Chapter 112.1: A Shocking Identity

T/N: This chapter is so much shorter than usual that I’m a bit shocked actually, it’s only 4.5k as opposed to the usual 10k chara length.

Don’t say that Jing Wan was black-hearted, having the things she brought out set at that high of a price. From the start, there was never a way for her things to walk the commoner route. For things that will be sent into the palace, you want to try walking the commoner route? In that case, one might as well just set it at a sky-high price to the end. Regardless of where, all have one mentality, that is the higher the price, the better the thing; the more unique and unmatched, the more one was able to show off one’s difference to the masses, and this, usually also signifies one’s out of the ordinary status. Moreover, many people also enjoy that kind of ‘I have, you don’t have’ unique superiority feeling. Using this kind of method to push out the product, one simply doesn’t need to worry about no one buying.

As for those who don’t have money yet still ‘slap one’s face up to make it look imposing’[1], “Let’s set a restriction. Even if someone has the money, we still won’t sell. This for Yun Niang shouldn’t be anything hard, right? After all, the Rouge Pavilion has taken root in the capital for this long, so those madams and young misses’ inside information, you certainly would know. As for how this threshold will be set, Yun Niang should have an even better grasp than me.”

Yun Niang smiled very charmingly, “Miss sure is kind-hearted. Encountering those ‘vain yet don’t know one’s own capabilities’ people, why the need to be this polite. Even if they go bankrupt and lose their family fortune, that is still their own fault, suffering the consequences of their own action. The things originally in the Rouge Pavilion, compared to miss’s things, perhaps are a little inferior, but they are still all good things. However, even if it’s the best, it’s not necessarily applicable to everyone either. Some people simply just don’t understand, the things most suited for oneself are actually the best, yet they just insist on picking the most expensive. Never mind wasting money, it might even end up making one suffer. Yet, in the end, they blame it on the Rouge Pavilion. This humble one is too lazy to bother with them.”

In such a place as the capital, where high officials and noble personages are numerous like dogs, there were too many that one couldn’t afford to offend. For Yun Niang to dare be this bold, afraid, her backing isn’t small. Speaking of which, the sturdiest backstage was none other than that person who wielded the world’s power.

Yun Niang, this person, at middle age, still retained her charm[2]. In fact, she possessed even more charisma than many young misses and young madams. She wouldn’t happened to be one that Le Cheng Emperor once had some untold and unclear one two three with, right? For a moment, Jing Wan let her imagination roam somewhat.

Seeing Jing Wan’s gaze towards her, Yun Niang touched her own face and let out an especially seductive smile, “Could it be that this humble one is especially beautiful today, even captivating miss?”

Jing Wan who got teased didn’t have the slightest awareness, smiling in dead earnest, “Yes, Yun Niang is indeed especially charming.”

One has to know, sincere admiring praises coming from someone of the same sex usually was further able to please the heart even more so than praises from the opposite sex. It was obvious, Yun Niang truly was pleased by Jing Wan’s words, once again, smiling like violently blossoming flowers. “This young miss truly is too lovable. No wonder the Grand Elder Princess, that one who’s always disliked getting involved, all think exceptionally highly of you.”

“Yun Niang praises wrongly.” Inside, Jing Wan became increasingly interested in Yun Niang’s background.

Because Yun Niang’s urge for her to stay, Jing Wan stayed at the Rouge Pavilion a little longer. The tea and desserts were both very good. During this time, they even chatted about quite a few other things. Afterwards, Jing Wan discovered, Yun Niang was actually even a female scholar. She was proficient in history, excelled in literature, and had a mastery in music. Moreover, her painting and calligraphy was very impressive. The paintings on the wall in the room were the best examples.

While Jing Wan was looking at the paintings on the wall, Yun Niang fixedly stared at Jing Wan, “It’s still best to be young. This humble one is old after all, no matter how one maintains one’s body, one is still unable to maintain such tender appearance. In the future, whichever man marries you, truly is his good fortune.” Yun Niang smiled with a somewhat deeper meaning.

Jing Wan pretended to not understand.

Gong mama coughed twice rather discontentedly.

Yun Niang casted Gong mama a glance and pursed her lips. She’d seen too many people before, and moreover, with Gong mama deliberately displaying certain things that were normally hidden, how could Yun Niang be unable to tell that this Gong mama was definitely not an ordinary character. “For Luo third miss to be able to have an appearance like this, it definitely can’t be as simple as just using these things. What other secrets are there, is it possible to share with this humble one?”

Have to say, for Jing Wan to be able to have such good results, it naturally wasn’t just relying on those things. If they really were that magical, then one didn’t need to do anything else. Just directly applying those things onto oneself vigorously would be enough. And afterwards, everyone who has used these things before will all be the same as Jing Wan. Then that way, this beauty and cosmetic industry, at this time, can be said to have reached great heights. The future generations to come all won’t have anymore business in this. In reality, the skincare products that Jing Wan uses daily weren’t much and were purely just for supplementary purposes. She, majority of the times, was just cultivating her internal health, balancing her hormones, and didn’t have any toxins inside the body. In such ways, it was very difficult to not have good complexion.

Jing Wan wasn’t stingy either, and just simply explained some methods for maintaining good health. Actually, it really wasn’t just Jing Wan and Gong mama that knew about these methods, many people all know them. Just, the things Jing Wan knew, when combined with Gong mama’s knowledge, as well as Gong mama expending a hundred twenty percent effort on her, thus resulted in the most optimal effect, that’s all.

As a result, after Jing Wan said those things out loud, she even thought that Jing Wan was just concealing the truth. However, she was’t that kind of petty-minded person either, so she didn’t, because of this, have bad thoughts about Jing Wan. Regardless of what, this was just a young girl after all. “This humble one still have some business to attend to, so won’t keep miss any longer. Once the things are made, this humble one will let someone send miss a share. If there’s any place not to satisfaction, miss can feel free to say directly.”

Jing Wan also could tell Yun Niang didn’t believe her, but she didn’t say anything more either, only getting up to bid farewell.

Yun Niang had someone wrap for her a big package of the Rouge Pavilion’s various rouge and powder, as well as ointment, “Miss naturally won’t take fancy to these, but using to gift to others should still make quite a few people happy. After all, there are several ones that are all used by the noble highness in the palace.” Yun Niang smilingly winked.

Jing Wan had personally seen what all was put inside. Then faintly recalling the selling prices she previously saw, and roughly calculating…….this, nearing ten thousand taels of silver worth of things, Yun Niang was just giving to her without batting an eye. Looking to Yun Niang, she was rather speechless. Each and every one were all stupidly rich people here. Jing Wan who’d believed herself to be a little wealthy madam, in the future, will no longer think of herself as being rich. The greatly ‘shocked’ Jing Wan ‘expressionlessly’ left the Rouge Pavilion.

However, she herself never thought about how such a treasure like the eighteenth scholar, she too just freely gave away. That was even more valuable, alright!

After Jing Wan and them left, the smile on Yun Niang’s face disappeared. In that instant, the air around her entirely turned cold and sharp. Even if she was still wearing the same clothes, you weren’t able to sense the air of promiscuity in the slightest. If one were to let Jing Wan see her now, she would probably use one word to describe——-Queen(female ruler)[3]. She casually twirled her hair, “Have the things taken down and let the craftsmen quickly prepare them. Afterwards, make space in the store to display them on their own. As for those things that Luo third miss said, you all also heard. The specifics, presumably, don’t need me to come tell you all what to do.”

“Yes, master.” The two servant girls to the side respectfully replied.

Yun Niang lifted the tea cup and took a shallow sip, her movement elegant and graceful, and her expression further having that bit of ‘difficult to predict’.

In the Luo family carriage, “Mama, do you know this Yun Niang’s origins?” Jing Wan asked.

Gong mama’s face was somewhat heavy and also a bit hesitant. This was Jing Wan’s first time seeing her with such an expression.

Jing Wan became increasingly curious, “What, does mama not know, or inconvenient to say?”n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

“Miss, if this servant’s guess is correct, then this Yun Niang’s identity is definitely out of the ordinary.” Gong mama looked to the two servant girls in the carriage, “Knowing too much isn’t necessarily good.”

Jing Wan understood. This Yun Niang, afraid, wasn’t like what she’d imagined, having the Emperor as a lover. She should have some other origin.

One has to know, Yun Niang, that kind of woman, who appear to be dyed in ‘promiscuity’, was the kind of person that was most guarded against and hated by the married women of the back manor. But they have never rejected the things of the Rouge Pavilion. On one hand, perhaps it was because the things in the Rouge Pavilion really were good, and on the other hand, perhaps it was because they know that Yun Niang actually isn’t an ‘improper’ person. Didn’t you see how even such an uptight person like Gong mama, towards Yun Niang, all didn’t have any bad thoughts.

As for Yun Niang’s identity, afraid, one can only find some other time to privately ask.

[1] Slapping one’s face to make it swell; this idiom means ‘to seek to impress by feigning something beyond one’s ability’. So basically, in this case, poor people showing off the wealth they don’t have.

[2] Bit sad this idiom doesn’t fit in when translated as it is. The figurative meaning is ‘still attractive for an aging woman’, while the literal translation is ‘the wind’s beautiful sound still existing’ or ‘the wind still retains its beautiful sound’. This idiom is specifically for older women. Iirc, Yun Niang is around Jing Wan’s grandparent’s age, though her grandparents are only in their late forties to fifties.

[3] So there’s a really important nuance about the term used, which is why I included the extra parenthesis. In chinese, there are two terms that both translate to ‘queen’ in english, 女王(female ruler/king) and 王后(consort to a king), also empress is 皇后. But obviously there’s a clear difference between the two words. The title of 王后 and 皇后, actually if you break down the characters literally mean ‘behind the king/emperor’. Of course, there’s also 王妃(wangfei), which is literally ‘a wang’s consort’, and there’s a difference between wang and king even though they use the same title sorta.

T/N: Here’s a video on how to make aromatic from flowers, I felt it was fitting for this chapter.