Chapter Nineteen: Preparations for Opening Day Two

  Last night's busyness resulted in a lackluster morning, and Qi Yao returned to the Cuiwei Building early to supervise the various masters and young ladies who had been invited. Pang Luoxue went to pay her respects to Yang Shi with a tired face, thinking that she might be able to get out of paying her respects for a few days by acting spoiled and silly. With this in mind, she arrived at the Jinxiu Pavilion's courtyard. Yang Shi was already waiting for her, having finished washing up, and had arranged for them to have breakfast together. The old lady had recently ordered that they be excused from paying their respects for a month, which was quite a relief for Luoxue.

  Xue'er greeted her mother and then respectfully made a bow before crawling onto the kang beside Yang Shi.

  Yang saw her looking exhausted and suddenly felt heartache: Didn't you sleep well? Your complexion is actually so poor.

  Pang Luoxue waved her hand and said, "Recently I've been busy reading books, so it's inevitable that I'll be a bit late. Mother doesn't have to worry, Xue'er will come to pay respects on time. It's just that getting up is a bit more difficult." As she spoke, she rubbed her fingers together in a gesture of discomfort.

  Yang scolded her in a soft tone, "You little girl, you're just lazy and don't want to come pay respects. You've found so many excuses, I'm afraid your mother doesn't know the reason for your laziness. Recently, your grandmother has been practicing asceticism, so this month you can relax a bit too. No need to come every day, today your mother will give you some new toys."

  Pang Luo Xue suddenly gained spirit and curiously said: "Mother, you must hurry up, Snow is waiting with bated breath."

  Yang smiled and let the housekeeper in, who was carrying several rouge compacts, hair oil bottles, and morning lip balms. My interest waned by a third as I saw these things. Yang noticed my reaction but wasn't annoyed, instructing the housekeeper to present them to me for inspection. Not wanting to offend Mother, I picked up a compact of rouge and opened it, releasing a fragrance that was both elegant and refined, like peony flowers. The scent was refreshing and invigorating, chasing away drowsiness. The bright red color was more vivid than usual, and when I lightly applied some with my finger, the shade seemed just right. A single stroke of this rouge would look as natural as if it had grown there itself. My heart skipped a beat - such fine cosmetics would be perfect for the young lady in the Emerald Tower, like adding flowers to brocade. Mother saw that I liked them and opened the bottle of hair oil, which was made from fragrant oils but didn't feel greasy, instead shining like water droplets.

  It's really good stuff, where did mom find it? I asked tentatively

  The mother glanced at the housekeeper, who understood her intention: "Miss, this rouge is made from the most vibrant red petals of hundreds of peonies, with added honey and fragrance, and natural snow water as an auxiliary ingredient. The scent is exceptionally refreshing and naturally red. This hair oil, in addition to using peony petals and fragrant oil, has new herbs that prevent greasiness when used. The lip balm uses lotus flower stamens, which are now in full bloom and perfect for Miss's use. Moreover, the madam purchased the entire peony garden specifically for making rouge for Miss."

  I'm touched by Yang's thoughtful gestures everywhere, but as the mistress of the house, she can afford it and wouldn't think twice about buying that peony garden. I, on the other hand, spent almost all my silver coins on the Emerald Tower and those fabrics. Since Mother bought that garden, it's hers now, and I'm so grateful to you, dear Mother, you're truly amazing! With that thought, Pang Luoxue felt a little thrilled in her heart. She happily accepted the gifts and asked the housekeeper to wait for her in her courtyard. Yang rewarded Pang Luoxue with many gifts, most importantly doubling her monthly allowance. Pang Luoxue's heart was filled with delight.

  Returning to the Luoxue Pavilion, she asked the butler, "The peony petals in Mudan Garden are so abundant, with several hundred kilograms of peony petals, only a few kilograms were picked out for me, what about the rest?"

  The rest will all be thrown away. The housekeeper said respectfully.

  I cursed those guys in my heart for not knowing the importance of money, being so wasteful. Miss, I'm in dire need of silver now. So I told the housekeeper, "Mother has always been frugal, using leftover flower petals to make different colored lip balms. The morning peony flowers can be made into a lovely morning balm too." When the peonies are in full bloom, have them all picked and brought to me, I'll find a use for them. Mother just agreed to give me the garden, from now on I'll have Lotus Leaf take care of it. Don't bother reporting back to mother about this, just have them make lip balm and morning balm for now.

  Yes, miss. The butler bows and withdraws.

  Now that the rouge and powder have been specially designed, an extra flower garden has also been purchased. Thinking about it, I've gained a lot. Upon returning to the embroidery building, the embroiderer showed me the pattern of the moon shadow gauze. It was a delicate, high-collared, sleeve-gathering, waist-gathering silk dress with layers of peony flowers gradually opening from the waist. The layered design was obvious, and I asked the embroiderer to modify the width of the sleeves. Qī Yǎo had been practicing martial arts since childhood, so she might not like the too-wide sleeve openings that would hinder her movements. I also ordered someone to sew colorful crystal stones onto the hem of the skirt. The color of this dress was Qī Yǎo's favorite black, and I asked someone to use the same-colored silk thread for invisible embroidery. The waistband was adorned with full pearls, and the lotus flower on the chest was changed to a water lily from the lake in front of the Qī estate, which should be more to Qī Yǎo's liking. After all the modifications were made, I nodded my head in satisfaction and handed over Qī Yǎo's measurements to the embroiderers in the mansion, ordering them to work day and night on this dress. I also collected the pictures of flower patterns they had drawn over the years and put them in the house, waiting for Qī Yǎo to come and discuss them together at night.

  She had just ordered Lotus Leaf to take charge of the affairs in the Peony Garden, and also instructed her that today she must hurry up the workmen day and night to produce those cosmetics. Lotus Leaf did not dare to delay, so she hastily went away. As there was nothing else for her to do, she personally ran over to the Embroidery Building to supervise the embroiderers. This little girl was quite clever. She instructed the maid to prepare hundreds of pieces of fabric and report to the Embroidery Building, thinking that by tonight, Qi Yao would be able to get the measurements from the girls in the building. The dance costumes also had to start being embroidered.

  I was just selecting the fashionable ones, when Lotus Root brought over the embroidered handkerchiefs of each seamstress. They were all unique and some of the patterns were exquisitely embroidered. I asked Lotus Root to carefully note down their names and instructed her to secretly reward them first. I kept the embroidered handkerchiefs and told her to go urge the seamstresses in the mansion to hurry up with their embroidery, Lotus Root quickly ran off.

  Luckily, I had a bowl of medicinal congee to calm my stomach and stop the bleeding, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to deal with this trouble now. I was busy until noon when Qi Yao came in from the back door, and only then could I escape from those embroidery pieces.

  Qī Yáo told Páng Luòxuě that the signboard of Cuì Wēi Building has been made, which was written by her father's good friend before his death. She also had the building renovated and asked Páng to take a look at it in the afternoon. After agreeing on everything, she ordered someone to set up a meal. After finishing eating early, she started working and instructed someone to go to Mǔdān Garden to inform Lián Yè to prepare for collecting flower petals in a few days, ensuring that Cuì Wēi Building's quality is unique. She also picked out over a hundred silk handkerchiefs with Qī Yáo, preparing to give them to her sisters. Only then did she feel at ease eating, waiting to go to Cuì Wēi Building.