Climbing on the Sparrow Branch – CH 627

Chapter 627: Rogue

At the entrance of Lan Gui House, two servants of the Zhong family stood domineeringly, blocking the common people outside, allowing them only to watch the commotion from the doorway.

Inside the shop, Zhong Manguan’s third concubine, Lan Xin’er, was pointing to the red swelling on her cheeks, crying and demanding compensation from An Zhi and the others.

“What else is there to say? I used your shop’s rouge, and that’s why my face is like this. Do you think I would wrong you?” Both of Lan Xin’er’s cheeks were slightly swollen, and upon closer inspection, tiny red spots could be seen.

An Zhi knew exactly what ingredients were used in the rouge she made herself.

Moreover, opening this shop was merely a cover; she had no intention of making a fortune, so she only bought the best raw materials.

She stepped out from behind the counter, glanced indifferently at Lan Xin’er’s face, and had Binglu bring the ledger. “Concubine Lan, my ledger records show you came to my shop and bought a box of face cream, two boxes of Yuanshan ink, and Lanchun lip rouge. Is that correct?”

Lan Xin’er nodded, confirming it was correct.

“Then let me ask you again, what did you put on your cheeks?” An Zhi asked again.

“Naturally, face cream and lip rouge—what else could I be putting on?” Because of An Zhi’s calm tone, Lan Xin’er, who had been deliberately provoking her, slowly began to feel guilty.

Hearing this, An Zhi smiled.

She turned and casually placed the account book on the counter, addressing the onlookers at the door, “From what I’ve observed, Concubine Lan’s swollen cheeks are due to the misuse of cinnabar. But in my shop, not only the rouge and Lan Chun lipstick, but everything else, contains no cinnabar. I implore you, elders and fellow villagers, to bear witness: my husband has injured his arm, and we can only make a living by running this rouge shop. If we lose our reputation today, we will be ashamed to face you all, let alone do business. So, I’d be grateful if someone could help us fetch two doctors. Right now, we will stay here and wait for the doctors to come and see who’s lying.”

The cinnabar in the rouge was added by Lan Xin’er herself.

Some rouge shops add a very small amount of cinnabar to make the color more vibrant, but they would inform customers beforehand.

Therefore, Lan Xin’er assumed An Zhi had also used cinnabar; otherwise, how could Lan Gui House’s rouge be so beautiful? That was why she added more cinnabar to her rouge.

Hearing An Zhi’s words, Lan Xin’er panicked.

“You think you can just say you did not?” Lan Xin’er covered her face and sobbed softly, looking pitiful. “What if you accidentally used it? Besides, I’m a concubine in the Zhong family. Everything I wear, everything I adorn, could buy all the rouge in your shop. Why would I bother with you?”

Her words were quite reasonable.

An Zhi remained calm. “Because what you want is not money, but your husband sending you to cause trouble. After all, I rejected his marriage proposal yesterday, so it’s understandable that he’s angry and ashamed. After all, your Zhong family has never had a good reputation in Ding’an.”

The Zhong family controlled all the granaries in Ding’an, forbidding anyone else from opening rice shops. If anyone was discovered, the Zhong family would send people to cause trouble, even hiring thugs to block people at the door.

Grain prices in Ding’an were 20–30% higher than those in neighboring counties because of the Zhong family’s control. The common people had long dared not speak out against this.

An Zhi, seeing that she could not remain low-key, simply confronted her directly, knowing the Zhong family’s good days were numbered.

Lan Xin’er glared, wanting to curse, but the group of people outside the door, watching them intently, and hearing An Zhi’s words, began calling her a vixen, and some wanted to leave.

But the doctors arrived even faster, not giving Lan Xin’er a chance to leave.

The two doctors examined all the rouge in An Zhi’s shop but found no cinnabar.

However, one doctor, after examining the rouge in Lan Xin’er’s hand, advised, “Concubine Lan, you should be more careful in the future. No one puts so much cinnabar in their rouge. You should treat your face quickly; otherwise, it might leave a scar.”

Hearing about the scar, Lan Xin’er truly cried.

As a concubine without a family background, her survival in the inner quarters depended entirely on her beauty. If she were left with scars and disfigured, her life would be ruined.

But An Zhi did not care about Lan Xin’er’s future. Things were clear; there was no need to linger. “Since Concubine Lan’s face has nothing to do with Lan Gui House, please leave. I need to continue doing business.”

Lan Xin’er, preoccupied with her face, no longer cared about Zhong Manguan’s task. She hurriedly left with her servant.

After watching Lan Xin’er leave, An Zhi calmly walked to the door and called out to the onlookers, “I’m in a good mood today; buy two, get one free! Everyone’s welcome to come in and take a look.”

Many people stood at the door, eager to see the spectacle. Hearing An Zhi’s offer of buy two, get one free, many were tempted by such a good discount.

However, some were wary of the Zhong family and dared not enter Lan Gui House.

But with so many onlookers, by evening, An Zhi’s stock was almost sold out.

Back in her courtyard, Binglu and Fusheng cooked, while An Zhi and Chunlan counted the money and kept accounts. “Madam, we only sold three taels of silver yesterday, but today we made over thirty taels!” Chunlan exclaimed excitedly, staring at the money on the table like a miser.

“We sold a lot today, but we also gave away quite a bit, so in the end, we did not make much money,” An Zhi said, having already calculated the accounts. “However, after today’s events, if the people who bought our rouge like it, they will come back to buy it again. Consider it Lan Xin’er’s help in promoting it.”

Speaking of Lan Xin’er, Chunlan pouted angrily, “That Lan Xin’er must have been deliberately sent by Zhong Manguan! If it were not for Madam’s wisdom, we would have been ripped off! But Madam, if Zhong Manguan doesn’t succeed once, he will definitely try again. What are we going to do?”

“Just wait and see, the Zhong family’s good days are over,” An Zhi said with a smile, her gaze turning to the window. The setting sun cast only a sliver of its glow outside, and the aroma of food wafted from the backyard.

Meanwhile, at the Zhong mansion, Zhong Manguan berated Lan Xin’er for a long time as a good-for-nothing.

He had lived a smooth and successful life until his thirties and had never been so easily angered by an ordinary person.

“Master, you cannot ignore my health!” Lan Xin’er cried, tears streaming down her face. The doctor had already come and said whether she would be scarred was a matter of luck.

Zhong Manguan usually liked Lan Xin’er the most because she was the prettiest and knew how to please him. But now that Lan Xin’er’s face was swollen, he found her increasingly unpleasant to look at. He said impatiently, “Alright, since you’re sick, rest and recuperate. don’t come looking for me until your face is better.” It was utterly irritating to look at her.

With that, Zhong Manguan turned and left.

In the quiet night, the door opened and closed, letting in a gust of cold wind that chilled Lan Xin’er to the bone.