Chapter 130: Painting the Eyebrows
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The young man had a tall and elegant figure, standing straight like a pine tree. His deep blue robe added an air of nobility and elegance to him. His eyes were as dark as the night, exuding a deep and subtle coldness. Yet, his lips carried a hint of casual mockery.
The way he addressed her as “Madam” was as rich and mellow as wine, causing everyone present to be intoxicated.
Even He Yan was stunned, feeling a sudden stiffness where his breath brushed past. For a moment, she was at a loss for words.
Miss Yan bit her lip as she looked at Xiao Jue, feeling both amazed and jealous. This incredibly handsome man, who could captivate anyone, was already married, and to someone as unremarkable as this country girl? How was that possible!
Seeing that He Yan remained silent, Xiao Jue arched an eyebrow, softening his tone even more. “Has she bullied you?”
He Yan was startled and finally snapped out of her daze. She was about to speak when Miss Yan took the initiative and said, “This young sir, I didn’t bully anyone. We just…. both happen to like the same piece of clothing.”
As Miss Yan spoke with Xiao Jue, her attitude was no longer as aggressive as before; she appeared gentle and polite, like a different person. Her eyes couldn’t bear to leave Xiao Jue.
“But I distinctly heard you saying that our Madam here doesn’t have money!” Lin Shuanghe stirred the pot, shaking his fan. “Even I, the steward, can’t stand it anymore.”
A steward? The green-clothed attendant who dared not make a sound was secretly amazed. He had thought it was some young master but never expected it to be a steward. This was remarkable. All the people in this group had extraordinary looks and bearing. Could it be that some important person had come to Jiyang? He wondered if they had unintentionally offended someone earlier.
Xiao Jue turned his head and asked He Yan, “Have you made a selection?”
He Yan shook her head.
Miss Yan handed the pale blue skirt that He Yan had chosen earlier to her with a smile. “If the young lady really likes this dress, I’m willing to give it up.”
He Yan: “…”
How useful is Xiao Jue’s face? This attitude is completely different before and after. Being good-looking is such an advantage, and He Yan felt a pang of jealousy.
Xiao Jue just glanced at her indifferently, without reaching out to accept, and said to the attendant in green standing there, “What’s upstairs?”
“In response to Young Master,” the attendant replied while wiping his sweat, “We have a total of five floors in the Embroidered Brocade Lane. The third to the fifth floors are all women’s clothing. The clothes on the fifth floor are the most precious, made specifically for nobility, and the prices… are higher.”
“Bring out the most precious treasure from your Embroidered Brocade Lane.”
Miss Yan’s face turned stiff.
He Yan was also surprised, tugged at Xiao Jue’s sleeve, and whispered, “No need, I can just try on something casually…”
What kind of financial situation do they have at home to dare to choose the most expensive option? He Yan felt it was very inappropriate.
Xiao Jue remained calm and said, “Don’t talk.”
The Embroidered Brocade Lane’s attendant was quite skilled and simply said, “Please wait.” He immediately went upstairs and returned shortly with a small box wrapped in soft satin.
He placed the box on the round table in the room. He unlocked the box, revealing a delicate, pale white silk embroidered dress. This dress’s design wasn’t overly complex, unlike the previous flashy ones, but when sunlight shone through the window and hit the fabric, the originally pure white color refracted into a rainbow-like hue, shimmering subtly like mermaid scales, radiating a faint blue, purple, and golden sheen. It was thin and soft, unlike anything from the mortal world.
“This is a garment made from mermaid silk, and I dare say, apart from our Embroidered Brocade Lane, you won’t find another in Jiyang or Great Wei. This mermaid silk was obtained from a sea merchant at a great cost. All other fabrics were used for the Princess, leaving only this last piece, known as ‘Tearsilk,’ because it reflects the colors of mermaid tears when exposed to sunlight. Sir, this is the treasure of our store.”
Xiao Jue glanced at the clothing the attendant held and said, “It’ll make do.”
He Yan felt that all this flowery language was unnecessary; after all, it was just a piece of clothing. What mermaid silk? They made it sound as if mermaids actually existed. It was just a marketing gimmick, and she couldn’t believe anyone would fall for it.
“How much is it?” Lin Shuanghe asked.
The attendant held up one finger, “One hundred gold coins.”
“One hundred gold coins?” He Yan exclaimed, “Why don’t you just rob us?”
Selling a piece of clothing for a hundred gold coins seemed incredibly extravagant. She hadn’t seen such extravagance even when she was a noble in her past life.
The attendant chuckled, “Madam, don’t underestimate this garment. Besides being visually pleasing, it’s also a treasure that can be used for self-defense. It’s impervious to blades and fire. One hundred gold coins for such a treasure is already quite cheap.”
“It’s not necessary,” Chiwu whispered to Fei Nu on the side, “Do noble ladies who can afford to wear this garment go into danger? There’s really no need.”
“Just this one,” Xiao Jue said calmly, “Pick a few more from the fifth floor and bring them all.”
“Very well!” The attendant was overjoyed; generous customers like this weren’t encountered every day. He seized the opportunity and continued, “Would the sir and madam like to take a look at the jewelry in our Embroidered Brocade Lane? This ‘Tearsilk’ dress would pair wonderfully with a pearl peony hairpin, a pair of delicate white jade pendants, and shoes of the same color. Our madam’s extraordinary beauty, which comes once in a hundred years, should not be wasted.”
He Yan: “?”
Xiao Jue: “You can choose.”
Miss Yan couldn’t believe her eyes. He Yan felt it was unnecessary, so she tugged at Xiao Jue’s clothes, trying to pull him towards her. She whispered, “It’s too extravagant!”
Xiao Jue’s tone was indifferent, “Let go.”
He Yan immediately released her grip.
The attendant proceeded to select several dresses and a few pieces of jewelry, placing them in a small box and presenting them for everyone to see. After a thorough examination, he closed the box and stated, “A total of two hundred gold coins.”
He Yan felt like she was about to faint.
Xiao Jue turned to Lin Shuanghe and instructed, “Pay.”
Lin Shuanghe was taken aback, “…Me?”
“Should I pay instead? Steward.”
Lin Shuanghe, “…”
He had no choice but to take out a silver note from his sleeve with a forced smile and handed it over. He reluctantly said, “Alright, I can do it. Let me pay.”
As the silver note was about to be handed over, Xiao Jue said, “Wait.”
Everyone was taken aback. He Yan had a sense of relief; it seemed like he was returning to his senses about his excessive spending.
Xiao Jue turned to Miss Yan, gently curling his lips, and said, “I forgot to ask, did you also have your eye on the same box of clothing? If you like it, I am willing to give it to you.”
Miss Yan’s face turned extremely unpleasant. While her family was wealthy, she didn’t carry around two hundred gold coins everywhere. Moreover, they had tailors at home who custom-made clothing. Spending two hundred gold coins on ready-made clothing wouldn’t sit well with the accounts. This excessively attractive man… was clearly doing it to spite her for his wife!
She gritted her teeth and said, “I appreciate your kind offer, but I… do not like it.”
Xiao Jue nodded and signaled for Fei Nu to put the box away. As he was about to leave, he turned back and added, “One more thing I forgot to mention.”
Everyone was puzzled.
Seeing the beautiful man’s appearance and his gentle expression, they didn’t expect his words to carry such biting sarcasm.
“Your skin is too dark. The clothes from Embroidered Brocade Lane aren’t very suitable for you. You might want to try another shop.”
…
It wasn’t until they were back downstairs that Lin Shuanghe couldn’t stop laughing, clutching his stomach.
“Hahaha! Huai… Young Master, your words are really cutting. Didn’t you see that girl’s face just now? My goodness, if I were her, I wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight! She had a heart for you, and you refused, that’s fine, but you had to be so sarcastic, my goodness, hahaha.”
He Yan also thought that Xiao Jue’s actions were a bit childish. What surprised her even more wasn’t that. She caught up to Xiao Jue and asked, “The reason she wanted the clothing I picked just now was because she thinks her skin is too dark to wear these colors?”
She felt that her first time in Jiyang and having no grudge against the other party shouldn’t lead to this trouble. Later, when she heard Xiao Jue’s explanation, she understood that it was probably because the shop assistant had referred to her as “fair-skinned” when presenting the ready-made clothing, which upset Miss Yan. It seemed that there were such people who envied others for having something they didn’t. When they saw someone else possessing it, they became jealous and resentful.
“You’re good at deceiving people, aren’t you? Is this your only skill?” Xiao Jue looked at her with disdain. “Didn’t you notice she’s jealous of you?”
“I didn’t even know I had anything to be jealous of, especially by a woman,” He Yan muttered.
Being the subject of envy from men was something she’d experienced frequently, such as due to her skills, agility, or exceptional drinking ability. However, being envied by a woman felt like a different sensation. With this realization, she found that female jealousy could be rather endearing, usually involving a bit of verbal sparring and minor attempts to trip each other up, as opposed to men who often resorted to physical altercations.
Moreover… she asked Xiao Jue, “Am I very fair? Is that why she’s jealous of me? Am I very fair?”
Having seen herself dressed as a young man so often, he had become accustomed to it. But now, seeing her with her long hair down and even though she was still wearing male attire, there was a delicate and lively charm about her, making her look like a young girl, albeit a slightly naive one. But….
Xiao Jue averted his gaze and said, “Like a piece of charcoal.”
He Yan, “…”
Will it kill him to say something nice for a change?
Behind them, the two newly acquired maids in pink attire timidly followed, watching He Yan teasing Xiao Jue, and Chiwu, rubbing his arm, couldn’t help but speak to Feinu, “This He Yan has immersed herself in her role a bit too quickly… Look at him now; he’s completely treating himself as a woman. I’ve got goosebumps; it feels uncomfortable.”
Feinu replied, “Do not stare when it is inappropriate, do not listen when it is impolite.”
…
Upon returning to the inn, the two maids looked at He Yan. One of them timidly said, “Madam, we will go upstairs to tidy up your room first. Please come up in a moment.”
He Yan replied, “Alright.”
Once the two girls went upstairs, He Yan asked, “Are these the maids you bought? They seem so young!” These two girls looked at most twelve or thirteen years old, whether they were naturally that age or appeared younger due to their extreme slimness and fragility, they were identical twins.
Lin Shuanghe explained, “There’s no other choice. Our young master is just too attractive. If we were to hire someone closer to your age, there might be other intentions. What if she sneaks into our young master’s bed in the middle of the night? We had to find someone young and not yet mature, someone safe and reliable.”
He Yan thought Lin Shuanghe was a genius. He had a very valid point. Based on the reaction of Miss Yan from the Embroidery District earlier, Xiao Jue’s face and figure were indeed capable of attracting a lot of attention, so it was better to be cautious.
Lin Shuanghe added, “Don’t be fooled by their young age. Those two maids have cost me quite a bit of silver. I mean…” He suddenly realized and looked at Xiao Jue, “You took me to Jiyang not because you needed a steward, but because you needed a money pouch, right!”
He Yan burst into laughter.
Lin Shuanghe was still reproaching Xiao Jue with a sense of grievance, “Do you know that what you’re doing is unrighteous? You bought clothes for your wife, maids, and an inn. Why do I have to spend money? It’s not mine!”
He Yan couldn’t help but laugh.
Xiao Jue calmly responded, “You followed us all the way to Jiyang, safe and sound. How?”
“…Because of you,” Lin Shuanghe answered. Of course, it was because of Xiao Jue. No one with common sense would dare to rob or obstruct them with Xiao Jue around.
Xiao Jue did not deny it and said, “That’s right. It’s protection money.”
“Protection… money?” Lin Shuanghe repeated incredulously.
He said, “Xiao—”
Xiao Jue gently shushed him and nodded towards the outside where the boxes were. He raised an eyebrow and said, “Go and move the stuff, Steward Lin.”
Lin Shuanghe had never won a conversation with Xiao Jue, and he grunted in response. He reached into his sleeve, took out a few round objects, and handed them all to He Yan.
He Yan was puzzled and asked, “What are these?”
“These are rouge and face powder I bought for the madam,” Lin Shuanghe replied, maintaining a respectful attitude towards He Yan. He continued, “On our way to find you after buying the maids, we ran into some of Cui Yuezhi’s men. The Cui family has arranged for the city gate guards to let us through when they see Qiao Huanqing’s pass. We might have to stay at the Cui residence tonight. After giving it some thought, we realized you might need these.”
He Yan frowned at the rouge box in her hand. For her, this was truly challenging.
“I’ll go and move the stuff,” Lin Shuanghe said, waving his hand. He leaned in closer to He Yan and whispered, “Little Sister He, dress up nicely, let those who lack vision see how beautiful and captivating you are. I have great confidence in you; tonight, you will be the most beautiful pearl in Jiyang City.”
He Yan: “……” Thank you to him.
From the corridor came the sweet voice of the maids, “Madam, Sir, we have tidied up the room. You can come in now.”
Xiao Jue said, “Let’s go.”
He Yan put away the makeup and went upstairs with Xiao Jue. When they reached the door of the room, she hesitated and asked, “Are you coming in too?”
Though they were nominally a married couple now, it was still their first time sharing a room. She needed to change her clothes, and it didn’t seem quite appropriate.
Xiao Jue looked at her with an expression that suggested he was looking at a fool. After a moment, he said, “I’ll go to Lin Shuanghe’s room. When you’re ready, call for me.”
He Yan, “….Alright.”
She entered her own room, and the two maids stepped aside, their grape-like eyes fixed on her, waiting for her instructions. He Yan couldn’t stand the way the young girls were looking at her, so she sat down and asked politely, “What are your names?”
“This servant is Cui Jiao.”
“This servant is Hong Qiao.”
He Yan nodded and said, “Nice names. Cui Jiao and Hong Qiao, I’m feeling a bit hungry now. Can you go to the kitchen downstairs and prepare some freshly baked snacks for me? Keep a close eye on them as they come out of the oven, please?”
The two girls eagerly nodded and said, “Of course, Madam. We’ll go now.”
As Cui Jiao and Hong Qiao left, He Yan sighed with relief. She wasn’t accustomed to being waited on by others. She looked at the clothes and jewelry in the box, feeling a bit of a headache. After some contemplation, she decided to wash her face first and remove the intentionally thickened eyebrows.
She had been traveling with Xiao Jue, and for the sake of convenience, she hadn’t applied black makeup on her face. After spending a winter in Liangzhou, her complexion had naturally become fair. The room had clean hot water, and He Yan washed her face, patting it dry with a handkerchief before sitting at the table.
Perhaps it was the result of aging a year, but He Yan’s face was now more delicate and her features were more defined compared to a year ago. She had transitioned from a charming young beauty to someone with a bit more elegance and brightness in her eyes. At this moment, she truly had a captivating appeal.
Having seen herself in male attire so often, she wasn’t used to seeing herself in feminine clothing. He Yan picked up the wooden comb from the table and began to smooth her long hair. Her gaze fell on the assortment of cosmetics that Lin Shuanghe had given her.
The rouge and lip color… How should she use it? She couldn’t quite remember. She had used them a few times when she was Madam He, but later, she had servants to attend to her, so she didn’t need to do it herself. Now, she wasn’t sure where to start.
She also picked up the conch black dye from the table. She should start with what she was familiar with.
He Yan leaned closer to the mirror, her brush strokes focused and meticulous, as she began to draw her eyebrows.
Just as she finished one eyebrow, someone knocked on the door. He Yan, with a hand holding the conch black dye, opened the door. As soon as the door opened, she saw Xiao Jue.
He handed the box to He Yan and impatiently said, “You forgot to take your clothes.”
He Yan slapped her forehead and exclaimed, “Right! I almost forgot.”
These clothes were worth two hundred gold coins, and she was worried about her makeup. He Yan thanked Xiao Jue and said, “Thank you.”
Xiao Jue’s gaze landed on her face, and he was taken aback, asking incredulously, “What are you drawing?”
He Yan replied, “Eyebrows! How’s my technique?”
Xiao Jue’s lips twitched.
She was used to dressing as a young man, which meant she typically drew her eyebrows thick and bold to maintain her youthful masculine appearance. Now, with her long hair down and feminine attire, she had to draw feminine eyebrows. The difference between He Yan’s technique for drawing male and female eyebrows was the shape: she turned her arched eyebrows into straight ones.
She had drawn a curved, thick eyebrow that resembled a fat earthworm crawling above her eyes.
Xiao Jue couldn’t stand it.
He grabbed He Yan’s arm and pulled her to the basin, saying in a cold tone, “Wash it off.”
“Why?” He Yan looked up. “I think it looks pretty good.”
Xiao Jue glanced at her, smirking slightly. “You think it looks pretty good?”
“Okay,” He Yan whispered, “…not really.”
But so what? Everyone has their specialty. She excelled at portraying male characteristics, whereas her skills with female features were somewhat lacking, and it couldn’t be fixed overnight.
“What about those two maids?”
“They went to the kitchen to prepare food for me.” He Yan quickly washed off the eyebrows she had drawn just a moment ago and wiped her face with a cloth. She sighed in frustration and decided to go all-in. “I can only draw this kind of eyebrows. What if…?” She opened her palm, revealing the conch black dye, “You do it?”
This was a playful, offhand remark, but unexpectedly, Xiao Jue looked at her and extended his hand to take it.
Now, He Yan was genuinely surprised.
Xiao Jue walked over to the window, and when he saw she wasn’t moving, he said, “Come over here.”
He Yan instinctively complied.
He added, “Sit down.”
He Yan took a seat on the chair in front of him. However, she still found the situation bizarre and asked, “Are you really going to draw this for me?”
Xiao Jue glanced at her anxious expression, curled his lips with a meaningful smile, and said, “Are you afraid?”
“Afraid?” He Yan immediately sat up straight. “What’s there to be afraid of? I’m only afraid you won’t do it well, that it was just boasting.”
Xiao Jue scoffed, “Overthinking it. Sit properly.”
In the warm March of Jiyang, sunlight streamed through the window, gently gracing the young man’s face. The beautiful and elegant young man, with slender fingers, held the conch black dye and delicately traced it over her brows.
He Yan felt a bit uneasy.
She had never imagined that Xiao Jue would be the one to draw her eyebrows. In this life and the previous one, she had never been this close to a man. Even during her newlywed days with her husband Xu Zhiheng, she had never experienced such an intimate gesture. Having a man draw a woman’s eyebrows, in the eyes of others, often carried connotations of entanglement in romantic or sensual matters. However, the seriousness with which Xiao Jue drew her eyebrows left her momentarily enthralled.
He Yan quickly realized her own fascination, tilting her body back slightly.
Xiao Jue furrowed his brow and said, “Don’t move.”
She froze as he took hold of the back of her head and gently pulled her closer to himself, closing the distance even further.
This allowed her to look at him more closely.
Without the sharpness and coldness, Xiao Jue’s face appeared unexpectedly gentle at this moment. His long and thick eyelashes partially shielded the deep and icy look in his eyes, and his delicate features were exquisite and refined. His rosy lips were so tempting that they made you want to keep gazing at them.
It reminded He Yan of a rainy night in her past life. If she had known it was him back then, if she had been able to see and accept his tender affection, would she have responded with a gentler attitude, rather than being so fierce and hostile?
Perhaps it was because her gaze was too intense, and even if he wanted to ignore it, he couldn’t. Xiao Jue’s hand suddenly stopped, and their eyes met.
He Yan immediately felt guilty, as if she had been caught doing something wrong.
Xiao Jue frowned slightly and asked, “Why is your face so red?”
“Me?” He Yan was surprised and instinctively covered her cheeks with her hands. She indeed felt her face burning but couldn’t find a reason. She stammered in response.
Xiao Jue stared at her for a while and then leaned in closer, “You’re not…,” he raised an eyebrow, his eyes full of meaning, and smiled, “…liking…”
“No, no, no!” He Yan hurriedly denied, raising her hands as if making a solemn vow. “Really, I’m not! You are so divine, and we mere mortals would never dare to have any improper thoughts about you. I absolutely don’t have any such intentions! Really!”
Xiao Jue leaned back, still holding the conch black dye in his hand. He saw her getting flustered and couldn’t help but sneer. He nonchalantly said, “I didn’t say anything like that, why are you getting so stimulated? Feeling guilty?”
“I really haven’t!” He Yan was getting more anxious.
Why did he keep picking on this matter? Was it fun to tease people in such a cruel way? What a wicked sense of humor!
Outside the door, the two maids held plates of snacks, unsure whether to enter or not.
“Should we go in?” Hong Qiao asked quietly.
“Maybe not,” Cui Jiao replied, “I’ve seen scholars recite poems. The lady and the young master are having an intimate moment right now. We shouldn’t disturb them.”
“Oh,” Hong Qiao nodded as if she understood.
Cui Jiao thought to herself, “What was that line of poetry? Something like ‘when the makeup is done, the wife softly asks her husband: Have I painted my eyebrows too thick or too thin?'”
Exactly.
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There I’d a section of text that is repeated. It’d the part where He Yan says the maids are really young and the divine doctor says they icked young maids so they wouldn’t have trouble with them falling for Xiao Jue
fixed!
I’m glad you could decipher my comment. So many typos….