The Rebirth of a Daughter: My Lord, I Will Never Be a Concubine

"Yes, Yan Hua, let's come here to chat. Don't worry about him. He can entertain himself by himself."

Nalan Linglong pulled Su Yanhua to sit aside, took out all the rouge and powder to share, and the two of them talked in whispers.

Wu'er came up from time to time, bringing cups of tea and snacks. Listening to the rustling sound of the bamboo forest outside, Su Yanhua's heart inexplicably calmed down.

"You asked Nalan to give me that booklet?" Su Yanhua exclaimed. "How did you guess it was mine?"

"Yes, my brother's secret letters before were all about the daily affairs of the mansion, but suddenly one day he asked me what gift I wanted to give to a woman?" Nalan Linglong said, "I said it depends on what the woman likes. My brother said that you must be good at martial arts. You are the only woman in Lingcheng who practices martial arts, so of course I can guess."

Su Yanhua was completely stunned, her eyes wide, a look of disbelief on her face. She had never imagined that such an ordinary-looking booklet could contain such a shocking secret. Even more surprising was that Nalan, a person as noble and transcendent as the breeze and the bright moon, would actually take the initiative to ask Linglong what kind of gift she wanted to give him.

Su Yanhua couldn't help but feel a bit ridiculous when she thought about this. Nalan, who usually gave people the feeling of being out of touch with the world, was acting like a child with curiosity and anticipation at that moment. This contrast was really interesting.

"And the funniest thing is he even asked me when would be the best time to send it off! Hahahaha!"

The laughter of the two people filled the whole room. Nalan Yanyu said softly, "What's so funny?"

Su Yanhua pursed her lips and quickly picked up a piece of rouge to block her sight.

"Nothing, nothing!" Nalan Linglong said mischievously.

Before he could say something, Su Yanhua's expression changed.

"what happened?"

Su Yanhua stared closely at the rouge in her hand and pressed it with her fingertips, making the refreshing and pleasant scent even more intense.

"Isn't this Rouge Drunk?"

Nalan Linglong nodded: "Yes, it smells good, doesn't it?"

It smells good, not only good but also familiar!

Su Yanhua rubbed the rouge on her hands, but the color did not fade. This made Su Yanhua frown.

"Where does this rouge come from?"

"It was given to me by Concubine Jing after I returned to the palace."

At some point, Nalan Yanyu had already come to his side. He spoke softly, "Do you think this Rouge Drunk is very similar to the Rouge from Shengxian Manor?"

Su Yanhua didn't say anything. She smelled all the rouge on the table, her eyes cold: "It's not this one, it should be all of them!"

"After I woke up, I heard the servants talking about the master in the palace. Could it be that Concubine Jing is the master of Shengxian Manor, and Rouge Zui is also produced in Shengxian Manor, so the taste is so similar."

Nalan Linglong tried her best to understand these words: "But aren't they afraid of being discovered?"

"You have to know that most of the customers who usually patronize Shengxian Manor are ordinary women from the common people. They don't have much money, so how could they be willing to spend thousands of gold on a mere one or two ounces of Rouge Drunk? So, this extremely expensive Rouge Drunk that everyone flocks to has nothing to do with these ordinary girls.

On the other hand, those wealthy ladies and noblewomen who were already accustomed to using high-end products like Rouge Zui wouldn't even glance at the cheap, crudely made gouache sold by Shengxian Manor! After all, after using the good stuff, who would still want to look down on those inferior products?

It was a complete coincidence. If I hadn't just gone to Shengxian Manor that time on a whim, I probably wouldn't have guessed that the Rouge Drunk, which was said to be so miraculous, worth a fortune, and so coveted by so many, was actually produced in such an unassuming little manor!

"It's really hard to believe, but it also shows that the small workshop is very capable." Nalan Linglong said naively.

"Skill?" Nalan Yanyu's tone turned cold: "Very capable, these scents are all from female bodies."

Nalan Linglong's face changed and she quickly threw the rouge to the ground. Her face became ferocious and she looked as disgusted as if she had eaten a fly.

"Brother, you are not kidding!"

Su Yanhua picked up the fallen rouge and asked, "I don't know why Concubine Jing would do such harmful things. Where does she get such courage?"

Rouge Drunk has been prevalent for several years, which means that most women in Lingcheng have been killed. Doesn’t Concubine Jing know how serious the consequences will be if this matter is exposed?

"She's not that brave, but what if the person behind her is even braver than her?"

Nalan Yanyu seemed to have just said something casually, but it triggered Su Yanhua's deep thought.

Concubine Jing, a woman of the harem, was known for her cautious and careful approach, a stark contrast to Wang Wanning's temperament. Not to mention the setback to the Wang family's power caused by Prime Minister Wang's demotion, Wang Wanning herself should have maintained a low profile and avoided the spotlight, but she showed no restraint, even openly brazen and reckless. How could such reckless behavior be achieved without strong backing? She must have hidden an unbreakable backing.

For some unknown reason, Su Yanhua suddenly recalled what Xing Jian had mentioned. It turned out that the business run by the Ghost Market and the Xing Clan had long been deeply rooted in the very fabric of Yun Qin's destiny, like a cancer.

They control almost all of Yunqin's private property and commercial sectors, leaving the Yunqin economy completely at the mercy of others and unable to breathe. Faced with such a situation, how could His Majesty remain indifferent? He must have been dissatisfied for a long time.

Therefore, His Majesty may have intentionally allowed Concubine Jing to kill those innocent women and sell Rouge Wine. His purpose was nothing more than to firmly control the entire Yunqin market in his hands.

Thinking of this, Su Yanhua couldn't help but snort coldly, cursing inwardly, "This emperor is truly ruthless! He's willing to sacrifice the interests of his own people just to win over the market and realize his ambition to dominate the world. With such actions, how can he be worthy of the millions of people who trust him!"

Nalan Linglong knew the whole story and asked anxiously, "What should we do? We can't let her keep hurting people."

Nalan Yanyu looked at Su Yanhua with a hint of seriousness in his eyes: "What do you think?"

"I'll listen to you!"

Delicate tenderness slowly soothed her cold heart. Su Yanhua looked at him with a hint of determination in her eyes: "Then let's lure the snake out of its hole!"

Nalan Linglong seemed to have caught something interesting, her eyes full of curiosity: "Take me one, take me one!"

Su Yanhua and Nalan Yanyu looked at each other and smiled.