HomeAfter I Bloom Hundred Flowers DieChapter 74: One Cup Each for Us

Chapter 74: One Cup Each for Us

“Dulive Tower,” Xiao Huayong read, then repeated it, “quite an audacious name.”

“Your Highness, how should we celebrate the Princess’s shop opening?” Tian Yuan asked.

“Send a Tengshi fragrant cup…” Xiao Huayong pondered, a smile spreading from the corner of his eye along his beauty mark, “one cup.”

Tian Yuan: “?”

The Tengshi fragrant cups were tribute items from the Western Regions – drinking vessels that emitted a cardamom-like fragrance. Not only were they fragrant, but drinking strong alcohol from them had a sobering effect. They were rare treasures, and both of the only two existing cups had ended up in the Eastern Palace.

Gifts were always given in pairs – who would ever give just one?

“If I send one cup, she won’t take it out to serve guests.” Xiao Huayong gently traced the tiny mole at the corner of his eye with his little finger. “Perfect – one cup each for us.”

Tian Yuan: …

He didn’t want to say more and was about to withdraw after acknowledging with a “yes,” but Xiao Huayong called him back.

“Go personally and see if Dulive Tower has any Bihanxiang incense. If they do, buy it all.” How could he let others possess what she had gifted him? “Leave word with the manager that all future Bihanxiang incense should be sent to the Eastern Palace.”

“Yes,” Tian Yuan responded, then after some thought, added, “Your Highness, shall we buy only Bihanxiang incense, nothing else?”

It would be a good opportunity to curry favor with the Princess.

Xiao Huayong gave him a bland look: “Have you forgotten? She said herself that she doesn’t lack for gold.”

Whether opening an incense shop was to pass time or had other purposes, there was no need for him to curry favor with such methods.

Doing so wouldn’t win her favor – it would only annoy her.

When Dulive Tower opened, its fragrance spread for miles. Shen Xihe had only meant to establish its reputation, using it as a way to tell others this was an incense shop. She never expected her stock of incense products to sell out in just three days.

“Bring me the account books,” Shen Xihe immediately asked to check the ledgers upon hearing the news.

Dulive Tower’s incense was priced slightly higher than other shops, but her store sold not just incense but everything related to it. Before opening, Shen Xihe had reviewed the quantity of various items, estimating it would last two months.

Beiyu took the account books from the shop manager and handed them to Shen Xihe.

There were three thick volumes of accounts. Shen Xihe went through them one by one. She required every customer to leave a name, making note of regular and major customers. These customers would reserve goods and send gifts during festivals and holidays.

The gift-giving was just a pretext. Shen Xihe’s purpose was to ensure every sold incense product could be traced. They wouldn’t sell to those unwilling to leave their name and address, and anyone found impersonating others would be blacklisted from Dulive Tower.

While this couldn’t completely prevent people from causing trouble, if anyone did make problems, she could only make an example of them.

Dulive Tower was part of Madam Tao’s dowry – anyone with even slight connections could verify this in the Capital Prefecture’s records. Shen Xihe didn’t hide this fact, intending to discourage petty troublemakers from even trying.

If anyone still caused trouble, they wouldn’t be ordinary people – they would be targeting her specifically.

Turning page by page, Shen Xihe’s gaze paused on Eastern Palace’s Cao Tianyuan’s entry, then looked down to see Bihanxiang incense – he had bought all of her stock.

Bihanxiang wasn’t easy to make. The quality of what Hong Yu currently produced wasn’t good enough – only the five boxes Shen Xihe made herself were up to standard.

“Princess, Officer Cao also left word that the Eastern Palace wants all future Bihanxiang incense,” Beiyu reported timely when she saw Shen Xihe reach this entry.

This was how reservations worked – wealthy customers could leave advance orders for future incense products.

“Only Bihanxiang?” Shen Xihe turned two more pages but saw no other purchases from the Eastern Palace.

“Yes,” Beiyu nodded.

Shen Xihe nodded. It seemed Xiao Huayong simply liked Bihanxiang incense and hadn’t made excessive purchases of other products to show off or curry favor, which would have disrupted her business and its purpose. Her impression of him improved a bit.

Shen Xihe spent an hour going through the account books. Apart from merchants heading south, no one had made excessive purchases. Everything was normal.

Closing the account books, Shen Xihe said, “You’ve all worked hard. Ten taels reward for the manager, and rewards for the accountants, servers, and cleaners too.”

“Thank you for the Princess’s reward!” The manager was delighted – this was half a year’s salary! He became even more dedicated, “Princess, the shop has no more goods to sell…”

“The workshop has some emergency stock you can use first, and I also have several new items here.” Shen Xihe gave Hong Yu a look, “Take these back to display too.”

Hong Yu quickly had people bring several boxes. Even before opening them, fragrance wafted out.

When opened, various scents spread out, making people unconsciously take deep breaths.

One box contained bowls, spoons, and chopsticks made of fragrant wood. Two boxes held fans – one of fragrant wood fans, one of silk fans dyed with fragrances, and plain white fans treated with fragrant materials. These suited both men and women and could be bought plain for adding one’s poems and paintings.

During incense making, some fragrance materials inevitably went to waste. Shen Xihe had thought of a solution – using these materials to make fragrant solutions for dyeing silk, or grinding them into powder to treat paper. Wood unsuitable for incense was given to craftsmen to make utensils.

It was originally meant to avoid waste, planned for future shop stock, but unexpectedly needed so soon. The manager left satisfied with the goods.

“Money is truly easy to make in the capital.” Beiyu calculated the accounts and found that Dulive Tower had made over a hundred gold pieces in just two days!

“That’s just the first two days.” Shen Xihe smiled slightly.

Though her goods were a bit expensive, they were durable. There were wealthy people who wanted to try everything, or who, seeing Dulive Tower’s setup, wanted to stock up on goods. Future business wouldn’t be bad – making a hundred gold pieces monthly shouldn’t be a problem.

Beiyu knew this too, but she still calculated carefully. Barring accidents, annual profits of ten thousand silver taels should be possible.

Just thinking of this number made Beiyu’s eyes shine – she was a money lover responsible for managing the Princess’s finances.

Shen Xihe smiled helplessly. Beiyu suppressed her excitement and handed a register to Shen Xihe: “Princess, these are the congratulatory gifts from various households. I’ve already recorded them.”

Dulive Tower had opened quietly. Shen Xihe hadn’t invited anyone – she neither deliberately advertised that this was her business nor tried to hide it. Those who found out sent congratulatory gifts. Such gifts couldn’t be politely refused, so she accepted them and recorded them for future reciprocation.

Shen Xihe casually flipped through and saw that Xiao Huayong had sent her a Tengshi cup: “Bring the cup here.”

Gifts from the Eastern Palace were naturally kept separate. Beiyu quickly brought it.

Opening the brocade box, Shen Xihe took out the Tengshi cup and froze – her likeness had been carved onto the cup’s surface!

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