Poet Immortal, Poet Sage, Duke of the State!

Pearl and Jade snapped out of their daze and immediately stepped forward to introduce themselves to the women.

"Our shop's Twelve Flower Goddess series of perfumes includes twelve varieties: Sparse Shadows, Radiant Beauty, Dewy Splendor, Flowing Fire, Moonlit Condensation, Frosty Grace..."

"The fragrance of Shuying is plum blossom, cold and aloof, suitable for a cool and aloof older sister."

"The fragrance of 'Blazing Beauty' is that of peach blossoms, alluring yet refined, perfect for a cheerful, passionate, and outgoing woman..."

"The fragrance of Dewdrop is peony. Peony is the king of flowers, elegant and noble, suitable for solemn occasions. Ladies, you can take a sniff..."

……

Chen Chang'an is well-versed in marketing tactics. He launched the Twelve Flower Goddess perfume series in one go, and gave each one a unique name.

These courtesans had never seen such marketing tactics before. Ruyilou's perfume was just perfume; there were no such elaborate claims.

After hearing the two girls' introduction, they wanted to buy every kind of perfume.

"I want a bottle of Shuying!"

"One bottle each for Zhuozhuo and Luhua, please!"

"This bottle, this bottle, and this bottle—I want all three!"

……

Qunyu Tower makes a fortune every day, and the girls in the tower are naturally not short of money. However, given their status, they are not qualified to buy Ruyi Tower's perfume.

Now that better alternatives are available, their shopping enthusiasm has been completely ignited, and they have begun to retaliate by indulging themselves.

Pearl and Jade were busy running around, handing out bottle after bottle, and the drawer in the counter that held silver was soon full.

In less than fifteen minutes, more than thirty bottles of perfume were sold, with some people buying four or five bottles at a time.

As a waiter was settling his bill at the counter, he glanced at the figure in the backyard and said to Pearl, "Your manager is truly talented. The poem he wrote for Sister Qingcheng at Qunyu Tower just now stunned everyone..."

"Qunyu Tower?"

"Write poetry?"

Upon hearing this, Qing Shuang was slightly taken aback.

Princess Zhaoyue beside her also raised her head, her fingers, which had been fiddling with the abacus, paused there.

The courtesan was still enthusiastically reciting, "Clouds remind me of her clothes, flowers of her face; the spring breeze caresses the balustrade, the dew is heavy. If not seen in the Jade Pavilion, she would be met under the moon on the Jade Terrace… He really knows how to flatter! Why don't you ask your manager how much he charges for a poem, and if he could write one for me too?"

……

The backyard of Qing Shuang Fang.

Chen Chang'an was practicing his lower body stance in a horse stance when suddenly everything went black.

He raised his hand and saw Qing Shuang standing in front of him with her hands on her hips, looking at him with an unfriendly expression.

Qing Shuang glared at Chen Chang'an and asked, "What were you doing just now?"

Chen Chang'an straightened up and said, "Let's talk business. If I weren't talking business, where did those customers come from?"

Qing Shuang looked incredulous and asked, "You went to a brothel to discuss business?"

Chen Chang'an nodded and said matter-of-factly, "Don't you think that courtesans are our biggest customers for our fragrant dew? They love beauty and have plenty of money. Since the Empress doesn't allow those noble ladies to buy our products, I have to find another way, otherwise, how will we all starve?"

Qing Shuang shrank back, realizing that Chen Chang'an's words made sense...

But she glanced at Princess Zhaoyue, then quickly craned her neck and asked, "If you're going to talk business, just talk business. Why are you writing poems for her?"

Chen Chang'an said frankly, "Gu Qingcheng is the number one courtesan in the capital. Once she uses our perfume, everyone else will follow suit. But the only way to see her is to win the poetry competition. What can I do? I can only write a poem at random and try to win the poetry competition first..."

Qing Shuang looked at Chen Chang'an speechlessly.

Why did he say that? It was so infuriating!

However, he certainly has the right to say that.

Chen Chang'an explained, "I've already spoken to her. She'll help us find business. For every bottle of Qing Shuang Lu that a customer she introduces buys, I'll give her one tael of silver as a reward..."

Qing Shuang had no reason to question Chen Chang'an anymore, but she still pouted and said, "You haven't even met her yet, and you're already writing poems for her. We've known each other for so long, and I've never seen you write a poem for me or my cousin..."

Chen Chang'an realized that she was asking him for a poem.

He shook his head, went into the shop, took out paper and pen, wrote a few lines of poetry on the paper, handed it to her, and said, "Here, this is for you."

Qing Shuang took the paper, glanced at it, and found that she couldn't quite understand it, so she looked to Princess Zhao Yue for help.

"A Seven-Character Quatrain Presented to Qing Shuang"

Princess Zhaoyue looked at the poem on the paper and read it softly: "Why should women yield to men? On horseback, spear in hand, spirits soar. The daughters of Da Ning are full of ambition, preferring armor to makeup."

After reading it aloud, she looked at Chen Chang'an, then at Qing Shuang, and explained, "The first line describes how you ride a horse and wield a spear, your spirited appearance is in no way inferior to that of a man. The second line says that although you don't wear red makeup or care for cosmetics, your heroic spirit and ambition are more moving than those who wear red makeup and cosmetics..."

Upon hearing this, Qing Shuang puffed out her chest.

This guy really understands her...

Why should women have to know music, chess, calligraphy, and painting? She insisted on riding horses and learning martial arts, beating those men so badly they dared not laugh at her...

She carefully folded the paper, tucked it into her sleeve, gave Chen Chang'an a satisfied look, and said, "You pass..."

Princess Zhaoyue didn't say anything, but glanced at Chen Chang'an subtly before lowering her head.

With Qing Shuang's help, how could Gong Yue's help be missing?

Chen Chang'an took another piece of paper, wrote a few lines of poetry, and handed it to her, saying, "This is for Miss Gong Yue."

Princess Zhaoyue took the paper and looked up at it.

Partridge Sky - A Gift to Gong Yue

"Its pale yellow hue is delicate and its fragrance lingers even when its presence is faint. Why need it be light blue or deep red? It is naturally the first among flowers."

The poem that Chen Chang'an gave to Miss Gong Yue is taken from Li Qingzhao's "Partridge Sky: Osmanthus".

The osmanthus blossoms are pale yellow and serene, gentle and shy in appearance, aloof and detached from worldly affairs, yet their rich fragrance lingers long afterward. They need not flaunt their pale green or bright red hues; they are inherently the finest among flowers.

Osmanthus flowers are unassuming, their color not as vibrant as peonies, but their fragrance is far-reaching, and they don't need to compete with those bright red and purple flowers.

That's just how Gong Yue is—unassuming and low-key, but when she stands there, no one can take their eyes off her.

Those courtesans wore heavy makeup and dressed up in flamboyant ways, which was eye-catching, but in Chen Chang'an's heart, they were far from being comparable to Miss Gong Yue.

Princess Zhaoyue could naturally see the deeper meaning in Chen Chang'an's poem, and a subtle smile appeared on her lips.

He understands himself...

She put the poem away, her face slightly flushed, and said softly, "Thank you, young master."

Chen Chang'an waved his hand: "You're welcome..."

At this moment, Qing Shuang looked at Chen Chang'an again and asked, "Is that so-called 'Alluring Beauty' really that beautiful? You praised her as if she were a fairy from heaven..."

Princess Zhaoyue listened intently upon hearing this.

Chen Chang'an shook his head and said, "She was wearing a veil, so I couldn't see her face clearly, and I don't know what she looks like. When I wrote that poem, I had never even seen her. I was only thinking about promoting our scented dew, and thankfully it was successful..."