The Evil Mother-in-law: Torment Children, Work Hard, Be Rich!-Chapter 303: Empress and Imperial Concubine Signature Rouge and Face Powder
But since it was Man Er who wanted to buy it, it can be considered that she has a destiny with this horse.
She could never bear to break Man Er’s heart, could she?
Tong Huaqiong hadn’t yet said to keep the horse when Chen Sufen spoke up first.
"Mother, Man Er is just a child who doesn’t understand things. Let Second Brother return the horse."
Upon hearing that they wanted to return the pony, Man Er tightly hugged the pony’s neck, her eyes looking pitifully at Tong Huaqiong.
Tong Huaqiong said, "Since it’s bought, we won’t return it. Otherwise, it would hurt the child’s feelings. Let’s keep it."
Hearing this, Man Er grinned and said, "Thank you, Grandma."
Liu Yueer felt uncomfortable inside.
The treatment of the main house and the second house in Mother-in-law’s mind is truly different.
Without knowing the truth, Mother-in-law scolded her husband, disliking the pony he bought.
Why is it acceptable when it comes to Man Er?
Too much of a double standard.
Man Er is truly the princess of the family. She threw out one hundred and fifty taels of silver to buy such a sickly pony, and after Mother-in-law knew the truth, not only did she not scold her, but she also did not mention returning it.
Tong Huaqiong came to the pony and began to observe it carefully.
Gu Dashu said, "Mother, this pony is mainly premature and weak, not really sick."
Tong Huaqiong gently patted the pony’s head. The pony, sensing Tong Huaqiong’s kindness, extended its tongue to lick her hand and tried to stand up on its four hooves.
Tong Huaqiong’s heart softened.
If someone were to give her another one hundred and fifty taels of silver now, she wouldn’t send it away.
"Dashu, go get a vet to come over and take a look," Tong Huaqiong said.
Having decided to keep the pony, Tong Huaqiong was determined to raise it well.
She didn’t care about it being a warhorse or not; as long as it could pull a cart when grown, it would be fine. There was no expectation for it to see battle.
Gu Dashu had returned in less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.
He was followed by Lu Zhaoyang and a man with a dark complexion.
"Mother, I met Brother Lu on my way out, and he brought a vet to see the pony," Gu Dashu said.
Tong Huaqiong greeted Lu Zhaoyang.
Lu Zhaoyang laughed and said, "We agreed to help Aunt Tong choose a horse but ended up picking a weakling of a pony. This is Vet Tan, a vet from the Sheep Herding Department, whom I invited to take a look at the pony."
Upon hearing Vet Tan’s name, Tong Huaqiong couldn’t help but examine him and found him somewhat familiar.
"Vet Tan, do you know Master Tan under the Big Locust Tree on Sweet Water Street in Pingchuan County?" Tong Huaqiong asked.
"He is my cousin," Vet Tan said.
What a coincidence, old acquaintances indeed.
The two brothers are interesting; one is a vet, the other a geld.
Upon learning that Tong Huaqiong knew his cousin, Vet Tan treated the pony with exceptional care.
"I estimate this pony is only two months old. Judging by its bones, it could really be a war horse," Vet Tan said after an examination. "It’s not seriously ill, just very weak due to premature birth. With careful nurturing, it might grow into a fine steed."
"It should ideally be drinking mare’s milk, but since mare’s milk is hard to procure, you’ll have to feed it forage. Be mindful when feeding, chop the forage into smaller pieces, soak them until soft and moist before feeding. Its digestive system is too weak to handle hard food right now."
Having said this, he prescribed a few pills and handed them to Tong Huaqiong, instructing her to mix them in the feed during each meal.
Tong Huaqiong recalled the biology she had learned in her past life. A two-month-old horse is a foal, and typically foals wean at six to seven months. The family’s pony was still in its breastfeeding stage.
Luckily, a one-month-old horse could start eating horse feed; otherwise, where would Tong Huaqiong find a mare to nurse it?
Since Vet Tan suggested that the pony could grow into a fine steed with care, Tong Huaqiong chose to trust him.
Tong Huaqiong decided to search for knowledge about raising foals in her space at night and see if she could provide more nutritious feed.
After Vet Tan finished examining the pony, Tong Huaqiong instructed Gu Dashu to fetch the consultation fee.
Vet Tan refused the payment, stating that Mr. Lu had already covered it.
He insisted on not accepting it, so Tong Huaqiong had no choice but to gift him two boxes of pastries.
While no one was looking, Lu Zhaoyang approached Tong Huaqiong to explain that he had spoken to Mr. Lu about not pursuing marriage with Gu Taohua.
Seeing Lu Zhaoyang speaking to Tong Huaqiong, Gu Taohua placed her hands on her hips and moved in front of Tong Huaqiong, without saying a word, she thoroughly scrutinized Lu Zhaoyang.
Remembering that Gu Taohua had said he couldn’t father a son, Lu Zhaoyang, terrified, grabbed Vet Tan and fled hastily.
Gu Taohua laughed heartily.
After Lu Zhaoyang and Vet Tan left, Tong Huaqiong instructed Gu Dashu to take the pony inside.
The autumn evening breeze carried a chill, so she feared the pony might catch cold.
The happiest of all to have the pony stay was Man Er.
She knew that due to her whim, Second Uncle had spent a substantial amount of money to buy the pony.
"Grandma, I will take good care of the pony," Man Er said, hugging the pony to Tong Huaqiong, "I will raise it strong and sturdy, and when it’s grown, it will pull a cart for Grandma."
Tong Huaqiong smiled and said, "Alright, let’s raise the pony strong and sturdy."
The shop in the mansion city opened up and has become a new hot spot in town these days.
He Chao and Hong Xiaoxi were temporarily managing things there. Tong Huaqiong felt this was no problem.
Thus, she planned to return to Qinghe Bay the next day as originally intended.
It would soon be Mid-Autumn, and having come to the mansion city, she naturally wanted to buy some local items to bring back.
Even though her visit to the mansion city was short, she had already encountered numerous distracting events and had not had a chance to properly explore.
Tong Huaqiong planned to take advantage of the time from dusk to evening to stroll around and buy some silk, spices, herbal medicine, and also visit Lu Zhaozhao’s rouge shop for some rouge and powders.
Additionally, she wanted to explore whether there were any new business opportunities in the mansion city.
Tong Huaqiong went shopping with Gu Taohua and Chen Sufen.
She did not bring Liu Yueer along.
When Liu Yueer received kindness, she often failed to maintain her proper position. Tong Huaqiong had just spoken up for Liu Yueer a few days ago regarding Xian Xian and Gu Dashu’s matters, and Liu Yueer had already tried to interfere with Gu Taohua’s marriage.
Thus, she had to continually give Liu Yueer the cold shoulder, reminding her not to meddle in matters beyond her concern.
Tong Huaqiong, Gu Taohua, and Chen Sufen visited silk shops to purchase materials, retrieved the jewelry and headpieces they had made from the silver building, and finally went to Lu Zhaozhao’s rouge shop.
It was Tong Huaqiong’s first visit.
The Lu Family’s rouge shop was large, with an array of various rouges and powders.
Since the Lu Family was an Imperial Merchant, one of their most important businesses was supplying various rouges and powders to the palace consorts.
The palace consorts required high-quality rouges and powders to create beautiful looks while also nourishing the skin. Mr. Lu possessed the secret formulas for the palace’s rouges and powders, and their quality surpassed other shops in the market.
Originally, the Lu Family’s rouge shop in the mansion city only catered to wealthy families and noble ladies.
After Lu Zhaozhao took over, she changed the strategy, catering to everyone from wealthy families to commoners.
Inspired by "Even the Magistrate Loves to Eat Mooncakes" launched by Tong Huaqiong, these few days they marketed palace consort rouge and powder replicas.
This gimmick nearly drew all the ladies of the mansion city.
Who wouldn’t want to own the same rouge and powder as the Empress and Imperial Concubine?
