Chongfei Manual [II]

Chapter 123.1

Wei Luo didn't sleep well last night. She felt as if someone had come by as she was sleeping. There had been a faint scent of cool plum blossoms at the bedside. It was the same scent as the sachet she had given Zhao Jie. Later, someone had pinched her nose so that she couldn't breath. A soft thing had also crept onto her tongue. She had thought she was dreaming at the time. But, the sensations had felt too real to be a dream.

Even when Wei Luo woke up the next morning, she still couldn't tell if someone had come by or not last night.

However, she didn't have time to keeping thinking about this. Right after she opened her eyes, she saw Jin Lu and Bai Lan bringing inside a copper basin.

Jin Lu dampened a towel and used it wipe Wei Luo's hands, then she asked, "Miss, why did you wake up so early? Old Madam and the other madams won't be here until later. You can still sleep for another hour."

Wei Luo shook her head and said, "I can't fall back asleep. What time is it?"

Jin Lu said, "To respond to Miss, it's 6 AM.

Wei Luo looked at the color of the sky to confirm the time of day. The first glimmer of dawn was barely showing. The outside courtyard was still covered by indigo. The sun was barely up and only a little bit of its radiance was shown. It would be impossible for her to fall asleep again, so she wrapped a light-colored outer robe with a flowering stem pattern around herself, sat up, and ordered Jin Lu and Bai Lan to help her get ready.

Jin Lu took out a small, colorful porcelain bottle, poured brightening pearl powder into the basin, and used her hand to mix in the powder. "Miss, you can wash your face now."

Wei Luo had blended this brightening pearl powder herself. It could whiten her skin and make her complexion glossier. It was even easier to use than the original brightening pearl powder that Han-shi made. Han-shi had praised Wei Luo by saying the student had surpassed the teacher.

(This powder is made by mixing various herbs. In modern day, it's added into soap to make it more convenient to use. Supposedly, it was originally created for Empress Cixi. )

After Wei Luo finished washing her face, used salt to brush her teeth, and held a piece of mint leaf in her mouth for a bit, she sat down on the couch facing the southern window and comfortably applied begonia honey to her face. She had also personally made this begonia honey mixture. It was made by combining mashed red begonia flowers into a large container of white honey. Then the mixture would be dried by sunlight for ten days. She would apply this mixture every morning to make her face look more radiant. It was also especially useful for preventing the skin from drying out because of chilly winter winds.

Right after Wei Luo finished applying the begonia flower honey mixture and rinsed off the excess amount, Fourth Madam Qin-shi and First Madam Li-shi came over.

Two older female servants wearing thin red silk bi jia tops embroidered with fern patterns were behind them. They were probably here to thread Wei Luo's face to remove facial hair.

(The light blue top in the image below is a bi jia top.)