Chronicles of the Qin Dynasty

Chapter 317, Section 316: Makeup Powder is Rare
In the secluded palace chamber, by the light shining through the glass windows, servants brought in bronze mirrors of various sizes.

Madam Chu hesitated, but ultimately remained seated, allowing the maid to carefully wipe away the makeup from her face.

Even without makeup, her features were beautiful, but her skin was pale and dull, with a slight bluish tinge, and large patches of freckles under her eyes resembled clouds and mist.

It can't be removed, nor can it be concealed.

The only improvement is that applying more lead powder can slightly reduce the problem.

But after many years of use, even lead powder can no longer be changed or suppressed.

She stared blankly at the person in the bronze mirror, then glanced at Qin Shi, her eyes filled with envy:

"The Queen is in the prime of her youth, full of vitality, with skin as white as jade, while I have grown old in the palace."

Qin Shi smiled.

Who in this world doesn't grow old?
Even before she turned thirty, she had already lost her hair due to illness, and her face was withered, pale, and dull.

As she washed up and gazed at herself in the mirror, she couldn't believe that the gaunt and emaciated person was the same person who had once been praised for her beauty.

Even in the final moments of her life, she often carried cosmetics in her bag.

It wasn't for beauty at the time, but to make myself seem less pitiful and pathetic.

But she knew that this was not what Madam Chu wanted to hear.

As Qin Shi carefully adjusted the foundation, he said:

"True beauty lies in the bone structure, not just the skin. Fangxi, your eyebrows are beautifully shaped, your nose is high and straight, yet the tip is delicate. Your profile is smooth, your chin is pointed and rounded, and your eyes are always brimming with a gentle, watery light..."

"Among the many beauties in this palace, I have never seen one as graceful and delicate as you, like a lotus in spring breeze."

Lady Chu's pale cheeks suddenly flushed red, and she clenched her fists, feeling as if every word the Queen said was soothing to her heart, and she was filled with indescribable joy.

That's it!

She is exactly as beautiful as the Queen described!
Her face, her posture, her eyes – all of these are the result of painstaking practice!

She was meant to meet someone like this in her lifetime!

Instead of being like the king, who always complained that she didn't eat enough, or that she couldn't stand steadily or had a straight back...

She, Zhao Shifang, was cast as a pearl in the dark!

Qin Shi, unaware of her excitement, merely raised his eyebrows:
"Everyone in the palace loves to use makeup powder. You lament the passing of your youth, but how do you know that others also have flaws that need to be heavily concealed?"

As she spoke, she saw the servants had already moisturized Madam Chu's skin with ointment, and she was about to apply foundation when she felt Madam Chu's body tense up, causing her to pause in her hand:
"what happened?"

Madam Chu hesitated for a moment—

The Queen's slight raising of her eyebrows just now was just like the King's.

However, after the king makes this move, there are always sarcastic and harsh words coming from below.

But the Queen was different...

She gently bit her lower lip with her pearly teeth, then slowly relaxed her posture, tilting her head slightly back, like a white crane entrusting its trust to someone.

The jawline connects to the neck, giving it a delicate and vulnerable appearance.

Qin Shi couldn't help but feel pity.

He comforted her again, saying, "Don't worry, I will definitely make better makeup powder in the future, so that you will be exceptionally beautiful every day and every moment."

While they were talking, a light layer of foundation had already been applied.

She didn't bring many cosmetics, and even shared some with Lady Zheng. But regardless, the foundation, with its soft, skin-hugging color, was far smoother than the heavy, pale powder. The palace servants watched carefully, their eyes filled with envy for the unusual powder in the Queen's hands.

When Qin Shi turned to pick up the brush, he saw this and a thought struck him:
Although people's livelihood is the priority nowadays, you can never have too much money. I'll take a look at this cosmetics business later; who knows, it might bring in some income.

Then she carefully drew her eyebrows, and then came the main focus she wanted to show: eyeliner.

The thin eyeliner was slowly drawn on the eyes. The palace maid who came to learn understood it after only two glances. Then, she even drew a wide, upturned eyeliner on the eye of the palace maid who was being practiced on, without any instruction.

Then gently outline the lower corner of the eye.

The two eyes, one on the left and one on the right, appear to be different sizes, creating a striking effect.

Even Madam Chu exclaimed in surprise, "Indeed, her eyes are much brighter and bigger."

On the other side, a palace maid retrieved glue from the Imperial Hospital and carefully applied it to her face, lifting it upwards. Her eyes appeared larger and more vibrant. Then, she turned and whispered:

"May I ask, Your Majesty, is it necessary to keep your face so taut?"

"exactly."

Qin Shi glanced at it and realized that no amount of makeup could compare to those who specialized in this art, so he simply offered some pointers:

"On stage, it needs to be more exaggerated. Make the eyeliner thicker, more upturned, and even more intense..."

Instead, the makeup of Lady Chu was handed over to the palace servants.

Seeing her staring intently at the bronze mirror without blinking, a thought struck him:
"Fangxi, I'm planning to start a beauty business. Makeup powder, eyebrow pencil, lip gloss... I'm entrusting all of these to you. Can you handle it well?"

Then he hesitated for a moment: "But you also have to take care of things like variety shows, aren't you a little overwhelmed?"

Madam Chu's eyes lit up.

The maid's hand trembled, almost drawing the corners of her eyes all the way to her temples, but she didn't care at all. Her eyes shone brightly as she looked over, her spirits incredibly high.

"How could I possibly be in two places at once?! These trivial matters of the opera are not worth mentioning at all. You can leave the makeup business to me."

He asked expectantly:

"Is this the kind of makeup powder that the Queen has? I'd like it to make my skin even whiter."

Qin Shi was speechless.

The idea is good, but it's just an idea; the specific preparations still require a lot of time.

Putting aside other things, the cochineal insect used to make lipsticks is still in Mexico today, which is the Fusang mentioned in ancient texts.

The light white and red fragrant face powder made by Jia Baoyu in "Dream of the Red Chamber" used the seeds of the four o'clock flower (Mirabilis jalapa) as a raw material—the four o'clock flower is also still in the Americas.

With the Silk Road and large ships at sea working in tandem, it remains to be seen when these species, which only gradually became complete in the late Ming Dynasty, will finally be seen.

Qin Shi snapped out of his reverie and sighed inwardly at himself for never forgetting these things.

Turning her head again, she saw that the palace maid who was trying on makeup had already made her cheeks look tight, added heavy eyeliner to her eyes, and applied light pink blush to half of her face. At this moment, she glanced back slightly and saw that her eyes were bright and her expression was radiant.

"Not bad," she praised. "The stage is a bit far from the audience, so if you want people to see your emotions, you have to make your facial features so prominent."

Then he instructed, "Lightly apply nose contour, and touch up your cheeks, etc..."

Turning back to look at Lady Chu, Qin Shi's eyes revealed undisguised amazement and admiration:
"Fangxi, with such beauty, if I were to actually go into the makeup business in the future, I would definitely invite you to try out my makeup on each one."

Lady Chu, unaware of the rarity of the raw materials, assumed the Queen was testing her. She glanced at her reflection in the mirror, touched her face with delight, and felt exceptionally proud.
"I am always more thorough and skilled in doing things than Madam Zheng. If Your Majesty has any arrangements, please feel free to give them."

　Coming!
　　(End of this chapter)