Subtle No-Makeup Makeup
The markets in the capital were bustling with activity, teeming with people and filled with the constant calls of vendors.
"Girl, this place is even more lively than the market in Qingzhou!" Yinxing followed behind Fu Zhiqiao with a string of candied hawthorns in her hand, her eyes full of joy at seeing something new.
Fu Zhi Qiao originally wanted to browse through the general stores in the capital to see what special seasonings or spices she could use in cooking. However, after walking for quite a while, she couldn't find a general store. When she asked a passerby, she realized she had gone to the wrong place. She was currently in the west of the city, and if she wanted to buy seasonings, she should go to the Sitong Market in the south of the city.
The saying "East is noble, west is rich, south is poor, north is lowly" basically summarizes the layout of the capital city.
The east side was inhabited by high-ranking officials and nobles, while the west side was mostly inhabited by wealthy gentry. The south and north sides were where ordinary people lived.
Fu Zhi Qiao estimated the distance; it would take half an hour by carriage to get from the west to the south of the city, and she only had two legs. Oh well, she'd go to the south of the city next time.
Since she couldn't buy any seasonings, Fu Zhiqiao simply took Yinxing for a stroll, visiting pastry shops, antique shops, and pawnshops.
As I was thinking about where to go next, a familiar voice rang out.
"Sister Zhi Qiao, it really is you!" Zhou Miaosi had just come out of the jewelry shop when she saw a familiar figure.
After their last meeting at Yong'an Temple, Zhou Miaosi sent her servants to inquire about Fu Zhiqiao's whereabouts. However, the capital city was too large, and she did not know where Fu Zhiqiao lived, so the servants had to return empty-handed.
Fortunately, we ran into each other again today.
Zhou Miaosi warmly invited Fu Zhiqiao to go shopping with her. Before Fu Zhiqiao could agree, Zhou Miaosi pulled her to the rouge shop next door. Accompanying Zhou Miaosi was Qin Xiuqi's younger sister, Qin Xiyu. The two smiled and nodded as a greeting.
The cosmetics and face powders in Zhenfang Pavilion were all the most fashionable at the time, making it one of the most popular places for women in the capital.
Qin Xiyu was clearly a regular customer here. As soon as she entered, she asked, "Madam Chen, do you have any new goods today?"
A middle-aged woman dressed in a flamboyant manner came forward to greet her. "It's Miss Qin! What a coincidence! A new lip rouge just arrived yesterday, which is perfect for a young lady like you."
"Really? Bring it here for us to see!" Qin Xiyu immediately became excited upon hearing about the new goods.
Girls in the capital, especially those from wealthy families, loved to dress up, in addition to learning basic music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. They were well aware of which fabric shop had new fabrics, which jewelry shop had new designs, and which embroidery shop had the best craftsmanship.
Madam Chen led the three of them to a private seat, where maids stood by with trays, displaying small, exquisite rouge boxes for them to choose from.
Fu Zhiqiao took a box of face powder and tried it on her hand. "Not bad, the powder is fine and the scent is light and pleasant."
Upon hearing the praise, Madam Chen's eyebrows practically flew off in a smile. "This young lady is truly an expert! This Butterfly-Welcoming Powder is a new product developed by our Zhenfang Pavilion."
Zhou Miaosi overheard their conversation and, while selecting rouge, introduced Fu Zhiqiao to Qin Xiyu, praising Fu Zhiqiao's outstanding makeup skills. Qin Xiyu's eyes lit up, and she looked eager to try it out.
Qin Xiyu reached out and took Fu Zhiqiao's arm, looking at her with her big, watery eyes: "Sister Fu, can you help me with my makeup too?"
Fu Zhi Qiao sighed. She was truly impressed by Zhou Miao Si's persuasive skills. With just a few simple words, she had successfully sold herself off. If Zhou Miao Si lived in the future, she would definitely be a top salesperson!
With her arm grabbed, how could Fu Zhi Qiao possibly refuse?
The service at Zhenfang Pavilion was excellent. As soon as Qin Xiyu wanted to try on makeup on the spot, Madam Chen immediately found them a private room, and the maid helped Qin Xiyu wash off the rouge from her face.
Fu Zhi Qiao redid her makeup, first applying face cream as a base, then a layer of the butterfly powder she had just tried, followed by eyebrow drawing, eye makeup, lip makeup... Fu Zhi Qiao's fingertips moved so fast they seemed to fly, and in just a quarter of an hour, Qin Xi Yu's appearance had undergone a major transformation.
"Miss Qin is dressed in pale yellow today, and your bright red lipstick will further accentuate your skin."
Fu Zhi Qiao looked around the dressing table but didn't see anything that looked like a small brush. So she used her finger to apply lip rouge and traced the outline of Qin Xi Yu's original lip shape, then applied a thick layer of bright red lip rouge from the corner of her mouth to the center.
"Open your mouth and purse your lips."
Fu Zhiqiao folded the handkerchief and put it into Qin Xiyu's mouth. Qin Xiyu took a small sip, and the color on her lips became much lighter. After repeating this step twice, the color of the lip rouge finally reached the effect that Fu Zhiqiao was satisfied with.
Her lips were rosy pink like peach blossoms, and her cheeks were flushed with pink. After completing her makeup, Qin Xiyu looked fresh and youthful, just like a vibrant young girl.
After processing, the lip rouge was a natural red, neither too dark nor too light, and looked just like Qin Xiyu's original lip color.
Qin Xiyu was young, and Fu Zhiqiao gave her a fresh and sweet makeup look. In later terms, this kind of makeup would be called a "scheming natural makeup"!
"Miss Qin, you're all done." Fu Zhiqiao stepped back so that Qin Xiyu could see her reflection in the bronze mirror.
Qin Xiyu stood in front of the mirror, looking at her face, reluctant to look away. Although her skin wasn't as fair as before, she looked even more beautiful. She excitedly asked, "Sister Fu, how did you do that?"
Zhou Miaosi leaned closer to Qin Xiyu's face and looked at her carefully: "Zhiqiao, your technique has improved again. If you don't look closely, no one will even know that Xiyu is wearing makeup."
After Zhou Miaosi finished speaking, she gave Qin Xiyu a smug smile, "Xiyu, I wasn't wrong, was I? Zhi Qiao's makeup skills are absolutely amazing!"
"Miss Qin is naturally beautiful," Fu Zhi Qiao said with a smile in her eyes.
"Just call me by my name, Sister Fu." Qin Xiyu said with a smile, trying to get closer to Fu Zhiqiao.
Fu Zhiqiao readily agreed: "Sister Xiyu."
Madam Chen came over to promote her family's new rouge. She was taken aback when she saw Qin Xiyu's face, but she quickly recovered and said, "Miss Qin is already a beautiful woman. After applying our Zhenfang Pavilion's rouge, she is even more beautiful and charming!"
Qin Xiyu was overjoyed by the praise and bought all the rouge and face powder she had tried.
Fu Zhi Qiao also recommended two types of rouge that suited Zhou Miao Si. After leaving Zhen Fang Ge, Zhou Miao Si asked for Fu Zhi Qiao's address in the capital so that she wouldn't be unable to find her next time.
After parting ways with Zhou Miaosi, Fu Zhiqiao went home, unaware that Zhou Miaosi and Qin Xiyu had attended the Qin family banquet with her makeup on.
The main character of the Qin family banquet today is Qin Biqiao, Qin Zhao's younger sister. She married into the third branch of the Duke of Anguo's mansion and is visiting the old lady today with her children.
The current head of the Ministry of Rites' residence is Qin Zhao. The old master passed away three years ago, and the only remaining elder in the family is the old lady, Madam Lu. She is now sixty-three years old, and half of her hair has turned white, but the youthful beauty can still be seen in her eyes.
The old lady sat in the main seat, with Qin Zhao on her right and Qin Biqiao on her left. Her children and grandchildren were all around her, and the old lady's face was full of joy.
With a smile on her face, Qin Xiyu obediently walked up to the old lady and bowed slightly.
"Grandmother is well."
"Good, good, good!" The old lady looked at the group of younger people and felt very pleased.
In winter, darkness falls early, and the Vice Minister's residence was lit up very early.
The family finished their dinner before noon.
The men of the family were in the outer courtyard, while the girls were all gathered in Qin Xiyu's courtyard.
Qin Xiyu wore a completely new makeup look today, which made her look exceptionally beautiful. Several of her older cousins had already noticed her and curiously gathered around.
Her cousin, Qin Yingyun, who was closest to her and looked at her most carefully, asked in surprise, "Sister Xiyu, your lipstick hasn't come off?"
To maintain their image, the noble ladies ate in small bites to avoid getting food stains on their lips. Even though they were very careful, by the end of dinner, most of their lipstick had faded, except for Qin Xiyu, whose lip makeup remained perfectly intact.
Qin Xiyu was secretly pleased with herself, and reached out to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, saying, "Because I used a special makeup technique."
She used Fu Zhiqiao's unique method of applying lip rouge, and it barely faded.
"What method?"
Qin Xiyu was about to speak when Zhou Miaosi stopped her, "Xiyu, be careful what you say. That's Zhiqiao's secret method. We can't reveal it without her permission!"
"Yes, it's someone else's exclusive secret, I can't tell." Reminded by Zhou Miaosi, Qin Xiyu also realized what was going on.
Exclusive method? After Zhou Miaosi and Qin Xiyu mentioned it, the other girls in the Qin family became even more interested. They thought the two of them were keeping them in suspense and kept asking questions, as if they wouldn't give up until they got the answer today.
Annoyed by the questions, Zhou Miaosi had no choice but to answer: "Xiyu's makeup is called 'natural makeup,' and it uses rouge from Zhenfang Pavilion."
Qin Xiyu nodded in agreement from the side.
All the girls here have used Zhenfangge's rouge and face powder. They're from the same store, so why can't they achieve the same effect?
Some things, the more you try to hide them, the more curiosity they will pique.
"Sister Miaosi, who is Zhi Qiao?"
"The new dressing lady at Zhenfang Pavilion?"
"What exactly is this exclusive method? Can I see it for myself?"
A group of girls gathered together, chattering and clamoring for them to help introduce the dressing lady.
"Hmph! I think you just don't want to tell us how to become beautiful, so you're using the 'dressing lady' excuse." Seeing that Zhou Miaosi and Qin Xiyu were unwilling to answer, Qin Yingyun complained, her voice not loud but very abrupt.
Qin Xiyu also got angry after hearing this, "The person who did my makeup was Sister Miaosi's good friend, not the makeup artist from Zhenfang Pavilion! Sister Fu only did my makeup because of Sister Miaosi. I just received a favor from her, so how could I reveal her exclusive skills to you?"
After Qin Xiyu's accusations, Qin Yingyun was speechless.
The other girls in the Qin family looked at each other, and the atmosphere was very awkward.
Zhou Miaosi sighed. She hadn't expected things to develop this way. She quickly tried to smooth things over: "Xiyu is right. Zhiqiao is indeed my friend. If any of you sisters are interested in her makeup techniques, I can help introduce you next time, okay?"
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