While Zhou Wencun was flirting with Luo Yaqing, Xu Shichu also met several princes' wives. They were very polite to the prime minister's wife who came from a humble background, but their words and actions seemed to be trying to win over Xu Shichu, which made Xu Shichu a little impatient, so he parted with them early and wandered around Princess Ande's garden alone.
The garden in Princess Ande's mansion is naturally full of flowers, competing for beauty. This season is the time when chrysanthemums are in full bloom, so the most common flowers in the garden are chrysanthemums of various colors.
However, this is nothing for Xu Shichu, whose yard is full of various flowers. After all, the chrysanthemums she grows in her yard come in pink, yellow, white, burgundy and green colors.
"Why do you keep looking at me?" Xu Shichu asked impatiently, turning around and staring at a young lady not far from him.
The young lady blushed when she saw that she was caught red-handed, and said embarrassedly: "Please forgive me, Madam Luo. You are a rare beauty with a fairy-like appearance. I couldn't help but look at you a few more times... I am offended."
Xu Shichu raised her eyebrows when she heard this. The young lady had clear eyes and a sincere tone, and it was obvious that what she said was true. She immediately understood that this woman was obsessed with looks.
Xu Shichu himself was also obsessed with looks, and the lady just looked at him a few more times, and had no ill will towards him, so he said, "It's okay, I like looking at beauties too, you can look at them as you like."
Anyway, she is not a man, so no one would say she is lustful even if they look at her more.
"My husband is the Minister of Rites. My last name is Li. I really like the incense in your wife's Zui Xiang Pavilion. I have collected almost every kind. I change one every day. Every kind is refreshing... Since your Zui Xiang Pavilion opened, I have never bought any incense from other spice shops..."
Mrs. Li was a generous and kind woman. She was attracted by Xu Shichu's looks and started to talk endlessly about Zui Xiang Pavilion. The key point was that she spoke with such sincerity that Xu Shichu was embarrassed to interrupt her.
"I really don't know how smart the perfumers under your command are. They can create so many kinds of novel fragrances. I can't even smell what the ingredients of many of them are. Oh, sorry, I'm not coveting your fragrance formula! I, I just said it casually..."
Mrs. Li explained hurriedly, her face flushed, fearing that Xu Shichu would misunderstand that she was asking about the spice formula.
Seeing her anxious look, Xu Shichu smiled and said, "Don't worry, I didn't misunderstand. Even if you really knew the formula, you can't make the fragrances in my store. After all, there are many raw materials that only I have."
"Really? Then ma'am, you are so amazing!" Mrs. Li, who is not even 20 years old, exclaimed childishly, looking at Xu Shichu with sparkling eyes.
Xu Shichu's heart softened when he saw her dog eyes, and he couldn't help but say: "I have planted many novel flowers in my yard for making perfume. If you want to see them, you can come and have a look."
"That's great, I want to see it!" Mrs. Li didn't wait for Xu Shichu to regret what she had just said. She replied impatiently, "Then Madam, I have to tell you that I will send an invitation to your house some other day."
"Okay, just come." Seeing how happy she was, Xu Shichu thought that receiving a little fan was not a big problem, so he agreed.
After she came to this world, she was busy taking care of her health and doing business, and did not spend time on socializing. Therefore, she did not even have one person who could be called a friend at this time. It happened that Mrs. Li was relatively simple and sincere, so Xu Shichu felt that it was not bad to have such a friend who could talk to her.
After making an appointment with the enthusiastic Mrs. Li for a visit, Xu Shichu walked to the lotus pond and happened to see Zhou Wenzhun flirting with Luo Yaqing with sweet words. The other girls were also attracted by his handsome appearance and "brilliant literary" talent, and all of them blushed.
Zhou Wencun's ostentatious and insincere flattery could only fool the young girl who was inexperienced in the world. If a slightly older person saw his expression and heard his words at this moment, he would be able to see his insincerity at a glance. Unfortunately, only Xu Shichu, the "elder" who was destined not to interfere in his stepdaughter's marriage, saw it.
Xu Shichu turned around and left without disturbing the conversation between the young man and woman.
On the third day after the eldest princess' flower-viewing banquet, Mrs. Li, the Minister of Rites, came to visit Xu Shichu as she had said.
As soon as she entered Xu Shichu's yard, her eyes widened in amazement, staring blankly at the colorful and gorgeous flowers in the yard.
A field of purple wheat-like flowers, pink flowers that look like strings of wind chimes, red flowers that hang upside down like golden bells, and round yellow flower balls the size of a baby's fist...
Mrs. Li seemed to have entered a fairyland full of flowers. Everywhere she looked, there were flowers of various bright and dazzling colors, decorating the world with colorfulness. Looking at them made people feel refreshed and relaxed.
"Wow! What kind of flowers are these?" After being shocked, Mrs. Li did not bother to go into the main hall to meet Xu Shichu, but just walked around the blooming flowers.
Xu Shichu understood that she was fascinated by the fairyland-like scenery of flowers as soon as she entered the room, so he did not perform any empty formalities with her. He simply asked the maids to move the tea and snacks to the pavilion in the yard, where she could enjoy all kinds of flowers and plants in the yard.
Xu Shichu watched Madam Li flitting among the flowers like a butterfly, and did not interrupt her. He waited until she had circled the yard and came over with a look of unsatisfied interest before saying, "If you like, I can give you one or two species so that you can go back and plant them yourself."
Mrs. Li excitedly held Xu Shichu's hand: "Really? Thank you so much! I like every kind here..." Then she suddenly became depressed and looked at Xu Shichu's expression with a bashful look, "I don't know which two to choose, can I have every kind?"
Xu Shichu glanced at her calmly: "What do you think?"
Mrs. Li immediately realized that she should not be too greedy, and said with a painful look on her face: "Then I can only choose carefully. It is really difficult to choose. Each one is so beautiful, and many of them are varieties I have never seen before."
"These are all flower seeds that I tried my best to find from foreign merchants. It's normal that we haven't seen them here." Xu Shichu said calmly.
"No wonder! Are such beautiful flowers used to make incense? It's amazing! I thought only cinnamon, sandalwood, cedar and the like could be used to make incense, but I didn't expect such delicate and beautiful flowers could be used."
"What's so strange about using flowers to make perfume? Don't we have commonly used osmanthus, roses, and magnolias here? These flowers are the same, just with different scents and different production methods." Xu Shichu said.
"That's true." Mrs. Li said, her face full of longing, "It would be great if I also had a yard like this with all kinds of flowers and plants..."