He walked around the military camp in his new clothes with a stern face, then returned to his tent and rolled his eyes. All day had passed, and those guys who didn't even notice he had changed into new clothes.
Idiot, moron.
You want him to speak up on his own initiative?
That's absolutely impossible.
He eventually gave up, went back to the training ground, and then led his men home.
Wei Li led his men through the main street of Buxian, where it was completely silent and deserted, with not even a dog in sight.
He flicked the corner of his clothes, wondering if he was really that scary.
In March, the weather in Pingzhou is unpredictable, with periods of cold followed by periods of warmth. During the day, the ground may thaw and become muddy, while at night, it may freeze over again and be covered in snow.
Today was the warmest day in half a month. As the ice and snow melted, muddy water flowed on the streets, mixed with twigs and dead leaves.
Wei Li squinted slightly as he looked at the warm sun and stopped in front of a cosmetics shop.
I can't let my new clothes go to waste; someone has to see them.
He glanced sideways at the dirty mud on the ground, cracking his whip without dismounting.
The man behind, understanding the unspoken meaning, took off his clothes and spread them on the ground. Wei Li stepped on the man's clothes and entered the shop, giving him a rather approving look.
He's good at reading people's expressions; he'd make excellent material for a eunuch.
The guard felt a sudden chill run down his spine.
My lord changed his clothes today, and even wore new boots to match them, but they got dirty. He'll be angry and unhappy about it later.
She's not usually this fussy and delicate, but the clothes were made for her by the lady last month, and once she put them on, she started to act fussy and delicate along with them.
The shop was closed because Wei Li was passing by. The guards pounded on the door, making a loud banging noise. The people inside hesitated for a long time.
To open or not to open? They definitely don't want to open, but if they don't, Wei Li and his men will rush in, and they might die even worse than if they didn't open the door.
After much hesitation, he finally opened the door with his men.
Hengniang bent low, wishing she could disappear into the ground, wondering what she had done to offend Wei Li that would warrant such a grand visit from him. After much thought, the only person she could have had contact with Wei Li was the one who sold his wife's rouge and face powder last month.
Before Wei Li could speak, she quickly said.
"My lord, you are wise. Our business is transparent and fair, and we treat everyone fairly. These are all high-quality goods transported from Yangzhou, thousands of miles away. Not to mention the cost, the transportation fees alone are a huge expense. Right now, things are in chaos. When the rouge is transported through various prefectures, the toll fees at the city gates have doubled. I didn't charge extra for the rouge and face powder that I sell to my wife."
Needless to say, the quality is also excellent. We're a small business, we wouldn't dare to adulterate our products. If you don't like it or find it unsuitable, we'll refund your money. Please, have mercy on my family and this shop; we depend on this for our livelihood.
Wei Li sneered. He was quite eloquent; no wonder he could fool Zhao Xiheng, who had no opinions of her own, into buying enough lip rouge for her next life.
He casually found a chair, lifted his robe, sat down, crossed his left leg over his right, and leaned back lazily, just like that bully.
Hengniang's legs trembled, and she wondered if he was really angry?
"Let me see the lip rouge." He spoke through his nose, his words muffled, and the tips of his ears were slightly red.
Hengniang didn't hear clearly, so she mustered up her courage and asked again, "What? My lord, I am too stupid to hear clearly, please say it again."
"Lip rouge." Wei Li touched the tip of his nose, turned his head away, and uttered two indistinct sounds, his face turning slightly red.
Last month, he took most of Zhao Xiheng's lip rouge. That stingy girl clearly had so much, but she insisted on arguing with him about that small box, bringing it up from time to time.
He's such a cheapskate, so annoying.
Hengniang knelt on the ground, almost crying. Was there something wrong with Wei Li's tongue, or was it that her hearing was already failing at such a young age? She didn't dare to ask anymore.
Fortunately, Chen Ruojiang saved her. He cleared his throat and pronounced two words clearly, "lip rouge".
"Yes, yes, I'll go right away." Hengniang ran off to find the lip rouge.
Wei Li glared fiercely at Chen Ruojiang, then kicked him. "Who asked you to be so talkative?"
Chen Ruojiang silently chuckled to himself. His lord was thick-skinned, so thick that not even a needle could pierce him. But at a time like this, it was no big deal. Why couldn't he even speak clearly?
Hengniang went to the storeroom, and Wei Li walked around the shop. The shop was quite large, and the items inside were dazzling and varied. In the center of the shop, there was a long, walnut-sized gilded jar covered with a glass cover, which looked like it was for storing lip rouge.
He raised his hand, lifted the glass cover, and took out the gilded jar.
Chen Ruojiang was afraid that he would smash the glass cover, so he quickly reached out to catch it.
Glassware is quite expensive. For a small business like this, each piece costs a lot of money. Judging from the appearance, the item inside the cover must be one of the store's prized possessions.
Wei Li held the small gilded jar in his hand and stroked it gently.
Exquisite and extraordinary, it shines brightly under the clever arrangement of candlelight, exuding an air of wealth and luxury.
He smiled slightly. Zhao Xiheng was quite good at saving him money. The gold box didn't cost much. He had already bought the rouge and lipstick, so what was missing was a gold casing?
He opened the lid, his face instantly turning red, then quickly closed it again and threw the item back onto the table as if it were burning hot.
Hengniang came over carrying a box of lip rouge, and this was the scene she saw. She suddenly found it hard to breathe, and her heart felt like it was being squeezed.
Her prized possession!
But that person was Wei Li, so even if he smashed her shop, she could only swallow her anger and resentment.
Hearing the noise, Wei Li turned his head to look, cleared his throat, and said to Heng Niang, "What is this? It's disgusting!"
Hengniang's face fell.
Wei Li is now in charge not only about whether the people of Pingzhou celebrate the New Year and other festivals, but also about what's on display in their shops.
"My lord, these are for the shop's treasury. The erotic pictures inside are for warding off evil spirits."
Erotic paintings mainly depict men and women having intercourse, implying harmony between yin and yang. They are considered upright and have been used since ancient times to ward off evil spirits when placed under a pillow.
Wei Li blushed, pretending nothing had happened, and asked her to bring him the lipstick so he could see it.
Just as Hengniang was about to introduce him, Wei Li gave her a look and said, "You don't need to tell me, I'll see for myself."
Heng Niang, "..."
Okay, she silently shut up and stepped back.
There were ten kinds of lip rouge in the box. Hengniang thought that men didn't know much about these things, and if she gave them too many, they would be overwhelmed and easily make mistakes. So she simply took out the ten best-selling colors.
Wei Li opened them one by one and smelled them. "The smell is off..."
It doesn't look like the can he joked about.
He applied a little of each color to the back of his hand to test them, but they were all too red. If he put them on his lips, he would look like he had eaten a dead child.
Hengniang forced a stiff smile, not expecting Wei Li to know that the taste was off.
"Are there other flavors? What scent would you like?"
Wei Li had no idea what his joke actually tasted like; he couldn't smell it, so he just pretended to be calm and said, "I don't like any of these colors. Bring out everything you have in your house."
Hengniang's expression cracked.
They're so hard to please.
They know nothing, yet they have a lot of demands.
But they still had all the colors that were meant for customers to try out brought out.
Wei Li noticed one of the jars containing a deep pink ointment, which was very pretty and delicate. He smelled it and found it was the same as the one he had been teasing about.
He waved his hand, "This one."
Hengniang couldn't even keep up her smile anymore; her expression was so...
She's had it sitting there for half a year, and apart from the last time Zhao Xiheng asked for the same color, she hasn't sold any more.
Unless someone is too greedy to spend the money, I doubt anyone would buy this color.
The color is bright and vibrant, but it looks incredibly ugly on the lips, almost like the lips are about to fly off the face. Even fair-skinned women would look sallow and vulgar after wearing it.
Wei Li has a really good eye; he was able to accurately select this one from more than sixty colors.
Hengniang was afraid that Wei Li would ruin her shop's reputation if he took him back.
"My lord, this is probably not appropriate. Your wife may not like this color."
Wei Li's face fell when he was refuted, and Heng Niang quickly changed her tune, "But the lady and the lord are deeply in love, and the lady will like whatever color the lord chooses."
Never mind, as long as they're happy.
Wei Li's expression softened slightly. He flicked his clothes, brought his sleeves close to Heng Niang's face, and then quickly moved them away.
Chen Ruojiang wearily straightened Wei Li's sleeves. His lord had been wandering around the southern camp all day, waiting for someone to notice that he had changed into new clothes so he could show off that his wife had bought them for him. But no one had asked about them yet, so he was holding back his energy and went to a cosmetics shop to pose and try to attract attention to his clothes.
If the shopkeeper were sensible, he would have complimented the master's clothes.
Hengniang noticed that he had been patting his clothes several times since he entered the shop, and couldn't help but shift her gaze to Wei Li's clothes.
The material is good, and the workmanship is good, but...
This fabric seems to be almost a year out of style; she saw the shopkeeper next door having a clearance sale a while ago.
Forget it, she shut up and didn't say anything. Who gave her the audacity to say that Wei Li's clothes were made of outdated material?
Wei Li took a deep breath; they were all a bunch of fools.
He placed the lip rouge on the table, and then put the gilded jar on it as well.
"I accidentally dropped it just now, maybe I hurt myself, I'll buy this one too." He said seriously and righteously, and took out a piece of gold for Hengniang.
Hengniang glanced at the gilded jar; it didn't seem to be damaged.
But Wei Li was willing to pay three times the price to buy it, so she was naturally happy to see it happen.
Wei Li, carrying two small boxes the size of fists, rode home at top speed.
He entered the courtyard and placed the rouge in Zhao Xiheng's arms, saying, "This is for you."
Then he ran away in a hurry.
"Did he get a burn on his butt?" Zhao Xiheng muttered to herself, watching the silver chain on his ear gleam in the lamplight.
She touched her earlobes and thought about getting her ears pierced and wearing pretty earrings.
Wei Li bit his lip with his canine teeth and slammed the study door shut.
Looking around, my heart was pounding. Looking at the inscription "Purity of Mind and Few Desires" above my head, I felt a surge of anger. I stepped onto a chair, took it off, crumpled it up, and threw it away.
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