Chapter 9: Grand Opening

Inside the exquisite and magnificent Qinglan Garden of the Prince Jing Mansion.

Baili Rongjin sat on a stone stool carved from white marble, draped in a smooth and warm silver-white fox fur cloak.

He gently rotated the small, cute lavender lantern in his hand. The bright and soft moonlight slanted down, casting a faint halo around him.

After a long while, he spoke softly, "Qingyu, tell me, what kind of person would have such exquisite ingenuity to make a lantern like this?"

Qingyu slowly shook his head to indicate he did not know. On this rare windless night, the Heir had thought to sit outside and enjoy the night view of the courtyard.

Who could have known he would be greeted by a sky full of lanterns? He saw one lantern after another floating in the night sky; from a distance, they looked like drifting clusters of multicolored light.

This unprecedented spectacle immediately stunned him, leaving him staring blankly for quite some time.

Immediately following this, those floating lanterns began to drift down one by one. Several of them happened to fall into the courtyard by chance. Unable to restrain his curiosity, he picked one up.

Hanging beneath the lamp was a piece of paper. Upon looking, he realized that the 'Beauty Hall' and 'Warm Smoke Pavilion' in the capital were set to open the day after tomorrow. The paper extended a sincere invitation to guests from all walks of life.

It was a paper similar to an invitation, but it contained much more content than a standard one. Not only did it contain words of invitation, but it also provided introductions for the shops and restaurants that were about to open.

It made him wonder what kind of person could come up with such a method and create these peculiar, flying lanterns.

Baili Rongjin said with a faint smile, "The one who could make such lanterns certainly cannot be an ordinary person." The design of the lantern alone was enough to command respect.

Qingyu nodded in agreement. Suddenly, a gust of cold wind blew past, making one unable to help but shiver.

"Heir, the wind is picking up. Your health has only just begun to improve; you should return to your room to rest," Qingyu said, shrugging his shoulders in persuasion.

Ever since the Heir began taking that jar of honey and eating more fruit every day, his condition had not relapsed for several days, and his complexion looked much better.

In addition to feeling joyful, Qingyu had been stepping up his pressure on the kitchen, insisting that the medicinal meals be brought out first as soon as it was time to eat.

The Heir had been eating them for several days straight; now, he only hoped that these medicinal meals would be as effective as that honey and fruit.

Baili Rongjin nodded faintly, stood up with the lantern, and walked slowly back into his room. He had indeed improved a lot these past few days. Since eating some sweets and honey every day, he no longer felt dizzy or weak, as if he had never suffered from this illness at all.

Every time he looked at that jar of honey while tasting the medicinal meal in his mouth, he would inadvertently think of that woman, pure and clear as an orchid.

On the third day, the sky was just beginning to brighten.

Xia Tingning, in a rare display of initiative, woke up very early and was assisted in washing and dressing by Wanyu.

After finishing breakfast, she was in an excellent mood as she led Lady Shui and Xia Ziyun onto the carriage, heading toward the Beauty Hall.

Since arriving in the capital, this was the first time Lady Shui had gone out, and her face showed a hint of joy. Xia Ziyun also poked his head out to peer beyond the carriage curtain; although he usually went out to attend school, his father kept a tight rein on him, so he had no chance to wander the streets.

The journey was smooth until they arrived at the entrance of the Beauty Hall. As soon as Xia Tingning stepped off the carriage, she saw the wide streets bustling with traffic. One carriage after another arrived, and from them stepped out several noble ladies or young misses, walking into the Beauty Hall one after another.

A large number of carriages had effectively surrounded the 'Beauty Hall' and the 'Warm Smoke Pavilion' opposite it, making it impassable.

Seeing this, Lady Shui was also very surprised. It was unexpectedly so lively. She said with some hesitation, "Ning'er, there are so many people... do we still want to go in?"

Xia Tingning blinked; the scene was indeed quite spectacular. She gently took the hands of her mother, Lady Shui, and her brother, Xia Ziyun. "It's fine, let's go in too. It's just a bit crowded, so you must hold onto me tightly."

Then, Xia Tingning led her mother and brother, carefully avoiding the dense crowds, while Wanyu followed behind the three of them to prevent anyone from accidentally bumping into her masters from behind.

Xia Tingning's group successfully entered the Beauty Hall along with the crowd.

Looking around, one could see that the shopkeepers and attendants were all working themselves to exhaustion, seemingly wishing they could be split into two to handle the load. They did not dare stop for even a moment as they attended to the continuous stream of ladies and young misses walking in.

The manager of the Beauty Hall caught sight of Xia Tingning during an inadvertent turn of his head. His eyes instantly lit up, and just as he was about to approach, he was intercepted by several elegantly dressed ladies. He helplessly put on a smile to introduce the products of the Beauty Hall to them.

Xia Tingning gave the manager a slight nod, using her eyes to signal him to just take care of the customers. She then moved lightly, leading her mother and brother straight upstairs.

Upon reaching the spacious second floor, rows of tables and chairs were neatly arranged. The customers who had come to shop today had almost filled every seat.

Xia Tingning scanned the area for a moment before discovering an empty table in the eastern corner. She led her mother and brother over to sit down.

She then began to observe the situation on the second floor. Beside every table of customers stood a maid hired by the shop to serve them.

Those noble ladies and young misses were flipping through exquisite catalogs placed on the tables while listening to the shop's maids explain and introduce the items.

From time to time, after trying out some products, customers would place an order with satisfaction, take their goods, and briskly pay and leave. Often, just as one table of customers had left, another group would come upstairs.

A dozen or so maids moved back and forth constantly, busy explaining and introducing products to customers, fetching samples for them to try, or going downstairs to retrieve goods that customers had decided to buy.

The entire second floor was incredibly lively, causing the corners of Xia Tingning's mouth to lift in pleasure.

As soon as Lady Shui sat down, she began to look around curiously. She saw that everyone sitting here was dressed in silks and satins, adorned with gold and silver. One could tell at a glance that they were from powerful or wealthy families, which made her feel a bit apprehensive.

Xia Tingning didn't think much of it; she simply pushed the exquisite catalog on the table toward her mother, Lady Shui. "Mother, look at the catalog and choose carefully what you want."

These catalogs recorded all the products sold by the Beauty Hall, arranged in order from lowest to highest price, accompanied by illustrations and descriptions. It was something she had spent a great deal of time creating, before having others copy about twenty more to place in the Beauty Hall for the convenience of customers.

At that moment, a little girl dressed in peach-colored clothing, looking very clever, hurried toward Xia Tingning.

Xia Tingning had already recognized her. She was the daughter of the Beauty Hall manager, named Hongyin. She was twelve years old, a bright and smart girl, and her father had arranged for her to work in the Beauty Hall.

Seeing her hurried approach, it was clear she had already recognized Xia Tingning.

Xia Tingning gave her a gentle shake of her head. Hongyin understood immediately that the young lady did not want to reveal her identity. She immediately slowed her pace, walked over slowly, performed a bow, and asked with a sweet smile, "May I ask what the Lady and Madam would like? Would you like Hongyin to fetch them for you?"

Xia Tingning said with a faint smile, "Wait a moment. Let my mother decide after she has looked through it."

Hongyin nodded hurriedly and stepped aside to stand properly.

Hearing this, Lady Shui reached out and opened the exquisite catalog. After just one look, she said in surprise, "Ning'er, why are the things in this Beauty Hall so similar to the rouge and cold cream you brought for me to use? And this soap, aren't we using it in our courtyard as well?"

Xia Ziyun also leaned forward curiously toward the catalog.

"This shop also exists in Yixing City; I bought them there. I suppose the owner of that shop has come to the capital to open a branch," Xia Tingning lied without a hint of blushing or hesitation.

Upon hearing this, Lady Shui realized, "So that's how it is. No wonder these things look familiar."

Seeing that Lady Shui was still slowly flipping through the catalog, Xia Tingning spoke directly to Hongyin, "Go and fetch a few boxes of jasmine-scented and plum-scented cold cream. Take one box each of the light pink, rose red, and madder red rouge. Additionally, bring two boxes of the bamboo-scented cold cream. As for the soap, there is no need."

She remembered that the soap used in the courtyard had only been newly added a few days ago; her mother only needed to add a few more boxes of rouge and cold cream. As for her brother, that bamboo-scented cold cream was something she had specifically instructed the workers to make for him.

This was because back in Yixing City, she had tried to give him cold cream to use, but he complained that those scents seemed too feminine and refused to apply it no matter what. Thus, Xia Tingning had added a bamboo scent when developing the new product.

As soon as Xia Tingning finished speaking, Hongyin bowed and prepared to go downstairs to fetch the items the young lady requested.

Beside her, Lady Shui's eyes suddenly widened, and she said urgently, "Wait, you are not allowed to go!"