At first light, in the western side room of Yaohua Garden, twelve tiers of makeup boxes lay neatly stacked on a rosewood dressing table, resembling an exquisite miniature pyramid. However, the exquisite mother-of-pearl box at the top seemed restless. Caressed by the morning light, it slipped and landed with a thud on the already heaped pile of rouge and powder. From this, a drop of lip balm, as vibrant and lustrous as pigeon blood, rolled out.
Su Qingyao sat in front of a bronze mirror, her eyes fixed on her newly drawn eyebrows. The inky black, illuminated by the fresh morning light, seemed too pale, like a smear of ink smeared across rice paper, revealing a sense of unsatisfactoriness. "This color is too pale!" Unable to contain herself, she slammed the screw-shaped eyebrow pencil onto the dressing table. The jade-like penholder collided with the gilded frame, creating a crisp sound that echoed throughout the quiet room.
Chuntao, the personal maid, was standing nearby, holding a freshly opened box of Luozidai powder. Startled by the sudden action, her hand trembled, and she nearly dropped the box. She quickly steadied herself and said cautiously, "Miss, this is the Jiangnan Canal Transport Commissioner's special gift of premium Luozidai..." Before she could finish her words, Su Qingyao impatiently waved her hand and interrupted her.
"Who wants to hear that!" Su Qingyao said irritably, a half-apricot petal carelessly slipping from her sleeve, a perfect reflection of her current turmoil. "Go get my box of 'Zui Liu Xia'! The one Mama Liu brought from the south last time!" she ordered eagerly, her eyes revealing a hint of eagerness and determination.
Chuntao was stunned. That box of "Zui Liu Xia" was a rare treasure that the young lady had spent fifty taels of silver on and gone through great trouble to obtain. Normally, the young lady treasured it so dearly that she wouldn't even allow anyone to touch it. "Young lady, that's not your most precious thing..." Chuntao said, looking embarrassed, trying to remind the young lady.
"Just take it if I tell you to!" Su Qingyao stomped her feet, and the pearl necklaces on her embroidered shoes rustled like a series of rapid drumbeats. She couldn't help but think of the image of Su Jinli she saw in the front yard this morning - the girl was wearing a moon-white skirt that was slightly washed out, holding an arithmetic book in her hands, and walked gracefully under the crabapple tree. There was not even a trace of rouge on her plain face, but her eyes were as bright as two clear springs, clear and moving. She was obviously more beautiful than herself, but she had to go out with no makeup on, which was a waste of nature's gift! Thinking of this, Su Qingyao became more and more anxious, and urged Chuntao to quickly get the box of "Zui Liuxia".
Meanwhile, inside Suiyu Pavilion, the window frames were already covered in delicate roses. Sunlight gently filtered through the layers of petals, scattering onto the spread-out arithmetic notebooks, casting a translucent veil over her mother's elegant handwriting, as if shrouded in a dreamy veil. Su Jinli was agonizing over the complex "Nine Returns" formula. Her fingertips slowly traced the abacus, mumbling to herself, but she accidentally dialed "Eight, one, two" instead of "Seven, one, three."
Lu'e, carrying the copper basin, walked into the house with light steps. Seeing the ink stain on the tip of the young lady's nose, which had been stained at some point, and the naive look on her face, Lu'e almost laughed out loud. However, at this moment, a familiar and slightly hurried sound of footsteps could be heard at the gate. "Miss, look who's coming!" Lu'e hurriedly warned.
As soon as she finished speaking, Su Qingyao, dressed in a pomegranate-red, gold-embroidered silk gown, burst in like a blazing flame. In her hands was a brocade box, over a foot long, embroidered with intricate and exquisite lotus patterns, the stitches meticulously crafted to look lifelike. Her eyes swept across Su Jinli's pale face, her eyebrows instantly raised, and she said with a hint of anger, "Su Jinli, look at this face for yourself!"
Su Jinli raised her head upon hearing the voice. The ink dot on the tip of her nose swayed slightly with her movements. She looked a little silly and cute. "Elder sister?"
"Stop talking nonsense!" Su Qingyao walked straight to the table and slammed the brocade box in her hand onto it with such force that the abacus beads rattled. The lid of the box suddenly popped open under the impact, and in an instant, twelve colors of rouge and powder shone brightly in the sunlight, competing for beauty. Among them, the most eye-catching was the box of "Zui Liuxia". The color of the cream was like the gorgeous sunset in the sky, and it exuded a subtle and charming floral fragrance, as if it could instantly transport you to a dreamlike fairyland. "Come here, sister will put on your makeup!" Su Qingyao said without hesitation.
Su Jinli subconsciously tried to dodge, but Su Qingyao was quick-witted and grabbed her wrist. The pomegranate-red sleeve gently brushed against the hem of her moon-white skirt, like a flame quietly licking the pure white silk. The light and dark created a sharp and moving contrast. "Why are you hiding? A woman can be untalented, but she can't be unattractive! Look at your lips, they're as white as a newly deceased woman!" Su Qingyao said as she picked up a goat-hair lip pencil, lightly dipped it in "Zui Liuxia", and then smeared it on Su Jinli's lips without saying anything. The rouge was delicate and silky, with a slightly warm touch, as if it carried the care and warmth of an older sister.
Su Jinli quickly turned her head away, with a hint of helplessness in her eyes: "Eldest sister, I still need to study arithmetic..."
"What are you reading?" Su Qingyao rolled her eyes, her carefully applied nail polish brushing against Su Jinli's jaw. "Will books help you stand out in the poetry club? Li Xiuyuan's poetry club is so popular with all the prominent ladies in the capital. If you don't dress up beautifully, how are you going to stand out from Lin Wanyue and her gang?" Su Qingyao said, gently waving the lip pencil in the air, as if to emphasize her point.
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