Chapter 60

Chi Baitao had made thorough preparations before coming here this time. First, she had studied the rules of this tour.

Initially, she had considered bringing some goods to sell in ancient times, but the rules explicitly stated that no price markup could exceed five percent.

Was there any other way for her to make money?

Chi Baitao thought of labor fees. What she was doing did not count as selling merchandise; rather, it belonged to the service industry.

Since it was the service industry, pricing was not so rigid.

However, Chi Baitao was not heartless enough to strip away the savings of the concubines in the inner palace.

She set her price at one tael of gold per pair of hands. For the concubines with savings in the inner palace, this was merely a drop in the bucket.

After all, these imperial concubines, along with the high-born young ladies attending the flower-viewing banquet, were wealthy women with their own dowries and savings.

As for the imperial treasury being poor, that had nothing to do with them. No matter how bad things got, the emperor would not stoop to robbing his own father's women and his officials' wives.

If that were the case, the Xuan Dynasty would have collapsed long ago.

At that moment, Chi Baitao was seated at a table with her suitcase placed right beside her. Upon opening the suitcase, it was filled entirely with manicure supplies, sheet masks, and cosmetics.

These sheet masks and cosmetics were intended to be given away as complimentary gifts.

"Your Ladyship, your hands are truly fair and tender," Chi Baitao said, cradling a noble consort's hand. "Take a look and see what style of manicure you prefer."

She placed a tablet before the noble consort, who looked at the designs displayed on the screen and felt that every single one of them was breathtakingly beautiful.

Such things simply did not exist in ancient times. At most, they usually only practiced flower-petal nail staining; how could they ever dream of embedding pearls and diamonds onto their nails?

Lingxian was watching from the side as well. Her mother, Qi Shu, had to host the flower-viewing banquet, but she herself did not have to.

Naturally, she gravitated toward wherever the excitement was.

The noble consort giggled at the compliment. "Oh, I am getting old. How can I compare to you young and beautiful girls? In my opinion, this pattern is truly magnificent. If matched with white dragon pearls from the East China Sea, it should look quite extraordinary."

Nearby, other imperial concubines and consorts chimed in with smiles. "Such exquisite nail art! It is enough to make us dizzy with choices."

Chi Baitao began working directly on the design the consort had chosen. The gel polish she brought was limited, but she could mix custom colors herself.

As for the UV curing lamps, there was no electricity here, so she had opted for portable, battery-operated nail lamps. The issue was easily solved by bringing extra power banks.

[Every time I see Taozi, I feel so clumsy. Why is her brain so extraordinarily capable?]

[It feels like her brain is a completely different species from ours.]

[Since exploiting loopholes is allowed, can I go to ancient times to write web novels and sell them to the locals?]

[Technically you could, but could you possibly finish writing a novel in just these few days?]

[Wait! The rule only states that selling to the citizens of the Xuan Dynasty cannot exceed a five percent markup of the original price—that means we can totally sell to other countries!]

[Great idea! But how are we supposed to get to other countries?]

[I am an eyelash extension technician, and I am already itching to go.]

[I have an idea! Open a Haidilao hot pot restaurant in ancient times and earn service fees!]

[Ancient times already have high-end establishments, and ancient waiters are quite similar to Haidilao service staff.]

[I feel like these concubines must be terribly bored all the time. They are so happy just getting a manicure. When I go over, I will bring them a set of mahjong and not charge them anything.]

[Mahjong works, and playing cards are already here. Look over there.]

Yu Yan was watching the other side of the livestream interface, where a modern girl, a heroic-looking young woman, and a middle-aged woman were seated around a table.

A deck of playing cards lay right before them.

Yue Yingfeng had no interest in manicures. Like Yang Anping, she only cared about having fun, though their usual pastimes differed.

She ordinarily enjoyed horse riding, archery, and cuju, while Yang Anping preferred cricket fighting, listening to musical tunes, and appreciating poetry.

She had come to the flower-viewing banquet today simply because both she and her mother had received invitations. After all, her family was a general's household; it was impossible not to invite them to such an occasion.

Liu Maomao held the cards. "These are called playing cards, and they have numbers on them. Let me teach you how to rank them."

Yue Yingfeng listened intently, and within moments she felt she understood the rules, even if the numbers were a bit tricky to memorize.

Still, wasn't this something you learned simply by playing?

While they played cards, the others were not idle either. Some were viewing flowers, taking selfies, or posing for photographs with ancient women while teaching them how to take pictures.

Zhen Xi had brought a Polaroid camera. She had just taken a picture of an ancient woman, and now the woman stared at the photograph, looking at the figure captured upon it as if it were a celestial artifact.

"It is even better than a portrait painted by an artist! When I return, I shall have it framed!"

"Good heavens, I truly cannot believe this is me."

"Will you sell this item? May I exchange it with you using this hairpin of mine?"

Zhen Xi quickly shook her head. "No, no. If you like it, I can simply give it to you as a gift."

The Polaroid camera had not cost much, but judging by the hairpin, it was made of jade and inlaid with pearls. She did not dare accept it casually.

"It is quite all right," the Second Young Miss of the Chen family said, placing the hairpin directly into her palm. "If you are willing, the two of us shall be friends from this day forth. What harm is there in giving a gift to a friend?"

Zhen Xi looked at the hairpin in her hand, then glanced up at the young Miss Chen.

With tear-filled eyes, she thought to herself that if she managed to bring this back to the modern world, she would definitely use it as a family heirloom.

She would never sell it!

After all, this was a gift given to her by a fragrant ancient young lady!

She remained unaware that because her gift was given in genuine sincerity, and Miss Chen's return gift was likewise genuine—without any intention of using the Polaroid for profiteering—no rules had been violated.

Naturally, the moment she harbored transactional intentions with a markup exceeding five percent, the rules would have been triggered and a warning issued.

If she failed to comply after the warning, she would have been sent straight back to the modern world.

Elsewhere, Wu Ran and Gan Miao had no idea what to do, so they simply sat to the side eating fruit. "There are crystal grapes in this place too."

"They taste quite sweet, actually," Gan Miao said, popping a grape into her mouth.

These grapes had actually been redeemed by Pei Xiuyu. Fruit prices were exorbitantly high in ancient times, and moreover, it was currently spring; the fruit trees here had not yet borne fruit.

Since these people were coming on a tour, he naturally needed to find a way to economize on expenses while still ensuring things did not appear too shabby.

Thus, he had redeemed a batch of fruit from the exchange mall. Future banquets for officials could also feature the fruit from this source.

After all, it was exceedingly inexpensive yet saved face.

"My lady, may I sit here?" a female voice asked.

Wu Ran looked up to see two elegantly dressed women standing beside her, and she nodded repeatedly. "Of course you may."

The newcomers were the daughters of Prime Minister Mu Lin: the elder daughter named Mu Jingzhu, and the second daughter named Mu Jingyu.

Mu Jingzhu had been invited to attend the flower-viewing banquet this time with a specific mission.

That mission was to observe whether these people from the future were easy to get along with.

Yet, based on her observations, these future people seemed entirely devoid of malice. Although they bore no resemblance to refined aristocratic ladies, each of them carried an air of nonchalant ease.

It was as if they held no fear whatsoever of imperial authority.

"My name is Mu Jingzhu, and this is my second younger sister, Mu Jingyu. May I ask how the two ladies are addressed?" As soon as Mu Jingzhu sat down, a palace maid began pouring fruit wine for them.

Once finished, the maid withdrew to the side.

Noticing Mu Jingzhu's quiet and elegant demeanor, Wu Ran instinctively straightened her back. "My name is Wu Ran."

Gan Miao added, "My name is Gan Miao."

"So you are Miss Wu and Miss Gan," Mu Jingzhu said with a smile. "To be frank with the two of you, my sister is immensely curious about your world. Might the two of you tell us a little about it, so as to satisfy my sister's curiosity?"

Mu Jingyu, seated beside her, nodded earnestly. She looked at the attire of these future people and found it utterly fascinating.

Naturally, what she was most curious about was the glowing ink-jade they constantly held in their hands.

Wu Ran tilted her head. "What would you like to hear about?"

There was an endless amount to discuss regarding modern society, but without knowing what they specifically wished to hear, she had no idea where to begin.

Mu Jingzhu asked, "May I ask what country the young ladies reside in? And what are the people there like?"

"Our country is called the Huaxia Nation," Wu Ran replied with an "oh." "The people there are no different from the ones here—we all have two eyes, one nose, and a mouth."

"If there is any difference, it is probably that everyone there, regardless of gender, begins studying from childhood, attending school continuously from the age of four or five until their twenties."

"Um... our country also has no emperor. It is a socialist state."

"After finishing their studies, everyone finds a job to earn a living and support themselves." Wu Ran spoke as thoughts came to her.

Listening to her words, Mu Jingzhu found it utterly preposterous.

"No emperor?"

Then how could a nation even exist?

"Must both women and men study? Is that privilege reserved only for the nobility?"

Women in their world could study too; their household possessed a private tutor, though they could not attend formal academies to study like their older and younger brothers.

As for studying into one's twenties—she herself had been studying all along, and perhaps she would never stop.

Wu Ran answered her questions one by one. "We are now a country ruled by law; there is no imperial power."

"As for education, it is not restricted to the nobility. Practically everyone can study, except perhaps in extremely remote and impoverished regions, though those are few."

Mu Jingyu widened her eyes. "Ruled by law?!"

"Everyone can study? Why are you people so obsessed with commerce?"

As she spoke, she glanced at Chi Baitao. That woman had come merely on a tour yet was still plotting to make money—she was truly fanatical about trade.

Their Great Xuan Dynasty did not categorize merchants at the absolute bottom of society, but neither did everyone love commerce. Most young women simply waited until they reached eighteen or nineteen to find a good family to marry into and manage their households thereafter.

As for men, their ideal was invariably to become government officials.