The Hidden Diary
Two months after the first news from the Northern Frontier, Lingnan had settled into a peaceful rhythm.
Bai Rouyuan spent her mornings at the Sacred Lotus Pavilion, afternoons studying the Wen businesses, and evenings reading her mother's old fragrance manuscripts.
One quiet afternoon, while exploring her mother's abandoned wing, she discovered a small wooden cabinet that looked slightly… uneven.
Curious, she pushed it.
Click.
A compartment slid open.
Inside lay a thin, blue notebook wrapped in silk.
Her hands trembled as she lifted it.
On the cover, written in elegant characters: "Diary of Wen Rouying."
Rouyuan's vision blurred.
She opened it slowly.
Her Mother's Words
'Today I met a soldier with eyes like winter and a heart like blazing fire. He tried so hard to hide his pain.'
Rouyuan smiled softly.
'His name is Bai Longyuan. He does not know how to hold a conversation… but knows how to hold honour.'
Rouyuan's throat tightened.
'I want to help him. I don't know why.'
Page after page was filled with gentle entries about her father—
Their first meeting,
Their shared moments treating soldiers,
The winter silk she secretly sent.
Then, the tone shifted.
'My husband is brave… but the Bai clan is cruel.'
'I hear whispers. I feel eyes watching.'
'But I must endure for Yunchen, Yanyu, and my little Rouyuan.'
Rouyuan's tears finally fell.
Her mother…had suffered alone.
The last entry was heartbreaking.
'If something happens to me…please let my children be safe.'
Rouyuan held the diary to her chest.
"Mom," she whispered, voice trembling, "I will live well. I will protect them all."
From that moment, she knew—
Her fragrance pavilion would not just be a business.
It would be her mother's legacy reborn.
Four Years Later
Time passed in a gentle blur.
Bai Rouyuan was now fourteen years old.
She had her mother's beauty—soft, radiant, luminous, bright, elegant and graceful, though she kept wearing her veil for convenience and safety.
Bai Yanyu has become a young strategist. Patriarch Wen Shisheng hired the best teachers for him.
The boy absorbed knowledge like a sponge, his mind razor-sharp.
Wen Xianyi grew into a brilliant merchant. She followed Rouyuan everywhere, handling accounts, negotiating prices, managing supply routes.
The Wen Clan adored both cousins - They were proud, protective, and supportive.
Rouyuan trained tirelessly.
She went back and forth to the Sacred Lotus Pavilion, learning medicine, herbs, scents, smoke formulas, and incense craft from Master Su Yuelian.
And slowly, her creativity blossomed.
The Birth of Fragrance Pavilion
By the time Rouyuan was twelve, she had mastered all the skills of perfume blending, essential oil extraction, powdered makeup, herbal soaps, hair oils, scented shampoo formula, perfume incense, medicinal fragrance therapy and soothing balms making.
Her workshop grew too small for her inventions.
So, Patriarch Wen Shisheng, moved by her talent and his granddaughter's spirit, announced, "From today onward, we will build a new pavilion for Rouyuan."
The clan erupted in joy.
The workers laboured day and night.
The finished building was exquisite— white walls, pink lotus columns, golden lanterns.
They named it: Yunyan Pavilion — Pavilion of Fragrant Clouds.
Rouyuan want to continue using her mom pavilion name, Huayan Pavillion, but her grandfather said that Huayan Pavilion will be the main workshop, but Yunyan Pavillion will be the boutique store selling all the products she made.
And it hers.
When the doors of Yunyan Pavillion opened…
The air inside glowed with drifting incense, shimmering oils, and rows of glass bottles shaped like lotus buds adorned with gemstones and decorations.
Customers from all corners of Lingnan City lined up instantly.
Wen Xianyi flipped her long hair proudly, "Leave the selling to me!"
Rouyuan laughed behind her veil, "Try not to scare them, Ah Yi."
Rouyuan's First Perfume
Late one night, after years of studying her mother's fragrance manuscripts and her modern-life memories, Rouyuan finally succeeded.
A single drop of the perfume landed on a porcelain plate.
The scent unfurled—Lotus. Jasmine. Soft amber. A hint of moonlit dew.
Wen Xianyi inhaled sharply, "Ah Yuan… this smell… it's BEAUTIFUL!"
Bai Yanyu nodded solemnly, "It feels like… Mom's scent."
Rouyuan smiled, tears forming.
She named it: Lotus Dreams
It sold out in a week.
Noble ladies. Merchants' wives. Even scholars.
All wanted the soft, dreamlike scent.
Thus began the rise of Yunyan Pavilion—the first self-produce fragrance house in the Southern Silk Region in decades.
Ruyan's Expanding Empire
Ruyan later planned forward for her business.
Her products soon included: Lotus Dreams Perfume, Osmanthus Mist Hair Oil, Cloud-Silk Shampoo, Snow Berry Soap, Jade Petal Face Powder, Healing Incense for Sleep, and Anti-fatigue Herbal Perfume.
Shipments left for nearby cities.
Merchants begged for partnerships.
Even the Wen Clan stores sold out weekly.
Wen Xianyi, calculating profit on her abacus, squealed: "Ah Yuan, we're rich! WE'RE RICH!"
Rouyuan only smiled softly.
It was never about money.
It was about her mother.
Her legacy.
Her fragrance.
Her life.
Medicine for Bai Yunchen
Every month, Rouyuan created special medicine kits—stronger, more effective, infused with medical-grade herbs from the Sacred Lotus Pavilion.
News from the north came sporadically, but Bai Yunchen's letters always arrived safely.
Each time, Rouyuan read them with trembling hands.
'Ah Yuan, your perfume keeps my tent warm. The men call it 'the scent of home.' Thank you."
"Xiao Yu, your strategies helped us trap an enemy scout troop."
"Ah Yi, thank you for the ridiculous drawings. Stop drawing me as a chicken with a spear."
Wen Xianyi cackled proudly.
Rouyuan pressed every letter to her heart and prayed.
Every night.
For her brother.
For her father.
For their survival.