The princess simply smiled at Granny Jing and followed her into the main hall.
Upon entering the hall, Jiang Yuwei was immediately struck by the dignified presence of the Empress, who sat gracefully in the main seat. Her innate aristocratic air even momentarily stunned her.
The princess first led the way in bowing to the empress, and upon seeing this, the empress quickly instructed Granny Jing to offer her a seat.
Seeing that everyone was seated, the Empress smiled and began to speak:
"Your Highness, it's been so long since I've seen you. I've really missed you. How are you feeling these days?"
The princess smiled and nodded, saying:
"Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. My health is currently only maintained by medicine. That's why I've come to attend your birthday banquet. I also need to have General Ning's wife sit next to me so she can take care of me at any time."
The Empress, intrigued by these words, looked Jiang Yuwei over and said calmly:
"This must be the wife of the General of the Border Garrison."
When Jiang Yuwei heard the Empress mention her, she quickly stood up and bowed, saying:
"Your Majesty, it is indeed I. Today is Your Majesty's birthday. We have just arrived in the capital and have nothing of value to give you. So I specially made this Hundred Flowers Flower Box for you. Please accept it."
As she spoke, Xia Yue followed behind Jiang Yuwei and picked up the gift box to show it off.
The Empress gazed from afar at the lotus-shaped wooden box, its colorful jewels gleaming beautifully in the light, and then instructed her attendant, Jing, to give the following instructions:
"Since this is a token of the General's Mansion's goodwill, please present it to me so I can take a good look."
After receiving the instructions, Granny Jing went down and took the box from Xia Yue's hands.
"Your Majesty, please take a look."
Granny Jing placed the box on the Empress's table, and the Empress nodded with a smile.
"This box is really beautiful."
Jiang Yuwei looked at the Empress sitting above and said:
"Your Majesty, this box holds a secret. Please, Granny Jing, turn the lotus heart."
After hearing Jiang Yuwei's words, Granny Jing did not touch the box. Only after the Empress nodded slightly did she gently turn the lotus heart.
With a "click," the box spun open, revealing three layers of varying sizes, each containing novel and attractive items.
Seeing that the Empress looked very happy, Jiang Yuwei said:
"The top layer of this box contains lip rouges of various colors that I have collected and slightly modified, and I have also created many colors that are not available on the market. Today, when I saw the Empress, whose skin is as smooth as jade, she would surely look beautiful wearing this lip rouge."
Upon hearing Jiang Yuwei's words, the Empress smiled and reached out to apply a little light pink lip rouge to Jing Mama's lips.
"It looks beautiful, it really does look beautiful. Although the color is light, it seems to be the healthy glow coming from the mouth. It is indeed different from those things on the market."
Seeing that the Empress was pleased, Jiang Yuwei continued to explain:
"This second layer is a variety of eyeshadows that I specially made for Your Majesty. They can be used on the eyelids, either as a single color or in combination. If Your Majesty likes them, I can demonstrate them for you on the spot."
The Empress had indeed never heard of eyeshadow before, so she nodded and said:
"Alright, you demonstrate it for us. Granny Jing can also learn from her and see how Madam Jiang uses it."
Granny Jing nodded and then carried the box down.
Jiang Yuwei demonstrated directly on Xia Yue's eyes. She first used a brush to apply a light pink base to Xia Yue, and then used a darker color to draw the roots of her eyelashes. In no time, a simple and beautiful eye makeup was completed.
Seeing this, Granny Jing also praised it repeatedly.
"This painting is indeed beautiful; Madam Jiang, you have such skillful hands."
The noble ladies sitting on both sides were also very curious upon hearing this, and they quickly got up and crowded closer to see.
"I've never seen this before; it's quite rare."
"This maid looks much better after the painting was done."
"Yes, I want this too."
"Madam Jiang, could you make me a set?"
At this moment, the Empress, who was sitting above, also became curious and spoke up:
"Let me see it first."
Upon hearing this, everyone realized they had been somewhat rude and quickly returned to their seats.
Jiang Yuwei nodded to Xia Yue, and Xia Yue followed Granny Jing forward.
Only then did the Empress see Xia Yue's eye makeup clearly, and for a moment she was stunned. Then she turned to look at the flower box that Jing Mama was holding, and exclaimed in surprise:
"Did Madam Jiang use this to paint her so beautifully just now?"
Jiang Yuwei nodded with a smile.
The Empress hurriedly beckoned to Granny Jing, signaling her to quickly bring up the gift box.
"This is indeed quite good. Madam Jiang, what do you think the third layer is?"
Jiang Yuwei smiled and said:
"The third layer is a fragrant powder that I specially made from various flower pollens. The Empress can apply this powder behind her ears and on her wrists to keep the fragrance going all day."
Upon hearing this, the Empress quickly sniffed the air, then took out a little fragrant powder and applied it to her wrist.
"It smells so good. If I wear this perfumed powder when I go out, even butterflies will be attracted by the fragrance."
As she spoke, the Queen carefully closed the box again.
"Madam Jiang, this gift you sent is very nice. I like it very much. The General's Mansion is very thoughtful."
Upon seeing this, Jiang Yuwei quickly bowed to the Empress and said:
"If the Empress is pleased, that's all that matters."
Having said that, she returned to her seat. Xu Qianqian, who was standing outside, sent her maid to inquire about what had happened inside the main hall. She was so angry that she clenched her handkerchief tightly.
"What are you doing? Didn't you say that the gift Jiang Yuwei gave was some kind of fire kettle? Now how come this 'Hundred Flowers Colorful Box' has appeared!"
Upon hearing this, Xu Qianqian's maid, Zhuhua, hurriedly and nervously whispered:
“Aunt, I’ve been watching outside their courtyard these past few days. I saw it clearly. Yunqing has been practicing with the fire pot every day. It’s true. Perhaps we tampered with the fire pot and they found out, so they... they changed the gift at the last minute.”
Xu Qianqian glared at Zhuhua and scolded:
"You idiot, you can't even handle such a small matter. Now Jiang Yuwei has stolen the limelight in the main hall. Humph, just you wait, I'll deal with you when we get back!"
At this moment, Zhuhua was already trembling with fear. She had witnessed Xu Qianqian's methods before. Xu Qianqian did not treat maids and servants as human beings at all. If she was mistreated outside, the first thing she would do when she returned to the courtyard was to punish the servants.
Seeing that her mischief hadn't harmed Jiang Yuwei, Xu Qianqian lost interest in watching what was happening in the main hall. After all, given her status, she couldn't enter the hall. She could only wander around the courtyard and wait for the mealtime to arrive before going to the table in the outer courtyard.
Seeing that Jiang Yuwei was still a little nervous after sitting down, the princess smiled and squeezed her hand, teasingly saying:
"You have such good skills, why don't you ever make anything to show your respect to me?"
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