Chapter 156 Applying Makeup to Enter the Palace, An Unsolicited Request
Ji Qingwu pretended not to notice Lanzhi's unusual expression.
She calmly reached out and took down the change of clothes dress hanging on the clothes rack behind the screen.
A light blue brocade top with dense embroidery of Xiangfei bamboo and clouds, paired with a crescent-white skirt with intricate embroidery of sea patterns.
At first glance, it doesn't seem special, but only upon closer inspection can one see the extraordinary embroidery craftsmanship.
This dress was specially commissioned by Madam Qiao from embroiderers in Jiangnan shortly after she returned home. Compared to palace dresses, this dress is not as gorgeous, but it is superior in terms of craftsmanship.
Ji Qingwu had tried on the dress once before putting it away. Although the dress was simple in style, the embroidery was exquisite, and she was afraid that she might accidentally scratch it while sorting herbs.
As she was getting dressed, Lanzhi stole a glance at her. It was still the same face, but something seemed different.
The brilliance of Ji Qingwu's disguise technique lies in the fact that she adjusts the bone structure, so that by looking only at the facial features, one cannot tell that she is different from before.
True beauty lies in the bone structure, not just the skin.
"Lanzhi?"
Ji Qingwu called her several times before she finally snapped the maid out of her daze.
She sat in front of the dressing table, holding a small powder box in her hand, and began to struggle.
She thought to herself: What should I do? This face is perfect in every way, how am I supposed to apply this makeup?
Looking at the woman in the mirror, whose face was as beautiful as a hibiscus, Ji Qingwu also felt a sense of familiarity mixed with strangeness.
Since leaving the military camp, she had lived a life of hiding for so long that she was almost forgetting what she was originally like.
Over the past few years, her appearance seems to have become even more beautiful, with tender eyes and a rosy complexion.
She twitched the corners of her lips, and the person in the mirror followed suit, her serene demeanor like a flower reflected in water.
Laneige, let's put on makeup.
She turned her head and instructed, "Just apply some powder and then draw some arched eyebrows."
As Ji Qingwu walked out of Wutong Garden, Lanzhi stood at the door, her face flushed as she watched her young mistress's departing figure.
Lan Zhi ultimately failed to demonstrate her skill; the use of rouge and powder on the Fifth Miss's face only tarnished her natural beauty.
She just didn't understand why the Fifth Miss had to bathe and dress up meticulously before picking up the Younger Miss from school.
As Ji Qingwu passed by the gate of Old Madam Ji's courtyard, he bumped into someone walking in the opposite direction.
"Fifth Sister?"
The woman's voice carried a clear hint of doubt.
Ji Qingyuan, who had just finished serving her grandmother her medicine and put her to bed, called out to the light blue figure that was about to pass by.
Ji Qingwu stopped and turned around, saying, "Fourth Sister."
His tone was neither warm nor cold, after all, there were servants watching, and it was at the entrance of Madam Ji's Shou'an Hall.
Ji Qingyuan stared at her face, feeling extremely surprised.
She said, "You seem different from before."
Ji Qingyuan was born beautiful. In her youth, she was a well-known beauty in Lin'an City. She was very confident in her appearance and was not inferior to even the most beautiful concubine in the palace, Wei Fei.
She had used many health-preserving and anti-aging pills and had a deep understanding of this, so she could tell at a glance that Ji Qingwu's face was very different from before.
Ji Qingwu replied calmly, "I changed my makeup today. Do you think it suits me well, Fourth Sister?"
Ji Qingyuan looked at her face, which shone brightly in the sunlight and was as smooth as cream.
What kind of powder is so fine and adheres so well? It makes the skin look as smooth as jade. But this face is not only radiant, the features also become more delicate and harmonious.
Could it be that some new anti-aging formula has recently come out that she hasn't found?
Seeing that she was frowning and seemed to be thinking about something, Ji Qingwu said, "Fourth sister, is there anything else? I'm in a hurry to pick up Qiuqiu from school."
Ji Qingyuan wanted to ask her about her beauty secrets, but seeing that she was in a hurry, she didn't dare to stop her.
Her wrist, which had been broken by the man who suddenly appeared last time, still ached faintly on rainy days. She gripped her right wrist and stepped aside.
Ji Qingwu didn't dare to waste any more time. She took a carriage all the way to the palace gate, handed over her waist token, and just as she stepped through the grand and solemn gate...
I was startled by the person who suddenly appeared.
"Fifth cousin?!"
Princess Qingyun's tone was filled with surprise.
“I’ve been observing you at the palace gate for a long time. I said that this person’s figure and walking posture are very similar to yours, but I didn’t dare to recognize him.”
If this weren't at the main gate of the palace, Ji Qingwu would have almost thought an assassin had appeared.
She paused for a moment before saying, "So you can recognize it now?"
Princess Qingyun said, "The guards at the palace gate just now announced your name."
Ji Qingwu asked in bewilderment, "I remember you were still under house arrest, why are you here?"
Princess Qingyun couldn't help but smile: "It was my mother who summoned me."
Seeing her beaming face and undisguised smile, Ji Qingwu guessed what it was about and said, "Congratulations, Your Highness."
Princess Qingyun asked, "Fifth Cousin, do you know why Mother summoned me?"
Ji Qingwu said, "Your face is practically beaming with happiness."
The Empress Dowager summoned Qingyun because of her wedding to Li Chengxun. The Imperial Household Department and the Court of Imperial Sacrifices had almost finished preparations. The Empress Dowager doted on her and had prepared several sets of wedding dresses, hair ornaments, and other items for the wedding. Today, she wanted Qingyun to come and personally choose the items she liked.
Princess Qingyun looked at Ji Qingwu, hesitatingly saying, "Fifth Cousin's face..."
She's dressed simply today, so there shouldn't be any mistakes. She only has a light layer of powder on her face.
However, thinking about where they were going later, Ji Qingwu touched her cheek and asked with a hint of nervousness, "What's wrong?"
Princess Qingyun's eyes lit up as she said, "Her beauty is a feast for the eyes."
Ji Qingwu suddenly felt a strange sense of being teased.
Princess Qingyun was also secretly puzzled. She wondered if it was because the debt of saving her life was greater than the sky. Ever since she recovered from her serious illness, she felt that her cousin was not only a good person with a good temper, but also more and more pleasing to the eye.
She hadn't noticed it yesterday at Liangxiang Pavilion, but after a night, when she looked at Ji Qingwu again, she felt that her face was more than just beautiful as a flower or the moon.
She was absolutely stunning, and she couldn't help but stare at her.
The stares were too intense, so Ji Qingwu said, "Princess, hurry to the Empress Dowager's palace, or Her Majesty will be getting impatient."
Princess Qingyun got back into the sedan chair, but then, as if remembering something, she got out and walked over to Ji Qingwu.
Fifth cousin.
Princess Qingyun called her softly, in the same coquettish tone as the Empress Dowager. Ji Qingwu saw a hesitant and timid look on the little princess's face.
However, Qiuqiu's skill in acting cute was far superior to Qingyun's, yet Ji Qingwu remained unfazed as he looked at her.
Princess Qingyun said, "I have a favor to ask."
Ji Qingwu shook his head decisively: "If the princess knows it's an unreasonable request, then there's no need to ask."
Princess Qingyun said, "Fifth Cousin, would you like to attend my wedding ceremony?"
As if afraid of being rejected immediately, he said in one go, "I will send the invitation to the Ji residence. I would like to invite you to come on my wedding day to paint floral patterns on my head."
After saying that, Princess Qingyun ran up to the sedan chair, not giving her a chance to refuse.
Ji Qingwu had never held a wedding ceremony, but she had seen other people's wedding process.
It seems there's a custom that the bride's hair ornaments are painted by her sister-in-law, symbolizing harmony and good fortune.
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