The young man sitting opposite the two of them teased with a wicked grin, "See? The shop in front has two rows of handsome men, pulling out all the stops with their charm. You two be careful when you go, don't fall for their pretty faces."
The round-faced girl named Yanran looked disgusted. "What handsome men? They're lowlifes from all walks of life. This young lady has no interest."
The oval-faced girl smiled faintly. "Qingyun Ge, you should worry about yourself. I hear your Princess Xin Yao loves handsome men the most. Don't let anyone steal her heart away."
The man called Qingyun Ge puffed out his chest with pride. "This young master is a handsome man, and deeply favored by the Princess. Otherwise, why would she choose me and not your fourth brother?"
"Qingyun Ge is right. But, I heard someone say that Princess Xin Yao has been secretly searching for someone, someone who caught her eye and she can't forget." The oval-faced girl looked like she was enjoying the show.
"What did you say?" Zhou Qingyun stiffened. "Is that true?"
The oval-faced girl snorted. "Why don't you ask your princess? But you can't say I told you. Otherwise, your embarrassing secrets won't be enough for me to reveal."
"Xue Rou, stop bickering with my second brother. Let's go check out that shop quickly!" Zhou Yanran, who had already alighted from the carriage, urged impatiently.
Dong Xue Rou smiled at Zhou Qingyun, then also got out of the carriage. The two maids sitting beside the carriage driver immediately followed.
A couple of days ago, the governess in charge of purchases at the manor received a flyer from Hong Fen Jia Ren. To please Zhou Yanran, the governess showed her the flyer.
After all, the young ladies most enjoyed visiting the various cosmetic shops in the capital. As soon as they heard about new products, they would rush to buy a lot.
Zhou Yanran saw that there were many items on the flyer she had never even heard of. She was very curious and invited her good friend Dong Xue Rou to come and see.
Her second brother, Zhou Qingyun, was instructed by their mother to specifically protect the two of them.
As the two approached the rows of red-clad gentlemen, they immediately caught a very pleasant fragrance.
"Xue Rou, what is this scent? It's so lovely," Zhou Yanran couldn't help but sniff.
Dong Xue Rou fanned herself with a handkerchief. "It is indeed pleasant. It's much more delicate and refreshing than the incense we usually use."
"This is the perfume sold in our shop. Welcome, young ladies," introduced Lu Tong, standing beside them, with a smile.
Zhou Yanran and Dong Xue Rou glanced at him indifferently and ignored him.
Lu Tong didn't mind and continued to welcome the next customer with a smile.
Inside the shop, Ding Xiang and Ga Mei were introducing products to customers, while Lu Hua and A Qiu were at the entrance welcoming guests.
As Zhou Yanran and Dong Xue Rou entered, the two immediately stepped forward.
Lu Hua smiled. "Welcome, young ladies. What would you like to purchase?"
After exchanging a look, Zhou Yanran and Dong Xue Rou put on an arrogant expression and said in a haughty tone, "We heard that the prices for your rouge and lip gloss at Hong Fen Jia Ren are several times that of Lan Mei Ren. Bring those two items out for me to see first."
Lu Hua was taken aback. "Lan Mei Ren? What is... that?"
Zhou Yanran was amused. "What? You haven't even heard of 'Lan Mei Ren'? 'Lan Mei Ren' is the largest, most famous, and oldest cosmetic shop in the capital."
Lu Hua blushed, blaming herself inwardly. She should have done more research so as not to be so ignorant now. She resolved to visit all the competing shops in the capital on her days off.
A Qiu immediately said with a smile, "Ladies, we are truly sorry, but we have never heard of Lan Mei Ren. However, the prices of all our products at Hong Fen Jia Ren are set based on their materials, craftsmanship, and quality, and we have no intention of comparing ourselves to other competitors. If you don't believe us, you can try our products."
Lu Hua also quickly composed herself and said with a smile, "Ladies, our first floor primarily offers perfumes, rouge, eyebrow pencils, lip gloss, face masks, and moisturizing creams. May I show you some perfume and lip gloss first?"
After speaking, Lu Hua turned and brought over a wooden tray with various scented perfumes and three shades of lip gloss.
A Qiu said, "These are all our testers. If you ladies are willing, we can try them on you now."
Zhou Yanran really wanted to try them, but her face showed utter disdain. She grudgingly said, "Fine... let's try them. However, if they cause me any discomfort, I won't let you off."
"Please be assured," a hint of disgust flashed in A Qiu's eyes, but she maintained a friendly smile.
Dong Xue Rou also said, "Then I... will try them too."
Frankly, Dong Xue Rou found the products in this shop very novel. For example, this thing called perfume was absolutely unheard of in the Great Xia Kingdom.
In the Great Xia Kingdom, adding fragrance to clothes and bodies was done through sachets or by burning incense in censers. She had never seen "fragrance" made into "water" like this "perfume."
She had also never heard of face masks, and the colors of the lip gloss on the female shop assistants' lips were also very beautiful. Ordinary lip gloss rarely had such saturated and moisturizing colors.
She really wanted to try them.
She wanted to become more beautiful than all the noble ladies in the capital, so that no one would dare to compete with her for the Crown Prince.
Lu Hua picked up a bottle of osmanthus perfume. After opening the stopper, she dipped a small pestle made of jade, ground to have a smooth small bead, into the perfume bottle.
The small bead on the jade pestle had two tiny holes, which could carry the perfume but not too much, allowing for good control of the amount used.
This was made by craftsmen from Wen Zhi Mo's family at Bai Sheng's request, using scrap materials. Even a small jade pestle could sell for 500 copper coins. Bai Sheng paid the craftsman 400 copper coins for their labor.
Lu Hua dripped a drop of perfume from the small jade pestle onto Zhou Yanran's and Dong Xue Rou's wrists respectively, and then gently spread it with the bead of the small jade pestle.
Instantly, a refreshing osmanthus fragrance filled the air, making one feel as if they were in an osmanthus forest, incredibly comfortable.
Zhou Yanran and Dong Xue Rou couldn't help but sniff. They almost blurted out "It smells so good."
A Qiu smiled. "The perfume from our Hong Fen Jia Ren, when dripped onto clothes, can maintain its fragrance for three days. Furthermore, it is divided into top, middle, and base notes, with subtle differences in fragrance at each stage."
What were top, middle, and base notes? Zhou Yanran and Dong Xue Rou found the shop assistants' words completely incomprehensible.
However, they truly loved this fragrance. Just one drop could last for three days.
This was truly incredible!
"Ladies, now I will try another scent for you, rose fragrance," said Lu Hua, dripping another drop onto each of their wrists.