Poet Immortal, Poet Sage, Duke of the State!

Ruyi Tower.

Because of the last time they sent people to cause trouble at Qingshuangfang, Ruyilou was punished by being forced to close down for three months and could not openly do business.

However, despite not being able to open, Ruyilou's business was unaffected.

Their customers were all noble ladies from the capital. They would send their servants to deliver the perfumes to their residences at a fixed time each month, and the perfumes in stock could still be sold.

The doors of Ruyi Restaurant were tightly shut, and Manager Sun sat behind the counter with an extremely grim expression.

This time, the Emperor's brother-in-law asked the Empress to intervene, which fundamentally cut off the customer flow of Qing Shuang Fang. It was thought that Qing Shuang Fang's investment in perfumes would go down the drain and it would have to close down completely.

A few days ago, he sent someone to keep an eye on Qing Shuang Fang's activities. The shop assistant reported that their perfume was not selling well, and he gloated for a while.

But just two days later, he received news that Qing Shuang Fang's perfumes were selling like hotcakes again, with brothel madams from all over the capital bringing their pimps to buy them, sometimes buying hundreds of bottles at a time.

The women of the brothel were not considered by Ruyi Tower in the past. Even if their perfumes were piled up in the warehouse, they would not sell them to them.

But right now, Ruyilou's business is greatly affected. They can't even open their shops. They have to take on businesses they used to look down on.

He beckoned to a waiter and said casually, "Go to each of the brothels and tell them that Ruyi Tower's perfume can now be sold to them, at the same price as before, ten taels of silver per bottle..."

The shop assistant responded, tucked a few bottles of perfume into his pocket, and went out through the back door.

Ruyilou had dealt with these brothels before. In the past, they would beg Ruyilou to buy perfume, but Ruyilou never sold it to them.

This time, Ruyilou took the initiative to lower its standards, so wouldn't they be extremely grateful and rush to buy from them?

After a while.

Xiaoxiang Pavilion.

Zhao Si walked into Xiaoxiang Pavilion, raised his chin, and said to a pimp, "I'm from Ruyi Tower. I'm here to talk business with you. Call your madam out."

The pimp immediately went to the backyard to announce their arrival. Soon, Mama Liu, the madam of Xiaoxiang Pavilion, came out. Seeing Zhao Si, she showed no expression and said indifferently, "Oh, isn't this Brother Zhao from Ruyi Tower? What brings you here?"

In the past, she would personally go to Ruyi Tower to buy perfume, smiling obsequiously, but the staff there would ignore her.

Now, they can buy perfume at Qingshuangfang without having to beg the people at Ruyilou, so they don't have to give them any special treatment.

Zhao Si, oblivious to the change in Liu Mama's attitude, took a bottle of perfume from his bosom and placed it on the table, saying condescendingly, "Our Manager Sun said that from now on, brothels like yours can also buy our Ruyi Pavilion's perfume. Each bottle is fifteen taels of silver. How many bottles do you want to order? I'll go back and talk to Manager Sun..."

Although Manager Sun said it was fifteen taels of silver per bottle, he couldn't possibly sell these brothels for only ten taels.

He kept two taels of the extra five taels for himself, and returned the remaining three taels to Manager Sun.

"Fifteen taels?"

Liu's mother picked up the bottle of perfume, uncorked it, brought it to her nose, and smelled it, a mocking expression on her face.

Ruyi Lou's cheap perfume has a pungent smell and a short-lived fragrance. How can it be compared to Qing Shuang Fang's "Twelve Flower Goddesses"?

The finest perfumes from Qing Shuang Fang only cost ten taels of silver per bottle. If you buy more than a hundred bottles at once, you can get a 10% discount. If you sign a long-term purchase contract, you can get an additional 50% off.

Ruyilou's fragrant dew is no match for Qingshuangfang's, yet they dare to sell it for fifteen taels.

Madam Liu put the stopper back on the bottle, set down the perfume, and said with a forced smile, "This is truly a rare thing. Isn't Ruyi Pavilion's perfume only ever sold to daughters of officials and ladies of noble birth? How could we courtesans be worthy of such fine perfume? Half a year ago, when I went to your shop to buy perfume, your manager, Mr. Sun, said that courtesans were not worthy of using your perfume..."

Zhao Si waved his hand and said, "That's all outdated. The manager has changed the rules now, and you courtesans can buy our perfume now..."

Madam Liu sneered and said, "No, no, no, what kind of status do we have? How could we be worthy of using the same perfume as those ladies and young ladies? Brother Zhao, you should go back. We only buy our perfume from Qing Shuang Fang. You should keep the things from Ru Yi Lou to sell to the ladies and young ladies of officials..."

After saying that, she flicked her sleeve and said, "Show them out!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhao Si was pushed and shoved out of Xiaoxiangfang by the two pimps.

Mother Liu spat at his retreating figure and sneered, "What a piece of trash! He used to ignore us, but now that he wants to make money off us, he remembers us? Does he think I'm stupid?"

Ruyilou sells its perfumes at such high prices, yet they still look down on them.

From the manager to the maids, everyone at Qing Shuang Fang treated the courtesans with utmost courtesy from the very beginning. The manager was a great scholar who even wrote poems for the courtesans. Their goods were even better, and the prices were cheaper...

Unless she's a fool, she wouldn't choose Qing Shuang Fang's fragrant dew over Ru Yi Lou's.

Zhao Si, furious after being kicked out of Xiaoxiangfang, turned around and said viciously, "Fine, don't buy then! You'll regret it. A bunch of prostitutes selling yourselves, we're doing you a favor by selling you perfume..."

Snapped!

Before Zhao Si could finish speaking, a teapot flew down from the second floor, landed at his feet, and shattered with a crash, nearly hitting him on the head.

Zhao Si shuddered and scrambled away.

After leaving Xiaoxiang Pavilion, he went to Zuihua Tower, Qunfang Pavilion and Qunyu Tower in succession.

The owners of Zuihualou and Qunfangge dismissed him with a few words, while Qunyulou didn't even let him in.

Left with no other choice, Zhao Si could only slink back to Ruyi Tower with the few bottles of perfume in his pocket.

Manager Sun listened to his report with a dark face, then abruptly waved his sleeve and said coldly, "If they don't want to buy, then they don't want to buy. Qing Shuang Fang has lowered itself to the level of those brothel girls. Let them do it. We have enough ladies and young women in Ruyi Tower..."

At the same time.

East of the city, at the residence of the Vice Minister of Rites.

The wife of the Vice Minister has been in a bad mood these past few days. Her husband has been coming home very late for the past three or four days, and last night he didn't come home at all.

Not only that, every time he came home, he carried a faint fragrance, a pleasant scent that was even better than the Ruyi Lou perfume she used...

She knew without even thinking that the master must be having an affair with another woman.

A series of hurried footsteps came from the doorway, and her personal maid rushed in, saying in a panic, "Madam, something terrible has happened! I heard from people outside that several courtesans in the capital have been using a kind of fragrant lotion these past few days. It smells so good that the customers can't resist it. Master must be captivated by them too..."