90: Royal Chamber of Commerce

Chapter 90: Royal Chamber of Commerce

South City, Yongxing Lane.

Countless high officials, nobles, young misses, and ladies were all crowding in front of the Great Yu Royal Chamber of Commerce, shoving their way inside from time to time.

"Aiya! Stop shoving! Stop shoving! My clothes are about to be ripped apart!"

"You don't even have a purchase voucher, what are you shoving for?!"

"The doors are open! The doors are open! Quick... Ah!"

Outside the shop, a group of vendors also gathered together and wondered aloud,

"Why are all these young misses and beauties here? There's even the Young Miss of Vice Minister Huang's Family?!"

"And the Madam of the Chen Manor, I caught a glimpse of her once before..."

"Who is that? Miaoxiang? Isn't she the top courtesan of the Yihong Brothel?"

"Tsk tsk tsk, so many women..."

A traveler who had just arrived in the capital curiously walked over and asked, "Old man, what are they all doing?"

"I've long heard that the women in the capital are warm and generous, but I didn't expect it to be true..."

The old man rolled his eyes at him and said, "It's because the Royal Chamber of Commerce is going to sell something called 'perfume'. Rumor has it that if this item is dripped onto the body, it will emit a rich fragrance that can last for several days without fading."

"This item initially only circulated among the imperial concubines in the inner palace and imperial relatives, and many Young Misses from prominent families have been coveting it endlessly."

"Look at this, today it goes on sale, and it has caused countless wealthy young misses in the entire capital to lose their composure, all coming to rush and buy it!"

"Really or fake? How come I've never heard of perfume? Is it that popular?"

"Of course it is! Rumor has it that the perfume was bestowed upon Your Majesty by an Immortal, made by extracting the Innate essence from fresh flowers."

"I heard that a single small bottle of perfume gathers the essence of several thousand catties of fresh flowers!"

"Hiss... So powerful!"

"Of course it's true!"

Someone else nearby said, "I heard that the perfume sold this time only comes in three types. One is called Moonlit Beauty, containing a clear Chinese rose fragrance, priced at ten taels of fine silver!"

"But I heard that people in the black market have already spread word that they want to acquire it for one hundred taels of silver!"

"Hiss... One hundred taels!"

"Do rich people buy things like this?"

"One hundred taels! I couldn't earn that even if I worked without eating or drinking for ten years!"

"Indeed! That's also why today's sale attracted so many people. Many people ran here to snap them up and then resell them—that's a price difference of ninety taels of fine silver!"

"Hurry, hurry, hurry! Let's go queue up and buy some too..."

"Do you have ten taels of silver?"

"I, I don't, wuwuwu..."

The surrounding people discussed animatedly, and a busybody spoke up again,

"The second type of perfume is called Dew Condensed Fragrance. It is said to be a Fusion of the floral fairy essences of lilies, daffodils, and roses, making it incomparably precious. A single drop in water can eternally preserve one's fragrance and even prevent mosquitoes and insects; it is truly a secret treasure of the Immortals!"

"Each bottle of Dew Condensed Fragrance is priced at fifty taels of silver! With a single flip, it's at least two hundred taels!"

"Wah..."

"Two hundred taels! Oh heavens!"

"Just buying it costs fifty taels; I wouldn't be able to save that up in a few lifetimes..."

The people below let out another gasp of amazement, and the youth surrounded by many people looked extremely smug.

He was merely a dissolute youth in the city, but his mother worked as an embroiderer in the Marquis of Weiyuan's Mansion, and it was his mother who had told him.

"What about the third one?!"

"Little brother, what is the third type of perfume called?"

Someone else asked, and the youth proudly said, "The third type of perfume is called Hundred Flowers Fragrance!"

"Legend has it that it is condensed from over a hundred kinds of fresh flowers and various precious Chinese herbal medicines—ginseng, fleeceflower root, ganoderma lucidum, Tianshan snow lotus... Especially the Tianshan snow lotus, which is a precious medicinal herb transported from Snow Cloud Country!"

"This Hundred Flowers Fragrance not only contains fragrance, but also has the effects of strengthening the body and stimulating desires."

"The imperial concubines of the inner palace, the imperial consorts of imperial relatives, and the Young Misses of prominent clans all use this Hundred Flowers Fragrance!"

"A bottle of Hundred Flowers Fragrance is priced at one thousand taels! That's one thousand taels! Furthermore, it's priceless and unavailable on the market..."

"It's open! It's open! The doors are open!"

At this moment, another commotion broke out nearby, and that group of young misses and servants shoved even more eagerly.

As it turned out, the Great Yu Royal Chamber of Commerce had opened its doors!

The moment the doors opened, countless people surged inside. Even though more than a dozen staff members were dispatched from the Royal Chamber of Commerce, they couldn't stop them.

In the end, patrol soldiers from the Central City Garrison had to be mobilized to maintain order.

"Hahaha, I bought it! I bought it!"

"I snatched one too! Reselling it right away is one hundred taels!"

"Hiss... How pretty! Crystal-clear, flawless, and the perfume inside is as transparent as the sea... Truly an Immortal treasure!"

After buying theirs, quite a few people took it out from an exquisitely packaged wooden box to examine it.

The perfume bottle was no larger than an adult's palm, but it was as crystal-clear as crystal, shining brilliantly under the sunlight as if holding a legendary Buddha's bone relic!

Not to mention the perfume, this small bottle alone was a supreme treasure of the Immortals, sufficient to be used as a Legacy treasure!

What drew the most attention was that pool of clear spring water inside the crystal-clear small bottle!

The light pink liquid rippled within the bottle, and under the sunlight, it looked even more like a gem.

Beautiful, it was simply too beautiful!

"Madam! Spray some and let us smell it!"

A dissolute youth in the crowd suddenly shouted a few times. The noble lady who was examining the appearance of the perfume quickly put it away, her willow brows arching up in anger as she spat, "A bunch of penniless ghosts, what are you making a fuss for~!"

"Hahaha..."

A group of people burst into laughter, and many people spoke up to tease her again.

"Little lady! You smell so good, let me have a sniff~!"

"Little lady! Is your husband's body still holding up well? Do you want big brother to step in and help~"

"Scram! You three-inch nail, you still want to climb onto this old lady's bed? In your next life..."

The crowd jeered and cursed until the patrol soldiers arrived and dispersed them.

As for the first batch of perfume sold by the Royal Chamber of Commerce, it sold out in less than an hour.

Even so, countless people were still crowding at the entrance of the chamber of commerce, shouting loudly that they wanted to buy more.

Imperial Palace, White Jade Capital.

"What did Beloved Consort say?"

Zheng Yi looked in surprise at Xu Qingluan, who was checking the account books in front of him. Xu Qingluan's eyes also held some surprise as she repeated,

"This concubine says that the perfume sold by this chamber of commerce this time was already completely sold out within an hour."

"The revenue in fine silver... is over eighty-six thousand five hundred taels."

"Hiss... Eighty thousand taels!"

He also sucked in a cold breath: "I didn't expect it to be so much."

Previously, he had guessed that perfume would be very popular, but he hadn't expected it to be this popular.

It seemed that he had still thought too simply before.

The major merchants, tycoons, and people of prominent clans in this world were indeed very wealthy!

Lu Liner at the side was already counting on her fingers: "Eighty-six thousand taels a day, ten days would be eight hundred and sixty thousand taels... Wow! Your Majesty, so much money!"

Zheng Yi said helplessly, "Empress, that's not how you calculate it."

"Perfume as an item is appearing for the first time, and I paved the way for it quite a bit beforehand."

"This item's craze will last at most a little over a month, and then it will slowly drop."

"After all, rarity makes things valuable. When there are too many things, they won't be so precious."

"Besides, there are only so many rich people, and they can't buy that much either."

"This concubine knows."

Li Changle interrupted from the side: "When Your Majesty previously took out that perfume thing for this concubine, this concubine was already incomparably shocked. I didn't expect that there could still be such a mellow and fragrant item in this world."

"Compared to women's rouge and powder, it is simply fireflies compared to the bright moon!"

"And during that period, Your Majesty even had us hold various gatherings, inviting the wives of high officials and nobles in the city to attend. So it was for this matter!"

"Your Majesty! You are simply too amazing!"

The three women were all vice presidents of the Royal Chamber of Commerce, and Zheng Yi had also specifically taken out a portion of the shares for their families to purchase.

Therefore, the three of them could also be considered partners.

Zheng Yi said, "It seems that the operation of our Royal Chamber of Commerce is doing quite well. Once the three items of fine wine, soap, and perfume come out, they will gain fame throughout the entire Great Yu."

"Next will be the manufacturing of high-end clothing, bags, and various accessories."

Xu Qingluan immediately said, "Your Majesty, rest assured. This concubine has already gathered over a hundred embroiderers with ten years of textile and embroidery experience from the textile factory, and also transferred ten embroideres from the Directorate for Imperial Apparel, forming the 'Royal Textile Studio' together with them."

"According to Your Majesty's designs, quite a few garments have already been designed, including banquet gowns, matriarch sets, Phoenix robes, and other attire, just waiting to be put on the market for sale!"

"And the women's bags designed by Your Majesty... they are simply too... too miraculous!"

"Nowadays, among the high officials and nobles of the entire capital, only a very few madams have the bags gifted by us concubines. They wear them on their bodies every day and don't let go of them even when sleeping!"

Li Changle also said with heartfelt admiration, "Your Majesty is truly amazing. That bag can not only hold some of our concubines' sundries, but it also has a decorative effect."

"This concubine dares to guarantee that the day this batch of bags goes on sale will be the time they sweep through the capital!"

These alternative 'relief through labor' measures were the methods Zheng Yi came up with to solve the refugee problem.

Building cement, glass, textile, and hard liquor factories, and training this group of refugees into qualified workers to work in the factories.

Providing three meals a day alone made countless refugees deeply grateful and feel blessed by all families.

Not to mention that Zheng Yi also ordered Ministry of Works officials to build a large number of houses using cement and bricks for use as dormitories.

And wages.

Zheng Yi stipulated that ordinary workers could earn one tael of silver per month.

Foremen, outstanding employees, and so on could earn anywhere from two to three taels.

This measure made countless refugees and workers wholeheartedly loyal to Zheng Yi.

Besides this, Zheng Yi also made a promise.

As long as the workers worked in the factories for a full ten years, they could purchase these constructed houses at an extremely low price!

As soon as this decree came out, countless refugees knelt on the ground and shouted 'Long live', and Zheng Yi's prestige rose several times over once again.

Refugees flowing here from Qing Province, Bin Province, and other places turned into Zheng Yi's workers in a very short time, working for Zheng Yi.

And the profits generated by them were countless times their wages!

He wanted to make countless homeless refugees all work for him!

Zheng Yi was flattered to the point of some embarrassment by the three women, but he still said, "This matter still cannot do without the three Beloved Consorts. I hope the three Beloved Consorts can do your utmost to properly manage our Royal Chamber of Commerce."

"This concubine obeys the decree~"

The three women were as tender and beautiful as flowers, bowing in unison, which made Zheng Yi's index finger twitch.

Which palace should he stay in tonight?

At this moment, Liu Chengen walked over quickly, casting a strange look at the three women.

Zheng Yi said, "Chengen, what is the urgent matter?"

"This..."

"Speak."

"It, it is Consort Wan of the Hundred Flowers Palace. She asked this servant to tell Your Majesty that she and her two Junior Sisters, Consort Qing and Miao Consort, have recently rehearsed a new dance and would like to invite Your Majesty to go and take a look."

"Consort Wan? Zhu Wanwan?"

A new dance?

Heavenly Demon Dance!

Zheng Yi's eyes suddenly lit up, remembering the dance performed by the three women that he had watched in the Imperial Garden earlier, and his heart couldn't help but beat rapidly.

These three lasses finally couldn't hold back anymore?

Having left them hanging for over half a year, it seemed it was time to go take a look.

"Humph!"

Empress Lu Liner let out a cold snort and said, "Those three vixens only know how to bewitch Your Majesty!"

"Your Majesty~"

Lu Liner hugged Zheng Yi's arm and said, "Come to this concubine's place, this concubine has specially prepared peach blossom pastries for you!"

"This..."

Xu Qingluan, however, said, "Empress, we still need to discuss the plan for the Royal Chamber of Commerce to launch new products next."

"You guys discuss, anything is fine for me..."

Before she finished speaking, Zheng Yi quickly said, "Since Beloved Consort has urgent matters, I won't disturb you."

"Chengen, set off for the Hundred Flowers Palace!"

"Understood~!"

Watching Your Majesty's impatient back, Empress Lu Liner immediately showed Life Qi and said: "Xu Qingluan, what are you doing?! It was so hard for me to wait until Your Majesty had free time..."

Xu Qingluan shrugged and said, "We originally had important matters. Besides, if Your Majesty wants to go, can you really stop him?"

"Empress, you are, after all, the Empress!"

"You...!"