Chapter 496 - Thorny Case
Many of the capital's wealthy and noble matrons and maidens were polite and courteous on the surface to each other but they privately put in a lot of effort to think up every possible method they could to defeat each other! This was also the reason why everyone pursued Jiang Siniang’s custom made clothing.
For example, if a friend of yours could only register for a silver membership card but you were able to get a gold membership card, wouldn’t you have a lot of face when spending money at the resort? As for diamond membership cards, that was just a dream. It was rumored that those cards were a legend.
What? The empress herself had two diamond cards on hand? She was planning on awarding them to the wives of prominent officials who had contributed much to the court? All of the wives of the fifth-ranked officials and above began acting virtuous when they got home. That way, their husbands wouldn’t need to fret about anything at home and would be able to do their best at work!
What? Lady Fang had a diamond membership card that was personally given to her by her goddaughter? Suddenly, the gates of Count Zhongqin’s estate, which used to be desolate and empty, were now filled with sedans and carriages. It wasn’t because someone was as shameless to ask for the diamond membership card from Lady Fang. Instead, everyone wanted to see what a diamond membership card actually looked like. It was rumored that it was made out of a very rare material. This material could be used to make weaponry and could destroy other weapons made of other, less rare material. The imperial court was very interested in this material and they are currently in the process of secretly manufacturing more…
What? Miss Yuan and Miss He, who were good friends with the owner of ‘Blossoming Beauty’, also had diamond membership cards? The other young maidens in the capital, who previously had their noses up in the air, were filled completely with regret now. They wished now that they were the ones who had jumped out to help Yu Xiaocao when Li Meirou was making things difficult for her during the flower war banquet. That way, they could become her close friends and would also obtain a spot in the quota for the legendary diamond cards that everyone wanted to get ahold of.
Regardless, the ‘Blossoming Beauty’ cosmetics and spa resort was now blazingly popular throughout the whole capital. On the opening day, they had made over five hundred thousand taels in income. Furthermore, there was a promotion going on during the opening day. Every product was ten percent off and they also offered free facials and physiotherapy.
The thirty private rooms at ‘Blossoming Beauty’ were filled to capacity that day. The most popular products, the flower blossom teas, were extremely expensive, especially the legendary peach blossom tea. The price was actually a hundred taels per catty. The other dozen or so flower teas were also not cheap. For example, the pear blossom and Chinese angelica tea, which was good for fading hyperpigmentation, the three flower blossom tea, which was good for slimming the body, and the rose and lily flower tea, which was good for renewing skin elasticity and glow, were all priced at eighty taels per catty.
At the cosmetics counter, the most popular product were the different types of handmade soap. After an entire winter, Hechun and the other maidservants under her command had already manufactured more than twenty types of handmade soaps. They could whiten, moisturize, and renew a person’s skin...there were all types of beneficial effects available.
The raging popularity of the handmade soaps was due to the living advertisement, He Wanning. Last autumn, her skin was extremely dry, had enlarged pores, and seemed quite dark and dull. During the flower war banquet, Yu Xiaocao gifted her some handmade soaps and also gave her some usable prototypes later. After using them for a whole winter, her skin was now tender and glowy and felt as soft as a baby’s skin. Her skin was also brighter and less dull and it made her seem more lively and youthful.
The sales of the watery lotion and moisturizing cream were closely behind the soaps, and following that was the rouge powder. The lip color that Li Mengru instructed her maidservants to make was also quite popular. Yu Xiaocao suggested that she should use the wealth of spring flowers available to make more lip colors. Thus, the lip colors currently had the following options: rouge red, peachy red, rose red, coral red, light almond blossom pink, pomegranate red, violet red, ruby red, etc...all in all, there were around a dozen or so colors available. No matter the age of the customer, whether they were elderly or a young maiden, there was a suitable color available.
Every customer who came in was able to buy the exact products that fit their needs. Naturally, when they got back home, their purses were also much lighter compared to before. However, after using these products, they discovered that these cosmetics and supplements were well worth the cost.
Those who bought skincare items found that their skin had an improved texture, brightened, and had fewer wrinkles. The young maidens looked more delicately pretty while the married women looked more youthful. Those who bought flower teas discovered that their complexions were more rosy and not as dull. Furthermore, their bowel movements became regular and their figures became more graceful while all of their small ailments seemed to disappear. Those who bought health supplements found out that they were no longer short of breath, their bodies felt lighter and healthier...in conclusion, in one word——worth! Two words——worth it!! Three words——extremely worth it!!
‘Blossoming Beauty’ had exploded onto the scene at the capital and all of their customers consisted of the noble matrons and maidens in the area. Almost everyone in the upper classes was buzzing excitedly about the efficacy of the products from ‘Blossoming Beauty’. In one month, over twenty people had registered for gold membership cards and almost a hundred people had registered for silver membership cards. As for bronze membership cards, it was obvious that the number was not small!
‘Blossoming Beauty’ cosmetic and spa resort also provided facilities for women to bathe in medicinal baths as well as other services to improve one’s health and beauty. Perhaps the women in ancient times were a bit more reticent, but in the first month, there weren’t many people who tried the body massage services and other treatments. However, there were a decent amount of customers who tried the skin facial treatments. The medicinal baths were offered privately on a one-on-one basis in the spa rooms, and the customer’s own maidservant could serve them there, so there were also a decent number of women who tried that.
Although the body massages and other body treatments were not very popular currently, Xiaocao was convinced that the guests who had tried them would come back again to be a repeat customer after seeing the effects. Furthermore, the number of guests would increase over time as she believed that as the first customers let out word of mouth about their treatments, other women would also become curious and try. That was their marketing strategy!
On one particular day, Xiaocao was currently in her own private room enjoying a leisurely swim in the hot springs. Wutong, who was serving her outside, came in to let her know that Hechun was asking to see her, so Xiaocao rinsed off her body and bundled up in a bathrobe before she saw her maid.
“What’s going on?” Yu Xiaocao calmly asked after she saw the embarrassed expression on Hechun’s face.
Hechun gave her a greeting and said, “There’s a customer that’s arrived at the spa today and this servant thinks her situation is a bit thorny. Master, can you go take a look?”
“Eh? What sort of guest is it that makes it a thorny case that even our expert treatment hero, Hechun, can’t handle ah?” Yu Xiaocao quipped teasingly at her maidservant as she went behind the standing screen to have Wutong help her change into proper clothing.
“Young Miss, do you still remember the daughter of the Left Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Appointments, Miss Yu?” Hechun began reporting to her young miss from the other side of the screen.
“The Left Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Appointments? He’s also surnamed Yu? However, I don’t remember interacting with his daughter before. I do have a very deep impression of the daughter of the Right Assistant Minister, Miss Li!” Yu Xiaocao wasn’t very familiar with most of the young ladies in the capital. Other than the few she got along with, the rest she could barely recognize.
Hechun knew her young miss wouldn’t remember and reminded her, “It was during the flower war banquet last year. At first, everyone had mistakenly thought that you were Miss Yu from the Left Assistant Minister’s residence. Do you still remember this?”
“Uh...now that you mention it, I now vaguely remember. Her ‘Yu’ (于) is written with two horizontal lines and a vertical stroke with a hook at the end, so it’s different from our Yu (余). Isn’t that Miss Yu around thirteen to fourteen years of age right now? It’s just the age when young girls like to be beautiful. Just recommend a few skincare products that can moisturize the skin, what’s so hard about that?” Yu Xiaocao put on a set of brightly colored qi-style clothing and walked out from behind the screen. The attire emphasized her fine and slender waist and it made her look as elegant and tender as a lily.
Hechun was stunned by the sight of her young miss. Qi-style clothing was currently mainstream in the capital, but she thought that her young miss was the one who wore it best. Her young miss was becoming more and more beautiful. No wonder Royal Prince Yang was always keeping a close eye on her whenever he had free time!
“Come back to reality! I was asking you a question, why are you spacing out now?” Yu Xiaocao waved a white little hand in front of Hechun’s face.
Hechun recalled the ravaged condition of Miss Yu’s face and couldn’t help but tremble, “Master, please go and take a look. Miss Yu has too many pimples and lesions on her face and they are the pustule type that are very densely packed together. This servant is afraid to do any treatments on her.”
The spa resort had a pimple extraction treatment service. They first used a fine sterile needle to prick the pimples to help with extraction. However, this young lady had large and small pustules covering her entire face, so none of the trained employees there were willing to try!
After hearing Hechun’s descriptions of the young maiden’s face, Xiaocao wondered whether the young girl had facial blisters. They couldn’t use any old treatment on facial blisters. If the treatments ended up leaving a scar on her face, then that would destroy the reputation of Blossoming Beauty!
In the most private courtyard of the spa, a young girl, who was heavily veiled and looked no older than ten years of age, was currently sobbing piteously against her mother, “Mother, let’s go ah? Didn’t you see the expression on the manager of ‘Drifting Beauty’? The estheticians all said that she is the best consultant they have here. However, even she seemed to be at a loss for words after seeing my face. Why should we continue to stay here? To allow other people to laugh at us?”
The wife of the Left Assistant Minister was only in her early thirties but she looked even more aged and sallow than Lady Fang. The hair on her temples was already frosted with gray and it was obvious that she normally was quite stressed. It was no wonder. Not long after her youngest daughter was born, a rash started to appear on her child’s face. After seeing doctors for more than a decade, there was still no improvement. Instead, her daughter’s facial rash seemed to be getting worse as she got older. Her sweet and clever little girl gradually became more silent and antisocial. As her mother, how could she be happy through all of this?
“Qing’er, Mother already carefully asked around. ‘Drifting Beauty’ is the place that is best at treating pimples. You’ve also seen the older sister from the Wu Family, right? In the past, she also had a face full of pimples like you but after undergoing treatments at ‘Drifting Beauty’ for less than a month, they’ve mostly disappeared. Furthermore, the treatments didn’t leave a single discoloration or scar on her face. Her skin also looks much more sleek and healthy than before. Didn’t that consultant say something earlier? The best at doing skin treatments isn’t her but it’s actually her master, Feudal Princess Jinan!” The wife of the Left Assistant Minister quickly tried to console her daughter.
Yu Wanqing was silent for a moment before she slowly shook her head, “She was given her title of feudal princess by the emperor himself, so how could she be willing to lower herself to help me heal my skin? Mother, let’s not continue to bring humiliation onto ourselves and go! If rumors come out about my face, how am I supposed to live anymore?”
The wife of the Left Assistant Minister didn’t want to renounce their last hope and persevered, “Don't worry, Qing’er! The spa honors and keeps every guest’s privacy and they won’t broadcast the circumstances of any customer to the public. Even if your skin condition can’t be treated, it won’t be any worse than it is now! You’re still young and you can’t spend the rest of your life with your face in this condition. Sigh...it’s all Mother’s fault. I couldn’t give you a beautiful and adorable little face. Instead, I let you endure so much pain and heartbreak since you were young…”
“Mother, it’s not your fault! If you continue to blame yourself, then I will feel even worse!” Yu Wanqing was sensible and restrained her sorrow to start consoling her mother.
The wife of the Left Assistant Minister patted her daughter’s small hand and held back the sorrow in her heart. Her daughter was sweet and sensible, but why did the heavens treat her so unfairly? What did she do wrong? If she could choose, she would rather her own face be ravaged instead of her kind and obedient youngest daughter.