Great Song

As the spring breeze warmed up, the national mourning on the 27th was full of clothes, and the palace people took off their hemp skirts one after another, showing long-lost smiles.The new official family is young and healthy, and also has a good name. They only hope that they can make the inner palace harmonious and the world peaceful, just like Renzong did back then.

However, this warm current did not melt the ice in Baoci Palace.The palace servants serving Empress Dowager Gao still looked sad and silent.The Empress Dowager is still mourning, who dares to show her cheers?

"Your Majesty, didn't you sleep well last night?" Standing outside the hall, Mrs. Yan asked the palace servants beside her softly.

The other party sighed: "I cried for a long time again. Madame should persuade the empress, if this continues, what should I do if my body is broken?"

Mrs. Yan just shook her head when she heard the words, she couldn't talk about this matter.At that time, Renzong had no children, so he took the first emperor into the palace and raised him under the knee of Empress Dowager Cao.The Empress Dowager Cao was also the aunt of Empress Dowager Gao, so she also brought her into the palace and raised her single-handedly.It can be said that the first emperor and the empress dowager Gao grew up together since they were young, childhood sweethearts, and childhood sweethearts.When they got married that year, there was a saying in the palace that "the emperor marries a wife, and the queen marries a daughter".

After that, the first emperor left the court and lived in the Prince Pu's mansion. For 15 years, he only favored the Empress Dowager Gao.Even if the successor came to the throne later, there would be no servants on the left and right.Such an honor is really rare.Now that the late Emperor passed away at a young age, how can Empress Dowager Gao's mourning be stopped in a short while?

After all, the empress of the Tian family is also husband and wife.Thinking of her late husband who died young, Mrs. Yan also showed some sadness in her eyes, and ordered: "Please ask the imperial physician to prescribe some soothing prescriptions."

After finishing speaking, she straightened her dress and walked slowly into the inner hall.As expected, the palace was still in a miserable state. The Empress Dowager Gao sat by the window, staring straight at the distant place, like a clay puppet, she didn't even notice that someone entered the room.

Although the spring scenery is beautiful, it is difficult to catch the eyes.Madam Yan sighed softly, and walked forward slowly.As an official wet nurse, her relationship with Empress Dowager Gao is also extraordinary. These days, she is the only one who can say a few words to Empress Dowager Gao.

"Your Majesty, the official ordered someone to send some new tea, do you want to try it?" Madam Yan whispered.

Empress Dowager Gao did not return her, but still looked out of the window.Seeing this situation, Madam Yan closed her mouth helplessly.The imperial doctor said that it is not good to forcefully wake up when you are absent-minded.Unexpectedly, after a while, Empress Dowager Gao suddenly shook her body and said, "Have the plum blossoms in the courtyard not withered yet?"

The words came so abruptly that people couldn't figure it out.Mrs. Yan was stunned for a moment before she said: "The courtyard is gone. If you want to admire the plum blossoms, why don't you go to Qionglin Garden? There are more flowers and trees over there, there should be plums..."

Empress Dowager Gao did not answer, but frowned slightly: "There are no plums in the courtyard, how can I smell the fragrance of plums?"

The palace burns incense all day, and these days of mourning, too much agarwood and sandalwood are burned, and the smell is lingering.However, Empress Dowager Gao felt that there was a seemingly invisible plum fragrance around her, which reminded her of the time when she played with the late emperor in the imperial garden.

Hearing this, Mrs. Yan came to a sudden: "It's my concubine who used some plum blossom perfume in the house, I'm afraid it might be contaminated with the smell."

Serving the Empress Dowager, of course she doesn't know how to wear perfume, and only sprinkles some on the pillow when she suffers from insomnia at night.Unexpectedly, the smell was still tainted, and the queen mother could smell it.

"Perfume?" Empress Dowager Gao turned her head blankly, "What is that?"

Being able to call back Empress Dowager Gao's mind, Mrs. Yan would not let go of the opportunity, and immediately said: "When I came to Beijing, I met a Mr. Han Lang, and he gave it to me. This perfume is similar to rose water, but the taste is much better. If you sprinkle it on your body, it will not dissipate for a day or two. By the way, that Han Langjun is also a relative of Han Xianggong, and he is also a smart and handsome person."

The word "Han Xianggong" made Empress Dowager Gao look a little brighter.It was Han Qi who supported the first emperor to the throne back then, and her son also owed his succession to the throne smoothly.Therefore, Empress Dowager Gao trusted Han Qi very much, and she also had a good impression of the man of the Han family who made the perfume.

Seeing Empress Dowager Gao's face softened, Madam Yan said, "I heard that Han Langjun is going to open a shop in the near future, why don't you send someone to see if there are any other kinds of flower fragrance?"

When Han Miao delivered the soap, he also specifically informed Mrs. Yan when the store opened.Now that the opportunity is just in time, why not give him a favor.

Although Empress Dowager Gao was frugal by nature, she cared about He Xiang and nodded her head.Madam Yan couldn't help but beam with joy. If the queen mother can really get out of the pain of losing her husband, this perfume will do a great job.Not daring to neglect, she immediately arranged for two palace servants to go to the Han family's new shop.

■

After the national funeral, the gentry in Beijing also got rid of their plain clothes, and once again lived a noisy and lively life.Mrs. Zhang changed into a pretty dress this day, brought her beloved hairpin, and went out for a stroll.She is also newly married not long ago, and her husband and son-in-law are working as officials in Kaifeng Mansion, so they are quite rich.Now that I have been holding back for more than a month, I haven't even had a good Lantern Festival, so I naturally want to go out to find some fun.Anyway, the Ningbing at home has already been eaten, so it is normal to add some sweets.

Walked to the Han's seasoning shop with ease, Mrs. Zhang found that the foot shop next door had changed a signboard at some time, with the words "Han's perfume shop" written on it. The old two-story building It is also newly decorated, and there is a guise hanging outside the store.

"Han family hundred flower dew strong fragrance"?This is the new store of the Han family? What is "perfume"?Since it's a new store, why don't you see a guy who recruits customers?

Curious in her heart, she stopped going into the seasoning shop, turned a corner, and walked straight into the perfume shop.

As soon as he entered the door, he saw a woman in a green dress with elegant make-up greeted her, and greeted her with a smile: "Sister is here? Please come inside."

It turned out to be a girl entertaining guests?Except for shops that sew dresses, there are really few female waiters.Such a friendly greeting made people relax a lot. Mrs. Zhang walked into the store, looked around and asked, "What do you sell in this store?"

"They are all things for daily use, including toilet water, toothpaste, soap and soap. If you like more expensive ones, there are also perfumes like rose water." The other party asked with a smile, "Sister, this is the first time to come to the store Where? Why don’t you pick up some new products?”

Eat rose water, but a bottle of more than a hundred bottles of luxury, Mrs. Zhang can't afford it.But toothpaste and the like, shouldn't be too expensive?She thought for a while, then said reservedly: "Let's look at the daily use first."

"Sister, please." The girl immediately took Mrs. Zhang to the counter, and took out a round white porcelain bottle.

"What's in this bottle is flower dew. The taste is light and elegant, and it's most suitable for blending powder ingots. Applying it on the face can also brighten the complexion. This is the best jasmine dew sold in the store. Sister, you can try it. " Saying that, the girl pulled out the stopper, poured some water into the white porcelain dish beside her, and the faint fragrance of jasmine wafted out immediately.

Mrs. Zhang snorted, took the porcelain dish, and saw that the inside was clear and bright, like white water, but it smelled of jasmine fragrance. She couldn't help but said happily: "How much is this bottle?"

"A bottle of [-] yuan can be used for a month." The girl replied with a smile.

"Eight hundred yuan?" Mrs. Zhang looked surprised, "Isn't this the water for mixing powder? How can it be sold at this price?"

Even if it's a good wine from a real store, it costs only five hundred cash a bucket.This bottle doesn't look big, but it's twice as expensive as wine?

The girl smiled slightly: "Sister, I forgot. How can there be jasmine in this season? If you want to use the season, there is also peach blossom dew. It only costs [-] yuan a bottle. Take some every day and pat it on the face. rosy."

As she spoke, she took out another porcelain bottle and poured some water out.This time it is light pink, but the peach blossom is light, not as fresh as jasmine.

Mrs. Zhang secretly felt ashamed.Yes, where can spring find jasmine?Even if the flowers bloom in summer, the price is extremely expensive. How can such a rare dew be cheap?However, after looking at the peach dew, and then at the jasmine dew, she still felt that Jasmine's was better.

Seeing that the guest was undecided for a while, the girl laughed again: "Sister, do you want to look at other things? There are also orange blossom, plum blossom, sweet-scented osmanthus and mint flavors of toilet water. Toothpaste and soap also have several flavors. There are only sweet-scented osmanthus and plum blossoms."

Mrs. Zhang was not interested in the other kinds of flower fragrances, and she was afraid that people poured them out one by one, but she didn't buy them, which would make her look ugly, so she said: "The soap sounds strange, let me have a look first."

The girl quickly took out a wooden box and opened it.I saw a row of round and round things placed on the brocade, red and green, with a strong fragrance, and different flowers were engraved on them.

"Isn't this a snack?" Mrs. Zhang is the sweetest one, and she couldn't help but feel happy when she saw this soap.

"It's not edible." The girl explained with a smile, "This thing is similar to bath beans, but it can be washed clean, used to refresh, and can also make the skin white, tender and smooth. Sister, do you want to try it?"

Mrs. Zhang nodded, and the other party immediately took a copper basin, filled it with clean water, and asked her to try it.

The fragrant balls were held in the hands and soaked in water, but they did not melt like bath beans, but became smoother and more shiny.After rubbing it gently twice, my hands became smooth, and after washing it carefully, I felt that my skin color was two points whiter.

Taking the cloth towel handed over by the other party, Mrs. Zhang sighed: "This thing is really good, and it's so economical."

After washing my hands, I didn't think much of it, it really wasn't bad.

The girl smiled and said: "Sister is really good at housekeeping. This soap is much better than ordinary bath beans. If you use it carefully, it will not be a problem for a month or two. Peach blossom soap is the cheapest, only [-] yuan, jasmine flower Soap and orange blossom soap are expensive, worth two thousand dollars."

It's really not cheap, but I really want it.Seeing this, Mrs. Zhang didn't dare to look at toothpaste and soap anymore, she gritted her teeth: "Take a bottle of jasmine dew and a piece of peach blossom soap."

As she spoke, she took out the broken silver in her purse.There is no need to go shopping today, and she will be heartbroken for a long time if she is naked.

The girl took her to meet the banknotes, and continued to compliment her: "How hard is it to take care of the housework all day? Sister should also treat yourself better. If you use things from our house with a color like your sister, It will be very beautiful!"

Although it hurts to spend money, it still makes people happy to hear such words.Besides, women are different from men, if they change their buddies, they won't be so considerate.

Although she spent more money than expected, Mrs. Zhang was still smiling and very happy when she went out.

■

Standing in the corner of the hall, Mrs. Liu looked at the guests coming and going, showing some approval on her face.As the shopkeeper of the shop, she has put in all of her time for this perfume shop, teaching the young ladies in the shop one by one, not only making them sweet and smart, but also making them able to distinguish the wealth and preferences of customers.Ordinary people sell daily things such as toilet water and toothpaste.If it is a wealthy family, please go directly to the second floor and offer perfume.As long as you are thoughtful and considerate, you are not afraid of customers returning empty-handed.

Although there are quite a few women who can be cooks and open restaurants nowadays, there are really not many who are shopkeepers of big restaurants.It was precisely because of this that Second Lady Liu worked hard.Besides, in her eyes, the business of this flower water and perfume is indeed not bad, and it will definitely become popular in Tokyo.At that time, her status as the shopkeeper of the perfume shop will be different.

It's just that in the past few days since the store opened, I really haven't been able to go to the distinguished guests on the second floor.When will the big customer that A Lang mentioned come?As long as one or two distinguished guests come to the door, it will be good to open up the market.She is not afraid that she will not be able to sell that exquisite perfume.

Just as she was thinking about it, a servant suddenly walked over quickly and whispered in her ear: "Second Lady, there is a car parked at the door, it looks like a palace..."

Miss Liu's spirit was shaken, and she immediately walked up to meet her.