A young woman in her twenties, wearing a vibrant pomegranate-red skirt, came running, her face hidden behind her sleeve. She reached the entrance of Lushengxiang and burst into loud sobs.
“Lushengxiang’s fragrance ruined my face! This is an unconscionable business!”
Her outburst immediately drew a crowd of onlookers, with people from neighboring shops rushing out to watch the commotion.
Inside Lushengxiang, customers preparing to buy fragrances and powders exchanged bewildered glances.
Madame Xiu hurried out. “Madam, why are you causing a scene at our shop?”
“Why?” The young woman suddenly lowered her sleeve, revealing her face. She shrieked, “Look, everyone! My face became like this after using Lushengxiang’s fragrance. Heavens! I only wanted to attract my husband’s attention, but now I can’t even show my face. He’ll surely divorce me…”
The woman’s face was covered in dense red spots, some even festering, presenting a horrifying sight.
Gasps echoed through the crowd.
Onlookers began pointing at Lushengxiang’s sign, murmuring among themselves.
“Is that possible? Lushengxiang’s business has been booming. How could their product cause this?”
“It’s hard to say. After all, it’s not a century-old shop. Mistakes can happen…”
“Tsk looks like we can’t use Lushengxiang’s products anymore.”
Customers inside hurriedly put down the cosmetics they were about to purchase as if they were too hot to handle.
Madame Xiu, though grieving her daughter’s loss, had always been tough and spirited, having raised her daughter alone after her husband’s early death. Seeing the young woman’s commotion, she immediately grabbed a broom from the entrance and slammed it on the ground.
The young woman’s cries faltered.
Madame Xiu’s eyebrows furrowed as she shouted even louder than the young woman: “Madam, you claim your face became like this because of our shop’s fragrance. Do you have any proof? We’ve sold hundreds, if not thousands, of fragrances since opening. How come no other customer has had issues, only you?”
The young woman retorted fiercely: “Proof? I bought the fragrance from your shop yesterday, applied a few drops before bed, and woke up looking like this. Isn’t my face proof enough?”
As she spoke, she grew more agitated, drawing an even larger crowd.
“We may not be wealthy, but would I ruin my face just to extort money from you?”
The onlookers nodded in agreement. Indeed, women valued their appearance greatly. Who would ruin their face just for money? Moreover, the woman was well-dressed and wore a gold bracelet, hardly seeming in need of money.
Hearing the crowd’s discussions, Madame Xiu began to panic. This wasn’t good. If this continues, Lushengxiang might have to close down…
“Nothing to say? You’re just a heartless, fraudulent business! Smash it up! Don’t let this place harm anyone else!” The young woman gave Madame Xiu no time to respond, crying and shouting simultaneously.
The men who had come with her immediately surged into Lushengxiang, starting to wreck the place.
Female customers inside the shop hurriedly ran out, joining the crowd of spectators once they caught their breath.
In such situations, fear was natural, but the excitement of watching the drama unfold was irresistible.
Among the crowd, Cui Mingyue, wearing a veiled hat, smiled slightly.
At this point, whether the spectators believed it or not, news of someone’s face being ruined by Lushengxiang’s fragrance would spread rapidly. As it circulated, who would bother to investigate the truth?
Of course, her goal wasn’t simply to shut down a small cosmetics shop. She wanted to deal with the Princess of Yan’s people and see if the Princess would intervene.
If the Princess hid and didn’t dare to show up, she’d have to swallow this bitter pill. If she couldn’t resist intervening, that would be even more interesting.
Lushengxiang wasn’t opened after the Princess married into the royal family.
For an unmarried young woman to privately own property was already a transgression. Now that the shop she owned was embroiled in such a scandal, it was tarnishing the royal family’s reputation. How would she explain this?
Would the Prince of Yan still look at her with such adoration?
Cui Mingyue eagerly anticipated watching the newlyweds grow distant.
“Stop! You can’t smash things!” Madame Xiu, shocked at their sudden violence, cried out and swung her broom at one of the men.
The burly man, unfazed by a mere woman, easily snatched the broom and tossed it aside, then kicked Madame Xiu.
Madame Xiu fell to the ground but clung desperately to the man’s ankle. “You can’t smash things, you can’t…”
Some onlookers showed sympathy, but no one spoke up.
The victim’s face was in such a state, that they couldn’t discern the truth. If it was caused by the shop’s fragrance, then perhaps this destruction was justified.
Meanwhile, owners and staff of neighboring shops who had long envied Lushengxiang’s success took the opportunity to add fuel to the fire.
Hah, true or false, if Lushengxiang fell, their business would improve.
“Stop right there!” A crisp shout rang out as an agile figure rushed forward, delivering a flying kick to the man’s face.
Madame Xiu looked up painfully, tears streaming down her face. “Miss Chuchu, you’re finally here.”
The nimble young woman was indeed Lu Chuchu.
Lu Chuchu had moved into Lushengxiang’s backyard with Madame Xiu, finally settling down in the capital.
Earlier that morning, she had gone with a shop assistant to purchase ingredients for making fragrances, never expecting the shop to be vandalized in her absence.
Lu Chuchu’s martial skills were impressive, and she held her own against several men.
Madame Xiu got up, grabbed the broom, and joined the fray.
As the fight intensified, the spectators found the drama increasingly entertaining. Some who had work to do couldn’t bring themselves to leave.
Work could wait, but such excitement was rare.
Standing among the crowd, Cui Mingyue’s expression turned cold.
Her secret investigations had revealed that Lushengxiang had a middle-aged female manager, two assistants, and a young woman who did odd jobs and seemed to be on equal footing with the manager.
She hadn’t expected this woman to be skilled in martial arts.
Whether it was the Princess of Yan or her people, they always managed to surprise her.
This development would make it harder to teach Lushengxiang’s people a lesson.
However, Cui Mingyue didn’t regret her actions.
If the people who came with the woman to cause trouble had displayed murderous skills, that would have aroused suspicion.
She glanced towards the end of the street, finally spotting a squad of officials hurrying over, and her lips curled into a slight smile.
What did it matter if she could fight? One couldn’t win against overwhelming numbers. Could that woman possibly contend with so many officials?
Once the Five Cities Infantry Command took Lushengxiang’s people away, the Princess of Yan would either watch her subordinates languish in jail or use her status as a princess to bail them out.
By then, the Princess’s identity as the shop’s behind-the-scenes owner would be exposed.
Seeing the officials arrive, the crowd parted.
The lead official halted and announced loudly: “Arrest everyone causing trouble in the street!”