The perfume I received this time was indeed from the shop that was part of the Third Young Mistress's dowry. I must say, this rouge shop is doing really well.
It's no wonder that among the remaining shops, it's one of only two with relatively high profits.
Uncle Xu used to enjoy traveling around doing business, and the recipe for the balm was found by him.
Thanks to this balm, a shop on Horse Street made a considerable profit each month, sometimes tens or even hundreds of taels of silver.
This time, Steward Sun from the inner courtyard of the Marquis's mansion thought that since he was going to distribute cosmetics and perfumes to the maids and servants of the Marquis's mansion anyway, he might as well use cosmetics from the Marquis's own relatives.
He flattered the third young mistress and bought a lot of things from her shop.
Xu Shaoqing was indeed very satisfied. Not only did he get the rouge shop owner to lower the price, but the Marquis's residence also purchased it at a low price.
Gui Xiang even wrapped a red envelope and sent it over to her. Steward Sun declined several times before finally accepting it.
Wang Yan and the other girls didn't care how the higher-ups operated; they only cared about getting benefits for themselves.
They were overjoyed to receive a free box of gardenia balm, which cost only three qian (approximately 0.3 yuan).
Chunxi and Chunyu also brought jasmine-scented ones, so the group could share them.
Aunt Yang glanced at the shopkeeper who had personally delivered the perfume, her eyes flickering.
Gu Ting has been pulling strings and trying to find connections everywhere these past two days. Since he can't get into the Hanlin Academy, he wants to be transferred to the Imperial Academy.
But even if you go there, you can only become a Doctor of the Imperial Academy, a rank of eighth grade, which would actually be a demotion of one grade.
However, if he wanted to work as a director of studies at the Imperial Academy, Gu Ting would be satisfied with a sixth-rank official position, but he would need a lot of money to pave the way.
If I just need to spend another six months at the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, and if money comes in, I should be able to get a sixth-rank position as a supervisor at the Imperial Academy after a year.
It takes only two years to be promoted to the first rank, which saves several years of wasting time accumulating seniority.
But Gu Ting came back and said that about 15,000 taels of silver would be needed for the event.
Aunt Yang has only managed to save a meager ten thousand taels of silver over the years. She does have some gold and silver jewelry, but she can't just sell it all.
The second master would never be able to squeeze ten thousand taels of silver from the second wife to bribe his illegitimate son.
Xu Shaoqing only has one shop, yet her business is so booming. I wonder how much she earns each month?
The more Aunt Yang thought about it, the more feasible it seemed. Besides, Xu Shaoqing's dowry included tens of thousands of taels of silver.
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Aunt Su from the main kitchen brought over a small jar of honey-preserved plum blossoms. These were some whole, intact plum blossoms that the kitchen maids picked from the plum garden when the plum blossoms were in bloom a while ago.
Then peel off the white plum flesh, cover it with the previously stored snow, soak it overnight, and bring out the sour and salty plum flavor.
Then take out the soaked plum water, wash the plum blossoms clean, and soak them in the plum water.
After one night, take out the plum blossoms that have been fully soaked, and soak them together with the previously soaked white plum blossoms in honey for storage.
It can be served as a side dish with wine, or used to brew tea.
Wang Yan then gave a small jar over so that Qingqian and the others could use it when making tea.
She also brewed herself a cup of plum blossom tea, which tasted slightly sour, giving it a unique flavor.
While leisurely sipping tea and chatting with Sister Qingqian who had come over to brew honey-preserved plum tea, Qingqian was called back before the tea was even finished, after only a few words.
A moment later, Wang Yan peeked out from the small tea room and saw Qingqian and Qingmei carrying two trays as they walked out.
It wasn't until that evening, through the gossip of the gatekeeper's mother, that Wang Yan learned what had happened.
It turned out that the second master went to the gambling house to gamble, lost, and refused to pay up. As a result, the gambling house broke both his legs and sent him out.
He went there in disguise, anonymously changing his surname, so the gambling house didn't know he was the Marquis's brother.
It was the servant boy who came to report the news and sent someone to rescue him.
After the Marquis finished his shift, he changed his clothes and hurriedly went to the second master's residence. Not long after, he heard that all the servants under the second master had been beaten with a few strokes of the cane.
The people around her had also changed. The next day, the second wife, Zheng Jin, went to the main room to pay her respects and proposed to divide the family property.
“We mustn’t let him cause any more trouble outside, lest he become a burden to his elder brother.”
Regardless of whether the Marquis was willing or not, the old lady was indeed tempted.
He was a complete playboy who went to the gambling den to gamble.
After the family separates, you can buy them a nice house outside, and gradually the separation will become clear.
After hearing this, the second master flew into a rage, but with his leg broken, he couldn't cause any trouble.
But the old marquis refused and rejected the old lady's suggestion.
“That’s his own brother. The second brother can’t even stand on his own two feet, and his grandchildren haven’t even gotten a foothold yet.”
If they rush to kick them out now, without the Marquis's mansion's support, it will take this family another 20 years to rise in status.
Let's wait and see. Once Gu Jing and Gu Yan have settled down and secured a good future for themselves, then we can talk about other things.
If they do well, it will be a help to Gu Che (the Crown Prince).
At least he won't end up like Gu Xiao and the Marquis, dragging the Marquis down.
The old lady fell silent, and even Madam Zheng changed her mind after hearing the old Marquis's idea, realizing that she had been too impatient.
The advantages that a son of a marquis will have in the officialdom are naturally different from those of a relative of a marquis.
She could endure a few more years until Gu Yan had made all the necessary arrangements, then she could return to her clan's ancestral home with peace of mind.
So the matter was resolved without serious incident. The second master, having been frightened by this incident, seemed to have become much more well-behaved.
Afterwards, I heard from Aunt Yang's instigation that Zheng Jin had asked to divide the family property, and that she had a huge argument with Zheng Jin.
Aunt Yang wanted to take this opportunity to get some money from the second wife, but she didn't get a single penny and almost ruined the whole thing.
A few days later, the servants in the house spread the word that the third young master wanted to use money to buy an official position.
The Marquis was furious upon hearing this, and summoned his nephew to him, giving him a severe scolding.
Gu Ting repeatedly assured that he wouldn't dare, only saying that he wanted to go to the Imperial Academy, but the position was that of a Doctor of the Imperial Academy, which was a demotion of one rank, so there was no need to bribe him.
The Marquis then gave up, but repeatedly instructed him to be honest and diligent in his duties, and never to be the kind of person who holds a position without doing any work.
Even if I am transferred, I must be conscientious and responsible in my current position every single day I work.
But actually, the second wife was also furious. She knew nothing about Aunt Yang and Gu Ting's plans.
If it weren't for the rumors spreading and that foolish person jumping out to do something stupid, she would have asked Zijuan to inquire and found out that they actually wanted to take the path of buying official positions.
Unbeknownst to anyone, Zheng Jin had been much more lenient with the second son of the concubine during this period.
For Xu Shaoqing's sake, and besides, their own lives will be much more relaxed afterward.
Now we won't have any peace and quiet anymore; we still need to strictly discipline this family.
As a result, Aunt Yang and Gu Ting's lives became tighter again.
However, for any matter to be done, it must be done as before. If it involves withdrawing more than one hundred taels of silver, the reason must be explained to the head steward of the second branch before it can be done.
The two were quite frustrated, but there was nothing they could do. Even the second master was under a lot of control.
Xu Shaoqing was somewhat displeased with this situation.
However, what she didn't know was that it was because of the second wife's intervention that she was able to avoid a disaster.
Aunt Yang had originally planned to scheming to get Xu Shaoqing's dowry.
After being reprimanded by Zheng Jin, they had no choice but to suspend their plans.
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