Chapter 156: "The Trouble with the Fake Cosmetic Dan Pill"
It must be said, though all three ladies are of similar age, only Mrs. Lan stood out among the pack that left her looking practically a decade younger than the rest.
Blushing, Madam Lan felt overly embarrassed at their excessive flattery. "It's nothing much actually. I only ate more of the fruits and vegetables Ling Yue brought home from time to time. There's also the ointment made from the beauty cosmetic Dan pills she gave me though."
"Mrs. Lan, which place's cosmetic Dan pills are you using to have such good effects? Look at you. That skin is practically like an egg's shell, so nice and pearly white." What woman doesn't love beauty? Hearing its due to an ointment, there's no way they wouldn't press on for more information.
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"Ling Yue says it's from Master Longyu. If both of you like, I can have them sent over to your places tomorrow. I still have some at home that I didn't use yet."
"Pff, already so old and still so shameless. Do they think Master Longyu's Dan pills are so easily attained?" Hearing it's from the great master, Nangon Qinglin couldn't keep still anymore and started to mouth off with her cynical words.
"Nangong Qinglin, watch what you say. The Dan pills are indeed from Master Longyu and not some low class good from a street stall." Its one thing to insult her, it's another to insult her god mother. Outraged, Ling Yue slams the table and stood up.
"Hohoho, some people don't even blush when bragging. Lan Ying Yue, how many days have you been in the capital? You are but a three-cauldron alchemist, as if someone like you would be able to get something so precious from the great Master Longyu. Who in the capital doesn't know this? The great master's cosmetic Dan pills are so precious that one can't even get it unless they got some connections. Let me open your eyes and show you what a real cosmetic Dan pill looks like." From her pocket, Nangon Qinglin pulls a bottle out and pours a beady looking object onto her palm.
"See this? This here is the real deal. I personally went to Master Longyu yesterday to procure this at great expense. If what you say is true then bring yours out and compare." Nangon Qinglin had begged long and hard for this blue pattern cosmetic Dan pill. Even then it costed her over five hundred gold.
Now this was indeed special. Unlike Ling Yue's version that was one grade higher, which were yellow patterns, this one in Nangon Qinglin's hand was but a blue pattern. What's more, when Ling Yue saw the beady little thing, her brows quickly pricked up when her nose picked up the scent.
Something's wrong...
Then thinking back to that day when she met Longyu, Ling Yue immediately understood what's going on after remembering what the dwarf said about getting revenge for his apprentice.
"What's wrong, you can't?" Getting no reaction from the opposition, Nangon Qinglin's cheekiness expanded like a balloon.
"Miss Nangong, bragging or not bragging, we will all know once you try it. My mother's improvement is for all to see here, there's no denying this fact. As for yours in your hand, I have my doubts." Puckering her lips to one side, Ling Yue makes a doubting face.
"Are you accusing me of lying? Humph, fine, I'll test it right now and show you." Immediately, she shaved part of the Dan pill into powder form and mixed it with water. Rubbing it onto her face, she then knew something was wrong for her skin didn't feel right.
"Why is it so itchy?" Finding it strange, Nangong Qinglin gasped and started to scratch her face repeatedly. The more she did, the worse the itch got.
"Ahh! Qinglin, there's a lot of red dots on your face." Sitting closest to the girl, Hong Yu Ying cries out after noticing the problem.
Now things were getting serious. Frightened by her daughter's facial condition, Mrs. Nangong hurries forward to look because the red dots were similar to an infectious disease that none dared to mention.
Unlike Mrs. Nangon, the rest of the occupants on the table didn't fare so well and dashed to one side in order to gain some distance.
"This is impossible, my cosmetic Dan pill... Master Longyu sold me a fake cosmetic Dan pill." Scared out of her wits, Nangon Qinglin tossed the pill in question away and started to sob miserably.
Before the festive banquet could even begin, this mess pops up. For a moment, the whole hall fell into disarray.
"Her highness the Queen Dowager has arrived."
"Imperial Consort Luo has arrived."
Note: A imperial Consort is nothing more than a senior concubine of the king.
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In the critical moment, the Queen Dowager took control of the chaotic situation by leading a bunch of consorts and palace maids into the hall.
"What's going on?" The Queen Dowager of Da Xia was a eighty something year old granny. Through great maintenance, she's been gifted with great fortune and kept her looks to that of someone in the forties.
After seeing Nangon Qinglin's dotted face, even the Queen Dowager herself became startled.
"Your highness, earlier Miss Nangon used some sort of ointment made by Master Longyu's cosmetic Dan pill and became like this." One of the palace maid rushed forward to report.
"Rubbish, I've used Longyu's products all my life and never experienced anything like this. This child must've bought some fake one after being fooled. Quit standing around and call the royal physician this instant." The Queen Dowager hollers at the maid.
In no time at all, the royal physician arrives at the scene and took a look at Nangon Qinglin's face while not forgetting to examine the Dan pill on the floor.
"Alkali lime was added to this Dan pill. Once mixed with water, the lime will easily intoxicate the skin. Fortunately, the amounts used here were very little and wouldn't cause permanent harm. I can say this cosmetic Dan pill in question is a fake."
"How can this be, I bought this directly from Master Longyu within the alchemist tower. How can Master Longyu sell me a fake Dan pill." She cries out with sobbing tears.
"Rubbish. Are you saying Master Longyu is selling counterfeit pills? This child is too insensible. There's no need for you to attend the feast tonight. Go home and confine yourself for three months and transcribe the female precepts a hundred times."
Wanting to defend herself some more, Nangong Qinglin found herself being stopped at the mouth by her mother before she could utter another word. Then like a beaten dog, she was dragged away by her infuriated mother.
Taking this all in as a comedy show, the rest of the ladies here weren't as foolish as Nangong Qinglin. They knew very well that the Queen Dowager had a good relationship with Master Longyu and wouldn't stand for any form of slandering.
With this level of backing, who in the capital would dare question Master Longyu's product?
While everyone thought Nangon Qinglin was at fault for this matter, only Ling Yue knew the truth. As per the girl said, Master Longyu sold her a counterfeit Dan pill.
Then again, Ling Yue personally felt the dwarf didn't do a good enough job. Why only alkali lime? If it was herself, she wouldn't be so kind. However, the results from tonight weren't so bad. Better than nothing.
"Queen Dowager, please don't overexert yourself over that girl. Tonight is the Ghost Festival banquet, we should enjoy ourselves." A beautiful woman dressed in red came over and lends support to the old queen dowager, her face a total smile.
"How come the queen isn't here yet? As the head of the inner palace, she should be presiding over tonight's banquet." Looking around, the old queen dowager wrinkles her forehead after being stung by the extreme red of the consort's dress.