Qiao Lian'er opened the box, which was full of makeup products, as well as water, lotion and the like. She had found these by chance in the warehouse, but they were not free supplies and she still needed to spend some gold coins to buy them.
"These are for makeup. Makeup done with these things looks much better than makeup done with other things."
Cosmetics from ancient times, such as rouge and face powder, contained a high amount of lead, which could lead to poisoning if used for a long time. Moreover, the stone ink used to draw eyebrows was applied very lightly.
Lingyin looked at these things, bottle after bottle, jar after jar, all very fine, and her eyes were full of novelty.
Qiao Lian'er first moisturized her, applied foundation, setting powder, nose contour, highlighter, and then drew her eyebrows and did her eye makeup.
Lingyin had good facial features; she had big eyes, a high nose bridge, and a good face shape, so she didn't need to put much effort into adjusting them. As she progressed through the steps, the person in the mirror gradually improved, becoming radiant. Finally, she applied red lipstick, and a lifelike beauty appeared in the mirror.
Qiao Lian'er thought to herself, Ling Yin is still pretty, but she's usually busy taking care of the household and doesn't take care of herself much.
Lingyin stared in disbelief at her reflection in the mirror. Good heavens, was that really her?
Her eyes were sparkling with starlight, and she held her face in her hands, yet dared not actually touch it, afraid of ruining her makeup.
"Lian'er, I only have one thought right now."
"What?"
"It's like welding this makeup onto my face."
Qiao Lian'er laughed: "Want to let my older brother take a look?"
Lingyin got up almost immediately to go out, but turned back as soon as she reached the door.
"No, it would be such a waste to let him see such a beautiful makeup now. I want to give him a surprise on that day."
She grabbed Qiao Lian'er's hand again: "Lian'er, this makeup is so complicated. I looked at it very carefully just now, but I've forgotten it all now. When the day comes, will you do my makeup?"
“Okay,” Qiao Lian’er agreed.
Lingyin was very happy. She opened her arms and hugged her, then kissed her on the cheek, leaving a lip print on her lips.
"Ah, I didn't know this would get on my skin." Lingyin quickly looked for a handkerchief.
"No need for that, it won't clean properly."
Qiao Lian'er picked up the makeup remover, poured a little onto a cotton pad, and gently removed the lip print.
"Sister Lingyin, tonight, do this: remove all the stuff from your face, then use this." She picked up a bottle of facial cleanser: "Pour a little into your hand, lather it with water, and use it to wash your face; it will clean it very well."
"No, I haven't seen enough yet, how can I wash it?"
Qiao Lian'er covered her mouth and laughed: "Sister Lingyin, you must wash these off, otherwise you'll get pimples and damage your skin."
"Ah." Lingyin looked disappointed. "Then let's wash it."
In the main room, Old Master Qiao said apologetically, "I also want to get this marriage done as soon as possible, but the grain requisition team hasn't gone far yet, so it's not appropriate to have a big banquet. We have to wait. We've already gone through the proper formalities, and we came with the utmost sincerity. We will never wrong our in-laws."
“Brother Qiao, I understand. We do need to be more careful with these kinds of things. It’s better to hold both banquets together. We can’t be careless. You’ve thought things through.” Ling Laosan agreed.
The Qiao family originally decided on twelve taels, but later added six more taels, making a total of eighteen taels.
Qiu carried the box of betrothal money and walked towards the house.
On top of the betrothal gifts were three silver pieces bought by the Qiao family. They were quite heavy and inlaid with gold.
Such a large dowry and gifts show how much the Qiao family values her. They are confident that Yin Ya will have a good life in the future.
Someone peered inside from the doorway and asked, "Young lady, how much dowry did the Qiao family give?"
Qiu Shi's steps faltered. This man was Lu the Cripple from the village. A few days ago, when those people came to collect taxes, someone secretly hid some silver. Lu the Cripple reported this to the tax collection team, which caused great suffering to that family. Not only was all the silver confiscated, but they were also beaten dozens of times and are still unable to get out of bed.
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