BXBX NOVEL Chapter 35 - He loves her (2)
“Did you know that the emperor had previously left Nie Clan alone because of his relationship with Noble Consort Nie? Nie Clan has become a mature and powerful clan that has many dishonest members. The empress’s side had been unhappy with this for a long time. Why did you still act rashly and give the emperor an opportunity to penalize the noble consort?” Old madam was slightly angry. “Sometimes, you really act too outrageously and without regard for protocol. No wonder Xuan-er held grudges against you for your actions during the past several years.”
Ji Man could only obediently listen to her lecture while thinking that she wasn’t responsible for any of those actions. But, she could see that old madame and Noble Consort Nie were truly good friends. Old madame was thinking about Nie Clan in all respects.
“Now that I returned, no one in this household will be able to harm you.” Old madame returned her expression to normal and said, “But there are a lot of things that you have to learn for yourself. Don’t blame me when I don’t help you every time.”
The atmosphere was excessively serious. Ji Man solemnly nodded. Soon after, she checked old madame’s face and offered her treasure, “Old madame, you’re probably feeling tired from the carriage ride. How about letting Sangyu give you a facial while you rest?”
Old madame glanced at her, “You’re pretending to be obedient again. Fine, this face is showing the hardship of travel. Shouwu, go outside and fetch water. Danggui, bring pearl powder over. Let Sangyu attend to me while I nap.”
The two servant girls acknowledged her order. Just as they were about to leave, Ji Man hurriedly said, “Dangui, I’ll have to inconvenience you with a request to bring back boiled eggs.”
Old madame thought Nie Sangyu was just feeling hungry and wanted to eat something, so she didn’t ask any questions. A nearby older servant stepped forward and unwounded her hair bun so that old madame could comfortably lie down on the wooden chaise lounge.
Ji Man first used the water to clean old madame’s face, then she peeled the eggs that Dangui had brought back and set them aside to cool down a bit. Then, she took out the cold cream and slowly rubbed the lotion onto old madame’s face.
“What’s this?” Shouwu curiously looked at the box in Ji Man’s hand.
“This is cold cream.” Ji Man scooped out a lump of cold cream, then she hand the rest of the cold cream to Danggui. “The two of you can try it.”
“Was this purchased from Yongning Street?” Shouwu whispered, “When the carriage passed by Yongning Street, I heard many people talk about something called cold cream and saw a rouge shop’s entrance almost being broken by so many people crowding around it.”
Ji Man lightly smiled and nodded. She had told Miss Shui that on the first day she released the cold cream for sale, she had to hire a group of people to stand outside in a line and fall over each other in their eagerness to discuss about cold cream in order to achieve excellent publicity. It seemed that she had done her job well.
Shouwu and Danggui watched as Ji Man rubbed cold cream onto old madame’s face. Old madame seemed exhausted and was deeply asleep. When the light pink cream was applied to her face, it quickly disappeared and old madame’s face became beautifully dewy.
Shouwu was very surprised. She hurriedly pulled Dangui out of the room with her to try the cold cream in private. Although the two servant girls were old madame’s personal servants, they were still seventeen and eighteen year old young women that loved to be beautiful.
After Ji Man patiently finished applying the cold cream, she washed her hands and gently rolled the boiled eggs over old madame’s face. People that experienced this before would know that this felt very comfortable and also had a moistening effect.
When lunchtime came, old madame finally woke up. As soon as she opened her eyes, she saw Danggui and Shouwu’s surprised and happy expressions.
Old madame looked serious as she asked, “What happened?”
Ji Man was smiling as she stood nearby. She brought a bronze mirror in front of old madame, “You had a really wonderful nap.”
The face in the mirror had significantly become fairer and smoother. Although there were still branching wrinkles at the corners of her eyes and a slight puffiness under her eyes, her skin looked at least five years younger.
“This...” Old madame was shocked. She hurriedly reached out and touched her face. It was smooth without being oily. It felt clean and fresh.
“Master Sang applied cold cream and also rolled boiled eggs over your face for an hour.” Shouwu smiled and said, “Old madame is so fortunate. Master Sang is a person that knows filial piety.”
Old madame looked at Ji Man in astonishment.
Ji Man gently smiled, “I bought this cream a few days ago. The shopkeeper said it was a rare item, so I saved a box for Old Madame.”
Although she was already widowed, all women loved to beautiful. Even though old madame’s mouth said, “There’s no need for me to appear good-looking,” the joyful expression in her eyes showed her true feelings.
Ji Man knew that she had made the right decision in giving this bribe. Even if old madame had been secretly unhappy with Nie Sangyu before, she was definitely completely happy with her right now.
After looking at herself in the mirror for a long time, she finally said, “You were very thoughtful.”
During lunchtime, Ning Yuxuan and Wen Wan came to the main courtyard. Old madame made an exception for Ji Man. She allowed her sit down at the table instead of standing at the side to add food to her personal plate.
“Mother, why are you in such a good mood?” Ning Yuxuan raised his eyebrows and looked at her. With some surprised, he said, “Your complexion also looks much better.”
Receiving her son’s praise, old madame became even happier. “Sangyu showed filial peity. She rubbed cold cream and boiled eggs on my face. My old face feels new from her efforts.”
Wen Wan froze for a moment, then she followed Ning Yuxuan with flattering old madame, “Old madame isn’t old. You’re only called old to show the importance of your status. You’re still young.”
Last time, Nie Sangyu had told her that she had given her all of the cold cream that she bought. Unexpectedly, she had kept a box for herself. Wen Wan carefully looked at the person quietly sitting next to her. She finally started to have a sense of vigilance towards Nie Sangyu.