As Zhao Jing and Chen De’an were speaking about Chen Wanqing, she was also talking about the two of them with her mother.

The full moon hung high in the sky. The mother and daughter weren’t resting, but were inside, making incense.

In fact, the market for Moonlight Fragrance had become saturated as early as the beginning of March, so Chen Wanqing had stopped having the people of the Zhao Village help her make it.

But who would have thought that just as she was planning to use this downtime to develop a new incense formula to pay off her debts, business would come knocking again so unexpectedly.

This particular business opportunity had been brought by Mr. Wang.

The Moxiang Pavilion that Mr. Wang managed didn’t just have a branch in Qingshui County; there was a Moxiang Pavilion in every other county under the Prefecture’s jurisdiction as well.

Moonlight Fragrance was originally only famous in Qingshui County. But after Zhao Jing achieved the top rank in the recent examination, Mr. Wang, on his seasonal trip to the Prefecture to meet with the main owner, brought some Moonlight Fragrance along as a "local specialty." He gifted it to the owner and to his friends who ran the other branches.

Unexpectedly, the owner was a man who loved novelty and immediately lit a stick of Moonlight Fragrance to try it.

Just as Mr. Wang had praised, the fragrance was pure and tranquil, instilling a sense of calm. While it couldn’t be said to grant sudden enlightenment or a flood of creative inspiration, it could instantly settle a person’s nerves. It wasn’t the tranquility of a stupor, but a physical calm that simultaneously stimulated the mind, making it instantly active. This was a truly good thing. It could definitely be considered an essential item for every candidate to bring into the examination hall.

The owner saw an opportunity with the upcoming prefectural, collegiate, and Provincial Examinations, and wanted to do a trial run to test the market.

If the results were impressive, they could then negotiate either purchasing the formula outright or arranging a profit-sharing deal to handle the distribution exclusively.

Of course, it was too early to discuss all that. For now, the priority was to deliver the first batch for a trial sale in the Prefecture and see how it performed.

"I wonder where Jing and De’an are on their journey now," her mother said. "If they see someone selling Moonlight Fragrance in the Prefecture, they’ll probably think someone stole your formula and set up shop there."

Chen Wanqing thought for a moment, then nodded with a smile. "You’re right, Mother. That’s entirely possible."

After calculating their route, Chen Wanqing said, "If their journey has been smooth, they should be stopping at an inn near Mouzhong County by now."

"It will be smooth, I’m sure of it. They’ve definitely reached Mouzhong County."

The mother and daughter worked together. One took the kneaded "dough" of incense powder and rolled it into long strips, while the other took the finished strips, placed them on a manual pill-rolling board, and formed them into incense pills.

Rolling the strips was manual labor, while forming the incense pills required skill. Neither job was easy, and Xu Suying found them terribly tedious. It was why she had abandoned this profitable trade to become a private makeup artist instead.

To think she’d still be doing this work, even after passing on her skills.

The main reason was that the Zhao family’s ailing aunt, who had been holding on for so long, had finally passed away. The members of the Zhao clan had to observe the mourning rituals, which meant the incense-making had to stop.

By rights, Chen Wanqing should have been mourning as well, and she had indeed participated in the rites.

But once the main vigil was over, she returned home, changed her clothes, and traveled to the county seat that very night.

Mr. Wang was in a hurry. The order required large quantities of many different ingredients, more than a single shop could provide. She might even have to travel to other places tomorrow to purchase them all.

Fortunately, the main guests had already paid their condolences today. For the next few days, only the immediate family needed to keep watch by the coffin. Younger members of the extended family, like Chen Wanqing, were not required to be present at all times. This was how she managed to find the time to get things done.

After several tiring days of mourning, on top of running around to several different places to buy ingredients just now, she should have been getting some rest. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

But as Chen Wanqing looked at the ingredients she had just purchased, she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. The quality wasn’t bad, their dryness was appropriate, and they were indeed the correct items she needed. Yet, she couldn’t pinpoint the problem. She just felt that something was amiss.

So, since it was still early, she decided to make a small batch with her mother to see if it was all in her head.

Once the incense pills were made, they were placed under the window to air-dry. The window was left slightly ajar. A screen blocked most of the dust while still letting in a breeze, so it would only take half the night for the incense pills to dry.

Early the next morning, Chen Wanqing lit one of the test incense pills. The smoke curled upwards, and at first, nothing seemed wrong with the fragrance. But halfway through its burn, a sharp, irritating odor became noticeable.

Even in a spacious room, the effect was this potent. She couldn’t begin to imagine what a disaster it would be if students were to bring these incense pills into their cramped examination cells.

Chen Wanqing’s expression grew grim. "Mother," she said, "it wasn’t just my imagination. There really is a problem with this batch of ingredients."