“Soap?” She picked up a piece and sniffed it, indeed smelling the fragrance of roses.
“Yes, it’s hard to imagine that before it was made, it was a sticky paste. To make it fragrant, His Highness even added perfume.”
Mei subconsciously glanced at the price on the paper. Twenty-five silver wolves per piece was a luxury item, but compared to the more expensive perfume, the price was obviously too low. “Are you sure it’s perfume? When I performed in the royal capital, a noble gave me three bottles. Each bottle of perfume was only the size of a thumb, but the price was more than five gold dragons. Such a large piece of soap must have at least half a bottle of perfume added to it, right?”
“Really?” Carter paused. “Perfume is so expensive?”
“Of course,” Mei rolled her eyes. “That’s one of the alchemy association’s most proud products in the royal capital. Besides crystal glass, perfume sells the best. I heard that besides the batch that is offered to the royal family, only about a thousand bottles of perfume can flow into the market each year. People who can afford this kind of thing are upper-class nobles and wealthy merchants. If someone hadn’t given it to me, I definitely wouldn’t have used the reward from several plays to buy a bottle of perfume.”
“But I didn’t see His Highness use any rare materials when making perfume… He said it seemed to be made of sugarcane?” Carter, seeing Mei’s puzzled look, added, “Sugarcane is sweet stick, a crop from the fjord that looks like a stick. It’s full of sweet juice when you bite it. Currently, it is only planted in the backyard of the castle. Next time I will ask His Highness if he can let me bring one out.”
Again, His Royal Highness… After Mei came to the town, the name she heard the most was Roland Wimbledon. Whether it was Eileen or Carter, they would mention him when talking about the changes in the town. It seemed that His Highness knew everything, and all these novel things were created by him.
Could there really be such a knowledgeable person in the world? She doubted it. Even if a person is smart, learning new knowledge takes time. Whether in the royal capital or Longsong Stronghold, the recognized scholars are old men with white hair. There is even a saying in the folk customs of the Western Territory: the longer the beard, the wider the knowledge. The prince himself is only in his twenties, how could he know so much?
Thinking this in her heart, Mei’s expression remained the same, “No need, if it can be used to make perfume, it must be a very precious crop. Especially the perfume formula, which can be sold at sky-high prices in any alchemy workshop. Don’t inquire about it from His Highness, and even if you see it, never say it.”
“Okay,” Carter responded, took out a handkerchief, and wrapped the four pieces of soap in it.
“Are you buying so much?”
“Each person is limited to two pieces at most. Let’s pretend to buy them separately, and give them all to you when we go out – don’t disagree yet,” the knight reached out to stop Mei from speaking. “I can apply to His Highness after I run out, but if this is sold out, I don’t know when there will be new goods. You can use these four pieces for a long time.”
Mei looked at the other party’s serious eyes, and felt as if something had scalded her heart. For a long time… she pursed her lips, stopped talking, and silently watched the knight wrap the soap.
“Now that we’re here, let’s take a look at other goods,” he said with a smile, picking up the cloth bag.
……
Back in her “home” in Border Town, the outside was already a blur of twilight.
The setting sun shone through the window, giving the furnishings in the room a touch of orange-red.
Since staying here to perform subsequent dramas, Mei also obtained a room like Eileen. Although not big, it had everything.
She placed the novel items purchased from the Convenience Store on the table one by one. In addition to the four bars of soap, there was also a bottle of wine.
This bottle of wine was different from the ale and wine commonly found in taverns. It had almost no color, and was as pure and transparent as water. The product introduction said that it was called Baijiu, with a high concentration, and should not be drunk in large quantities.
Baijiu, she smiled. From the appearance, the name was really appropriate.
Pulling out the wooden stopper, Mei poured herself a glass. Raising the glass, a pungent smell rushed to her face, causing her to frown. But
After this smell passed, a wisp of wine fragrance floated into her nose, sweet and mellow, completely unlike the taste of the low-quality watered wine in the tavern.
Because she needed to be fully involved and highly focused when acting, she rarely went to taverns. Only when the theater celebrated after a great success, would she follow along and have a drink or two. That drunken feeling wasn’t bad, but after witnessing the embarrassing behavior of many actors after getting drunk, she always kept her alcohol intake within the range that would not affect her thinking.
However, Mei now had a strong urge to get drunk, otherwise she wouldn’t have bought this expensive Baijiu despite Carter’s dissuasion – other actors said that after getting drunk, she could block out distracting thoughts and worries, and see the true answer in her heart. She wanted to give it a try.
Mei closed her eyes, raised her head, and poured the wine in the glass into her mouth. Suddenly, a burning sensation exploded in her throat. The wine that she hadn’t swallowed sprayed out directly, and the violent cough made her tear up.
Damn it, is this really wine?
After the burning sensation completely subsided, she bit her lip and tried again – this time, she only dared to swallow in small sips, and after the burning sensation, it was a rich and mellow aroma. The two flavors were mixed together, and it wasn’t that delicious, but it gave her a peculiar feeling.
In just half a quarter of an hour, Mei felt a sense of dizziness welling up in her heart.
She took out a fist-sized iron box from her pocket, and opened the lid. Inside was a bright mirror facing herself. This mirror was different from the copper or silver mirrors of the past. Its surface was smooth and seamless, and the scene reflected was extremely clear, presumably of considerable value. Through the mirror, Mei could see her slightly red cheeks and confused eyes.
This was a gift from the Chief Knight at the time of their separation. She wanted to refuse, but the other party turned around and left, giving her no chance to push it back. He waved goodbye to her while walking away quickly. Seriously speaking, Carter Lannis’s appearance was definitely impeccable when he didn’t open his mouth, but if he wasn’t so talkative, she wouldn’t have been persuaded to stay.
So, should she settle down here? Away from the bustling city, coming to this remote town to start anew, and only a few people in the crew know her identity… The fear of the unknown made it difficult for her to make a decision.
Mei spread out the letters that had been on the table for a few days – they were transferred to her by Eileen from His Highness, written by Pello, the manager of the stronghold. From the letter, she learned that the Stronghold Theater had announced that she was missing, and Pello himself hoped that she would return to the Stronghold to continue performing.
His Highness did not hide this news, and he gave the choice to her.
Mei drank the remaining wine in the glass, and her vision gradually became blurred.
She staggered to the table, spread out a piece of paper, and began to write a reply.
In the overlapping and surging thoughts, she successively saw the Stronghold Theater, Eileen, Feilin Hilt, as well as the town square with cheering sounds and those third-rate actors who were so excited that they couldn’t control themselves… In the end, these slowly faded away, and only the appearance of Carter Lannis grinning and inviting her remained in her mind.
Hello, Mei xiaojie, may I invite you for a drink?
……(。)