On this day, Su Nansheng took Bitao to Taoxi Mountain on the outskirts early in the morning.
To move more conveniently, she wore a jade - green narrow - sleeved Hu suit, black boots on her feet and a xiexiedai around her waist, looking valiant and heroic.
The morning mist in the mountains had not yet dissipated. With every breath, water vapor would drill into her nostrils, making her feel refreshed and invigorated.
The morning dew had dampened the hem of Su Nansheng's clothes, and even her face was dotted with dewdrops. Glistening in the morning glow, she looked radiant.
"Second Miss, do you think it's enough? Please don't go too far from me. I'm afraid there are wild beasts in the forest," Bitao said as she caught up with Su Nansheng and showed her the flower petals in the cloth bag.
Su Nansheng just glanced at Bitao and then continued to pick flowers.
"Pick more. The more varieties, the better."
"Second Miss, if it's for bathing, dried flowers are the best. These fresh ones are not easy to preserve."
Bitao was still a bit dazed since she had been taken out of the city early in the morning.
They could just go to the flower market to buy the petals. Why did they have to pick them by themselves?
Was it that the flowers they picked were more fragrant?
Thinking about it, Bitao took a deep breath of the petals in her hand. It seemed that they were indeed fresher.
Bitao came up with a reasonable explanation and worked even harder.
Su Nansheng didn't notice Bitao's self - justification. She just focused on picking flowers.
Since her marriage had been finalized a few days ago, Su Nansheng could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
In this life, she no longer had to busy herself for Su Hele. She could live for herself.
Thinking that He Xun would return to the northern border in the future and that she had no friends, she was afraid of being lonely in the inner courtyard. So she came to this mountain forest to fulfill the unfulfilled wish from her past life.
By chance in her past life, Su Nansheng learned how to make scented lotion. Later, whenever she felt lonely and bored in the Anshun Marquis Mansion, she would study and experiment with making scented lotion.
After days of experimentation, Su Nansheng finally found a way to make the fragrance of the scented lotion last longer.
She was so excited that she couldn't sleep all night. Early the next morning, she gave the scented lotion to Su Hele.
"Sister, after applying this scented lotion, the fragrance can last for four or five days without fading. You don't have to powder your face and perfume your skirts every day anymore," Su Nansheng said excitedly, with uncontrollable joy on her face.
But Su Hele didn't even look at the scented lotion. She just said indifferently,
"When have you ever seen me use such vulgar things? I have a natural fragrance. I don't need these common things to adorn myself."
Su Nansheng picked the flowers faster and harder.
"If you pick the flowers like this, the petals won't be usable," a clear voice pulled Su Nansheng out of her memories.
Looking up, she saw a little girl smiling at her. There were a pair of dimples on her round face, which were particularly obvious.
Su Nansheng looked down at the flower in her hand. The petals were scattered, and the juice of the flower had dyed her palm red, like it was soaked in blood.
"Flowers with morning dew are good, but if you pick them improperly, they will lose their effect. Let me help you," the girl said as she took out a small pair of scissors from the basket on her back.
"If you need to pick a lot, you can bring a pair of scissors next time. It's faster and won't hurt your hands."
As she spoke, she had already cut several flower buds and handed them to Su Nansheng.
Looking at her bandaged hand, Su Nansheng suddenly smiled.
There were always people who were born kind - hearted and could pull others out of the abyss inadvertently.
...
"Shopkeeper Du, these are all my favorite poems. Although I cherish them as treasures on ordinary days, if I can sell them for some silver and donate it to the charity hall, it can be considered making the best use of them," Su Hele said in the Wenhan Bookstore, looking at the scrolls in Sumo's arms with a reluctant expression.
The scholars in the Mojie Bookstore didn't know what was good for them. So she would just change to another one.
There were thousands of scholars in this world. She didn't believe that they were all misled by the rumors.
Shopkeeper Du naturally recognized Su Hele. And of course, he also knew about some of the recent rumors.
He despised Su Hele's actions in his heart, but he didn't want to offend her. So he said,
"It's really rare for Miss Su to have such a kind deed. However, even for a charity sale, there is still a consignment fee."
Su Hele nodded and motioned for Sumo to pay the money.
"Please promote my poems more, Shopkeeper Du, so that I can sell them for more silver. I will come to get the money in three days. I will donate all the silver I get to the charity hall."
"Three days might be a bit short. How about leaving them for a few more days?" Shopkeeper Du advised.
But Su Hele just shook her head and then turned around to leave.
She still had to go to another bookstore to consign her works. She had to let everyone know about her great kind deed.
...
In the side courtyard, Su Nansheng had already lit the stove. There were more than a dozen bundles spread out on the shelf behind her, all full of flower petals. The fragrance in the yard was complex and strong.
"Second Miss, you can just buy the scented lotion. Why do you have to make it so hard on yourself?"
Bitao had already known on the way back that Su Nansheng was going to make the scented lotion by herself. But she still felt sorry for Su Nansheng.
She had gone out so early in the morning. Her boots were full of mud, her clothes were torn, and even her hands were pricked with bloodstains by the flower stems, all just for a bottle of flower lotion. It wasn't worth it.
Su Nansheng's face was a bit red from the heat of the stove.
"The young mistress of Xizi Pavilion even goes to collect lacquer by herself. All I did was pick some flowers. How can it be hard?"
"Miss Qin doesn't seem to know martial arts, but she dares to go into the mountains alone. She is really brave," Bitao said admiringly.
Su Nansheng just smiled faintly and didn't say a word. It wasn't that she was brave. It was just because life forced her to do so.
She was just a girl of sixteen or seventeen, but she was forced to shoulder the responsibility of supporting her family after her father's sudden death. One could only imagine how difficult it was.
Fortunately, she was the famous Qin Nian later.
With her own skills, she turned the insignificant Xizi Pavilion into the most famous cosmetics store in the capital.
It only took her three years to go from being unknown to well - known.
In her past life, she often heard the noble ladies talking about the rouge and powder from Xizi Pavilion and often heard the name Qin Nian.
At that time, she always stubbornly thought that since Qin Nian was so capable, she must be a cold - blooded woman who valued profit over righteousness and was very calculating.
But now that she had met her, she found that she was a kind and tenacious little girl.
In her past life, she had been confined to the inner courtyard for a long time, which made her unable to see many things clearly and misjudged many people. But fortunately, she had a chance to correct her mistakes.
"Bitao, help me put these camellia flowers on the steaming tray."
...
Su Hele was sitting upright in the carriage, waiting for Sumo to bring back the silver from the charity sale.
It should have been her who went, but she disdained to ask for that dirty money, so she let Sumo go and negotiate with Shopkeeper Du.
Thinking of the fact that Shopkeeper Du had asked her to wait for a few more days, a look of mockery flashed across Su Hele's face.
That Shopkeeper Du was always good at doing business. He just wanted to earn her consignment fee.
With her reputation for talent, her calligraphy and paintings would be sold out in a day.
She had given three days just to let more people know about her kind deed, so that her reputation would naturally improve.
Thinking of this, Su Hele smiled faintly.
It was just a matter of reshaping her reputation. All she needed was to make a slight move.
Just as she was thinking, she heard Sumo say outside the carriage,
"Miss, Shopkeeper Du said that none of your calligraphy and paintings have been sold yet."