Chapter 48 Don't you understand that men usually only...
You only need to change your outer garment; you don't need to change your inner garment. It won't take long to change.
When Fu Yun lifted the curtain, the Empress also lifted hers. Upon seeing each other, they were both slightly taken aback, and then tacitly sized each other up.
Although they changed into the most inconspicuous clothes, their outstanding appearances were not greatly affected. Apart from the slight reduction in their previous noble and unparalleled temperament, their handsome faces were still unforgettable.
Fu Yun had a face as smooth as jade and eyes as black as lacquer. He was handsome and refined, looking like a down-on-his-luck young master from a wealthy family. The Empress was elegant and dashing, looking like a reserved bodyguard from a powerful and noble family.
Fu Yun glanced at the Empress for a moment, chuckled, and teased, "It seems that even coarse clothes cannot conceal your extraordinary charm."
Upon hearing this, the Empress's lips curled up into a pleased smile, her delicate eyes revealing a gentle laughter: "You're not bad either."
When Fu Yun saw the smiling Empress, his heart skipped a beat, and his heartbeat inexplicably quickened.
Fu Yun was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized that although he had met the Empress so many times, he had never seen her truly smile.
Fu Yun said with deep emotion, "This seems to be the first time since we've known each other that you've opened your heart and smiled in front of me."
The Empress paused, a dark glint flashing in her eyes, and the smile on her lips faded slightly: "There are very few things around me that bring me joy."
Fu Yun said, "I understand, it's lonely at the top!"
The Empress's expression was inscrutable. She gave Fu Yun a deep look but said nothing more.
Fu Yun didn't intend to chat any longer. She looked at the Empress, who was dressed in commoner's clothes but whose appearance was still too outstanding, walked to the door of the private room, and asked the shopkeeper, "Do you have rouge and face powder?"
The boss smiled slightly and replied, "Of course."
Fu Yun reached out and grabbed the Empress's wrist, pulling her to the boss: "Could you help her darken her skin a bit?"
"Huh?" The shopkeeper's eyes widened, completely dumbfounded: "You want me to help this young master with his makeup?"
Fu Yun said, "Yes! She's too conspicuous. Could you help her tone it down with some makeup?"
The boss stared at Fu Jun for a moment, looking somewhat embarrassed: "Isn't this inappropriate?"
Fu Jun knew that she must have misunderstood that he had done something wrong, which was why he had to disguise himself.
"Don't overthink it. We were confined by Grandma for a month, and we couldn't stand it anymore, so we secretly ran away from home. We wanted to have a good time outside for a day before sneaking back."
The boss looked up at Zhilan, clearly still undecided.
Fu Yun lowered her voice and said gently, "Big sister, you're beautiful and kind-hearted, please do me a favor!"
"Alright!" The shopkeeper couldn't resist Fu Yun's gentle request and immediately gave in: "Wait a moment, I'll go get it."
She walked quickly to the counter, took out her grooming tools, and turned to go back.
"Could you please get the photo again? I can do it myself."
The Empress said in a low voice.
"Oh, okay." The shopkeeper breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this and quickly rummaged through the drawer in the counter, taking out a small bronze mirror.
She handed over the items: "Here you go. Just let me know if you need any headdresses."
The Empress nodded, took the item from her hand, and skillfully manipulated the bronze mirror with one hand while holding it up with the other.
Fu Yun was somewhat surprised that the ruler of a country was so skilled at dressing up.
When the Empress finished her makeup and faced Fu Yun, he was truly surprised. Her skin tone was several shades darker, and her bright and spirited eyebrows were lowered. Her originally extremely eye-catching features instantly lost their luster, which was truly a masterpiece of nature.
Fu Yun was immediately filled with admiration: "Your skills are quite impressive."
The Empress curled her lips into a smile, her tone relaxed yet undeniably authoritative: "Your facial features also need to be toned down."
Fu Jun had no objection to this, but pointed to the watercolor box with some difficulty: "I don't know how to use this thing."
The Empress couldn't help but be somewhat surprised: "You've never done it yourself?"
Fu Jun asked incredulously, "I'm a grown man, I don't need makeup, why would I need to do anything?"
The Empress was speechless for a moment, took a deep breath, and said softly, "Then you are truly naturally beautiful."
Fu Jun didn't dwell on the Empress's implied meaning, and simply said, "Why don't you help me with this?"
The Empress paused, thinking she had misheard: "Are you sure?"
Fu Yun insisted, "I'm absolutely certain that I can't handle this if you don't help me. Otherwise, I'll just have the boss do it for me."
"Huh?" The boss's pupils dilated, his heart felt like it had been struck twice, and he couldn't accept it at all.
The Empress coldly replied, "I will."
“Okay.” Fu Yun naturally preferred the Empress to come, since he wasn’t familiar with the boss yet. He said, “Then just do whatever you want.”
The Empress's expression was unreadable. Looking at the fresh and handsome young man before her, whose features were exquisitely refined, she saw a look of extreme trust in him. A strange feeling stirred within her, as if a small stone had been thrown into an ancient well that had remained still for a thousand years, causing a ripple.
She couldn't help but wonder: "Does this young master of the Su family understand the meaning behind a woman drawing a man's eyebrows and doing his makeup? Or is he deliberately pretending to be naive in front of me?"
However, he showed no sign of shyness when it came to deliberately seducing her. Instead, he appeared calm and composed, seemingly unconcerned about whether the woman touched his skin.
Considering that he dared to hold her hand in broad daylight, the head of the Su family must not have taught her that men and women should not be too close when out in public, nor should they make intimate gestures, and she should not let a woman do her eyebrows or do her makeup.
Typically, a man's eyebrows and hair can only be drawn and styled by his wife after marriage, symbolizing a harmonious and loving relationship between husband and wife.
Since no one has ever taught him such an important matter, the rumors that Young Master Su is extremely unfavored in the Su family must be true, and not just baseless.
This also shows that he genuinely didn't understand matters of etiquette between men and women, rather than pretending not to.
No wonder his ideas are more unconventional than most people's, and his style of doing things is rather strange and unpredictable.
It's likely because no one taught him manners, and growing up in this environment where he was left to fend for himself, his nature naturally became wild.
Thinking of this, the Empress sighed inwardly, took two steps forward, gazed at Fu Jun for a moment, her eyes lightly tracing his features, before picking up the powder and reminding him, "Close your eyes."
"Oh." Fu Yun immediately closed her eyes.
I felt something soft and cool sliding across my cheek, and the Empress's light breath reached my nose, carrying a faint, refreshing fragrance.
The scent is fresh and elegant, with a hint of cool fragrance. It smells very nice, somewhat like the fragrance of magnolia.
This light, pleasant fragrance, seemingly tailor-made for Zhilan, is refreshing and captivating.
Fu Yun felt a little dizzy and was about to shake his head to clear his head when Zhi Lan's clear and melodious voice rang out: "It's okay."
Only after Zhilan took two steps back, creating distance between them, did the fragrance linger at Fu Yun's nose gradually fade, and the dizziness vanished instantly.
Fu Yun took a deep breath, calmed herself down, and opened her eyes.
Zhilan had already turned around and returned the items to the shopkeeper, saying, "Thank you."
Since Zhilan said it was fine, Fu Yun didn't bother looking in the mirror. He walked up to the shopkeeper and said, "Could you please give me two more pouches, and then calculate the price? How much silver will it cost in total?"
The boss nodded: "Okay, please wait a moment."
She walked to the counter, took out two pouches from the cabinet, placed them on the counter, and gestured with her eyes that they could be taken.
Then he picked up the abacus and quickly started turning the dial.
Fu Yun raised his hand to block the Empress's steps toward the counter, and quickly walked over himself.
Although he gave the money pouch to Su Mang, he also kept some in his sleeve pocket for emergencies.
The Empress stopped in her tracks, looking at Fu Jun's back with considerable surprise. This was the first time she had ever seen a man and a woman shopping together, with the man taking the initiative to pay at the counter.
Seeing his calm expression, graceful demeanor, and unhurried manner, and not finding anything wrong with his actions, the Empress couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time. She shook her head helplessly and didn't stop him, letting him go as he pleased.
Fu Yun heard the abacus beads clattering away, and after a short while, the shopkeeper quoted the price: "Half a tael of silver in total."
Fu Yun nodded, not intending to haggle, and directly took out a small silver ingot from his sleeve and handed it to the shopkeeper.
Seeing how readily he accepted the money, the shopkeeper immediately smiled and said, "Welcome, young masters, to come again next time."
Fu Yun took the pouch and went into the small compartment, where he put his and the Empress's clothes inside.
He handed the bag containing the Empress's clothes to her, then shouldered his own bag and asked the shopkeeper before leaving, "Do you have a back door?"
The shopkeeper paused for a moment, then looked at him with understanding: "Yes, it's here."
As she spoke, she walked to the counter and pushed open a small hidden door.
Fu Yun glanced at the Empress: "Let's go!"
The Empress said nothing, hung the pouch on her right shoulder, and went out through the small door with Fu Jun.
This is another street. Although it's not as bustling and lively as the main street we just passed, it still has a fair amount of foot traffic.
Fu Yun glanced around; on both sides were various shops and restaurants.
He suggested, "I'm a little hungry. How about we find a restaurant to fill our stomachs and talk while we eat?"
The Empress glanced at him sideways and asked, "If you wish to invite me to a meal, do you have enough silver on you?"
Fu Yun touched his nose and said honestly, "Just don't order any delicacies, otherwise I'll have to pawn myself there."
"Cough~"
The Empress almost choked on her words. She cleared her throat and asked, "Then why did you insist on paying the bill just now? If I had paid, you could have saved some money."
Fu Yun said matter-of-factly, "I'm the one who dragged you to buy clothes, so of course I'll pay for them. There's no reason for you to pay."
The empress fell silent.
After a moment, he said, "That's pure nonsense."
Fu Yun wanted to say something, but the Empress said in an unquestionable manner, "You don't need to pay for the meal at the restaurant; I will pay for it."
Seeing Fu Yun raise an eyebrow, clearly unwilling to compromise, she added, "If you really want to invite me, wait until you've earned enough money, unless you're willing to mortgage yourself at the restaurant."
As she spoke, she curled her lips into a smile, her expression unusually lighthearted, with a hint of teasing: "I'm used to delicacies, and I don't want to mistreat myself."
"Alright!" Fu Yun couldn't let the Empress's stomach suffer just because he didn't have money.
"I was powerless this time, but I will definitely treat you to a lavish feast next time."
"Whatever you say." The Empress shook her head helplessly.
The two chose a nearby restaurant.
The waiter greeted them warmly: "What would you like to order, gentlemen?"
The Empress asked, "Are there any private rooms available?"
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