Duoduo blinked. She saw her mother staring at her nervously.
Duoduo smiled.
“Because I was bored!”
“I can’t go to the Imperial Academy right now, so I have to stay in the manor every day.”
“Either I watch Lüdou make pastries, or I watch Mother do embroidery.”
“Aunt Xu, I didn’t just make fertility pills. I also made lots of medicinal pills for regulating the body!”
“There’s one kind that can beautify the skin and preserve one’s youth!”
There was a hint of pride in Duoduo’s voice.
“I already had Qingliu try them. They really do make a difference!”
“Qingliu, come here!”
Duoduo called toward Qingliu outside the door.
“Yes.”
Qingliu answered and entered the room.
“Qingliu has been taking the pills that help whiten her skin. Besides the pills, there’s also a facial cream.”
“Aunt Xu, look. Isn’t she much fairer now?”
Xu Jinxin examined Qingliu, and astonishment flashed in her eyes.
She pulled Duoduo into her arms and kissed her several times on the cheek.
“Duoduo, you’re absolutely amazing!”
Xu Jinxin was so excited that everyone in the room was stunned.
“Duoduo, I’m starting to think you’re a little god of wealth!”
Xu Jinxin noticed that not only Su Xian, but also Duoduo and Yingniang, wore bewildered expressions.
“Duoduo, do you know what the easiest money to make in this world comes from? Women and children.”
“Look at those cosmetic shops. Isn’t every one of them thriving?”
“To compete for their husbands’ favor, the women in the inner chambers spend every day thinking about how to win more affection.”
“And if they want to win favor, their appearance naturally comes first.”
“If your pills and beauty cream are really as effective as you say, tsk, tsk, tsk…”
Xu Jinxin could hardly imagine what the shops’ business would look like.
But she was certain that it would be even more sensational than the fertility pills!
“Duoduo, would you mind giving the formulas to Aunt Xu?”
“I’ll open a beauty shop specializing in creams and pills for beautifying the skin and preserving youth!”
“As usual, we’ll split it… No, you get seventy percent and I’ll take thirty!”
Xu Jinxin was clearly in a hurry, afraid that Duoduo might refuse.
“Aunt Xu, of course you can!”
“But if the shop only sells those things, won’t the products be too limited?”
Duoduo was puzzled.
She was no longer the ignorant child she had once been.
Xu Jinxin wore an expression like an old wolf trying to lure Little Red Riding Hood.
“Of course that won’t be enough, so you’ll have to develop a few more products.”
“Oh, and Aunt Xu knows a few formulas too. I’ll tell you about them!”
As she spoke, Xu Jinxin pulled Duoduo over to a table.
Qingliu was perceptive enough to go prepare the brush, ink, paper, and inkstone.
Su Xian could not help shaking her head.
Whenever this close friend of hers started talking business, her eyes shone.
Duoduo was exactly the same.
Su Xian glanced at Yingniang and saw that she, too, wore a helpless expression.
Su Xian could not help laughing.
What Xu Jinxin had said was actually quite true.
“Duoduo is just like my own daughter, while Yingniang seems more like yours!”
With that thought, Su Xian smiled gently at Yingniang.
“Once your mother starts talking with Duoduo, they probably won’t be finished anytime soon.”
“Aunt Su still has some embroidery to finish. Would you like to work on it with me?”
Relief spread across Yingniang’s face.
“All right!”
Su Xian held out her hand, and Yingniang placed her little hand in it.
The two of them went hand in hand to the heated brick platform nearby.
Xu Jinxin brought up all kinds of beauty treatments she knew about, such as facial masks, scented creams, rouge, and more.
This opened up an entirely new world for Duoduo.
After all, she was still young and had not yet reached the age when she cared about beauty.
She had developed the skin-whitening pills purely because Qingliu and Lüdou had complained that the sun was too harsh this year. Qingliu had already been dark-skinned, and now she had become twice as dark.
Duoduo remembered that among the prescriptions Master Zhang had left her was one for skin-whitening pills.
The required ingredients were all fairly common.
Since she had been bored, Duoduo had simply asked Qingliu to buy them. Then she began experimenting.
Unexpectedly, the results really were quite good after Qingliu used them.
Just now, Duoduo had mentioned them deliberately to distract Xu Jinxin.
She had never imagined that Xu Jinxin would become so interested.
Many of the beauty treatments Xu Jinxin described were completely unfamiliar to Duoduo.
However, all formulas shared certain principles.
Relying on her knowledge of medicine, Duoduo was able to confirm that some of Xu Jinxin’s formulas were sound.
She wrote down the formulas the two of them discussed.
Xu Jinxin was so delighted that she could hardly sit still.
She was already thinking about the best place to rent a shop.
Before long, Duoduo had finished organizing the formulas.
Xu Jinxin took them and skimmed through them.
“Duoduo, I’ll go buy the ingredients right away.”
“For each formula, you can first make a batch of samples for testing. What do you think?”
“We don’t know how effective any of these formulas are yet.”
“Once the samples are ready, I’ll find some people to try them!”
“All right.” Duoduo nodded.
She had been worried about being bored, after all!
Xu Jinxin hurried away with the formulas.
She not only had to buy the medicinal ingredients, but also inspect the area in person.
The location of the shop would be crucial.
It would determine whether their business could take off.
Duoduo watched Xu Jinxin rush away as if her backside were on fire, and her eyes curved with laughter.
She turned and saw Yingniang and her mother nearby. Then she tiptoed over.
Su Xian was bending her head and teaching Yingniang about the differences between various embroidery techniques.
Yingniang was listening attentively.
As she listened, she practiced on the handkerchief in her own hands.
Duoduo came up behind them, and neither of them noticed.
She listened for a while, but soon grew bored.
She knew how to embroider too, but she truly had no interest in it.
After thinking it over, Duoduo tiptoed away again.
Since she had agreed to open a shop for “beautifying the skin and preserving youth,” she needed to come up with more excellent products to attract customers.
Duoduo remembered Xu Jinxin mentioning something called a “flagship product.”
That was it!
That was the term!
Duoduo planned to return to her room and look through the prescriptions Master Zhang had left her to see what other formulas for regulating the body there might be.
She slipped away without making a sound.
Su Xian and Yingniang did not notice at all.
Only after the two of them stopped their embroidery and looked up did they realize that Duoduo and Xu Jinxin had already disappeared from the room.
Su Xian was somewhat bewildered.
When had those two left?
And had Duoduo been taken out of the manor by Xu Jinxin?
Su Xian could not help worrying.
“Lianxin!” she called toward the door.
“Princess!”
Lianxin entered and bowed.
“Where did the Princess and Madam Li go?”
“Reporting to the Princess, Madam Li has left the manor.”
“The Princess noticed that you and Miss Li were deep in conversation. She stood there for a while, then returned to her room with Qingliu.”
Su Xian gave Yingniang a helpless look.
“Did your mother forget all about you?”
