Title: The Dreamer in the Spring Boudoir
Chapter: 021 out of 513 – This is an amazing business opportunity (2)
Nie Sangyu was let out of the confinement courtyard. Qian Lianxue received the marquis’s favor. Both of these women very happy, but the women in the other courtyards weren’t pleased.
Mu Shuiqing had thought that Nie Sangyu finally wouldn’t be able to change her fortune. But as is turned out, she had the ability to get Honored Concubine Xue to say words in her favor and let her be released from the confinement courtyard!
Mu Shuiqing felt very annoyed. She had thought that after Nie Sangyu was punished by the household’s rules, she would do something even more outrageous in her hysteria. Unexpectedly, with Qian Lianxue’s help, she was able to take advantage of the marquis’s compassionate heart to reverse her fortune!
When the marquis had only been staying over at Qiangwei Courtyard, everyone had felt that the situation was very balanced. So, she was even more annoyed by Honored Concubine Xue suddenly receiving the marquis’s favor for the past few days.
Who wouldn’t feel jealous that one of them had received this type of favor? Although the madam didn’t fuss about this, she would definitely feel secretly upset about this. They had only been married for half a month before the marquis left her courtyard.
Mu Shuiqing had visited Qiangwei Courtyard several times to implicitly and explicitly speak badly of Honored Concubine Xue. But, Wen Wan was the slightest bit moved by her words. She only said that it was time for the marquis to spread his seed. It was only right that he favored more than one person.
With such a magnanimous madam, there was nothing else she could say. Mu Shuiqing could only sulk by herself. Later, she went to see what method Qian Lianxue had used to attract the marquis.
The other honored concubine, Qi Siling, also couldn’t just sit still and do nothing. After she went to Xuesong Courtyard twice, she discovered Qian Lianxue’s secret.
“Younger sister, you face has become much more beautiful.” Qi Siling sweetly said. “The marquis can’t be blamed for becoming captivated by younger sister.”
Qian Lianxue’s face turned slightly red. She quietly laughed and said, “It’s all thanks to Sangyu. My face only looked this good after using this cold cream that she had brought.”
Surprised, Qi Siling asked, “Cold cream?”
Qian Lianxue reservedly smiled, then she changed the topic, “Older sister, are you prepared for Old Madame coming back? She’ll be returning soon. Madam has just entered the household and doesn’t know Old Madame’s temperament. Many things will still need to be arranged by older sister.”
Seeing the she wasn’t willing to continue speaking about the cold cream, Qi Siling didn’t ask any further questions. After they had exchanged a round of small talk, on the way out, Qi Siling ordered her personal servant girl, “Go and ask Nie Sangyu. What’s the cold cream?”
Songlan nodded and quickly ran to the courtyard on the eastern side.
However, Ji Man had already anticipated that they would go looking for her after finding out about the cold cream. So, she had gone to Qiangwei Courtyard early in the morning with a container of cold cream.
When giving things away, you couldn’t just give things to everyone that you saw. Cold cream was an item that could captivate women. She wasn’t Shancai Tongzi. If she were going to give the cold cream to other people, it would to useful people. For example, people like Qian Lianxue and Wen Wan.
(T/N: Shancai Tongzi is a bodhisattva of wealth.)
As the marquis’s darling, Wen Wan would never fall out of favor. But, her heart would have definitely felt bad during the past few days. While she was paying respect to Wen Wan today, she offered up the cold cream to her.
Wen Wan’s eyes were full of surprise when heard Ji Man explain the use of the cold cream. Her eyes were sparkling as she said, “Is it really that good?”
“Madam, you only need to look at Honored Concubine Xue to see the proof.” Ji Man said with a smile.
With Qian Lianxue as a living advertisement, Wen Wan easily believed Ji Man’s words. She accepted the cold cream and bestowed Ji Man a pile of things. In the passing, she also granted her the freedom of being able to leave the residence to go shopping whenever she had free time and while chaperoned by the servants.
However, after Ji Man left, Wen Wan still had a doctor check the cold cream. She only used it without worries after the doctor had confirmed that this was truly a harmless good thing.
Ji Man had Muxu bring back the items that Wen Wan had bestowed her.
“Master, where do you want to go?” Muxu curiously asked. “Do you want to go back to Nie residence?”
Ji Man put a banknote that was worth one hundred silver taels inside her clothes, shook her head, and said, “Why would I go there? I naturally have something I want to do outside. Didn’t you say a few days ago that there was a store with pretty good rouge for sale?”
Muxu nodded. Feeling confused, she asked, “Master, you’re already using cold cream. Why do you still want to buy rouge?”
Ji Man stuck a finger out and waved it back and forth. She brightly smiled and said, “We’ve already told them that the cold cream was purchased, so we naturally have to find a place to buy it. This is a very big business opportunity. If we succeed, we won’t have to worry about eating and drinking well for a lifetime.”
Muxu widened her eyes. Immediately after, she hastily shook her head. “Master, you can’t. It’s not appropriate for women to do business. Moreover, someone with your status…”
Ji Man pursed her lips, looked at her, and said, “I didn’t say that I would be the one who will be going out to sell the cold cream. We’re only going to be making cold cream. Then, we’ll only have to wait to collect the money. Understand?”
Muxu still shook her head. It would be terrible if someone found out about this.
“Don’t worry. You’ve seen me do so many things. Haven’t I done all of those things after careful deliberations?” Ji Man patted Muxu’s back twice to comfort her. Right after doing so, she remembered her beating. Frowning, she supplemented her previous words, “Of course, we can’t count the time I was punished by the household’s rules.”
Muxu hesitated for a long time before sighing and saying, “If master really wants to do this, then you have to go back to Nie residence and look for First Young Master to discuss this matter. This servant feels that he’s more reliable. If something does happen, only your family will help you.”
(T/N: It’s interesting how Mu Shuiqing’s perspective of Ning Yuxuan is so different from Qian Lianxue. One of them thinks Nie Sangyu was let out because he has a compassionate heart and the other one guessed correctly that it was because old madame would be returning soon, so he has to treat her better. I wonder how well Wen Wan and the other two concubines understand him.)
