Qianjin Makeup
Wang Huizhen's husband was Wei Jianyuan, the Minister of Works, while Guo Sulan's husband was Yu Haoying, the Minister of Rites. Wei Jianyuan managed the Ministry of Works, and Yu Haoying managed the Ministry of Rites. Since they both held the position of Minister, their wives were naturally of equal status.
However, since the marriage between the Yu family and the Wang family was arranged, the balance between the two families has been broken, or rather, the balance between Guo Sulan and Wang Huizhen has been broken.
Guo Sulan began to act arrogantly in front of Wang Huizhen. In fact, there was no real conflict between Wang Huizhen and Guo Sulan. The only friction between them was during the time when Zuo Murui was arranging a marriage for Xie Zhuo.
When the news spread that Zuo Murui was going to arrange a marriage between Xie Zhuo and Zuo Murui, portraits of most of the eligible noble ladies in the capital were sent to the Prince Duan's mansion.
Wang Huizhen was no exception. After hearing that the Prince's Mansion wanted to find a wife for the heir, she thought that her own daughter was also very suitable. She had both good looks and talent, so she sent her daughter's portrait to the Prince's Mansion through a matchmaker.
Guo Sulan coveted Ya Dan's position as Crown Princess and secretly competed with Wang Huizhen quite a bit.
Coincidentally, around that time, news spread in the capital that the Prince Duan's family intended to usurp the throne. Faced with such a sudden change in the situation, all the families that had previously intended to form marriage alliances with the Prince's family backed down. Only Guo Sulan gritted her teeth and stomped her foot, taking the gamble!
Of course, she eventually succeeded in her gamble.
Relying on her friendship with Zuo Murui, she demonstrated the Yu family's loyalty and compassion when the Prince's mansion was embroiled in rumors. Zuo Murui was deeply moved and decided to arrange a marriage between the Yu family and the Yu family.
Logically, things should have reached this point, and the friction between Wang Huizhen and Guo Sulan should have ended. However, Guo Sulan openly and subtly praised the Wang family's high standards and talked about how outstanding her daughter, Yadan, was, which greatly angered Wang Huizhen.
Guo Sulan's praise of the Prince's Mansion, saying that the mansion had high standards, was undoubtedly a belittling of her daughter, implying that her daughter was not good enough to be chosen by the mansion.
This kind of praise-one-against-one approach made her very angry.
Therefore, Wang Huizhen was already dissatisfied with Xie Zhuo and Yu Yadan's engagement. Now that she heard that someone was actually trying to snatch someone away from Yu Yadan, she was determined to join in the fun.
*
Wang Huizhen quickly found out who the "merchant girl" was—Fu Zhiqiao.
Then they learned that her shop was called Fuyun Pavilion. The person who inquired also sent back a message saying that Fuyun Pavilion would be holding a makeover event open only to members, and Fu Zhi Qiao, as the owner, would be attending in person.
As luck would have it, the time was set for a few days later.
"It's like heaven is helping me!" Wang Huizhen was extremely excited. How could she not be there for such a lively scene!
Wang Huizhen immediately recharged her account with one thousand taels of silver at Fuyun Pavilion. After reaching the membership threshold, she attended the makeover event as promised and met Fu Zhiqiao in person.
She is indeed a rare and stunning beauty.
Her skin was as white as snow, her figure graceful and slender. She wore a long, flowing dress with a smoky blue hibiscus pattern, fitted at the waist and with puffed sleeves. A white brocade belt around her waist made her waist appear even more delicate and slender.
Her hairstyle was a neat and simple updo, with her jet-black hair held up with a red jade and coral hairpin. A pearl hairpin with tassels hanging from it adorned the updo, and the tassels swayed on her head as she spoke, making her look as beautiful as a fairy descended from heaven.
Indeed, she is more beautiful than the flowers.
The threshold for becoming a member of Fuyun Pavilion is not low; those who can become members are either rich or noble. Yet, a mere merchant girl can stand among a group of dignitaries, speaking eloquently and without any fear.
Wang Huizhen immediately held her in higher regard.
The beauty smiled gently, with an elegant demeanor and a scholarly air about her. Her every move exuded composure and self-satisfaction, without a trace of timidity or vulgarity. Instead, she seemed more like a daughter carefully raised by a wealthy family.
Before meeting Fu Zhi Qiao in person, she thought Fu Zhi Qiao would be a charming woman who could attract men with her good looks.
After meeting her in person, Wang Huizhen realized that her thinking was too narrow-minded.
Fu Zhi Qiao's outstanding qualities are not only her beauty, but also her elegant demeanor. In this room, where everyone else is either a noblewoman or a young lady from a wealthy family, everyone else becomes her foil after Fu Zhi Qiao appears.
To be fair, if she were a man, she would also be attracted to a woman like that.
It's true that men love beautiful women, but most men are shrewd and usually won't bring their extramarital affairs to their wives' attention.
Given the Crown Prince's power and status, hiding Fu Zhiqiao wouldn't have been difficult, but he didn't do that, nor did he try to cover it up. Instead, he let his fiancée know that he had someone else in his heart.
Wang Huizhen, having been through similar experiences, understood perfectly well that the young master was fundamentally dissatisfied with the marriage arranged by the family!
The enemy of my enemy is my friend.
Wang Huizhen's smile widened even more when she thought of Fu Zhiqiao, the person who had caused Yu Yadan to suffer.
For Fu Zhi Qiao, what happened at Qin Xi Yu's birthday banquet was an accident. If Yu Ya Dan hadn't jumped around so much and taken the initiative to provoke her, Fu Zhi Qiao would not have paid any attention to her at all.
Moreover, Fu Zhi Qiao didn't usually have much contact with these ladies and young women. The only two people she was close to were Zhou Miao Si and Qin Xi Yu. Zhou Miao Si was about to give birth and didn't care much about outside affairs, and Qin Xi Yu, who knew a little about the situation, wouldn't bother her with such things. Therefore, Fu Zhi Qiao was unaware that she had become the subject of discussion in the elite ladies' circle.
In less than half an incense stick's time, Fu Zhi Qiao had finished her makeup. She gestured to the maids on both sides to remove the veil, and Dong Yun Ting's figure reappeared before everyone's eyes.
Just a little makeup can transform a person completely!
Dong Yunting has a round face and no major flaws in her features. Her problem is that she hasn't grasped her own style. She shouldn't blindly pursue a youthful look, but rather a graceful and delicate style suits her better.
She washed off the peach blossom makeup and reapplied a more luxurious look.
Before applying the face powder, Fu Zhiqiao took out her small jar, used a small spoon to scoop out a little and applied it to Dong Yunting's face, and then began the rest of the makeup steps.
For the eyebrows, Fu Zhi Qiao used indigo dye, which she had sharpened to a fine point, using the pointed tip to draw individual, distinct eyebrows. Then, she used brown blush to accentuate the outer corners of her eyes and the base of her eyelashes, and finally used reddish-black blush as nose contouring to enhance the bridge of her nose.
A square face makes a person look friendly and kind, but it lacks a sense of nobility. Therefore, when Fu Zhi Qiao was contouring Dong Yun Ting, she specifically adjusted the jawline to make Dong Yun Ting's face appear longer and more refined.
Finally, apply shimmering mica powder to the inner corners of the eyes and the tip of the nose to complete the elegant and sophisticated look.
"How did you do that? You look several years younger!"
"I think he looks at least five years younger!"
“Indeed, Madam Sun doesn’t look like her age at all sitting among us today. Instead, she looks like one of those unmarried girls.”
Really? Dong Yunting couldn't help but reach out and touch her face. She hadn't seen what she looked like with makeup on yet, and now that she heard others praising her, she felt both happy and curious.
Is it really as beautiful as they say?
Fu Zhi Qiao turned to the side so that Dong Yun Ting could see her reflection in the mirror.
Dong Yunting looked closely at her face. Her eyebrows weren't the crescent-shaped eyebrows she usually drew. She now had a completely new eyebrow shape, with the ends slightly upturned, giving her a clever look and instantly making her appear younger.
Her makeup didn't look heavy, but it covered all her blemishes and imperfections, making her look much fresher and completely free of the dullness often associated with middle-aged women.
*
After demonstrating the makeup effect, Dong Yunting happily returned to her seat.
Because the difference before and after was so obvious, everyone looked at Fu Zhiqiao with even more fervor, wishing they could immediately transfer that makeup to their own faces.
Fu Zhi Qiao smiled as she watched everyone's reactions, then beckoned for another waitress to come up. She repeated the makeup technique on the waitress's face, explaining it as she did so.
"First of all, when choosing face powder, just choose one that is slightly lighter than your skin tone. For other rouge and face powder, use lighter colors. Don't worry about the color being too light and not brightening your complexion. Just apply lip rouge."
"Everyone, please pay attention to my technique. When applying eye makeup, use a darker color to blend at the outer corner of the eye to increase the depth of the eyes... Also, the essence of the 'noble lady' makeup' is to apply a little mica powder to the tip of the nose and eyelids. Remember not to use too much; just dab a little mica powder on your finger."
As he spoke, Fu Zhiqiao tapped the maid's nose, and the maid's originally expressionless face immediately came to life.
"Focus on highlighting the tip of your nose to make it more upturned. If you don't want to be too flashy, you don't need to apply mica powder to the tip of your nose; just apply it to the inner corner of your eye."
Dong Yunting has a square face, while the maid has a long, thin face; both face shapes look great with expensive makeup.
With such vivid examples before their eyes, the ladies could no longer contain themselves.
"This sparkly makeup definitely looks luxurious."
"Yes, look at Madam Sun. We are about the same age and our clothes are in similar colors, but she looks younger than me after she puts on her 'rich lady' makeup'."
"Boss Fu, don't keep this a secret. Tell us quickly, which brand of face powder is it that makes your skin look so natural, like you were born with it?"
"Yes, it looks like her skin is naturally like that, it doesn't look out of place at all."
Fu Zhiqiao smiled mysteriously and waved.
A waitress came over with a tray, and Fu Zhiqiao picked up a small jar from the tray, which contained almond oil.
Pressing almond oil was a sudden idea she came up with. Before, because Taibailou was pressing sesame oil, she went to the oil mill out of boredom. Sesame seeds are processed into cakes through drying, roasting, grinding, steaming, and other processes. The last step is to press out the oil.
The oil mill uses the impact pressing method, which involves special tools. First, the oil cake is placed into the pressing trough of the wooden press, and then a heavy hammer weighing over 100 kilograms is used to strike it, and then the golden sesame oil is extracted.
Fu Zhiqiao was inspired by this ancient pressing method. Since sesame seeds can be pressed, can sweet almonds also be pressed?
She followed the same method and pressed out almond oil.
After being left to stand naturally for half a month, the almond oil became clear and had a naturally mellow fragrance. Almond oil has excellent moisturizing effects. She initially planned to use it to moisturize her hands, but after seeing the clear almond oil, she had a flash of inspiration: since almond oil can moisturize hands, it can also moisturize the face, and maybe even be used as a makeup remover!
Without further ado, Fu Zhi Qiao, along with Yin Xing and a group of maids who served her, tested the effects of almond oil. This type of almond oil, which is extracted directly from the raw materials and does not contain any chemical additives, can be applied directly to the face.
After receiving unanimous positive feedback, she devised a way to produce a batch of almond oil.
Fu Zhiqiao took out a small jar of almond oil: "This is the secret!"
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