276 The Stench of Silver and Gold
“It’s called skill! How about it? Not bad, right?” Chuchu asked proudly. “The marks on Chunxiang’s face are only temporarily covered up. It will take some time for them to disappear completely.”
Yuan Hui went to take a closer look at Chunxiang’s face and sighed.
She begged Chuchu, “Why don’t you teach me this skill? Then, if I can do it, you can ask for anything, please.”
“Let’s talk about it when I get back.” Chuchu did not refuse. Anyway, she did not rely on makeup to make a living. So there was no harm in teaching them some makeup skills.
Pretty young ladies—how eye-catching!
She also liked it.
“Hehe, I knew you were the best. But you usually don’t put on any makeup. I didn’t realize you were so dexterous.”
“I have many more skills than you can imagine. You will see them all in the future when you have the chance.”
“Then I’ll wait. Well, let’s eat something and leave in a while.”
Several other maids in the room were all looking at Chunxiang with envy on their faces.
They also wished they could be dressed up beautifully like Chunxiang.
Seeing this, and that it was still early, Chuchu told Yuan Hui, “Anyway, the leading role of the poetry and literature gathering is someone else. So we are not in a hurry to go there. Let me help the other sisters do their makeup as well.”
“Is it too late?” Yuan Hui asked.
“It’s okay.”
“That’s fine. Can I watch beside you?”
“Sure, I’ll teach you some basic makeup skills. They’re all effortless.”
Zhao Chuchu gestured for the nearest maid to sit down and explained what she was doing while applying her makeup.
She was fixing their flaws according to the characteristics of their facial features, making them beautiful while looking natural.
Every maid who had makeup applied was grateful to her.
Because they never knew they could be so good-looking.
“Have you all remembered what I said? You can practice on your own later. Don’t apply too much powder. The tip of applying makeup is to conceal the flaws on your face…”
“Thank you for your guidance. We’ll keep that in mind.”
“Well, practice makes perfect. Just practice. Huihui, can we have breakfast now? I’m hungry.”
“Mrs. Xie, wait a moment. We will serve it right away.”
Their mood was better when they became beautiful, and they seemed to be able to do their work more efficiently.
Initially, the maids in Yuan Hui’s courtyard were all afraid of Chuchu, but after what had just happened, their view of Chuchu changed, and they felt that Chuchu was not as scary as they had thought.
As long as they didn’t do anything to make her angry, she was delightful to talk to.
After Chuchu and Yuan Hui had breakfast, they took Yuan Hui’s maid and Chunxiang with them and left for Laurel Garden, where the poetry and literature gathering was held.
Laurel Garden was initially built by a wealthy merchant from the previous dynasty. After the war, it became the property of a lord with a different surname than the emperor of the Wei Dynasty.
Later, the lord plotted a rebellion and was beheaded. Laurel Garden was confiscated and eventually given to a princess.
Now, Laurel Garden was owned by the cloth merchants, the Hong clan.
However, the Hong clan did not move to Laurel Garden and instead turned it into a place for the literati and the nobility to have fun.
Big clans in the city have traditionally held poetry and literary gatherings in turn.
This year, it was the Hong clan’s turn.
It took nearly an hour from Yuan Hui’s house to Laurel Garden.
When Chuchu and Yuan Hui arrived, Laurel Garden was already very busy.
They seemed to be the last ones to arrive.
As soon as Chuchu stepped into Laurel Garden, Kang Xiuwan, who had arrived early, immediately spotted her.
She couldn’t help but frown. “Why did she come here? Wasn’t she afraid of being recognized by the Xia clan?
Although Xia Chengrong was dead, he was just a concubine son. Therefore, Xia Songquan could not waste much time crying for him. Instead, he would seize any opportunity to make the other girls of the family social climbers.
The two girls standing next to Kang Xiuwan today were from the Xia clan.
Kang Xiuwan wanted to give Chuchu a heads-up, but the two girls of the Xia clan followed her closely. She had no chance.
Chuchu also found Kang Xiuwan.
Naturally, she also saw the two girls beside her.
She smiled, withdrew her gaze, and followed Yuan Hui as she walked over proudly.
As a result, someone immediately went forward and began to mock them.
“Huh, isn’t this Miss Yuan? Why are you just coming over now? We’ve been waiting for you for a long time!”
“I wonder what kind of surprise Miss Yuan will bring us this year? I’m sure Miss Yuan will set the world on fire.”
“Hey, don’t go too far. Who doesn’t know that Miss Yuan is the best at doing business? If you let her use the abacus, I’m afraid no one in the audience can match her, but if you want her to show her attainments in poetry and literature, won’t it be too difficult for her? You can’t bully people like that.”
“Using the abacus is also a talent. How about Miss Yuan teaching us how to do accounting? We also want to earn more money like Miss Yuan.”
“Don’t you mind the stench of silver and gold? How could any decent girl touch these?”
Although Yuan Hui was still smiling, her smile was cold and forceful.
Chuchu was left speechless by this.
The stench of silver and gold? These people clearly had not suffered from hunger and poverty. Do they even hate the stench of money?
If they were to starve for three days, would they still be so arrogant?
“Miss Yuan, they are just straightforward. You have always been generous, so I don’t think you will take it personally, right? By the way, who is this girl beside you? She doesn’t look familiar. Is she a cousin of your family?”
At that moment, a gentle and quiet young girl came forward, sounding like she wanted to smooth things out, but in fact, every word pointed out that what those girls just said was the truth, and it would be Yuan Hui’s fault if she got angry.
The smile under Chuchu’s eyes flickered away.
Although the girl was not sophisticated enough, she was a genuine phony.
While Chuchu was secretly sizing her up, the girl was doing the same to her with unobtrusive contempt.
“Why, Sister Du, do you still need to ask? She must be the helper that Miss Yuan brought. Didn’t she say last year that sooner or later, she’d be able to get revenge for her shame?” The girl in green beside her covered her mouth and laughed lightly.
Yuan Hui frowned. “I didn’t say such a thing.”
“Miss Yuan, don’t be in a hurry to deny it. We all heard it last year, right?” The girl in green turned around and asked the others.
“Yeah, I heard it anyway.”
“I heard it too.”
“Miss Yuan, you will not go back on your word, right?”
“Are you kidding me? Does anyone think they can take back what they said?”
They laughed loudly, not showing any respect to Yuan Hui at all.
It was because the Yuan clan was wealthy. Yuan Hui’s food, clothing, and transport were all above theirs, and what’s more, Yuan Hui was always the first to wear the new jewelry and headdresses from the silverware shop.
This was enough for them to envy her.
Materially, they were not a match. Therefore, they could only find a balance by suppressing Yuan Hui with their talents.
276 The Stench of Silver and Gold
“It’s called skill! How about it? Not bad, right?” Chuchu asked proudly. “The marks on Chunxiang’s face are only temporarily covered up. It will take some time for them to disappear completely.”
Yuan Hui went to take a closer look at Chunxiang’s face and sighed.
She begged Chuchu, “Why don’t you teach me this skill? Then, if I can do it, you can ask for anything, please.”
“Let’s talk about it when I get back.” Chuchu did not refuse. Anyway, she did not rely on makeup to make a living. So there was no harm in teaching them some makeup skills.
Pretty young ladies—how eye-catching!
She also liked it.
“Hehe, I knew you were the best. But you usually don’t put on any makeup. I didn’t realize you were so dexterous.”
“I have many more skills than you can imagine. You will see them all in the future when you have the chance.”
“Then I’ll wait. Well, let’s eat something and leave in a while.”
Several other maids in the room were all looking at Chunxiang with envy on their faces.
They also wished they could be dressed up beautifully like Chunxiang.
Seeing this, and that it was still early, Chuchu told Yuan Hui, “Anyway, the leading role of the poetry and literature gathering is someone else. So we are not in a hurry to go there. Let me help the other sisters do their makeup as well.”
“Is it too late?” Yuan Hui asked.
“It’s okay.”
“That’s fine. Can I watch beside you?”
“Sure, I’ll teach you some basic makeup skills. They’re all effortless.”
Zhao Chuchu gestured for the nearest maid to sit down and explained what she was doing while applying her makeup.
She was fixing their flaws according to the characteristics of their facial features, making them beautiful while looking natural.
Every maid who had makeup applied was grateful to her.
Because they never knew they could be so good-looking.
“Have you all remembered what I said? You can practice on your own later. Don’t apply too much powder. The tip of applying makeup is to conceal the flaws on your face…”
“Thank you for your guidance. We’ll keep that in mind.”
“Well, practice makes perfect. Just practice. Huihui, can we have breakfast now? I’m hungry.”
“Mrs. Xie, wait a moment. We will serve it right away.”
Their mood was better when they became beautiful, and they seemed to be able to do their work more efficiently.
Initially, the maids in Yuan Hui’s courtyard were all afraid of Chuchu, but after what had just happened, their view of Chuchu changed, and they felt that Chuchu was not as scary as they had thought.
As long as they didn’t do anything to make her angry, she was delightful to talk to.
After Chuchu and Yuan Hui had breakfast, they took Yuan Hui’s maid and Chunxiang with them and left for Laurel Garden, where the poetry and literature gathering was held.
Laurel Garden was initially built by a wealthy merchant from the previous dynasty. After the war, it became the property of a lord with a different surname than the emperor of the Wei Dynasty.
Later, the lord plotted a rebellion and was beheaded. Laurel Garden was confiscated and eventually given to a princess.
Now, Laurel Garden was owned by the cloth merchants, the Hong clan.
However, the Hong clan did not move to Laurel Garden and instead turned it into a place for the literati and the nobility to have fun.
Big clans in the city have traditionally held poetry and literary gatherings in turn.
This year, it was the Hong clan’s turn.
It took nearly an hour from Yuan Hui’s house to Laurel Garden.
When Chuchu and Yuan Hui arrived, Laurel Garden was already very busy.
They seemed to be the last ones to arrive.
As soon as Chuchu stepped into Laurel Garden, Kang Xiuwan, who had arrived early, immediately spotted her.
She couldn’t help but frown. “Why did she come here? Wasn’t she afraid of being recognized by the Xia clan?
Although Xia Chengrong was dead, he was just a concubine son. Therefore, Xia Songquan could not waste much time crying for him. Instead, he would seize any opportunity to make the other girls of the family social climbers.
The two girls standing next to Kang Xiuwan today were from the Xia clan.
Kang Xiuwan wanted to give Chuchu a heads-up, but the two girls of the Xia clan followed her closely. She had no chance.
Chuchu also found Kang Xiuwan.
Naturally, she also saw the two girls beside her.
She smiled, withdrew her gaze, and followed Yuan Hui as she walked over proudly.
As a result, someone immediately went forward and began to mock them.
“Huh, isn’t this Miss Yuan? Why are you just coming over now? We’ve been waiting for you for a long time!”
“I wonder what kind of surprise Miss Yuan will bring us this year? I’m sure Miss Yuan will set the world on fire.”
“Hey, don’t go too far. Who doesn’t know that Miss Yuan is the best at doing business? If you let her use the abacus, I’m afraid no one in the audience can match her, but if you want her to show her attainments in poetry and literature, won’t it be too difficult for her? You can’t bully people like that.”
“Using the abacus is also a talent. How about Miss Yuan teaching us how to do accounting? We also want to earn more money like Miss Yuan.”
“Don’t you mind the stench of silver and gold? How could any decent girl touch these?”
Although Yuan Hui was still smiling, her smile was cold and forceful.
Chuchu was left speechless by this.
The stench of silver and gold? These people clearly had not suffered from hunger and poverty. Do they even hate the stench of money?
If they were to starve for three days, would they still be so arrogant?
“Miss Yuan, they are just straightforward. You have always been generous, so I don’t think you will take it personally, right? By the way, who is this girl beside you? She doesn’t look familiar. Is she a cousin of your family?”
At that moment, a gentle and quiet young girl came forward, sounding like she wanted to smooth things out, but in fact, every word pointed out that what those girls just said was the truth, and it would be Yuan Hui’s fault if she got angry.
The smile under Chuchu’s eyes flickered away.
Although the girl was not sophisticated enough, she was a genuine phony.
While Chuchu was secretly sizing her up, the girl was doing the same to her with unobtrusive contempt.
“Why, Sister Du, do you still need to ask? She must be the helper that Miss Yuan brought. Didn’t she say last year that sooner or later, she’d be able to get revenge for her shame?” The girl in green beside her covered her mouth and laughed lightly.
Yuan Hui frowned. “I didn’t say such a thing.”
“Miss Yuan, don’t be in a hurry to deny it. We all heard it last year, right?” The girl in green turned around and asked the others.
“Yeah, I heard it anyway.”
“I heard it too.”
“Miss Yuan, you will not go back on your word, right?”
“Are you kidding me? Does anyone think they can take back what they said?”
They laughed loudly, not showing any respect to Yuan Hui at all.
It was because the Yuan clan was wealthy. Yuan Hui’s food, clothing, and transport were all above theirs, and what’s more, Yuan Hui was always the first to wear the new jewelry and headdresses from the silverware shop.
This was enough for them to envy her.
Materially, they were not a match. Therefore, they could only find a balance by suppressing Yuan Hui with their talents.
