As soon as Yu Jin spoke these words, a wave of laughter erupted from the crowd.
Amidst the laughter, the young woman’s face turned bright red as she stammered, “I… I didn’t hold it steady and spilled some. Is that not allowed?”
Yu Jin’s smile was faint, but his eyes were deep as he chuckled, “Of course it’s allowed. Don’t you all agree?”
“Yes!” the onlookers shouted in unison.
By now, the crowd began to sense that something was amiss.
Judging by her attire, this woman seemed to be from a moderately wealthy family, not a lady from a grand household. Using a facial toner worth twenty taels of silver per bottle was far too extravagant.
Those female customers who frequently purchased cosmetics and facial toners shook their heads slightly.
This rose facial toner not only gave off a fragrant aroma when used sparingly but also made the skin fair and moist. Who would use so much in one go? The claim of spilling it was even less believable.
It wasn’t as if the toner cost just one or two taels of silver per bottle. Who wouldn’t use it carefully? How could one casually claim to have spilled it?
Yu Jin calmly raised a few questions, immediately causing the onlookers to think more critically.
It seemed like an extortion attempt.
Had this woman gone mad with poverty, willing to ruin her face just to extort money?
Without beauty, what use was money? Many women touched their faces, silently pondering.
“I often use this facial toner too. Let me take a look,” Jiang Si extended her hand.
Yu Jin passed the facial toner to Jiang Si.
Jiang Si took the glass bottle and gently shook it, causing the pale pink liquid inside to ripple.
She opened the stopper and took a light sniff.
The fragrance was familiar; it was the aroma she had personally blended. Yet, within the familiarity, there was a hint of an odd smell.
Jiang Si furrowed her brow and took another gentle sniff.
It was an almost imperceptible foul odor. To call it foul might be an exaggeration, as it was masked by the toner’s inherent fragrance. Most people would hardly notice it, but to Jiang Si, the smell was quite obvious.
Jiang Si’s lips curved slightly upward, a cold glint in her eyes.
“Is there anything unusual?” Yu Jin asked.
Jiang Si looked at Yu Jin, then swept her gaze across the faces of many onlookers before announcing loudly, “Yes.”
That single word immediately piqued everyone’s curiosity.
Cui Mingyue, standing among the crowd, looked increasingly displeased.
How could that lowborn Jiang detect something unusual in the facial toner with just a sniff?
Impossible!
She tightened her grip on her maid’s arm.
Through the thin fabric, the maid felt pain so intense that tears streamed down her face, but she dared not cry out.
Jiang Si stepped forward, holding up the bottle of facial toner.
“I detect the scent of ruyi grass in this bottle of rose facial toner.”
Ruyi grass, also known as the five-colored hydrangea, blooms almost year-round and primarily grows in the south. It’s commonly used to repel mosquitoes and insects.
Of course, it’s also cultivated in the north.
“Does anyone here know about ruyi grass?” Jiang Si asked.
Many shook their heads.
Most of the spectators were ordinary people, busy making a living year-round, with little time to pay attention to flowers and plants.
However, a female voice rang out, “This humble girl knows about it.”
Jiang Si looked towards the voice and saw that the speaker was a young woman of about sixteen or seventeen. Though dressed in simple clothes with a thorn hairpin, she was quite pretty.
“Please, tell us what you know,” Jiang Si said in a gentle, encouraging tone.
All eyes turned to the young woman.
Though nervous, the girl spoke eloquently, “This humble girl sells flowers, and we grow ruyi grass in our courtyard at home. While it looks pretty, it has an unpleasant smell. This flower can repel mosquitoes and insects.”
“Young lady, please smell this facial toner and see if you can detect it,” Jiang Si passed the bottle to her.
The young woman hesitated for a moment before reaching out to take it. She brought it to her nose and sniffed carefully.
The crowd held their breath, waiting for her response.
After a moment, the young woman returned the bottle to Jiang Si and nodded confidently, “Although the scent is very faint, this humble girl tends to flowers and plants daily and can still detect it.”
Jiang Si nodded in thanks, her expression turning cold, “Let me inform everyone, that while ruyi grass can repel mosquitoes, it is highly toxic. If mixed into facial toner and applied to the face, it would result in a horrific appearance like this sister-in-law’s…”
She pointed at the young woman, drawing all eyes to her.
The young woman stepped back anxiously, trying to maintain her composure, “What ruyi grass? I’ve never even heard of it. Are you saying whatever you claim is true?”
Yu Jin sneered, “Are you suggesting the Princess is falsely accusing you?”
The young woman’s face suddenly paled as she realized that the person speaking wasn’t an ordinary individual, but a Princess Consort.
Jiang Si walked past the woman and handed the bottle to Madam Xiu, “Proprietress, please smell this and see if the scent of this rose facial toner differs from the others.”
Madam Xiu hurriedly took it, sniffed carefully, and her eyes lit up, “It’s different, truly different!”
Jiang Si’s appearance seemed to have given Madam Xiu a reassuring pill, restoring her usual astuteness.
Madam Xiu, holding the bottle, quickly approached a female customer and pleaded, “Madam, please smell this and tell us if this facial toner is different from what you usually use?”
Under normal circumstances, the female customer wouldn’t want to get involved in such drama. But now, with the Prince and Princess Consort watching, leaving a good impression on them wouldn’t be a bad thing.
The female customer cooperatively took the bottle and sniffed it.
It seemed no different, yet somehow not quite the same…
She had only ever bought one bottle of this twenty-tael rose facial toner, gritting her teeth at the expense, and couldn’t discern much difference.
But under the expectant gazes of the crowd, the female customer nodded and affirmed, “It’s different.”
If the flower seller said it was different if the shopkeeper said it was different, and most importantly, if the Princess Consort said it was different, then it must be different.
Hearing the customer’s words, a flash of triumph crossed Madam Xiu’s eyes.
She knew that at this point, anyone she asked would say it was different.
A woman of considerable beauty, raising her daughter peacefully in the village by her efforts, couldn’t lack a certain cleverness.
This was the bit of cunning that the most downtrodden people used to survive, and it wasn’t shameful.
Madam Xiu straightened her back and held up the bottle of rose facial toner high, “Everyone has heard, right? This bottle of facial toner smells different from the ones in our shop. It has ruyi grass added to it! This humble woman doesn’t even know what ruyi grass is, let alone have ever seen it. How could I possibly mix ruyi grass into the facial toner? This person is trying to extort money!”
As Madam Xiu continued speaking, the young woman’s face grew increasingly pale.
“Pah! You black-hearted thief!” Madam Xiu spat and tugged at the lead constable’s sleeve. “Officer, weren’t you going to arrest someone? Quickly, take this thief away!”
Seeing that Madam Xiu had the Prince of Yan’s support, the lead constable resisted the urge to shake her off and looked toward Yu Jin.
“No need to look at me. This woman’s use of poisonous flowers to harm others goes beyond simple extortion. According to the law, she should at least face the needle insertion punishment, right? You can take her away and deal with her according to standard procedures.”
The needle insertion punishment involved inserting long needles into the gaps between fingernails, a common torture method used on female criminals.
Upon hearing this, the young woman collapsed to the ground in fear, desperately kowtowing and pleading, “Your Highness, please spare me! This humble woman was deceived, truly deceived!”