Chapter 250: Chapter 99: Self-Division Chapter 250: Chapter 99: Self-Division Yueyao was on her way from Lanxi Courtyard to the Upper Chamber one day when she overheard two servant girls at the turn of the corridor discussing something about lipstick. In recent times, lipstick had become all the rage in Capital City.
The residents of Capital City were all followers of trends. Yuehuan had understood this, which was why she entrusted her lipstick to a Rouge Shop named Yu Ji. Naturally, Yu Ji was related to the Mo family.
The proprietor of Yu Ji Store, after half a month’s wait, finally agreed to compromise, willing to split the profits fifty-fifty. Yuehuan, upon hearing this news, immediately objected, believing this approach was killing the goose that laid the golden eggs.
Unfortunately, Lady Mo was tempted, not because she was shortsighted, but because Old Madam’s time was evidently limited to these few months. Once Old Madam passed away, Yuehuan would no longer be able to continue with this business in the mansion. But setting up a workshop couldn’t be done in a day, and the only solution was to partner with them and later divide the profits. Lady Mo felt that a fifty-fifty split wasn’t bad.
Yuehuan tried to persuade Lady Mo not to partner with others, “Mother, starting our own business may be troublesome at first, but once we overcome the initial difficulties, the profits will flow in continuously. Mother, if we cooperate with Yu Ji and give them the formula, we can’t guarantee that they won’t let the formula leak out.” Yuehuan did not trust Yu Ji very much.
Lady Mo was very dissatisfied with Yuehuan’s opposition, “What do you suggest?” Since when did a daughter born of a concubine have the right to question her decisions? However, since the lipstick was Yuehuan’s creation, Lady Mo tolerated her overstepping.
Yuehuan’s intention was naturally to conduct the business herself, but considering the reasons analyzed by Maternal Aunt Su and Lady Mo’s attitude, she knew her idea would be difficult to realize, “Mother, if we are not going to make it ourselves, the best method is to sell the formula. Although it’s a small item, there is great demand; we could divide it into ten parts and auction it off. This way, we wouldn’t offend anyone and could secure a substantial amount of money at one time.” Better that than being sold out by others later on.
Lady Mo believed that a steady stream of income was best, but Yueyao’s analysis also made sense. If Yu Ji were to leak the formula, there would be no more money coming in. The loss would be enormous. Lady Mo was hesitant at first, but after her brother Mo Jun came over for a chat, in the end, she decided to go ahead with the partnership with Yu Ji. It seemed better to earn money consistently in the long term.
The next day, Lady Mo signed a contract with Yu Ji, with Lady Mo receiving sixty percent of the profits and Yu Ji forty percent. Mo Jun represented Lady Mo in negotiating the specifics with the owner of Yu Ji.
This venture was originally Lady Mo’s doing, but she was too busy, and Lian Dongfang was even less likely. With his disdain for materialism, he would never deign to discuss such matters with merchants.
Yuehuan learned of the final outcome that Lady Mo had still reached an agreement with Yu Ji to use the formula for a share of the profits. Sitting in the chair, Yuehuan smiled bitterly, “Maternal Auntie, my efforts have been wasted.” There were certainly many who coveted the lipstick formula—she had wanted to do it herself, but she understood the various considerations. However, now because of family connections, it was handed over to Yu Ji. At least killing the goose could have resulted in a large sum of silver, but with this outcome, she feared the profits received in the end would be pitifully small.
Yuehuan had not expected to keep it all to herself; getting ten percent would have been good, but now it seemed unlikely she would even get half of that.
Maternal Aunt Su, however, disagreed with Yuehuan, “Fourth Miss, if you come up with any good ideas in the future, go ahead and make them, but don’t take out your most valuable things. Keep some for yourself as well.”
Yuehuan no longer believed in Maternal Aunt Su’s words, but she also knew it was useless to argue with her aunt, which would needlessly worry her, “Auntie, I understand.” After all, coming up with new innovations was a matter of chance, and before this issue was resolved, she still had a sufficiently good reason to take it easy.
Old Madam never expressed her opinion on this matter from beginning to end. Yueyao was, however, quite surprised—it would be good to have a steady income, but it was crucial to ensure that the formula wouldn’t be lost. Once the formula leaked, the profits would be minimal.
Yueyao thought of Yuehuan and shook her head, “It seems Yuehuan could earn quite a bit of money for the Lian family. That’s good, as long as Lady Mo has money, at least she won’t be fixated on the wealth in her hands.”
The actions of Lian Dongfang were swift; in less than a month, he had selected two families. Old Madam was favoring the legitimate second son of the Imperial Household Department Record Keeper of the Yao Family, Yao Xiuran, who was fifteen this year, two years older than Yueying, and had passed the imperial examination for children this year, thus holding the title of Scholar.
The Imperial Household Department Record Keeper was a Seventh Rank government position, while Lian Dongfang was of the Fifth Rank, four levels higher. Lian Dongfang marrying off a daughter born of a concubine to the legitimate child of the Yao family was also considered an appropriate match. Moreover, Lord Yao’s father and Lian Dongfang’s father were former classmates and good friends, and both families had maintained relations for years, knowing each other well. Moreover, this marriage proposal was brought up by Lian Dongfang himself. Old Madam was not confident in Madam Mo, but she trusted her son. Yueying was his flesh and blood, and Old Madam believed that even a tiger wouldn’t eat its cubs.