Chapter 17: The Truth: The Imperial Guards are on duty, and all outsiders should quickly retreat...
None of the troublemakers were as eloquent as him. When he was speechless, he clutched the wooden stick in anger.
He glared back at the woman fiercely. She avoided his gaze and had to stand up. She stammered, "Yes, I used the rejuvenating cream from Zhichun."
"Did you hear that?" the leader's voice was rough.
Lu Tingwan took two steps forward and stood in front of Luo Yunchu. "Since you keep saying that your face was hurt after using Zhichunli's Rejuvenating Cream, how come you're the only one who got hurt when Zhichunli sells so many Rejuvenating Creams?"
"This doesn't make sense." Lu Tingwan's logic was clear, but he came prepared.
Soon after, another group of people came in from outside the door, also with their faces covered by scarves. They insisted that they looked like this because of the rejuvenating cream from Zhichun.
If only one person had come before, Lu Tingwan might not have found it difficult to prove it, but now that a group of people have come, she is more confident.
"Who said there was only one person? These people's faces were hurt by using your things. Take them out and show them to her!" The man seemed to give an order.
When everyone took off their veils, they experienced the same symptoms.
In order to frame Zhichunli and ruin her reputation, she did not spare any effort.
Lu Ting observed their faces before nightfall and it was obvious that they had rubbed irritating objects on their faces, which caused such severe redness, swelling and peeling.
She, who attached great importance to appearance, couldn't help but tremble in her heart. Why would these people be willing to hurt themselves and the enemy at the cost of a thousand?
"Since you said that your face was injured because of using Zhichun's rejuvenating cream, then each of you has a bottle of rejuvenating cream." Lu Tingwan analyzed one by one.
"Can you please let me see the rejuvenating cream you have?"
"What? You want to destroy the evidence?" the leader asked alertly.
"Everyone saw it in plain sight. The shopkeeper wanted to destroy the evidence."
Lu Tingwan glanced at him disdainfully, "Can't look? How do I know it's mine if you can't look at it?"
She paced back and forth, and every woman she passed had a similar scent on her body, and it wasn't the scent of rejuvenating cream.
It is certain that it is lead powder. A certain amount of lead powder mixed with rouge is fine, but if the amount is too much, it can be harmful to the body at best and even fatal at worst.
These people are not unaware of this, but they are willing to take risks and have no shortage of money.
There was a hint of cunning in the serious face, and the fish was bubbling, trying to bite the hook.
Lu Tingwan turned around and walked to the side of the gang leader, examining him. "Since you have it, take it out. I'll check it and tell whether it's real or fake."
"You are the shopkeeper, who knows better than you? Whether it is right or wrong depends entirely on your words." The leader was relentless.
"Not really," Lu Tingwan noticed the calluses and indentations on his palms. "Then the nobles in the Kyoto officials' mansions are all using Zhichunli's rejuvenating cream. If there's something wrong with it, do you think Zhichunli can still open its doors and welcome guests?"
"You've been avoiding the question time and time again, and you're just unwilling to produce evidence. Aren't you feeling guilty?" Lu Tingwan approached him like a hunter peering at the prey on his plate.
He couldn't sit still.
"Who said there isn't any?" He took out a small jar from his arms, which was exactly the same as the one for the rejuvenating cream.
Lu Tingwan took it and looked it up and down. Seeing that there was nothing wrong with it, he unscrewed the lid of the bottle, dipped a little and applied it to the back of his hand.
After waiting for a while, the originally fair skin gradually turned red.
The leader of the riot had a delighted look on his face. "Look everyone, there really is something wrong. Who was it that just now swore so confidently that we were slandering them? Manager Jiang, please give us an explanation."
Lu Tingwan remained calm and glanced at Feng Xin. Feng Xin understood and took out a new bottle of rejuvenating cream from the counter and a booklet from the study.
No one knew what she was trying to explain; even Luo Yunchu was speculating, but he firmly believed Lu Tingwan had a way out of this predicament. The man's calmness, unlike the steady composure expected of a seventeen-year-old, impressed him even more.
In a corner ignored by everyone, her was the only one he was focused on in his scorching gaze, and he couldn't look at anyone else.
That is admiration and respect from the bottom of my heart.
"Don't worry, don't worry," Lu Tingwan approached Luo Yunchu, "Mr. Luo, can I borrow your handkerchief?"
"I'm happy to do it." Luo Yunchu handed it over, which was a blue silk handkerchief embroidered with green bamboo.
Lu Tingwan dipped a handkerchief in clean water and applied it to the back of her hand. She then asked Feng Xin to open the new rejuvenating cream and apply it on her cheeks in front of everyone.
"You said that the one on your hand is Zhichunli Rejuvenating Cream. I just used it. It's indeed as you said, but this is the Rejuvenating Cream I just took from the counter. I applied it on my face so that you can see it more clearly. Is there anything wrong with my face?"
"No, no." The man who was watching the show came forward, his eyes seemed to be fixed on Lu Tingwan's outline. Luo Yunchu didn't know why, but he felt very uncomfortable. He calmly pressed his folding fan against the man's chest and forced him back a few steps.
Another person came closer to take a closer look and said, "Not only is there no redness or swelling, it seems to be even more hydrated than before."
Hearing the sound, the others also swarmed over and stared at her face. At this time, someone said something that was particularly loud and clear in Luo Yunchu's ears.
"This Shopkeeper Jiang is clearly a man, but how come his skin is more delicate than a woman's? He's so handsome."
Lu Tingwan also heard it, but he didn't care and was happy instead.
Luo Yunchu felt strange inside and coughed a few times. He glanced around unnaturally, hiding Lu Tingwan behind him and said to everyone, "Since this rejuvenating t-cream has been proven to be safe, everyone should stop staring at a man."
"What's the matter? Is there any problem with this rejuvenating cream?" she questioned the troublemaker.
"The one you have is fine, but that doesn't prove the one you sold us is fine. And you just tried it, and it turned out to be a fake. How do you explain that?"
"That's easy to explain." Lu Tingwan nodded to Feng Xin, and Feng Xin handed the booklet to her.
She flipped through the booklet in front of everyone. "Anyone who has bought the Rejuvenating Cream has to exchange it for a silk handkerchief. Every silk handkerchief exchanged is recorded in our store. Customers who have bought from Zhichun know this. May I ask if you bought this Rejuvenating Cream for your wife, or did she buy it herself? What's the name? Let me look for it."
She spoke in a relaxed tone, as if she was confident of victory. She waited for a long time, but there was no response from the other end.
She asked again, "Whose name did you write when you registered? Did you forget?"
"I, I forgot..." The troublemaker threw his sleeves and said in a dishonest manner.
Lu Tingwan guessed that he didn't dare to admit it and couldn't say a word. Then he sneered and said, "It doesn't matter if you forgot. I'll think about it for you."
"Ever since you came into Zhichunli, you brought a bunch of people with you to pick a fight. You've been trying to get me into trouble with your lawsuit and persuade all my customers to go to Xiangyun Pavilion in the west of the city, right?"
"Xiangyun Pavilion in the west of the city? What does this have to do with Xiangyun Pavilion?" Everyone was puzzled.
"These girls all have a fragrance. It's the exquisite powder unique to your Xiangyun Pavilion, and mixed with another special scent," she continued, raising her lip. "Lead powder."
The man listened to half of her words, and as he tried to cover up his guilt, his eyes wandered, his nostrils flared, his words stuttered, and his face showed no sign of giving in. "Lead, what's wrong with lead powder? Which rouge doesn't have lead powder in it?"
"That's right. All rouge contains a specific blend of lead powder. However, if the lead powder is too heavy, long-term use can cause redness, swelling, bloodshot eyes, pustules, and peeling on the skin."
"These symptoms represent a critical skin condition, just like the injuries on these girls' faces. If I'm not mistaken, they must have used mixed lead powder and applied it directly to their faces, causing such severe injuries. The strong smell of lead powder is so strong that even the exquisite fragrance of Xiangyun Pavilion can't cover it."
"Anyone who resorts to such tactics should be punished by heaven and earth. In this world, a woman's appearance is important. If her face is ruined, how can she face others in the future?" She said to the women, eyes full of pity. "How much silver can you buy your face?"
"You are willing to help the tyrant and harm yourselves, I have nothing to say. However, if you want to bring disgrace to Zhichunli, I, Jiang Yanli, will never agree."
"You, you, are talking nonsense." The leader's anxiety became more and more obvious.
The people behind him also followed to help.
"That's right. Just based on your words, you say it's Linglongxiang, so it must be Linglongxiang? Did you see them smearing lead powder on their faces with your own eyes?"
Lu Tingwan suddenly found it ridiculous. Those women still showed no signs of speaking. She had never lost a verbal battle in Jiangling.
She put her hands on her hips, looking quite formidable, her aura undiminished. "Why are you so anxious? Isn't this your turn? Look at you, each of you, with thick arms, calloused palms, and scars on your knuckles from years of carrying heavy objects. You're porters, and a diligent porter can earn at most five or eight taels of silver a month. Even if you could only make fifty, would you be willing to forgo food and drink to spend fifty taels on a bottle of rejuvenating cream?"
"Besides, you also have a scent on your body. It's the scent of flowers from years of being immersed in the flower market. It's not the scent of powder or any other exotic fragrance."
Luo Yunchu understood and continued, "According to what Shopkeeper Jiang said, those people must be porters in the flower market."
Lu Tingwan tilted his head and closed his fan: "Mr. Luo is smart, that's right."
"Brother, is Jiang's guess correct?"
"What does our identity have to do with the problem of what you sell?"
Seeing that this person refused to give up, Lu Tingwan's mouth was dry, "Of course there is a connection."
"A porter in the flower market has no right to come here to Wozhichunli for trouble. He must have been instructed to do so. There are people from the Chamber of Commerce in the flower market and there are also people from the Chamber of Commerce in Xiangyun Pavilion. Isn't this connected?" Lu Tingwan took away the wet handkerchief in his hand, and the redness on the back of his hand faded a lot.
She then took a small amount of the rejuvenating cream and applied a thin layer, which alleviated the obvious redness.
Lu Tingwan said to the girls, "The lead powder on your face is not incurable. If you are willing to go with me to the government office and explain in court the whole process of how the person behind the scenes coerced and bribed you to frame Zhichunli, I promise you in front of everyone today that I will heal the wounds on your faces."
Several people looked at each other, their hearts wavering, but they were afraid of the pressure and dared not say a word, and the sobbing sounds became more and more.
Seeing that the situation was not good, the leading troublemaker wanted to slip away. "Forget it, forget it. We don't want your compensation. Let's just consider it bad luck and leave."
Lu Tingwan didn't say he would let them go. "Wait, you can't just leave now. You don't mind, but today the guests of Zhichunli were frightened. Zhichunli can't receive customers normally. Who will bear my loss? I didn't say I would give up."
The sound of armor could be heard outside the door, and the imperial guards surrounded Zhichunli tightly.
"Who dares to gather a crowd to cause trouble?" Cheng Xianzhi held the token in his hand, and the imperial guards entered Zhichunli on both sides and arrested the troublemakers.
"The Imperial Guards are on duty. All outsiders, please leave immediately."
"How did this alarm the Imperial Guards? Aren't the Imperial Guards supposed to patrol the palace?" A low voice rose in the crowd.
"You don't know this. The Imperial Guards are now under the command of Cheng Pushe, who oversees the six ministries. Cheng Pushe has full authority to mobilize the Imperial Guards for anything related to the case."
Cheng Xianzhi could mobilize the Imperial Guards at will, provided he ensured sufficient manpower in the Imperial City to protect the safety of the palace. Since he took over the Imperial Guards, they had been divided into two main groups: one to guard the Imperial City, while the remainder was at his disposal to handle cases at the Ministry of Justice.
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