The most dissolute couple in the capital

The new rules of Chenxiang Pavilion immediately provoked the anger of the noblewomen.

"Five hundred taels of silver for just a business card? And even after buying a card, we have to keep spending money to boost sales and get into the top twenty before we can buy that beauty cream! What kind of despicable merchant tactics are these!" An aunt from the Zheng family of Xingyang smashed her teacup in anger. "What do they take us for? Fat sheep to be manipulated at will?"

(Note: In classical Chinese, "名刺" refers to a name card or calling card.)

The other ladies echoed this sentiment, saying that the family's integrity would never be compromised by such trivial matters, and that the Chenxiang Pavilion would have to close down sooner or later.

The wind direction changed in just three days.

In the backyard of the Duke of Zheng's mansion, a small plum blossom appreciation tea party is being held.

Zheng Wenyuan's younger sister, Zheng Deyin, known as the most talented woman in the capital, was sitting behind an expensive Jiao Wei Qin (a type of zither), playing the strings. Today, she was dressed in a plain white silk dress, without any makeup, exuding a cool and aloof air, as if she were untouched by worldly affairs.

"Sister Deyin's rendition of 'Guangling San' is truly becoming more and more extraordinary." After the song ended, a noble lady in purple smiled and flattered her.

Zheng Deyin nodded slightly, his tone indifferent: "The music comes from the heart. People are all troubled by fame and fortune, and their bodies reek of money, so the music they play is naturally filthy. But recently, those noble ladies in the capital have been fighting in the streets over a bottle of some kind of agarwood cream. It is truly an insult to civilization and utterly vulgar."

Upon hearing this, the expressions on the faces of the several noble ladies who had been whispering amongst themselves immediately became somewhat awkward.

The noblewoman in purple chuckled and subconsciously hid a small object she had been clutching in her hand into her sleeve.

Zheng Deyin, with her sharp eyes, frowned slightly: "Sister Wan, what are you hiding?"

"N-nothing...nothing..." the noblewoman in purple stammered.

A straightforward young lady from a military family nearby didn't care about any of that. She grabbed the purple-clad noblewoman's hand and exposed the thing.

It was a small, crystal-clear glass bottle filled with pale pink rose perfume, sparkling in the winter sun.

"Oh my, Sister Wan, you actually managed to snag the rare face cream from Chenxiang Pavilion! I heard only twenty bottles were released today, you must have paid a hefty price to get it from someone else!" The military officer exclaimed, her eyes filled with envy.

Seeing she couldn't hide it any longer, the noblewoman in purple simply admitted it openly, a hint of pride appearing on her face: "Of course! My sister-in-law finally managed to get her hands on 'Lanzhi Golden Book' yesterday, and this morning she went to queue up. I begged for ages before I was spared a small bottle. Look at this jar, this luster! I heard it's a secret method imported from the West, and even the ladies in the palace adore it!"

"Really? Let me smell it!"

"What is this jar made of? How can it be so transparent?"

The noblewoman in purple became even more pleased upon seeing this: "This is called glass. I don't know where the Agarwood Pavilion found it. It's truly beautiful."

In an instant, the noble ladies who had been discussing poetry and painting with Zheng Deyin all swarmed around the noble lady in purple, marveling at the small glass bottle.

Zheng Deyin sat alone behind the zither stand, watching her sisters who had just praised her elegant zither playing now staring at a bottle of merchant's goods with their eyes shining, their faces turning pale and then red.

"It's just a jar for perfume, why make such a fuss! It's utterly absurd!" Zheng Deyin coldly uttered these words, stood up, and stormed off.

Back in her room, Zheng Deyin angrily swept all the Xuan paper on the table onto the floor.

"Vulgar things! They're all a bunch of ignorant and shallow vulgar things!" she gritted her teeth.

However, when she walked up to the bronze mirror and saw her slightly chapped cheeks due to the dryness of winter, she couldn't help but recall the delicate, smooth, pale pink perfume in the glass bottle and Wan's rosy, glowing face.

Finally, she gritted her teeth, turned to her personal maid, and whispered, "Cui'er... take two hundred taels of silver, go out through the back door, disguise yourself, and go to that Agarwood Pavilion... take a look. If you can buy that beauty cream, bring it back quietly."

She paused for a moment, then said, "I don't care about the price, I'll take it all, no matter how much."

Cui'er was stunned for a moment, then quickly accepted the order and left.

Less than half an hour later, Cui'er returned with a bitter face, her hands empty.

"Where is the stuff?!" Zheng Deyin asked urgently.

Cui'er pouted, feeling wronged: "Miss, I didn't even see a glimpse of that exquisite face cream! I offered double the price, but that maid just laughed and said something..."

"What did you say?"

Cui'er lowered her head: "They said that the production capacity of high-grade cosmetics was really limited, and they just kept apologizing and claiming that they were sold out."

"Outrageous! How dare a mere merchant act so arrogantly!" Zheng Deyin trembled with anger and slammed his hand on the table.

"So...Miss, shall we still buy it?"

Zheng Deyin's chest heaved violently a few times. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

When she opened her eyes again, they were filled with resentment and shame. She squeezed out a few words through gritted teeth: "Buy! Go get my secret stash of money, gather five hundred taels, and buy back all those fine but vulgar items! I want to see who dares not write my name on the golden register on the first day of next month!"

As more and more noble ladies like Zheng Deyin began to complain about the "vulgarity" while secretly sending people to buy up all the goods, the reputation of Chenxiang Pavilion did not decline due to its high prices and strict rules. Instead, it rose to the top of the social elite circle in Chang'an City through competition.

More influential people with connections, after making several inquiries, also learned about the Liang King behind Chenxiang Pavilion.

In the past few days, the threshold of the gatehouse of the Liang Prince's Mansion has been almost worn down by the stewards of various noble families and dignitaries in Chang'an.

The visiting cards arrived like snowflakes, all under the guise of "tea tasting," "appreciating paintings," and "discussing philosophy," all trying to curry favor with Prince Liang, Li Chengjing.

Cui Qingyi nestled on the chaise lounge in the warm pavilion, turned over, and looked at the mountain of invitations piled up on the small table, without even the desire to reach out: "Your Highness, if you don't want to deal with these invitations, just have the steward push them all away and say you just caught a cold."

"Why bother pushing them away? This is the first time in my life that so many people have lined up to flatter me. Might as well not see them!" Li Chengjing was in high spirits, casually pulling out a few gold-embossed invitations. "The Wang family... the Li family... the Qinghe Cui family... oh, never mind this one, it's from your maternal family. I want to see what tricks they can come up with."

When Li Chengjing actually met a few of them, he realized that he had underestimated the shamelessness of these people.

At noon that day, in the front hall.

Wang Bo'an of the Taiyuan Wang family, holding a Ru kiln teacup, first praised Prince Liang for his outstanding talent and unparalleled incense-making skills. The two exchanged pleasantries for a while until Li Chengjing showed impatience, at which point Wang Bo'an explained his purpose.

"Your Highness, to be frank, I have come here today not only to admire your elegance, but also to ask you a question. My mother and wife are both enamored with the floral perfumes and balms from the Agarwood Pavilion. Especially the transparent container that holds the perfumes and balms, so crystal clear as ice and transparent as water—I wonder which deity crafted such a wondrous object?"

Li Chengjing glanced at him lazily: "What, Young Master Wang, you're interested in jars for storing cosmetics? Such vulgar things can catch your eye?"

Wang Bo'an's smile remained unchanged: "Your Highness is too kind. I've found this item to be exquisitely crafted, and I thought that if it could be brought into one of the large kilns under my Wang family's name for mass production, it would surely bring Your Highness's Agarwood Pavilion a fortune every day. Wouldn't it be a wonderful thing if our two families joined forces? I wonder about Your Highness's sourcing channels..."

"Stop, stop, stop." Li Chengjing impatiently interrupted his long-winded speech. "Young Master Wang, I don't think you're any good at studying either?"

"Ah... what do you mean?"

"Are you trying to get something for nothing?" Li Chengjing sneered, leaning forward. "Why don't you just say you want to find out my exclusive secret recipe? Why bother with this talk of joint production? Let me tell you the truth, I searched everywhere for this glass, going through countless hardships to obtain it. You... really want to know?"

Wang Bo'an's eyes lit up, and he quickly cupped his hands in greeting: "If Your Highness is willing to offer guidance, the Wang family is willing to pay a hefty sum..."

"A lot of money? How much? Is it more than the gold in my vault?"

If we really have to compare, the Wang family's wealth might not be any less than Li Chengjing's, but how can a family of upright officials openly talk about being rich?

Li Chengjing seized on this point and retorted without hesitation, "This kind of secret is something I have to guard with one eye open even when I sleep. How could I tell someone else! Do you think I'm a street performer who gets a little reward from the royal family and then gets to search every inch of my body?"

Wang Bo'an was speechless, his face turning ashen. His pride as a scion of a powerful family was waning, and his tone hardened: "Your Highness, I meant well. The waters of Chang'an are very deep. Although Your Highness is a prince, monopolizing such rare goods requires the support of powerful families; otherwise, this business would be difficult to sustain. If the Wang family were to enter the game, it would be entirely beneficial to Your Highness..."

"Oh my, are you threatening me?" Li Chengjing showed no fear. "You dare to teach me how to do business! What patronage from noble families? Do I need your help? No matter how powerful your families are, are they more powerful than the royal family? You're trying to steal my business, do you dislike me? If you dislike me, do you have a problem with the Emperor? What, is the Wang family of Taiyuan planning a rebellion?!"

Wang Bo'an was so frightened that he nearly dropped the teacup in his hand.

That hat is way too big!

If a good person can't reach an agreement in business, they'll be immediately labeled as a rebel!

"Your Highness, please calm down! I misspoke, I had no such intention! I have urgent business at home, I must take my leave!" Wang Bo'an scrambled out of the gate of the Liang Prince's mansion, not daring to look back.

After dealing with several scheming young men from powerful families, Li Chengjing returned to the backyard feeling refreshed.

"Qingyi!" he boasted smugly to Cui Qingyi, "You didn't see the faces of these people who only wanted to reap without sowing, to sit back and enjoy the fruits of others' labor, to make huge profits without any investment, and to seize by force! They even dared to bully me! Luckily, I remained calm in the face of danger, undaunted by power, quick-witted and resourceful, and debated with the group of scholars, leaving them utterly defeated!"

Cui Qingyi quickly praised, "Your Highness is wise and mighty. To deal with such a treacherous person, such a thunderous method that strikes straight to the soul is the right thing to do."

Good heavens!

I really want everyone in the capital to see this. The vocabulary of these four characters, which come out in fours, shows that the royal education resources of the Great Ning Dynasty have not been wasted.

"Of course!" Li Chengjing proudly puffed out his chest. "If anyone dares to ask about the glass tomorrow, I'll teach them a lesson!"