Chapter 245: Grand Opening Sparks a Frenzy

"Today our Yunxiang Pavilion opens; thank you all for your support," Zhou said with a smile. "May the opening be auspicious; every customer who enters the shop receives an exquisite gift." She produced the fragrant ointment she had prepared early: "This ointment is our proprietor's secret recipe, with a fresh, delicate scent, vastly different from the rouge and powder on the market."

The crowd stared at the exquisite bottle in Zhou's hand, as if they could already smell waves of fragrance.

"Just entering the shop gets you this? No purchase required?"

"Alright," Zhou nodded. "But there are only five hundred portions of this ointment; once they're given away, you can't have more."

Upon hearing it was free, everyone's eyes lit up.

In an instant, the crowd outside Yunxiang Pavilion doubled.

"Can we go in now?" a maid stepped forward, her tone a bit haughty. "Our lady has been waiting here for a long time; she didn't come for such a cheap trinket."

Zhou heard this, smiled, and said, "Miss, please be patient. Besides this ointment, we have other fine items; allow me to introduce them one by one so the lady can hear clearly."

"Bin'er," the woman whispered from the carriage, "return."

The maid gave Zhou a cold stare, then reluctantly retreated.

Zhou produced an even more exquisite porcelain jar and said softly, "This is the Jade Face Paste. I presume all esteemed guests have come for it. As its name suggests, once used, regardless of your prior skin condition, your skin will become as smooth as congealed butter. One bottle of Jade Face Paste is valued at eight hundred taels."

Eight hundred… eight hundred taels?

So expensive!

The crowd looked at the not‑very‑large jar in her hand and whispered among themselves.

"Skin as smooth as butter? Does it really work that marvelously?"

"Even if the effect is truly good, it can't be this pricey!"

"Exactly. Previously I bought a nourishing facial paste from the Jiang family; a jar cost only one tael of silver and was even larger than this one!"

"But… if it truly makes the skin as smooth as butter, the price is worth it."

"Look, Shopkeeper Zhou's face is as delicate as a peeled egg; could it be because of this Jade Face Paste?"

Zhou listened to the murmurs, her smile unchanged, and continued, "Just one use, and you'll see the effect."

"Effective after just one use?"

So miraculous?

Real or fake?

Zhou lifted her eyes, her voice much clearer than before: "Our proprietor says that anyone who becomes a member of our Yunxiang Pavilion receives the eight‑hundred‑tael Jade Face Paste for free."

Free again?

"But what exactly is a member?"

The crowd, very curious, asked one after another.

"Deposit ten thousand taels at our Yunxiang Pavilion and you become a member; all Yunxiang Pavilion products receive a one‑percent discount."

Ten thousand taels…

For ordinary folk this is an astronomical price, but for high officials, nobles, and corrupt officials it's merely a drop in the bucket.

"Deposit fifty thousand taels and you become a top‑tier member; all Yunxiang Pavilion products get a three‑percent discount, and besides three jars of Jade Face Paste, you'll receive Beauty Skin Paste, which when applied all over the body makes the skin as delicate and smooth as the face."

As the words finished, the crowd let out a series of gasps.

"Fifty thousand taels?"

"So much silver just for the face? My heavens! The proprietor of this shop must be mad!"

"You can guess it just by seeing she charges eight hundred taels for a single jar—what kind of Yunxiang Pavilion is this? Clearly a black market shop!"

Ordinary people were startled by the huge sum, but the families of high officials and nobles thought otherwise.

"Fifty thousand taels, if it yields skin as jade‑like as a whole body, it's still worth it."

In the carriage, many eyes fell on that jar of Jade Face Paste.

Ordinary rouge and powder are only used on the face; at most people soak in fresh flower juice in summer, and no one has ever heard of a beauty skin paste that can be used on the body.

That is indeed novel.

At that moment, the door of the carriage at the front opened, and a woman dressed in a dark fur cloak stepped down.

The woman wore a jeweled hairpin of turquoise points, and her dress beneath the cloak was embroidered with gold thread—a strikingly beautiful visage that, at a single glance, is unforgettable.

In the private room, Chi Nan Yi stared at that face, stunned.

This person… isn't this Flower Madam?

How could she be in Jingcheng?

Could she have come here to be a courtesan?

Their gaze fell on the jeweled hairpin on her head, and their brows knit tightly.

Turquoise points…

Nowadays, only palace personnel in Daqi may wear turquoise points.

She isn't a courtesan; who exactly is she?

Mo Yunyan, whom Chi Nan Yi had labeled a courtesan, stepped down from the carriage; she looked at the Jade Face Paste in Zhou's hand and said softly, "Is this truly, as you say, capable of making the whole body's skin as smooth as jade?"

"Yes, rest assured. If we cannot fulfill our promise, our proprietor says we will return double the amount you deposited."

As she spoke, she opened the Jade Face Paste; a faint fragrance instantly enveloped Mo Yunyan, and even before the paste was used, the crowd was already captivated by its scent.

"If you wish to verify the effect, feel free to try it now; rest assured, this jar of Jade Face Paste is brand new."

A maid beside Mo Yunyan stepped forward, dabbed a bit of Jade Face Paste onto her own hand, and as soon as she finished, Mo Yunyan's pupils sharply contracted.

The skin where the maid's left hand had been applied instantly became smoother, and even the complexion brightened considerably.

"Indeed there's something to it," Mo Yunyan laughed, "I'll pay fifty thousand taels; I want to become a top‑tier member here."

Mo Yunyan's voice was not low; the surrounding townsfolk could hear her clearly.

Fifty thousand taels, that's it?

"Who is this person! How have we never seen her in the city before?"

I haven't seen it either; if I had to guess, maybe they hired a stooge, and that costs fifty thousand taels of silver! They just hand it over the moment they say so?

Indeed, and this person looks unfamiliar, not at all like someone from Jingcheng.

They have never seen Mo Yunyan, which is perfectly normal; after all, she is Daqi's Princess, not someone who would casually appear before the public.

Just because they haven't seen her doesn't mean no one here can recognize her.

You should know that today, outside Yunxiang Pavilion, many noble families are still waiting.

"Mother, was that person just now the Princess?" Su Yuqing lifted the carriage curtain, looked at Mo Yunyan's profile, and said confidently, "Yes, it must be the Princess."

Madam Su, hearing this, also glanced outside: "I truly didn't expect that even the Princess holds such favor for Yunxiang Pavilion; hasn't she seen all the good things in the Palace? Now she can willingly part with fifty thousand taels of silver; it seems that the jade‑face ointment is not a common trifle."

Su Yuqing, hearing this, hurriedly said, "Mother, I want it too!"

"Alright, alright, don't worry, Mother will definitely buy it for you; you must bring honor to Mother, and if you later marry into the Crown Prince's Residence, you must strive for the position of principal consort, understand?"