Chapter 341 Eunuch Liu
Although the noble ladies in the palace held a prestigious status, her soap-making business was not currently monopolized by the palace, so she had the right to make soap for others.
"It's alright. I'm not the one who specializes in supplying soap to the palace. Anyone can come to me to make rare items, so the old lady doesn't need to worry."
The old lady breathed a slight sigh of relief upon hearing Jiang Mi's words.
"Fine, keep it if you like it. Just don't be too flashy. It's always better to be low-key. Look at Honey, she has such amazing skills, but does she flaunt them everywhere? She's very humble."
The old lady also started calling her "honey" along with Princess Jinning, making Jiang Mi feel embarrassed.
Princess Jinning looked at Jiang Mi with pride and said, "Of course, I have a very good eye for my friends. Mi is not only beautiful, but also very capable. These are all her own abilities."
Jiang Mi chatted with the old lady for a while longer when someone announced that people from the palace had arrived. Jiang Mi's identity was inappropriate, so she hid behind a screen. She couldn't see anything, but she heard footsteps approaching. Then the old lady and Princess Jinning knelt down, but were stopped by a eunuch.
"I did not bring an imperial edict today, so you two do not need to kneel. I came here today because of what happened last time. When the Old Madam celebrated her birthday, Consort Jing was not feeling well for a few days, so His Majesty stayed with Consort Jing and only sent a gift to the Old Madam. This time, I came specifically to see the Old Madam in person. Is the Old Madam in good health?"
The old lady was very excited, her eyes reddening: "If Your Majesty still remembers me, my health will be much better. Eunuch Liu, please go back and tell His Majesty that I am doing well. I hope Your Majesty will also be healthy and safe and not overwork yourself."
Eunuch Liu said with a smile, "Your Majesty is busy with countless affairs every day, so it is inevitable that you are overworked. However, I will take good care of Your Majesty. Consort Jing is also taking good care of Your Majesty. Oh my, what is this smell? It smells so good."
Only then did the old lady realize that in their haste to arrive, they had forgotten to discard the soap, which was still lying there. Sure enough, Eunuch Liu approached it.
"What is this? It looks a bit like soap, but it smells like lime. It's really strange."
Now that things have come to this, I have no choice but to tell the truth.
The old lady smiled and said, "Eunuch Liu has a good eye. This is lime-scented soap. My Jinning likes the smell of lime, so I asked the shopkeeper of Yue Shang Shao to make this soap lime-scented."
"Oh my, Princess Jinning has a great idea! I didn't expect the shopkeeper at Yue Shangshao to have such skills. Does that mean we can ask her to make any kind of soap?"
The old lady glanced behind the screen and smiled, "I'm not entirely sure about this either. I'll have to ask the manager of Yue Shang Shao. My daughter only asked the manager of Yue Shang Shao to give it a try, but she did a great job. It seems the manager of Yue Shang Shao is a truly capable person."
Eunuch Liu nodded in deep agreement: "Yes, that's right. If everyone in the palace is using her soap, they wouldn't even touch the old soaps. They would either give them away to the servants or throw them all away. Now they only like to use Yue Shang Shao's soap. You know what, this soap really works. I heard from Consort Jing that it can indeed whiten the skin, and it smells nice without being greasy. All the noble ladies like it very much."
Hearing others praise the ginger soap like that, Princess Jinning was also very happy: "Yes, yes, I also like to use it. The lime is rare, and only a few were made. I am reluctant to use them. Even if you leave them in the room, they will still smell nice. This soap is indeed a good thing."
Looking at the lime soap, Eunuch Liu exclaimed, "This lime soap is probably only available to the princess. No one else has ever seen it. I was just lucky to come here this time and have the opportunity to see it. It's truly a wonderful thing."
Princess Jinning was reluctant to give the soap to others, so she said, "This year's lime harvest was small, and only a little bit was given by the Empress Dowager. I imagine the other ladies should have plenty. If the ladies like it, you can give it to the shopkeeper at Yue Shangshao, and she will make it for you."
Seeing through Princess Jinning's intentions, Eunuch Liu didn't want to argue with a child, so he praised her, "Princess, you are so clever and quick-witted. I didn't even think of that. If this good news is told to the nobles in the palace, I'm sure they will all be vying to make their favorite flavors. Oh my, business this month will probably be even better."
The old lady said calmly, "Too good will attract attention."
Her words implied that someone was bullying Yue Shangshao. The whole capital knew about the incident where Manager Liu caused trouble at Yue Shangshao's place, and everyone naturally sided with Yue Shangshao. However, no one expected that Manager Liu's backer was actually Consort Jing.
Eunuch Liu, of course, knew about this matter. He was a shrewd man: "Oh dear, there must be some misunderstanding here. Manager Liu has been a veteran for so many years. He has always been the one to supply soap to the palace. Now that his business is slow, he must be anxious. Although people are using less soap now, Manager Liu still sends a batch of goods to the palace every month."
What he meant was that Manager Liu would not be dismissed for the time being, after all, he had the connection with Consort Jing.
"That's none of my business. Let the nobles use whatever they like. We're just doing our best to take care of ourselves."
The old lady chatted with Eunuch Liu for a few more minutes before he left, and then the maidservant invited Jiang Mi out.
Princess Jinning pulled Jiang Mi aside and said, "You must be tired of listening from behind. This Eunuch Liu is just like that, he talks too much. I don't like him coming. Every time he comes, he talks a lot of useless nonsense."
"Jinning," the old lady reminded Princess Jinning, telling her not to talk nonsense.
Princess Jinning stuck out her tongue at Jiang Mi and said no more.
The old lady said to Jiang Mi, "When Eunuch Liu saw the soap you made, he will definitely tell the people in the palace. At that time, many people will probably ask you to make soap. It will be a big order for you. If you are lucky, I hope the people in the palace will change you to a tribute merchant. In that case, your status will be even more different."
Princess Jinning nodded: "Yes, let's see if that Manager Liu will dare to cause trouble again. He is clearly not as skilled as others, so why is he blaming others? He is really terrible."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
