The legitimate daughter returns to the capital and embarks on a splendid life, tearing apart the fak

Xiao Jingyan said, "Much better. After taking your medicine, I feel much better. But I'm still pretending to be sick, and I can only drink some plain porridge every day."

Yun Jin nodded, then, as if casually remembering something, asked softly, "Have you found out who poisoned him?"

Xiao Jingyan was silent for a moment before speaking: "The evidence on the surface all points to that person in the palace. But I don't completely believe it."

Yun Jin paused. She couldn't tell Xiao Jingyan about her sneaking into the Princess's residence at night, so she tentatively asked, "Do you think the Princess... is it possible?"

Xiao Jingyan's eyes flickered slightly. After a long silence, he slowly said, "What you said isn't impossible. I'll investigate along this line."

After finishing their business, Xiao Jingyan looked up at her and suddenly asked, "Is your flower soap ready?"

Yun Jin chuckled and said, "I've finished making some. I'll take a few pieces with me when I leave so that Aunt Lian and your father can take them back with them."

He then told Dongxue to fetch it, and said to Xiao Jingyan, "It's only just been made, and it's still a bit rough from the mold. I'll send you a new one in a few days when the design is finished."

Xiao Jingyan took the oil paper package and nodded in satisfaction: "That's more like it. Alright, I'm leaving now. I'll come find you again when I have time."

He stood up, walked to the door, then turned back and said, "You don't need to worry about Ruifeng's affairs. Let them investigate if they want. Just don't wander around at night. If anything happens, have someone come find me."

Yun Jin felt a warmth in her heart and waved to him, "I know, go on."

Xiao Jingyan then mounted his horse and rode away with Jin Hu.

Yun Jin stood at the door, watching the two figures gradually disappear into the distance, let out a soft breath, and turned back to continue her work.

Today, she made significantly more flower soaps than in the past few days. She led Ruizhu, Xique, and several other women to lay out the finished products one by one. She then asked Chunxi to fetch the oil paper and thin hemp rope that had been cut the day before, and taught everyone how to wrap the flower soaps one by one and put them into the brocade boxes that had been prepared in advance.

The brocade box was custom-made by Lan Qi. The box is printed with the words "Jin Lan" and is lined with a layer of soft, light-colored brocade, making it look clean and elegant.

I was busy until the afternoon when Lan Qi arrived.

Two men followed behind him, each carrying several wooden boxes containing the porcelain bottles for the skincare products they had ordered from the kiln a few days earlier.

Yun Jin opened the box and examined each item. The glaze was lustrous, and the "Jinlan" mark on the bottle was clearly visible. Although the workmanship was not as good as the imperial porcelain in the palace, it was still of high quality and would be very suitable for storing face cream and toner.

Lan Qi circled the table piled high with floral soaps twice, then picked up a brocade box and examined it closely, nodding repeatedly: "That's more like it. A better appearance means a higher price."

He paused, then said to Yun Jin, "Let's set a price. Flower soap is twenty taels a piece, goat milk soap is ten taels, and honey soap is ten taels. Don't waste the ones that are ruined or don't look quite right. Put them out for five taels a piece as a trial price. Let the ladies try them before they buy. It's better than us talking until we're hoarse."

Yun Jin was drinking water when she heard this and almost choked. She couldn't help but ask, "Uncle, isn't this too expensive? It's just a bar of soap, not made of gold. For ordinary people, five taels of silver is enough for a family to live on for more than half a year."

Lan Qi smiled and waved his hand: "Jin girl, you don't understand. The noble ladies in the capital value things based on their rarity. If you set the price too low, they'll think your item is low-class and won't even bother to look at it."

A bar of flower soap costs twenty taels, and with daily limited quantities, they won't find it expensive; on the contrary, they'll feel prestigious if they can afford it. Listen to your uncle, you can't go wrong.”

Yun Jin thought for a moment, then asked, "What about skincare products? A set of three, how do we order them?"

Lan Qi considered for a moment and said, "On the opening day, we'll start with forty sets. The packaging must be exquisite, with three bottles per set, priced at two hundred taels of silver. We'll also display some single bottles, priced at eighty taels each. After that, we'll only release five sets per day. Those who can't buy them will naturally be thinking about them every day."

Yun Jin felt she wasn't good at business, so she nodded and said, "Alright, then I'll listen to my cousin. I'm just waiting to get rich with him."

Lan Qi laughed heartily: "It's not you who's getting rich by following me, it's your cousin who's getting rich by following you. I've been in business for half my life, and I never imagined money could be so easy to make."

For the rest of the days, Yun Jin would go to Qiyun Xiaozhu before dawn every day, and after returning to Jinshuge in the evening, she would close the door, divide the skin care products she had prepared in the space into porcelain bottles, seal them with wax, and then put them into wooden boxes made by Lan Qi.

Before we knew it, it was the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. Just after 7 a.m., a large crowd had already gathered at the entrance of Jinlanfang.

The lanterns on both sides of the shop were polished to a shine, and the red silk on the lintel swayed gently in the morning breeze.

Chu Wanqing and Yun Jin arrived together in a carriage. When they got off, they saw Lan Qi standing in front of the door, personally directing the shop assistants to arrange flower baskets and organize the shelves.

"Mother, please take your time." Yun Jin helped Chu Wanqing out of the carriage, then turned around and asked Chunxi to take the boxes of pastries she had brought to the back.

Chu Wanqing smiled and patted her hand: "I'm not old enough to need your help yet. Have Mengyao and the others arrived yet?"

Just then, Chen Mengyao's voice came from behind: "We arrived a long time ago! I urged my aunt to go out before dawn, just waiting to see your shop unveil the red silk."

Behind her were Madam Wang, the eldest wife of the Zheng family, and Madam Li, the second wife.

"Godmother, Second Aunt," Yun Jin stepped forward and greeted them.

Wang held her hand and laughed, "You silly girl, you opened another shop without a word. Your second aunt and I used the skincare products you gave us, and the dry skin on our faces has gone away. We had to come and support you today no matter what."

Li chimed in, "That's right. We have to support your shop's opening."

Yun Jin felt a little embarrassed by their comments and said with a smile, "As long as Second Aunt and Godmother are satisfied with it, that's fine."

As they talked, more and more people joined in.

Among them were wives whom Chu Wanqing had previously invited, female relatives brought by the Zheng family, and family members of merchants who had come upon hearing the news.

Lan Qi had several strings of firecrackers that had been prepared beforehand hung on bamboo poles, and then invited a band of musicians to play them at the door.

At the stroke of midnight, Lan Qi personally tore down the red silk from the lintel, and the sounds of firecrackers and drums rang out, marking the official opening of Jinlanfang.

The ladies and young women entered the shop and saw that the flower soaps and several sets of skin care products in porcelain bottles were neatly arranged on the shelves, with a waitress nearby to introduce them.

There were samples of skincare products available for trial, and soaps could also be tested by washing hands with water; all of this seemed very novel.

"This is osmanthus soap; it leaves your hands smelling wonderful and your face feeling smooth. This is plum blossom soap; it's very moisturizing and perfect for people with chapped hands."

After the ladies tried it, and heard from Madam Wang that the women of the Zheng family had indeed become much fairer and more delicate after using it for some time, they were even more tempted.

In less than half an hour, a third of the goods on the counter had disappeared.

Yun Jin watched this unfold, secretly amazed. Lan Qi walked over and whispered with a smile, "See? Listening to your uncle was the right thing to do. Even if you doubled the price again, they would still buy it without hesitation."

Upon hearing this, Yun Jin recalled the price she had agreed upon with Lan Qi that day. Even by today's standards, that price would be outrageously expensive, but the ladies and young women in the capital truly believed in the principle of "buying expensive rather than cheap."

Sure enough, in just over an hour, all forty sets of skincare products were sold out.

The batch of flower soaps that had been displayed was gradually sold out.

Chunxi excitedly ran to Yunjin to share the good news: "Miss, the skincare products are all sold out, and there are only four bars of goat milk soap left! Ruizhu said someone else wants to order them and asked if we can pay a deposit?"

Before Yun Jin could speak, Lan Qi waved his hand and said, "Of course! Go and have someone bring a register, register the names of each family and the styles they want, and have them pay a 30% deposit. Tell them it will be delivered within ten days, and we won't delay their use."

Chunxi responded and quickly ran off.

The entrance was bustling with people coming and going.

Liu Zhixue and Yunxiu also arrived. When they arrived, Yun Jin was standing at the shop entrance talking to Chen Mengyao.

Yunxiu spotted the three characters "Jinlanfang" and the several flower baskets at the entrance from afar, and said disdainfully, "Mr. Liu, look, my second sister is about to marry into the Prince Yu's mansion, and she's still messing around with these low-class things, just embarrassing His Highness Prince Yu."