The Golden Phoenix Apothecary was the heart of the capital's luxury trade. Only the wives of generals and the daughters of ministers walked through its sandalwood doors. Today, however, the air in the shop was thick with a tension that had nothing to do with business.
Su Ren stood in the center of the room, sweating in his patched robes. Following his mother's strict instructions, he held a single, tiny crystal vial.
"Five hundred gold?" The apothecary owner, a man named Shopkeeper Zhang, let out a dry, mocking laugh. "Master Su, your family hasn't seen five hundred gold since your father passed. This is a joke."
"Just... just smell it," Su Ren stammered, remembering his mother's threat to make his hair fall out.
Zhang sighed and uncorked the bottle.
The change was instantaneous. The scent didn't just drift; it conquered. It was the smell of a rain-drenched forest mixed with the sweetness of a thousand-year-old peach blossom. But more than that, as Zhang inhaled, the chronic ache in his chest a result of years of lung qi deficiency suddenly vanished. His mind cleared. He felt like a man who had slept for ten years and woken up in paradise.
"This..." Zhang's hands trembled. He snatched the bottle. "What is this? This isn't just perfume. This is an elixir!"
"It is the Fragrance of Rebirth," a voice rang out from the doorway.
The crowd of wealthy customers parted. Su Wan walked in. She was no longer the haggard, grey ghost of a woman from two days ago. She wore a simple but immaculately clean indigo robe. Her skin was smooth, her eyes sparkled with a terrifying intelligence, and her silver hair was styled with a sharp, minimalist elegance. She looked like a retired goddess returning to the world of men.
"I am the Matriarch of the Su family," she announced, her voice carrying to every corner of the room. "And this is the only bottle of its kind in existence. The formula requires a rare root that only grows once every decade."
She was lying, of course. She had a whole field of it in her space. But rarity created demand.
"One thousand gold!" a woman shouted from the back. It was the wife of the Minister of Rites, her eyes fixed on the vial with desperate greed. "I haven't slept through the night in years. If that scent can calm my nerves, I'll pay anything!"
"One thousand five hundred!" another voice countered.
Su Wan watched the bidding war with a calm, internal smile. 300 million dollars? she thought. At this rate, I'll have the first million by next week.
However, the auction was interrupted by a heavy thud at the door. Lord Wei walked in, his black cloak swirling. The room went silent. The wealthy ladies retreated in fear of the "Tiger of the Underworld."
Wei didn't look at the gold. He looked at Su Wan. His eyes traveled over her rejuvenated face, a flash of genuine surprise crossing his features before his mask of coldness returned.
"You're early, Matriarch," Wei said, his voice a dangerous purr. "And you're selling my 'investment' to others?"
"I am proving the market value, Lord Wei," Su Wan replied, not backing down an inch. "If you want to be the exclusive distributor, the price just went up. I don't partner with people who break my front gate."
The onlookers gasped. No one spoke to Lord Wei like that and lived.
Wei stepped closer, leaning in until he was inches from her ear. "You look healthy today, Su Wan. Too healthy. It makes me wonder what else you're hiding in that 'ruined' manor of yours."
"I'm hiding enough to make you the richest man in the Great Zhou," she whispered back. "Or your greatest rival. The choice is yours."
Wei laughed a short, dark sound. He turned to Shopkeeper Zhang. "The Su family is under the protection of the Black Tiger Pavilion. Anyone who cheats them, cheats me. Matriarch, I'll take the gold for this bottle today. Consider it a down payment on your debt."
"Take it," Su Wan said, waving a hand. "I have plenty more where that came from."
As Wei left with the gold and the perfume, Su Wan felt the weight of every eye in the room on her. She had done it. She had established her value. But as she saw a mysterious man in the corner an imperial spy scribbling in a notebook, she realized that "fame" was a double-edged sword.
The Emperor is going to hear about this, she realized. Good. Let him come. I need a bigger stage anyway.