Chapter 81: Return Once More

He seemed to view the whole matter with remarkable indifference.

This baffled Master Zhu. Wasn’t everything happening now precisely what they had hoped for? Wasn’t this a rare opportunity? The Zhao family’s incense shop was gone—shouldn’t that be considered a stroke of good fortune?

“Do you have any other thoughts?” he asked hurriedly.

“Old Master Zhao won’t let this go easily. He’s probably plotting how to drag us down at this very moment,” Han Qing replied calmly.

He had long since grasped the situation, which accounted for his composed demeanor.

“But doesn’t your incense shop carry other products as well? The main item isn’t just incense, after all.”

“True, but the publicity hasn’t caught up yet,” he said coldly.

Relying solely on the influence of a few loyal customers was far from enough.

“But aren’t you still busy helping Master Zhu with his linen shop?”

“Yes, that’s indeed a way to topple the Zhao family,” he answered with quiet composure.

But it would require a bit more patience.

This scented water, after all, was adored by the children of officials, possessing a fragrance that delighted the senses and stirred a desire to purchase. As word spread from one to ten, then from ten to a hundred, the effect proved remarkable.

Yet there were always troublemakers, insisting everything was a sham, and claiming the product could even harm ordinary people.

The Zhao family maliciously spread these rumors, which was genuinely shocking—almost unbelievable.

“I’ve heard some rumors lately, something about Han’s scented water being problematic?”

“Impossible! We use it ourselves, and it works wonders, especially against swelling.”

“That’s right. You have to try it yourself to know how effective it truly is.”

Some people stepped forward to clear things up directly.

Han Qing heard these rumors but paid them no mind. In fact, such gossip only prompted more people to investigate what scented water really was, piquing their curiosity.

The unexpected publicity ended up boosting the shop’s profits. A portion of their customers came because of the rumors; others, merely out of curiosity.

At first, the townsfolk were full of suspicion. They saw the bottles and jars and wondered how such a price could be justified.

The price was indeed high.

But after only two or three days of use, they were thoroughly convinced.

“Brother Han, so you deliberately refrained from clarifying the rumors, knowing they would actually benefit your shop?” Master Zhu was once again astonished.

He’d always suspected Han Qing possessed some unique talent, capable of inventing products beyond ordinary imagination. Now he realized Han Qing understood the human heart with uncanny precision—there was nothing to worry about.

“Our scented water is genuine. Even if we clarified things, it wouldn’t change much. Letting the rumors spread ensures people come to verify for themselves,” Han Qing replied calmly, as if everything was already settled.

It was almost miraculous!

He had broken Old Master Zhao’s scheme outright.

Seeing this, Old Master Zhao had no option but to consider abandoning the incense business altogether. He still had other shops under his control, after all—it wasn’t as if he’d run out of ways to make money.

Continuing to oppose Han Qing only led to losses for himself.

He summoned his grandson at once.

“Chengzhang, things have become quite tense with the Han family. Is there any way to negotiate?”

Was he joking? No chance of that.

“Grandfather, you knew the consequences from the start. I’m barely managing my own affairs now—how could I concern myself with others?” Zhao Chengzhang answered slowly.

It was the truth.

Though they’d never paid Bai Jingming much heed, recent profits had dwindled day by day.

Doubt began to creep in—had they made a mistake somewhere? Or perhaps they never understood the situation from the beginning.

“What are you worried about?”

“Aren’t you aware that the Bai family’s clothing shop now provides clothes and shoes for ordinary people?” he asked, puzzled.

The old master pondered for a moment. It was true, but at the time, they’d dismissed it as irrelevant.

“Now they’ve launched practical and attractive clothing, drawing away all my customers,” Zhao Chengzhang said with a gloomy face.

He hadn’t considered this angle before, but now the issue was glaring.

They could no longer sit idly by.

“But your clientele is different—how could this happen?” the old master questioned, slightly doubtful.

“I thought so too, but lately even the families of high officials have grown more modest, no longer favoring custom-made garments…”

It seemed an ordinary matter, yet it had driven the Zhao family into a difficult position.

“We need to devise a countermeasure,” the old master said, instantly alert.

They had more than one rival—Bai Jingming had unexpectedly risen up. Wasn’t he supposed to be a scholar? Who would have guessed he had business acumen?

It was curious.

“Investigate whether there’s some expert behind this,” the old master mused.

He’d met Bai Jingming before, exchanged a few words. But Bai Jingming had always shown indifference toward merchants—he couldn’t possibly have achieved such marketing results on his own in such a short time.

“I looked into it—it’s Han Qing.”

What?

The old master was utterly stunned.

How could that be?

“I warned you not to oppose Han Qing. He’s a dangerous and mysterious man,” Zhao Chengzhang said helplessly, now caught in a dilemma.

Not only was he at a loss, he couldn’t even predict what might happen next.

“Impossible. The Bai family was ruined by them before—how could Han Qing let bygones be bygones and help him?” The old master thought back carefully, sensing something was amiss.

He hesitated.

In haste, he wrote a letter, requesting assistance from the Inspector in Luojing, explaining that their incense shop in Beijun City had been sabotaged.

But Lin Fei, at this moment, seemed unwilling to intervene.

He refused to reply.

Instead, he wrote sincerely to another:

“Brother Han, I left too hastily. Did you like the gift I sent?”

Just a couple of lines, but Han Qing understood.

So he had intentionally sold the secret formula for incense to Old Master Zhao?