Li Tai Faces Criticism; The

It could be said that Li Tai was truly unfortunate.

After much deliberation with his gang of idle friends, the person they decided upon to preside over the poetry gathering turned out to be Yu Shinan, the Deputy Secretary. This elderly man appeared frail and delicate, but his temper was anything but gentle. The moment Li Tai shared his idea with Yu Shinan, the latter’s face darkened instantly.

Without any courtesy, Yu Shinan questioned him, "Your Highness, are you at all aware of the current situation across the Great Tang?"

Li Tai let out an awkward "Ah," and weakly responded, "Isn’t the Crown Prince acting as regent these days? Has something happened?"

Yu Shinan frowned and pressed, "Are you not aware that both Liangzhou and Longzhou are facing the threat of a total crop failure?"

Li Tai shook his head in confusion.

Ever since Li Shimin left Chang’an, Li Tai had completely indulged himself. In his mind, with Li Chengqian handling state affairs, there was no need for him to take the spotlight. He might as well use this opportunity to strengthen bonds with the retainers in his own household. So these days, if he wasn’t composing poetry with scholars in his residence, he was wandering the gardens and boasting with scions of noble families. The only matter he paid occasional attention to was the compilation of a set of geography books. As a result, he knew nothing at all about the current disasters.

Seeing him shake his head, Yu Shinan became even sterner, "When His Majesty was present, Your Highness would come every few days to discuss state affairs. Why now do you show such indifference?"

This blunt remark made Li Tai flush scarlet. The old man showed him no mercy, barely stopping short of accusing him of having only ever feigned diligence before.

Li Tai stammered for some time before finally saying, "I have been wholly absorbed in my studies of late, and so neglected these matters."

Yu Shinan replied, "Since His Majesty has granted you the authority to establish the Literary Institute, Your Highness is obliged to participate in state affairs. How can you treat such matters lightly?"

Li Tai’s brow knit tightly. This old man seemed determined not to let anything slide, forever harping on his minor faults. He took a moment to collect his thoughts before saying, "The Crown Prince is currently regent. My actions are merely to avoid suspicion."

Although Yu Shinan could see that Li Tai’s words were not entirely sincere, the reasoning he gave left little room for further argument. He advised, "With so much happening in court, I urge Your Highness to postpone the poetry gathering, lest others seize upon it as a pretext for attack."

Li Tai knew Yu Shinan spoke out of genuine concern for his welfare.

Without hesitation, he readily agreed.

Though Yu Shinan had given Li Tai a stern rebuke that day, he had, in fact, helped him greatly. Otherwise, while all the ministers were busy dealing with disaster relief, had Li Tai been seen idling about in frivolous pursuits, trouble would surely have followed.

In the days that followed, Li Tai managed to restrain himself, and not long after, Li Zhi’s cosmetics workshop officially began production.

Li Zhi gave the cosmetics a new name: "Splendid Beauty."

The target customers were clear—wealthy noblewomen and daughters of great families. These women lacked neither money nor status; their only concern was their own beauty. To make themselves more attractive than others, they would willingly and eagerly spend on anything that could enhance their appearance.

The cosmetics continued the practice of scarcity marketing, but Li Zhi went further, dividing the products into three tiers: high, middle, and low. The ingredients in all three grades were nearly the same, but the precise proportions were adjusted. After all, even among the wealthy, there were different classes, and Li Zhi had to consider their varying purchasing power.

In terms of pricing, Pei Mingli was an expert. He set the three-tiered gift boxes at ten, twenty, and forty strings of coins, respectively, fully reflecting the exclusivity of the highest tier.

As expected, "Splendid Beauty" caused an immediate sensation upon its release. For the first time, the noblewomen of Chang’an encountered a product that could enhance their allure. A wave of purchasing frenzy swept them into the specialty store.

The trial samples were the first to be used up, and soon after, all grades of the gift boxes were snatched up amid delighted exclamations. Fifty sets of each grade were nowhere near enough to meet the demand in Chang’an.

Very soon, the shop was filled with escalating voices of bidding. The noblewomen began offering higher prices in the hope of securing a set for themselves the next day.

Pei Mingli had perfected the art of hype. No matter how much the ladies tried to outbid each other, he simply registered their orders in sequence, strictly adhering to the shop’s principle: the retail price would never be raised arbitrarily.

The aim was to leave ample profit for the shrewd speculators, letting them sell the products to other regions of the Tang. Through this process, the exclusivity and rarity of "Splendid Beauty" would be endlessly amplified, further enhancing its brand value in return.

Many wealthy men in Chang’an were soon cursing Pei Mingli to no end, for the advent of cosmetics had quickly cost them a fortune. They had no choice but to pay up—some even had to steel themselves and hand over the money with a heavy heart. After all, money could be earned back, but if trouble brewed at home, they couldn’t be sure they’d be able to quell it.

Soon, the streets and alleys of Chang’an were filled with elegantly dressed women and girls, ruby-lipped and fragrant-scarved, eager to show off having secured their cosmetics. They no longer cared for the summer’s heat, wishing only to display their beauty to all.

Before the appearance of "Splendid Beauty," every woman who applied makeup had to smear a layer of lead powder upon her face. Though it seemed to whiten the complexion, prolonged use would turn the skin sallow and ashen, transforming a young maiden into a haggard matron in no time. After the lead powder, rouge was applied—a simple mixture of imported safflower and ox marrow, which quickly dried and crumbled, leaving stains on every garment. Eyebrow pencils were nothing more than the charred remains of willow twigs, utterly lacking in elegance.

Li Zhi’s new cosmetics were all refined extracts of various plants and medicinal herbs. The eyebrow pencil he crafted resembled a modern graphite pencil in form. As for lipstick, it far surpassed the so-called lip ointments of old: richer in color, subtler in fragrance, and vastly superior in moisturizing effect.

The new cosmetics not only made the women far more beautiful, but also greatly reduced the hassles of makeup. All of Chang’an seemed to be graced with a gentle, lingering fragrance as a result.