Chapter 294 Peiyue Pavilion

After Ji Yuntang finished her acupuncture and paid her respects to the Empress and Madam Cai, she exchanged a few pleasantries, then took a carriage out of the palace and returned directly to Prince Ye’s residence.

In the Western Courtyard, Luo Junhe had already added color to the portrait he had been working on at noon and hung it on the wall of the room.

As soon as Ji Yuntang entered, she saw a portrait of herself hanging in the center.

The woman in the painting was absolutely stunning, with black hair like clouds, graceful posture, and flowing robes.

Her seductive fox eyes sparkled like spring water, carrying a natural air of agility. No matter the angle, she was drop-dead gorgeous.

Ji Yuntang knew Luo Junhe excelled at leading troops in battle, but she never expected him to be such a skilled painter.

She hadn’t realized that the same hands that wielded a sword to kill enemies were also adept at the arts of scholars and literati.

Ji Yuntang asked in amazement, “A He, how did you manage that?”

Luo Junhe lifted an eyebrow. “It's not like it's hard—anyone with hands could do it.”

Ji Yuntang: “...”

Although she was an outsider, she understood that painting required a foundation of skill.

Saying “anyone with hands can do it” was just a humblebrag.

If that were true, everyone would be a painter, right?

What Ji Yuntang didn’t know was that ever since Luo Junhe got his sight back, his mind had been totally occupied by her.

No matter what he did, Luo Junhe couldn’t stop thinking about Ji Yuntang.

Over time, every move she made, every smile and frown, became etched in his mind, making it far too easy to paint her.

Sometimes, he even thought he’d become lovesick.

But having that wasn’t so bad—an extra brain never hurt anyone.

For two days straight, Ji Yuntang stayed in Prince Ye’s home, fiddling with her freshly cleared herb garden.

Luo Junhe helped water and fertilize it.

Whenever she had a spare moment, she’d whip up tasty food in the little courtyard kitchen. The couple enjoyed a warm, cozy time together.

On the third day, Ji Yuntang got a visit invitation from Pei Zhiyi.

She invited Ji Yuntang out shopping that day, wanting her help in picking out some jewelry and clothes.

Since coming back from military camp, Pei Zhiyi had only become friends with Ji Yuntang.

Even though her dad kept pushing her to hang out with the capital’s noblewomen, she wasn’t into it.

She disliked that kind of occasion, and even more so, the scheming and comparisons among women. She always felt everyone was fake, showing off just to show off, and it was suffocating.

In comparison, Ji Yuntang’s personality suited her much better. She never showed off in front of her or looked down on her.

Ji Yuntang tidied up a bit at home, applied light makeup herself, and then took a carriage out.

She had arranged to meet Pei Zhiyi at the entrance of Peiyue Pavilion.

When Ji Yuntang arrived, Pei Zhiyi was already waiting at the door.

As the New Year approached, every shop in the capital had hung fiery red rabbit lanterns and pasted red couplets outside, creating a festive and lively atmosphere.

Seeing Ji Yuntang step down from the carriage, Pei Zhiyi’s eyes lit up like a kid’s. She rushed over, hooked her arm through Ji Yuntang’s, and leaned her head on her shoulder.

“Tangtang, you’re finally here! I’ve missed you like crazy!”

Ji Yuntang’s mouth twitched. She wasn’t big on being touched, but Pei Zhiyi clinging to her like that had her feeling amused and helpless at the same time.

But she didn’t dislike it.

She thought a lot of girls were warm and adorable.

Of course, except the ones who weren’t so nice.

Ever since Xie Liuzheng called her “Tangtang” in front of Luo Sinian, Pei Zhiyi had latched onto the nickname.

And now, every time they met, Pei Zhiyi would sweetly call her “Tangtang,” like they were already besties.

The entrance was swarming with people, and Pei Zhiyi was in guy mode. People walking by shot them weird looks for hugging like that.

Ji Yuntang didn’t care. She gave Pei Zhiyi a gentle pat on the shoulder.

“Zhi Yi, weren’t you looking for help picking out jewelry, makeup, and clothes?”

“I heard Peiyue Pavilion just got in a fresh batch of rouge made with excellent ingredients. How about we go check it out?”

Ji Yuntang rarely bought ancient cosmetics; she usually used modern beauty products from her space.

She had hundreds of lipsticks in different colors alone.

To store these items, Ji Yuntang had even asked Chen Hu to have a customized cosmetic shelf made for her.

She figured if she ever got the chance later on, she could open her own makeup shop selling stuff like that, and it’d probably be a hit.

With that thought, the two entered Peiyue Pavilion—the most popular beauty store in Dongchen Kingdom. It not only sold rouge and powder but also various jewelry and accessories beloved by women.

Although today was meant to accompany Pei Zhiyi, it was also Ji Yuntang’s first time inside Peiyue Pavilion, and she was quite curious about its offerings.

Today, Pei Zhiyi wore a dark blue brocade robe, with her ink-black hair tied high, no hairpins or ornaments. She looked spirited and dashing—like a young hero.

Unconcerned with the stares of the crowd, she took Ji Yuntang’s hand and walked inside.

Their presence and fancy clothes immediately got the shop girl’s attention upon entering.

After Ji Yuntang indicated that Pei Zhiyi wanted to buy rouge, the woman launched into a pitch with enthusiasm.

“What a coincidence! Our most popular item right now, the Xishi Rouge, happens to have only one box left. If you like it, miss, I’ll wrap it up for you.”

Ji Yuntang nodded. “Thanks a lot.”

The saleswoman led them to the cosmetics section. Ji Yuntang took a quick glance and noticed that although Peiyue Pavilion’s store was large, the variety of beauty products it sold was limited, and the prices were quite steep.

Essentially, there were only five main categories: rouge, lip color, eyebrow pencils, perfume, and foundation.

The perfume came in little porcelain bottles. Ji Yuntang opened one and sniffed, catching the rich, fragrant scent of zhuluan flowers, strong and aromatic.

She suddenly remembered reading in a book that zhuluan flowers had an extremely rich fragrance; if sealed with honey wax for two weeks, the scent would linger on clothes for a long time.

Therefore, ancient perfumes were almost exclusively made from Zhuluan flowers.

Other scents were extremely rare.

Moreover, since extracting, processing, and preserving them was such a pain, and the scent would go bad over time.

Hence, even a tiny bottle of perfume cost five taels of silver, so it was crazy profitable.

The foundation powder, though—now that was interesting!

Ji Yuntang discovered that the foundation powder sold here was made by grinding and mixing talcum powder, mussel powder, lead powder, and gypsum powder together.

This foundation only did one thing: whiten your skin.

Whitening stuff was always super popular back then.

Ji Yuntang suddenly recalled that Ji Qingqing was very particular about whitening; every time Ji Yuntang saw her, Ji Qingqing had a pale, pasty face.

It was obvious she had caked on that foundation.

However, ancient foundation also had two big problems.

It didn't cover spots and wasn't waterproof.

Coverage was terrible—the makeup would totally run if it got wet.

That's exactly why Ji Yuntang—who'd had dark spots before—managed to fool Chen Hu and Liu Linlang after hiding them with foundation from her space.

They'd never seen foundation with that kind of coverage, so they just figured her face had cleared up completely.

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