Upon receiving the imperial summons, Princess Su quickly inspected her daughter-in-law’s attire and makeup to ensure there was nothing inappropriate.
As she was newly married, Ju Yue was dressed in bright, festive red, which was perfectly suitable.
Princess Su nodded in satisfaction. “Don’t be afraid, just follow your mother-in-law.”
“Yes!”
Ju Yue immediately agreed.
Seeing her daughter-in-law’s obedient and gentle demeanor, Princess Su’s fondness for her deepened even further.
Noticing that Ju Yue’s makeup was light yet still refined, Princess Su couldn’t help but feel a twinge of envy as she thought about her own makeup.
However, out of pride, she couldn’t bring herself to ask directly. Instead, she gave a meaningful glance to her personal maid, Jasmine.
Jasmine, being clever and perceptive, stepped forward and asked Ju Yue:
“Your Highness, your hands are so skillful. Your makeup looks as if it’s barely there, yet it’s truly beautiful. Could Your Highness teach this servant?”
“This servant’s hands are clumsy, and I’m truly afraid that one day our lady might find someone more skillful and dismiss me.”
Everyone here was clever, and with Princess Su’s hint so obvious, how could Ju Yue not take the cue?
“Your daughter-in-law boldly requests to apply makeup for Mother. May Mother grant permission?”
Such sweet words!
Even though it was Princess Su who wanted her help with makeup, Ju Yue framed it as her own request to apply makeup for Princess Su, asking for her permission.
Flattery begets flattery, and Princess Su was immensely pleased. With a grand wave of her hand, she declared, “Granted!”
Mother-in-law and daughter-in-law walked hand in hand, affectionately heading into the inner chamber to apply makeup.
With the emperor summoning them, who dared to delay? There was no time to wash her face and reapply makeup from scratch, so adjustments had to be made to Princess Su’s existing makeup.
Ju Yue examined her carefully. Princess Su’s skin was delicate and firm, showing no signs of age, with a face shape that was square yet rounded—a classic “silver plate” face.
The drawback was that her facial contours were not smooth, and her features were somewhat dispersed, giving her a gentle and soft appearance but lacking refinement.
Ju Yue quickly formulated a plan to modify her makeup.
The first step was to change the color of Princess Su’s lipstick.
For a square-rounded face, the lower half carries more visual weight. High-saturation lipstick would emphasize the lower part of the face, so the goal was to shift the focus upward, concentrating on the eyes and brows.
She changed Princess Su’s lip color to a low-saturation rosewood shade, instantly elevating the sophistication of her face.
Princess Su was pleasantly surprised, letting out a soft “ah” as she leaned forward to get a closer look at herself in the mirror.
Ju Yue gently pushed her back. “Don’t rush, we’ve only just begun!”
Next, she focused on Princess Su’s eye makeup.
Princess Su’s eye makeup featured extensive blending and an upward-flicked eyeliner—a standard look.
However, it didn’t make her eyes appear larger.
The goal was to enlarge the eyes vertically.
The key lay in the lower lash line and the under-eye area.
She added a small triangular shadow on the outer lower part of the eyes and drew in an under-eye highlight.
This not only made the eyes appear rounder and larger but also shortened the mid-face distance, bringing the features closer together.
The third step was to reshape Princess Su’s eyebrows into curved arches, drawing the visual focus upward.
The final step was contouring the entire face.
As she worked, Ju Yue explained each step to Jasmine, who nodded frequently, feeling she had learned a great deal.
Once finished, even Princess Su couldn’t believe the person in the mirror was herself.
She exclaimed in amazement, “You are truly incredible!”
She looked at least ten years younger.
Yet Ju Yue sighed with regret.
It was a pity that the makeup products at hand were still not comprehensive enough to achieve the effect she had envisioned.
The color she wanted still needed to be mixed from various rouges and eyebrow powders.
The brushes weren’t enough either—she didn’t even have the small, sharp-edged brushes she needed.
If she had the right tools and suitable cosmetics, the effect could be doubled.
But there was no hurry—her Little Tyrant would make them!
She’d just have Lou Buqi make more in the future.
Lou Buqi, who was drinking tea outside, suddenly felt his ears itch.
He looked up and saw his wife and mother emerging from the inner chamber together.
When his gaze swept over his mother’s face, Lou Buqi was so shocked that he spat out a mouthful of tea.
Good heavens, who is this beauty?!
If even her son reacted like this, let alone Prince Su.
Where was the reserved and steady demeanor befitting a prince?
He shot to his feet in an instant, staring unblinkingly at his own princess consort.
If the occasion hadn’t been inappropriate, and if there hadn’t been his bothersome son and daughter-in-law nearby, he would have rushed over to kiss his wife twice!
Prince Su grinned from ear to ear, slapping his son on the shoulder repeatedly in approval.
This daughter-in-law was snatched well! Snatched worthily!
His son’s contribution was immense!
It just goes to show that his son must have inherited his own good taste to have such discerning eyes and snatch back such a treasure!
The family left in high spirits.
Prince Su and his wife, along with Lou Buqi and Ju Yue, headed for the palace, while little Lou Yi went off to school.
He was now a student at the First Academy and had to attend classes every day.
At the sight of the carriage, the slight curve at the corners of Lou Yi’s mouth slowly flattened.
He paused for a moment before walking toward the carriage, but his steps grew heavy.
He didn’t want to go to school.
But Lou Yi usually wore a rather cold expression—whether he was happy or unhappy, his face looked about the same.
Even if his emotions shifted, others weren’t likely to notice easily.
Moreover, with the emperor’s summons, everyone’s attention was focused on the palace, so no one noticed a child’s unusual behavior.
Only Ju Yue seemed to sense something and glanced in Lou Yi’s direction.
Lou Buqi, following behind Ju Yue, saw his wife pause as she was about to board the carriage and naturally reached out to place a hand on the small of her back, intending to give her a boost.
The moment his hand touched her, an uncontrollable phrase flashed through his mind:
—Green lotus leaves drift on the water, the male frog holding the female frog’s waist.
Without a second thought, he avoided that area, swiftly moving his hand downward to cup Ju Yue’s round, perky little bottom.
With one lift, one push, and one send, it was done in a single, fluid motion.
Ju Yue’s attention was still on little Lou Yi, and she hadn’t anticipated Lou Buqi’s ghostly, masterful move.
Caught off guard, she stumbled forward.
Thud!
She plunged headfirst into the carriage.
Anyone who didn’t know better might have thought she was performing a scene of a vicious dog lunging for dung.
Fortunately, the carriage curtain quickly fell, concealing Ju Yue’s embarrassing state.
Only a pair of shoes remained motionless beneath the curtain for a long time.
This person is dead; burn paper if you need anything.
Lou Buqi’s eyes widened, and he exclaimed, “Holy crap!” before scrambling inside.
He swiftly scooped up the face-down person to see where she was hurt.
Ju Yue wasn’t hurt.
Lou Buqi, a prince of noble rank, naturally had an extravagantly luxurious carriage.
It was carpeted inside, so she couldn’t get hurt—just a bit of her pride was wounded.
After Lou Buqi lifted her up, she glared at him fiercely.
She let him feel her forehead, pinch her nose, and examine her palms.
She just sat there motionless, glaring at him fiercely.
Hearing the utter silence outside the carriage, she could easily imagine the strictly trained servants struggling to hold back their laughter.
Ju Yue’s eyes reddened, and tears began to stream down her face.
There were no swear words in the world before, but now, there are!
In her belly, in her eyes!
In every single one of her tears.
Like a mountain torrent, unstoppable.
Lou Buqi felt so guilty he could die.
He held his delicate wife in his arms, coaxing her all the way, promising to make the cosmetics she wanted when they returned home. Finally, he managed to soothe her before they got off the carriage.
At Yunyang Marquis Mansion, Bai Yanling also woke up.