Feng Yu Heng remembered that when Lu Yao had married into the Yao manor. On that day, there was also a group with gifts that accompanied the bride to the manor. According to the rules, after they watched Yao Shu bring the bride into the manor, they would turn back around, leaving behind just the maidservants that would accompany the bride. At that time, she had taken a look, and she had seen a few maidservants in that group. The one that she had just seen seemed to have been seen among that group.
“Someone from the Lu family.” She scratched her chin and said to Xuan Tian Ming: “I seem to have seen that maidservant before when the Lu family was sending gifts during the wedding.”
The people of the Lu family visiting to buy jewelry was quite normal, but Xuan Tian Ming was puzzled, “You said that she has a hidden illness? What hidden illness? I’ve never heard of any Lu family’s young miss having a hidden illness.”
Feng Yu Heng laughed at him, “If everyone knew about it, how could it still be considered a hidden illness.”
Xuan Tian Ming shrugged, “But coming out like this, does she not fear being found out?”
She thought for a bit then said: “Perhaps she was feeling anxious and wanted to come and look at the jewelry. Also, she was wearing a veil, and I was the one that could tell what was wrong. Others would just think that she had put on some low-quality makeup.”
Xuan Tian Ming was a bit interested, “The hidden illness that you are speaking of, what is it? What illness is it?”
Feng Yu Heng thought for a bit, “Body odor or stinkiness as you might call it, if the palace is selecting consorts, will they make accurate assessments in regards to this issue. I heard that a large number of people were turned away because of this sort of problem. They would then have trouble getting married for their entire lives. After all, who wants a wife that stinks. Our Da Shun court has not taken anyone in for many years. That Lu family’s young miss does not need to worry about it. It’s just… I don’t know which young miss from the Lu family that is.” She used her elbow to prod Xuan Tian Ming: “How many young misses are there in the Lu family?”
Xuan Tian Ming thought for a bit then said: “It seems that there are three. The eldest young miss was born from a concubine, and there are two young misses from the first wife, but they were born from different mothers. The Lu manor’s current madam is Ji shi.”
While they spoke, Qing Yu had already come out of Nirvana Pavilion. Upon seeing them, she saluted then said: “They’re getting rid of the smell inside first. Your Highness and young miss, please wait a little before entering.” As she spoke, she looked around in the street, but the girl had already disappeared. Qing Yu frowned and said: “Who knows which family that young miss is from. It does not look like she’s lacking for money, but the cosmetics that she is using are too terrible! It’s such that it causes people’s throats to hurt.”
Feng Yu Heng asked her: “Did she order any jewelry?”
Qing Yu nodded: “She ordered two sets of head ornaments, and they were both to be made of expensive materials. Aside from the initial deposit, they also paid for the majority of the cost for the materials in accordance with our rules. They were quite generous with their spending.”
“Un.” Feng Yu Heng thought for a bit then said: “That young miss has a hidden illness. There’s no need to mind too much. She’s a customer, so just treat her as one. In the worst case scenario, prepare a private room for the next time she comes. Just don’t let it disrupt the normal flow of business.”
Qing Yu complied. At this time, a clerk came over, saying that the smell inside had dispersed and to invite them inside. Qing Yu told Feng Yu Heng: “The jadeite mine has sent a good amount of materials, and they were all of the highest quality. Young miss, come upstairs to take a look to see if there’s anything that you like. If you want them, just have craftsman Bai make accessories out of them. This servant felt those materials looked very good.”
In the end, Feng Yu Heng was a girl. Upon hearing that there was good stuff, she happily ran up the stairs.
Xuan Tian Ming was behind her with a wry smile, but he also went up the stairs. Feng Yu Heng said to him that the mark of a good man was waiting for a woman when shopping and being willing to spend money when she wanted. He was in agreement with the second point, but waiting when the woman went shopping was a test of his patience.
But accompanying his wife was something that he was happy to do. After all, this wife was very pleasing and very satisfying. The two would not get tired of the other, and Feng Yu Heng was a moving treasure trove. She also had a space that moved with her. This caused Xuan Tian Ming to mind even less.
The group ascended to the third floor, and Qing Yu brought out a box of jadeite materials. The group did not go into a private room. They just sat inside the hall of the third floor. The box of jadeite materials was opened before her. Even for someone that had become accustomed to seeing jewelry from the modern era like Feng Yu Heng, she could not help but express: “Too beautiful!”
The pure-white jade had a warm texture. It gave off the feeling of having some sort of spirit. It made people feel as though they were feeling a hand that belonged to someone very kindred to them. It did not feel unfamiliar in the slightest, and she did not want to let go. She wanted to remain connected forever.
She suddenly felt shocked, as she looked at Xuan Tian Ming and said: “This jade has a spirit.”
Of course, jade could not have a spirit; however, Xuan Tian Ming knew what her words meant, thus he told her: “This is where the value of good jade lies. Otherwise, why would it be said that jade chooses people, and people choose jade. Once they have chosen the other, the person must take care of the jade, and the jade embellishes the person. The two support each other to allow the jade to appear more beautiful and to allow the person to prosper even more.”
He reached out to touch the piece of jade, and his heart was also caught; however, he was not as surprised as Feng Yu Heng, only saying: “It is indeed good jade. Something that can only be found every thousand years.” After he finished speaking, he asked Qing Yu: “How many pieces of jade of similar quality were sent?”
Qing Yu replied: “Not much. There’s only this one box. They were all chosen by the head master. But the other materials are also very good. Although they cannot compare to this piece, they would still be top tier when placed in this shop. They definitely are not worse than the things sent into the palace over the years.”
Feng Yu Heng was very happy to hear this. Holding a large piece of jade in her hands, she sighed: “How much would this sell for?”
“Young miss, it’s something that’s seen every thousand years.” Qing Yu laughed and said: “Can you not think about how much it would sell for? This material was specially kept for young miss. Have it made into jewelry for yourself or for engravings. That would be better than selling it to someone else.”
Xuan Tian Ming also nodded, saying: “That’s right. Could you be lacking in money? Only nice things are hard to come by. If you sell this, it’s possible that you will never see such a good piece of jade again.”
Feng Yu Heng was feeling very pained, “If I have it made into accessories, I don’t usually wear accessories. You see me wearing a lot of stuff on my head, but that’s because I participated in seventh brother’s feast yesterday. That is a situation that requires I wear accessories. How many situations will call me for to wear them! Also, the things that I have are not bad.”
Xuan Tian Ming was very puzzled. Was this girl really a woman? He dared to guarantee that if it was any other woman facing this sort of nice thing, their eyes would be staring straight at it. Not to mention that it was given to her, even if it was not, they would think of a way to obtain it. There were also some people that would do anything to obtain it. Why was it that when it came to his wife, she would try to push away the things that were given to her?
Very well, he had not forgotten what his wife’s intention was with pushing it away. It was to sell it for money, “Exactly how much money are you lacking?”
Feng Yu Heng rolled her eyes, “Do you think that there’s too much money?” After saying this, she asked Qing Yu, “Don’t worry about whether or not I will keep this. Just estimate a price first. How much would this box cost?”
Qing Yu was very troubled, but seeing that Xuan Tian Ming helplessly nodded, she said: “This price is pretty hard to estimate because there are very few people that will buy raw materials. There’s always a need for it to be worked on. Only something that has been crafted can be sold for money. As for this process, the quality of the work will also factor in the value. For example, if craftsman Bai was asked to work on it, to say that he added to the value would not be an exaggeration.”
Xuan Tian Ming picked up on this topic: “For something this good, there is nobody in this world that can touch something like this aside from craftsman Bai.”
“Then it would be too expensive.” Even Qing Yu sighed, “There’s no way for this servant to estimate it. There really is no way.”
Feng Yu Heng thought for a bit then asked: “What if compared to the five million taels of gold sent by Qian Zhou?”
Xuan Tian Ming replied to this for her: “Just this untouched material has far surpassed that gold.”
Bang!
Feng Yu Heng decisively closed the box, “Put it away. Store it safely. Nobody is allowed to touch a piece.”
Qing Yu helplessly said: “Young miss, turn it into accessories for yourself.”
Xuan Tian Ming also advised: “We really are not lacking for money. However much money you want, I’ll give it to you.”
“Isn’t your stuff going to be mine in the future?” Feng Yu Heng raised an eyebrow, “Is there any point in moving it around? This thing needs to be put away properly for me. In the future, if I want to scam, I will scam some outsider. If I scam them well, I could get a small country.”
Xuan Tian Ming had a good insight into her scamming abilities, thus he held onto the box: “This prince will personally take care of it for you.”
Feng Yu Heng was very satisfied.
While they were speaking, a clerk led another customer up to the third floor. It was a wealthy madam that looked to be in her early 30s and was on the thinner side. She was very well dressed. Wearing a verdant autumn dress, she looked rich and elegant.
Seeing that an important customer had come up to the third floor, Qing Yu quickly pardoned herself and personally went to receive her. It had to be said that this was the first time Feng Yu Heng had spent a long time sitting inside this jewelry shop. Watching Qing Yu take care of the customer, she felt it was quite fresh. She decided to sit around and watch for a bit. It happened that the wealthy madam spoke up at this time and said: “My family and I came from the South. Because it was a long distance, I did not bring anything particularly expensive. However, who knew that we would arrive around the mid-Autumn Festival’s banquet. Thus I could only come here as an emergency. Bring out your best items for me to choose. Price is not a problem.”
Qing Yu heard her say that she would be participating in the palace banquet, thus she subconsciously looked toward Feng Yu Heng. Feng Yu Heng quietly asked Xuan Tian Ming: “Which family’s madam is that? Do you recognize her?”
Xuan Tian Ming smiled bitterly, “Even if I recognized the official, how could I recognize the females of their family.”
She thought about it and thought the same, thus she shook her head to Qing Yu. Qing Yu continued to warmly take care of her.
A clerk brought a box of ready-made accessories out, and Qing Yu said: “These are the shop’s best ready-made accessories. Of course, madam can also choose materials and have someone make them the way you would like. Here, we have everything from jade to crystal to gold. The gold content also ranges from low to high, with the highest being of the same quality as what’s sent into the palace.” While she introduced these things, she said: “But if madam is rushing to get them done before the banquet, I fear that making them now would be too late. How about madam chooses from what has already been completed. Because of the banquet for the Mid-Autumn Festival, our Nirvana Pavilion has made some preparation ahead of time. We had quite a large amount of accessories made for the madams and young misses to choose.”
Qing Yu was a good talent in business. Her words were elegant, but the rich madam looked at the things before her and shook her head with a look of disdain. “No good, no good. Everyone says that this place is the best jewelry shop in the capital, but these things only seem so-so to me. If you only have things of this quality, what sort of best in the capital is it?”