Dream of the Red Chamber: A Refined and Elegant Young Man in a Turbid World

Hearing the sincerity in his words, Daiyu's aloofness softened somewhat. She glanced down at the half-embroidered peach blossom on her handkerchief and sighed softly.

"These flowers were so vibrant when they bloomed, but now that they've withered, it's a pity to leave them to fall into the mud. It would be better to bury them, at least that would preserve their dignity."

Jia Cong followed her words and said:

"Miss Lin is absolutely right. The flowers fall helplessly, but the swallows return as if we've met before. The falling of flowers is a common occurrence. To have someone like you, Miss Lin, who cherishes flowers, pities their withering and protects their last red petals, is a hundred times better than letting them drift with the tide and be submerged in the mud. These fallen flowers are truly blessed."

A hint of surprise flashed in Lin Daiyu's eyes, but due to the distance between the two, she couldn't press the matter too much. She simply nodded softly, the faint sorrow on her brows dissipating slightly, and a faint smile playing on her lips.

"Third Brother's words are more insightful than those of those young masters who only know how to indulge in poetry and romance."

Her fingertips lightly traced the edge of the silk handkerchief, her voice as soft as the wind rustling through flower petals.

People often say that fallen flowers are heartless, but they don't know that it is the viewers who are indifferent. There are very few who can understand this sentiment of cherishing flowers.

After saying this, she looked down at the fallen petals in her handkerchief, then looked up at the few remaining pink peach blossoms on the branch. A glint of tears seemed to appear in her eyes. After a long while, she slowly said:

"I was originally thinking of burying these flowers clean, but now that they've met Third Brother, it's their good fortune." With that, he handed over the half-handkerchief of fallen petals.

Jia Cong was also slightly taken aback, but he immediately reacted, took the handkerchief from the other person, carefully folded it, and put it into his sleeve.

"In that case, thank you, Miss Lin..."

Lin Daiyu wasn't very familiar with him, and after exchanging a few words, she started coughing slightly.

"Third Brother, please excuse my rudeness. I should head back now to pay my respects to Madam..."

"Yes, Miss Lin, please go ahead..."

A gentle summer breeze swept through the peach grove, causing some peach petals to fall, which landed on Daiyu's shoulder, making the beautiful girl appear even more frail.

Before long, only a few faint coughs remained in the distance, leaving only Jia Cong with a rather poignant expression.

"Everyone says Daiyu was born with flaws, but I never imagined she would be so graceful and charming..."

As he spoke, he tightened the handkerchief in his sleeve before returning to his small courtyard. Li Rong had already set up the steamer and racks delivered by the distillery. He wiped the sweat from his brow.

"Third Master, are you going to brew your own wine?"

"Don't ask questions you shouldn't. Go and call Chu Lan here..."

With Chu Lan's help, the two first washed all the ingredients, and then adjusted them step by step according to the steps Jia Cong remembered.

"It's done, it's done, Third Master, we've done it..." Two days later, Chu Lan, without even rubbing her red eyes, carefully took out a small porcelain bottle.

"Hmm, almost there, but one last step is missing..." Jia Cong clicked his tongue. The quality of the perfume in his hand was not bad, but since he was not a perfume expert, the fragrance was somewhat chaotic.

Now there's only one last step left, and that's skatole!

In the modern perfume-making process, trace amounts of synthetic skatole are added. When diluted to extremely low concentrations (usually a few parts per million), it transforms into a soft floral, musky, animalic scent with a hint of earthiness, adding layers and a sense of "vibrancy" to the perfume.

Skatole is found in feces and humus, and is also naturally present in flowers such as jasmine, orange blossom, and honeysuckle, where it is a component of their fragrance.

Skatine can mimic the "base scent" of certain natural flowers (such as white flowers like jasmine and tuberose, which contain trace amounts of skatine, giving them a unique richness), neutralizing the sweetness of perfume, making the fragrance more three-dimensional and closer to nature, avoiding a "sugar water" smell, enhancing the longevity of perfume, and acting as a "fixing agent" to allow the fragrance of the top and middle notes to be released slowly.

Given the current conditions, artificial synthesis is unlikely, so the only option is to look for it in natural sources.

To avoid this step being discovered, Jia Cong even kept it a secret from Li Rong and Chu Lan, only secretly using a small amount of his own raw materials.

Only after diluting and filtering with a large amount of water did he dare to add a little of the base material, which had almost no smell left, to the perfume making process!

"It's done!"

After several tests, Jia Cong was able to confirm that the two bottles of perfume in his hand smelled almost the same, but the one with the added "ingredients" lasted longer and had a more distinct fragrance.

He took out several bottles of the finished product and put them in his sleeve. Today was his day off, so he didn't have to go to school. He jogged all the way to Jia Lian's residence.

"Is my sister-in-law here?"

Instead of hearing Wang Xifeng's reply, Ping'er came out.

"Is Third Master here to see Grandma or Second Master?"

"Is your sister-in-law still at home?"

Ping'er lifted the curtain for him.

"Third Master, please sit for a while. It's hot outside. Madam went to Madam's place first, saying she needed to buy some items for the garden. She should be back soon..."

"Then thank you, Miss Ping'er..."

After taking a couple of sips of tea and finally managing to calm down from the sweat, Jia Lian had gone off somewhere to indulge in debauchery again. Apart from the servants and a few second-class maids, only Ping'er was left to manage things inside and outside the house.

However, this girl was no ordinary maid; she was a concubine who joined the Jia family with Wang Xifeng and had actual power over the household. Ordinary maids and servants dared not give her a hard time.

"Brother Cong is here? Hurry up and bring up a bowl of chilled lily and mung bean soup!" Wang Xifeng's voice came from the courtyard, and could be heard clearly even from the living room.

"Thank you for your trouble, sister-in-law. I am sorry to have troubled you today. It was my presumption..." He quickly stood up and bowed to Wang Xifeng.

"Please sit down. What brings you here today? You must have finally managed to raise the money?" Wang Xifeng swayed as she walked, having just taken over the Jia family's financial power; even her steps carried a gust of wind.

Seeing Ping'er bring over a bowl of refreshing mung bean soup, Jia Cong swallowed hard but didn't drink it. Instead, he calmly took out four or five small porcelain bottles from his sleeve.

"Sister-in-law, please take a look at this first..."

Wang Xifeng picked up the porcelain vase and examined it closely, her nose twitching slightly.

"Such a strong fragrance! Brother Cong, what kind of treasure are you making? Is it incense?"

"It's not incense, but something that lasts longer and is more convenient than incense, called perfume. If you need to go out with guests, just apply a little bit, and the fragrance will last all day..."

"Is this really better than that incense?" Wang Xifeng's eyes darted around, but her hand had already unscrewed the wooden cap on the bottle.

Instantly, a clear yet rich fragrance wafted out, not the dull, smoky scent of incense, but rather like a mixture of crushed jasmine and roses from the garden, infused with the freshness of grass and trees after the rain, penetrating straight into one's nostrils.