Allure of a Country Maiden-Chapter 236 - 234

However, who would dare to criticize the lady of Rui’an County in the future? Even the empress thanked her for what she had done.

Besides, during the last smallpox outbreak, the soups and pills delivered in carriages from the Marquis Shengping’s Mansion played a significant role.

The Empress reminded everyone that not only did she appreciate the lady of Rui’an County, many people in the room were also indebted to her thanks!

Not only did the ladies in the room understand the Empress’s intention, but even Mrs. Liu understood the purpose of the two imperial edicts of conferring marriage.

She was happy that her daughter had the support of her husband’s family.

When a woman marries into another family, apart from her husband’s love, acceptance from other family members is also crucial. This indirectly determines the level of her happiness!

"Regardless, what Xiao’er did was justifiable morally and rationally." Xiao’er spoke from her heart.

Xiao’er knew what was happening when she saw the two imperial edicts after she returned home. She just didn’t expect that the Empress would use this opportunity to clarify things to quell rumors.

Those two edicts should be Shangguan Xuanyi’s idea, and the emperor was willing to cooperate, and the Empress was willing to speak for her. This all shows one thing: they care about her!

Only those who care about someone and sincerely place that person in their hearts will consider her needs thoroughly and strive to protect her.

"Well, good point. It’s Xuanyi’s greatest fortune in this life to be betrothed to you, a girl who is justifiable morally and rationally." The Empress beamed at her words.

Knowing priorities, understanding principles, not bothered about trivial matters in major events, such a woman is hard to find even with a lantern.

Upon hearing this, Li Yunning’s face turned even paler.

She first saw the Sixth Prince when she was five years old. Back then, he was practicing swordsmanship in the Imperial Garden. If he made a mistake in one move, his master would have him repeat the previous moves ten times.

Despite this, there was not a hint of dissatisfaction on his handsome face. He complied respectfully, then carried out the instructions.

It was not until he performed the entire set of swordsmanship flawlessly that his master allowed him to rest.

Her elder brother Li Yunhua also learned swordsmanship, but each time his master disciplined him, he would throw a fit, seeking protection from their mother, which led to the resignation of many masters.

By comparison, she found Shangguan Xuanyi to be an upright man as her father described, and hence she secretly harbored affection for him and vowed to marry him when she grew up.

She had also been diligently learning various arts, hoping to capture his attention one day and win the emperor’s betrothal with her remarkable talents during the Longevity Festival.

However, life is full of surprises. A girl from a farming family who suddenly took up the arts excelled her in all aspects, captured his attention that’s seldom given to women, and obtained the status she had always dreamt of.

She couldn’t reconcile with the situation...

She can’t just give up!

...

The wife of the Prime Minister was looking at her daughter, worried about her, and wished for the banquet to end soon so she could take her home. freewёbn૦νeɭ.com

The Empress, with numerous ladies and misses in the hall, couldn’t afford to only cultivate her relationship with her daughter-in-law, hence, she diverted the topic to something they were all interested in.

"I heard from my son that his smallpox scars began to heal gradually after applying the ointment you gave?"

The ladies present all brightened up at the mention of this, and gazed at Xiao’er with anticipation.

It is widely known that after recovering from smallpox, one would be left with ugly scars all over their body that could not be eradicated.

However, it was true that the scar on the Second Prince’s face had vanished without a trace. They had wanted to ask the empress how it was removed, and now she told them herself. It was like receiving a pillow while dozing off.

Their children, ever since they contracted smallpox, had been hiding in their rooms, refusing to see anyone. They were even more reclusive than the young ladies who never left their quarters.

They had tried numerous methods, all to no avail.

Now they had a living example in front of them, the Second Prince, they all looked at Xiao’er with dollar signs in their eyes.

"As per the Empress, yes, that ointment is really effective, it can remove scars as well as dark spots. Regular use can also improve complexion, making the skin soft and moist, and even delay aging. Today, I happened to bring a jar for you, Empress." Xiao’er took a jar of ointment out from her sleeve and presented it to the Empress with both hands. She knew she had to play up to her soon-to-be mother-in-law.

After all, she was also delighted, thinking that the Empress was simply reading her mind! She was saying exactly what she needed to hear, right when she was planning on promoting this product.

"You are indeed considerate, my child." The Empress took it, then glanced at Mrs. Liu’s skin, starting to anticipate the effect it would have on her.

Everyone else in the room, upon hearing these words, looked at Mrs. Liu and Xiao’er with even more fervor.

Feeling the eager eyes on herself, Xiao’er was contemplating how much she ought to charge for each jar of the ointment!

She had to find an opportunity to send a pigeon post to the pharmacy manager soon.

It seemed her medicine shop was going to see a rise in business again!

During the recent smallpox outbreak, she had offered a lot of medicine for free, the mere thought of that made her heartache!

Now, at least she could make up for the loss with the sale of the ointment!

"My son, Zhewei, also had his smallpox marks disappear. Seeing its effectiveness, I applied it thrice to the pimple marks on my brow, and they vanished as well. This ointment is truly effective. Lady of Rui’an County, do you sell it in your medicine shop?" asked the Madam of Lai Mansion.

"We do carry it but in limited quantities. I’m not sure if the shop has run out of stock yet." Xiao’er gave a non-committal reply.

"Lady of Rui’an County, how many jars of the ointment does your shop have in total?" The wife of the state duke was growing restless as both of her sons had scars all over their faces!

"We only have twenty jars in total. The second prince and my cousin each took one jar, so only seventeen jars were put up for sale in the store."

"Such an excellent product should be produced in larger quantities." The wife of the state duke shifted uneasily in her seat, ready to dash off to buy the product.

"The ointment requires a lot of rare medicinal ingredients. Even if we wanted to produce more, we couldn’t because we simply don’t have enough ingredients. However, we are currently sourcing for more ingredients." The Immortal Lotus she used in the ointment, available in her spatial dimension, was not merely rare, but a treasure unavailable in the mundane world.

Hearing this, everyone became even more convinced of the magical properties of the ointment. It could not remove smallpox scars or improve skin quality and delay ageing without the use of rare medicinal ingredients. Even if they didn’t need it for their children’s scarred faces, they would need it for themselves. They didn’t suffer from pimples or spots when younger, but no one escapes ageing. They needed this ointment. They definitely needed to buy it!

No one in the room could sit still any longer. If they couldn’t buy it after leaving the palace because someone else was faster, what then?

Everyone was considering buying it as soon as the banquet ended, but they were afraid that asking too many questions would expose their intentions to buy. Therefore, they tacitly changed the topic.

This was indeed the on-site version of hiding behind one’s fingers!

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