Deceived by someone?
As soon as the onlookers heard this, their eyes lit up as if injected with adrenaline.
Today’s commotion was truly full of twists and turns, even more exciting than storytelling at a teahouse.
Feeling that this wouldn’t end anytime soon, some nearby residents quickly brought out folding stools.
Yu Jin calmly said, “Then tell us how you were deceived.”
Cui Mingyue, hidden in the crowd, watched all this with an expressionless face.
“Someone… someone came to me with rose perfume, telling me to apply it and then come make a scene when my face broke out in a rash… Please spare this humble woman, Your Highness. I was truly deceived…”
“What benefits did that person offer you?”
The young woman’s eyes flickered.
“Speak!”
The young woman lowered her head, kneeling on the ground with her body slightly swaying: “They promised this humble woman a house and two hundred taels of silver…”
As soon as these words were uttered, the onlookers burst into an uproar.
Houses in the capital were worth their weight in gold. Even in remote areas, they were worth a considerable sum, not to mention the additional two hundred taels of silver.
No wonder this woman was so determined, even willing to lose face.
“Who was that person?” Yu Jin asked this without much hope of getting an answer.
Sure enough, the young woman stammered, “This humble woman doesn’t know that person’s identity…”
“But you must know if it was a man or a woman?”
Under immense pressure, the young woman had long lost the will to resist. She lowered her head and said, “It was a young lady. Although I couldn’t see her face, judging by her voice, she couldn’t have been over twenty years old…”
In the crowd, Cui Mingyue’s maid turned pale and whispered, “Miss—”
Cui Mingyue glared at her, still watching expressionlessly, but her slightly clenched fist betrayed her mood.
“Anything else?”
“No… nothing else. That young lady had her face covered, I couldn’t see her appearance…”
Yu Jin nodded slightly to the lead constable: “You can take her away now.”
The young woman was stunned, her face filled with terror as she begged, “Your Highness, this humble woman has told you everything she knows. Please spare me…”
Yu Jin smiled: “I was merely curious about the truth. It’s not up to me to spare you or not. That’s for the officials to decide.”
As the young woman was taken away, the spectators burst into applause.
“The Prince is truly wise and mighty!”
Yu Jin’s mouth twitched.
He had heard ministers say this to the Emperor so many times, but it felt fresh when someone said it about him.
Amidst the praise, Yu Jin smiled and asked Jiang Si, “Does the Princess Consort like the rose perfume from this shop?”
Jiang Si nodded: “I do.”
“Then let’s buy it out.”
Everyone was stunned.
What did the Prince say?
Yu Jin smiled and explained, “This way, we can prevent others from harboring ill intentions towards this shop due to its good business, as we saw today. What if the shop closes down and the Princess Consort wants to use the perfume?”
With these words, he defined the nature of today’s incident with the young woman.
After her initial surprise, Jiang Si smiled, her lips curving: “Thank you, husband.”
They had been on their way to visit Duke An’s mansion when they overheard the commotion at Lu Sheng Xiang, which brought them here.
Yu Jin knew this shop belonged to her.
The woman’s appearance suggested two possibilities: either Lu Sheng Xiang’s business was thriving, attracting schemes from competitors; or it was aimed at her specifically.
Regardless of which possibility, it wasn’t appropriate to reveal her identity as the shop’s behind-the-scenes owner.
The Yan Prince Consort’s cosmetics shop, opened before her marriage, ruining people’s faces…
Jiang Si didn’t care about reputation, but that didn’t mean she would be happy about being gossiped about, let alone remain indifferent to being schemed against.
Today’s incident certainly couldn’t be left unresolved.
Yu Jin’s approach undoubtedly solved Lu Sheng Xiang’s problem.
Buying out of the shop openly meant that from now on, everyone would know Lu Sheng Xiang was bought by the Yan Prince for the Yan Princess Consort.
“Shopkeeper, let’s go inside to discuss the details,” Yu Jin said to Xiu Niang Zi, then walked straight in.
Xiu Niang Zi kept her head down, not daring to glance in Jiang Si’s direction. After entering the shop and closing the door, she led Jiang Si and Yu Jin to the back courtyard before hurriedly bowing: “This humble woman greets the Prince and Princess Consort.”
Lu Chuchu reluctantly bowed to Yu Jin, then fixed her intense gaze on Jiang Si: “Jiang Si, should I call you Princess Consort from now on?”
Jiang Si smiled, pursing her lips: “It’s just a title. Miss Chuchu can call me whatever you like.”