpse of Mingyu sneaking out of the bamboo garden, probably to report to Yan Jinhe about her business plans.
She thought it was time to get rid of Mingyu.
In the following days, the Duke's mansion was peaceful, and Yan Zhen had a large quantity of medicinal herbs purchased to make a beauty cream.
She's so busy during the day that she barely has time to rest, and she falls asleep as soon as her head hits the pillow at night.
A few days later, Pei Ji resolutely refused to sleep in the same bed with Yan Zhen anymore, preferring to send away the maid and sleep on the floor himself.
Yan Zhen sat on the bed, resting her chin on her hand, looking at Pei Ji who was sleeping on a makeshift bed on the floor, and asked again, "Did my snoring disturb you at night?"
"No."
"Then why don't you sleep with me?"
Pei Ji: "...I'm not used to sharing a bed with others, I won't be able to sleep."
“No wonder, your dark circles have been practically down to your chin these past few days,” Yan Zhen said, tossing a pillow to Pei Ji. “You’ll sleep on the floor tonight, and I’ll take turns tomorrow. We’ll take turns.”
"No need, I'll sleep on the floor."
"Why are you being so polite with me?" Yan Zhen said. "It's me who wants to keep you here in the Bamboo Garden to provoke Yan Jinhe. I can't let you suffer losses forever."
Pei Ji said, "You are a woman, you can't catch a cold, don't try to take it from me."
Yan Zhen was amused; he hadn't expected Pei Ji to be so perceptive, despite looking at a straight man.
Seeing that Pei Ji had fallen asleep, Yan Zhen also lay down and chatted with him, turning to face the direction of the cot: "By the way, I still don't know how old you are this year."
Pei Ji lay flat on his back with his hands on his lower abdomen, sleeping in a proper posture: "Nineteen."
"No wonder."
"What's the wonder?"
No wonder she's so shy; she blushes easily when teased.
Yan Zhen said frankly, "No wonder you look so innocent."
"Pure?" Pei Ji asked, puzzled. "What do you mean?"
“A virgin,” Yan Zhen said, then, worried he might not understand, she explained further, “It’s a boy who has never had physical intimacy with a woman…”
Before she could finish speaking, Pei Ji abruptly pulled the blanket over his head. Even through the blanket, her embarrassment and anger were palpable: "How dare you, a woman, say such things to me? You... have no shame!"
Yan Zhen burst into laughter.
-
In mid-June, Lady Feng was invited to a lake tour and lotus viewing banquet hosted by the wife of the Earl of Pingxi. Upon returning, she went straight to the Bamboo Garden in high spirits.
"Miss Jiang, it's done! It's done!"
Yan Zhen looked up from a pile of medicinal herbs and saw that Madam Feng, who had rushed in, was beaming with joy. She was not surprised at all: "Tell me, how did it work?"
Feng recounted the events of the banquet in a rambling manner.
Ms. Feng has been using a beauty cream these past few days, which has made her skin fair and rosy.
She had intended to use herself as an example to promote the beauty cream at the banquet, but unexpectedly, just as the banquet began, the daughter of the Grand Secretary accidentally tripped and fell, scraping her forehead.
Upon seeing this, Madam Feng quickly stepped forward and applied a beauty cream to her, the effect of which astonished everyone.
Now, without her having to persuade them, the ladies and young women all came forward to ask where the beauty cream came from.
"I told them what you taught me: that the prince's new concubine is a descendant of a century-old family of doctors, skilled in beauty techniques, and that this beauty cream is made with a secret recipe passed down from their ancestors and precious medicinal herbs, which took a lot of time and effort to develop... They asked me if I would sell it, and I said I would have to come back and ask you."
Feng looked at Yan Zhen with sparkling eyes, as if she saw countless gold and silver beckoning to her.
"Miss Jiang, how much silver do you think this beauty cream should sell for?" Madam Feng clearly had an idea, and before Yan Zhen could answer, she said, "I think it can sell for ten taels of silver. As long as it works well, there's no need to worry about sales."
"No, I intend to sell it for twenty taels of gold."
Mrs. Feng was startled: "Isn't this...too expensive?"
Twenty taels of gold is equal to two hundred taels of silver.
The Duke's mansion has more than 500 people, and the monthly expenses are only a little over 3,000 taels of silver.
"Didn't you say that as long as the effect is good, there's no worry about sales?"
There is no shortage of wealthy people in any era, and her target clientele is precisely these powerful and wealthy individuals at the top of the pyramid.
Just like modern luxury goods that sell for millions, once a product becomes a phenomenon with a great reputation and widespread popularity, whether people are following the trend or are drawn by the effects of the beauty cream, there will be plenty of people willing to pay to buy it.
After setting the price, Yan Zhen renamed the beauty cream "Jade Snow Hibiscus Cream". The beauty cream, which cost three hundred coins, was transformed into a rare item worth two hundred taels.
Feng left with ten boxes of Jade Snow Hibiscus Cream.
Within a day, the Jade Snow Hibiscus Cream was sold out.
Madam Feng returned to Bamboo Garden with two thousand taels of silver notes, beaming with delight. "They were all a little hesitant when they heard it cost twenty taels of gold, but the daughter of the Grand Secretary, the young lady who scratched her forehead at the lotus appreciation banquet last time, asked for three boxes as soon as she opened her mouth. When the ladies and young ladies saw this, they were worried that they would miss this opportunity and took out their money. Two of them who hadn't bought any yet pre-ordered from me. I told them that I would send someone to deliver them to their door in three days."
Yan Zhen nodded approvingly and said, "Well done."
She took out six silver notes and handed them to Madam Feng: "I'll give you 30% of the profits, which is 600 taels in total. In the future, you'll have to put in more effort to attract new customers and maintain old ones. The more you work, the more you earn. Let's make money together."
Feng thought she would only have to talk and run errands, and Yan Zhen would at most give her 10% of the profits, but she didn't expect Yan Zhen to give her 30%.
The two families, consisting of five people, didn't even have a combined monthly allowance of six hundred taels over six months.
She happily accepted the silver note, her attitude towards Yan Zhen almost fawning: "Thank you, Miss Jiang. Don't worry, from now on, your affairs are my affairs. If you need anything, just give the word, and I will definitely do it for you."