I'm a humble concubine. My acting skills are off the charts. You can check my performance.

The eldest lady pretended to be puzzled: "What does this have to do with the second and fifth girls? They also made perfume? Do you want to start a perfume business?"

Zhao Minshan was speechless, but still felt that the eldest lady was not treating people fairly.

Zhao Minshan felt that he could not allow the Madam to act like this, so he said in a gentle tone:

"I know you feel sorry for Fangyu who was treated harshly by Aunt Qian and almost killed. Over the years, she has grown up very well under your education and is filial and polite. It is normal for you to love her."

Zhao Minshan first praised the eldest lady and affirmed her educational achievements, then changed the subject: "But isn't that girl Fangwei unfilial? There are some things that you, as the head of the family, cannot favor one over the other."

The eldest lady immediately put down the fragrant dew and slowly walked to Zhao Minshan: "Master, what are you talking about? How can you say that I am partial to one and neglect the other?"

Seeing that Zhao Minshan did not answer and looked at her with disapproval, the eldest lady sneered:

"I didn't buy the shop. It was Fang Yu and Fang Jin who wanted to borrow money from me to open it because they were afraid that I would be embarrassed and spend more money. They were also afraid that the shop wouldn't survive!"

Zhao Minshan didn't expect that there was such a secret in the shop that the eldest lady gave to Zhao Fangjin and Zhao Fangyu, and he was speechless for a moment.

The eldest lady snorted coldly and sat back down in front of the dressing table.

"I know that I am old and not as pleasing to the Master as Concubine Song, but if I ask myself, I have done my best to treat these maids in the mansion over the years."

"Did I treat the second girl badly? Did I treat the third girl badly? If she committed such a calamity, wouldn't all the girls in the Zhao family be implicated if it got out? If it was in the Li family, she would have been killed with a bowl of medicine long ago!"

"Fourth girl, Aunt Qian can't raise her, so I will! I raised her with great difficulty, and she treats me like my own mother. The incense in this room, the tea bowls, fruit plates, and headbands, even the tea sets in your study that you've boasted about for half a year, were all donated by Fourth girl! If I don't love her, how can I love Third Girl and Fifth Girl?"

"The third and fifth children both have their own mothers, who usually treat me like a monster. The fourth girl has the hardest life. Her mother has never asked the fourth girl a single question since she came to the main courtyard, except for asking for her monthly allowance! What kind of mother is she! She only wants to take money out of the mansion to support her mother's family! She almost killed the fourth girl!"

"The fourth girl is raised in my yard and registered under my name. She is my child! My child asked me to borrow money to buy a little toy. How could I refuse her?"

"I'll spread the word. No matter whether it's the third girl, the second girl, or the fifth girl, if they want to open a shop, they don't have to urge you, the master, to come to me. They can just go find their mother!"

"Don't think I don't know. The master sees that the fifth girl looks like you, so he gives her some money every month. They are both daughters, so why doesn't the master say that he is partial to one over the other?"

Zhao Minshan was very confident at the beginning, but gradually he lost his momentum, until the eldest lady pointed out that he was secretly giving money to Fang Yun, and Zhao Minshan finally gave up.

The eldest lady left, and when she left, a whiff of osmanthus fragrance hit Zhao Minshan in the face.

Zhao Minshan had confiscated the incense pills given by Zhao Fangyu in the past, but he did not see the eldest lady wearing any incense pills, so Zhao Minshan was not suspicious.

When he reached the eldest lady, he took the comb from Cui Mama and untangled her hair: "I have not been to the rear house for long, so I don't know all these details. The fifth girl cried like that, and I felt sorry for her."

"Since you like the fourth girl, just keep her. Can Aunt Qian compete with you?"

Zhao Minshan's sweet words came out one after another, but they fell silent after just a few words.

The lady washed her hair, and it was as light and smooth as silk, with a shiny black luster. However, such soft and flowing hair exuded bursts of light fragrance.

Zhao Minshan's eyes could not help but glance at the eldest lady. The eldest lady was in her early thirties, well-maintained, and looked no different from a woman in her twenties. She had a plump figure, well-proportioned bones and flesh, and what was rare was the subtle fragrance that emanated from her from time to time...

Suddenly I became interested.

I served the lady well that night and felt a little tired when I woke up the next day.

"As for the shop, please find another one for Wei'er and Yun'er. You don't have to pay back the money owed to Jin'er and Yu'er. I will pay for it all."

After saying that, he turned around and held the eldest lady's hand in his palm again: "I know you like Yu'er. Next time I come back with the merchant ship of the Maritime Customs, I will bring back more for Jin'er and Yu'er as dowry."

The eldest lady agreed, but then added: "The second and fifth girls are fine, but I'm afraid the third girl might be a little bit uncomfortable. After all, she has to go out often. It's better to keep her in the mansion to avoid any trouble."

Over the years, Zhao Minshan's affection for Zhao Fanglan had faded a lot. In addition, Aunt Zhang had not served him for many years, so Zhao Minshan almost forgot about her. Even though they had affection for each other in the past, the stupid things they did were enough to cause Zhao Minshan to be reported and jeopardize his official career. Zhao Minshan would not even look at them again.

So he didn't say much about the fact that the eldest lady would not bring Zhao Fanglan with her, and just nodded in agreement.

The eldest lady then sent Zhao Minshan to the court with affection in her eyes.

After seeing Zhao Minshan leave, Mother Cui turned around and congratulated the first lady: "Madam, you are really smart!"

This matter can be hidden from others, but not from Mother Cui.

The eldest lady initially asked Mother Cui to rent two shops, one big and one small. The two lease contracts were placed in front of Zhao Fangjin and Zhao Fangyu. They chose the smaller one because they were afraid of losing money.

Knowing that Zhao Minshan was coming, she asked for an extra dowry for Fang Yu and Fang Jin, so that Fang Yun and Fang Lan would have less in the future.

She is not some bodhisattva, and she would not do such a crazy thing as using her dowry to support someone else's child.

How much public silver is available, how much Zhao Minshan takes out of his private treasury, and who gets given more and who gets given less, all depends on fate.

Soon, the rental ticket was delivered to Pingboyuan.

·

After deciding on the shop location and decoration style, Zhao Fangyu and Zhao Fangjin began to look for a stable supply of perfume raw materials.

Fresh flowers are indispensable. Making perfumed lotion requires a lot of flowers, and it is impossible to rely on just a small garden at home.

In the eldest lady’s dowry farm, there is a garden in the suburbs of Beijing. It is far away, but there are many flowers and trees planted there, as well as a spring. It is a great place to entertain guests and enjoy the scenery.

But now, the purpose of this garden needs to change.

Zhao Fangjin and Zhao Fangyu rode their horses and took a brief tour of the garden, then rested in the garden that night. Mother Cui followed them all the way, and they were also escorted by horses and carriages, so they were safe.

Zhao Fangyu asked the manager for the feng shui map of the yard. Under the light of the lamp, the two sisters studied the map head to head.

"Rose water is extremely valuable, but I have never seen any imitation product in the market. Pharmacies sell medicinal dew, but I am afraid that most people are not as smart as you to use the method of making medicinal dew to make a fragrant dew."

Zhao Fangyu pursed his lips and smiled: "I was just thinking about it for fun when I had nothing to do. Since herbs can be used to make medicinal dew, why can't flowers be used to make floral dew? It just so happened that my mother gave me a set of colored glassware, and I didn't expect it to actually work."

This glassware can make more than just perfumed dew, but currently the only thing that can appear reasonably without people suspecting her is perfumed dew.

"What should we call our store? I saw other people's signs, they all say Chen Ji Xiang Store or Zhang Ji Xiang Store. I don't want to call it that."

Zhao Fangyu was well prepared and slowly wrote three words on the paper.