An Lingrong smiled slightly, like a peach blossom blooming in spring, making both Juqing and Baojuan's hearts flutter.
It's true that heroes come from all walks of life. When Consort Jing first entered the palace, those shallow-minded people all thought she came from a humble family. They believed that following such a concubine would lead to nothing.
She was constantly bullied and humiliated, yet she lacked the confidence to argue with anyone. Who would have thought that after the young mistress served the emperor, she would receive constant favor and honor?
Although she couldn't compare to the most favored concubines, the number of times she spent in the emperor's bedchamber each month was only slightly less than that of Consort Wan.
Now everyone envies those who serve others for being lucky enough to have such a good master.
Everyone was trying to pull strings to get a chance to serve Consort Jing.
An Lingrong picked up a bottle of sky-blue color, with orchid patterns painted on its surface.
Even from a distance, you can smell the delicate fragrance of orchids after opening the bottle. Because it is made from Cymbidium ensifolium, the fragrance has a cool and crisp quality.
If you choose Cymbidium faberi, the fragrance will be rich and sweet. Cymbidium sinense, on the other hand, is similar to osmanthus, with a pervasive fragrance.
This small bottle alone uses no less than a hundred pounds of fresh flowers. If it were jasmine, it would require even more.
And they can only pick unopened flower buds at night. When picking them, they can't even light lanterns; they have to do it in the dark by the moonlight.
That wasn't all; ordinary people hadn't tasted meat for months, and most suffered from night blindness, becoming blind as soon as it got dark. This made the finest jasmine perfume the rarest of the twelve types of flowers.
An Lingrong said, "Every bottle of perfume here is made with countless fresh flowers, so it's certainly rare."
"Just preparing all of this took an unknown amount of manpower and resources. The entire capital city, as well as the flower capital within ten miles outside the city, was almost completely swept away."
"Even so, not many were made. After the concubines in the harem received a share, and the Prince Zhuang's wife and others sent some, how many bottles were left?"
"Now that autumn has arrived, plum blossoms will be the only flowers available for winter. If the shop opens, I'm afraid we'll run out of stock very soon."
Baojuan saw that although An Lingrong seemed troubled, she didn't look worried at all, clearly not thinking it was a big deal.
The principle of scarcity makes things valuable. Such precious perfumes require the patience of noblewomen in the capital to wait for them in order to be worthy of their price.
However, the price that Your Highness and Consort Cheng mentioned is too high. Even if there's no waiting time, how many people can afford it?
Baojuan said, "Good things should be waited for, but the starting price of one thousand taels of silver per bottle, and the price of each perfume is different, is too high."
"The best perfumes cost less than half the price."
Juqing nodded hastily as well. Those of them who served in the palace all felt the price was too high. Needless to say, those outside the palace felt even more strongly about it.
An Lingrong wasn't worried about that. Just by looking at how well the Honey Shop was doing, she knew that the Qing Dynasty had never lacked wealthy and powerful families.
Milk candy, something you can make at home, can provide enough to buy several hundred taels of silver a year. What's a bottle of perfume that costs a thousand taels compared to that?
"Is it too high? I think it's not high enough."
"The current price is just a test; we can raise it gradually later."
Juqing and Baojuan were both shocked, their eyes widening in surprise. The price was going to rise again?
"How much silver would that be!"
"One bottle is worth one thousand taels, ten bottles are worth ten thousand taels, one hundred bottles are worth one hundred thousand taels, and one thousand bottles..."
Juqing was so shocked that she covered her mouth and dared not count any further.
People in the palace say that Consort Cheng is the reincarnation of a maiden who served the God of Wealth.
In her opinion, how could a virgin have such great abilities? She must be the God of Wealth's own daughter!
An Lingrong said, "Alright, there will be many more things like this in the future, don't be alarmed."
"Bring all the prepared items and send a box to the Empress Dowager, the Empress, and all the concubines in the palace."
Upon hearing this, Baojuan and Juqing were clearly unwilling.
Although this matter was instructed beforehand, how much silver will be sent out if we send it out like this!
Baojuan said, "My lady, we can leave the Empress Dowager and the Empress aside. Although it is expensive, a box of twelve bottles for each person is the proper amount."
"It's only right to be more attentive to Consort Hua and Consort Wan."
"But those concubines and such are only summoned by the Emperor once every few months. Sending such fine things over would be a waste."
"Even considering that we are all in the harem, giving each of them only one bottle is already very generous. You and Consort Cheng were even more generous in giving them a whole box. It pained me to see that."
"What use are they? They can't even see the Emperor. No one will appreciate them."
Juqing chimed in, "My lady, what Baojuan said may be unpleasant, but it is the truth."
"With so many people in the palace, how much silver must this cost! Even just to make a good connection, it wouldn't cost this much. It's such a waste to give even the palace maids a set.
An Lingrong knew they were telling the truth; if she wanted to save on these expenses, she should simply distribute the money according to their social status.
The Empress Dowager and the Empress each received a box containing twelve different floral scents, while Consort Hua received ten bottles. Each Consort received eight bottles, each Concubine six, each Noble Lady four, each Attendant two, and each Lady-in-Waiting one.
Then, the missing items can be secretly sent to Consort Hua and Zhen Huan. That way, even if others are dissatisfied, they won't be able to find fault with them.
As for the women officials who weren't officially employed, apart from Sun Miaoqing always trying to give them a share, no one else paid them any attention.
That was her original plan, but Sun Miaoqing thought it was too much trouble and said it wasn't like she couldn't afford to give it to someone.
Since everyone lived in the palace and saw each other all the time, he simply made up his mind with a wave of his hand.
In the end, less than a hundred bottles were sold. Even if they were all sold at the current price, the cost wouldn't be recovered.
Fortunately, it was only given away once. Other perfumes and fragrances were also quite expensive, so on average, there was still a considerable profit to be made.
An Lingrong said, "Don't worry about these things, just do as instructed."
"If the concubines in the harem are all eager for these perfumes, then those outside will be even more enamored with them."
"Just like the previous example of Honey Shop, are you worried about not being able to sell it at a high price?"
"Sister Sun said not to worry about this little bit of money. No matter how much you invest in the early stages, you'll eventually earn it back from others."
Baojuan said, "I understand, I'll go prepare right away."
An Lingrong nodded, "Let's go to Shou Kang Palace first, while Consort Hui is there. That way, someone will put in a good word for us, and the Empress Dowager won't be in too much trouble."
An Lingrong was somewhat speechless. She had been selected thanks in part to the Empress Dowager's influence. After entering the palace, she visited Shou Kang Palace several times, and met the Empress Dowager three times out of ten visits.
However, she could clearly sense that the Empress Dowager did not like her at all, especially after she gained favor.
She wasn't someone who couldn't read people's expressions, but nowadays, she was unwilling to fawn over someone who was cold to her, not even the Empress Dowager.
It's been a long time since I last paid my respects at Shou Kang Palace. If I don't get some credit from Shen Meizhuang this time, I probably won't even be able to get in the door.
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