Empress’ Game: Make-up Master Chapter 56 - One Medicine, Many Uses

Wu Yin’er looked at the tray and timidly pointed at the red crystal. “Yin’er… likes this one.”

Wu Sheyue picked up the red one and handed it to Wu Yin’er. That was natural—the younger a girl was, the more she tended to like bright colors.

Then Wu Sheyue picked up the sea-blue one and said, “Then Yue’er likes this one.”

The last to choose were Wu Jinghua and Wu Lixiang. Wu Jinghua took the grass-green one, and Wu Lixiang took the golden-yellow one. Wu Jinghua was better behaved; she had just been released from grounding, so her arrogance had not yet returned.

Wu Lixiang, however, was not very happy. She glared at Wu Yin’er for a while, then glanced at Wu Sheyue. Although the quality of the beads was the same, she kept feeling that the later picks were somehow less valuable than the earlier ones. The more she looked, the more she felt hers was not as pretty as everyone else’s.

After that, Wu Lixiang’s long face did not improve. The Old Madam looked helplessly at her petulant expression. These past two days she had already been depressed, so she soon dismissed them.

The four girls left Qunxing Studio one after another. Wu Sheyue held the blue crystal cord in her hand and strolled back leisurely.

Wu Lixiang stared at Wu Yin’er’s back and gritted her teeth. Suddenly she quickened her steps, passed Wu Sheyue, and called Wu Yin’er to stop. Wu Sheyue raised a brow. Did Wu Lixiang like cutting people off for a chat that much?

Wu Lixiang affectionately took Wu Yin’er’s hand. “Fifth Sister, that red crystal of yours is really pretty.”

Wu Yin’er lowered her head and said softly, “Thank you, Fourth Sister. Yin’er likes it very much too.”

Wu Lixiang smiled like a flower and held out her hand. “Then lend it to me so I can look at it again.”

“Mm.” Wu Yin’er obediently placed the red crystal into Wu Lixiang’s hand.

Wu Lixiang looked it over. The more she looked, the more she felt the first pick was the most beautiful. She directly tucked the crystal into her sleeve and said sweetly, “Always wearing the same color is a little boring. Let’s trade and wear each other’s for a while.”

“I…” Hearing that, Wu Yin’er suddenly looked up. There was a small trace of hesitation and reluctance in her eyes.

Wu Lixiang was still looking at her. At that moment, Wu Sheyue slowly walked past them. Wu Yin’er’s gaze drifted toward Wu Sheyue without her realizing it.

She saw Wu Sheyue turn her head, wink at her, and then walk away.

Wu Yin’er suddenly mustered her courage. “But Yin’er doesn’t like yellow. I don’t want to trade with Fourth Sister.”

Wu Lixiang had not expected Wu Yin’er to refuse her. The smile on her face slowly faded, and her brows drew together dangerously. Her voice cooled. “What is wrong with you? It’s not like I won’t trade back later. What’s the matter with letting me wear it for a bit? I have an outfit recently that matches a red bead perfectly. Yellow won’t look good with it!”

The courage Wu Yin’er had just gathered receded like a tide. She shrank back and said nothing.

Wu Lixiang took out the yellow crystal, shoved it into Wu Yin’er’s hand, and said righteously, “Don’t say I stole it from you. This is a trade.” After speaking, Wu Lixiang turned and left.

Wu Sheyue looked back at them and found it very funny.

Wu Lixiang always had to have the best of everything. In truth, she was just childish. A girl like her, who fussed over useless things, would sooner or later suffer for it.

Still, Wu Yin’er had at least taken her first step toward resistance. Wu Sheyue shrugged and continued twirling her crystal around her finger as she walked back.

Wu Yin’er held the yellow crystal behind her and looked after Wu Sheyue. Her steps were hesitant, as if she could not decide whether to chase after her and say something. In the end, she stood where she was and watched Wu Sheyue walk away.

---

At dusk, Bailian came out of Jiang Qingxue’s courtyard. In her hand was the food box containing Wu Sheyue’s daily tonic.

Bailian walked along the path, but instead of returning directly to the west courtyard with the items, she familiarly turned into the small garden as she passed it.

She walked all the way to the rockery, looked left and right, and when she saw no one around, crouched beside the flowerbed behind the rockery.

Bailian gently opened the food box and looked at the steaming jar inside. She pressed her lips together tightly.

Ever since she had begun delivering Wu Sheyue’s tonic, she had taken a big drink herself every time on the way. Sometimes she added a little water afterward; sometimes she did not.

Bailian simply felt that Wu Sheyue did not deserve to drink such good tonic every day. Besides, Wu Sheyue was the one who always gave her that cold face. If Wu Sheyue treated her badly, she should not expect Bailian to treat her well.

Bailian lifted the lid, picked up the jar despite the heat, and took a big gulp. It scalded her so badly that she stuck out her tongue. Scalding or not, it was good stuff. She quickly drank another mouthful. Seeing that any more would be obvious, she put it back.

Bailian wiped her mouth and packed everything up, preparing to get up and go back. The medicine could not be allowed to cool on the road.

Before she could stand, she heard voices gradually approaching from far away, so she quickly crouched down again.

She heard a female voice say, “I heard Third Miss dealt with Nanny Wang.”

Bailian froze. She had actually run into people talking about Wu Sheyue.

“No way!” another person exclaimed loudly, then quickly lowered her voice. “No, no way. Nanny Wang was so fierce and powerful. I was afraid of her!”

“What do you know? Third Miss is different now. Think about what Third Miss used to be like, and then look at her now!”

“That’s true…”

As Bailian listened, she carefully peeked out from behind the rockery. It turned out to be three little maids walking together.

One of the shorter maids said mysteriously, “I feel like Third Miss is a completely different person.”

Another chimed in, “Could she really have been switched?”

“Probably not. Her nose and eyes and all that are still the same. Besides, didn’t they say Third Miss became well because her aunt did good deeds while alive?”

“Tsk. Hidden virtue really matters.”

Listening to the maids, Bailian felt as if she had been inspired. Recently, she had increasingly felt that Wu Sheyue was difficult to deal with. The normal Third Miss should never have been like this. Perhaps she really had been switched. If Bailian could prove it to the First Madam, she could definitely take revenge.

Then she heard the short maid speak again. “I actually think Third Miss is pretty good.”

“Why? I feel like all these masters are the same. None of them are easy to serve.”

“Tsk, think about that Bailian by her side.”

When Bailian heard her own name, she could no longer hold back. Seeing that the three were about to walk farther away, she hastily patted off her clothes, picked up the food box, and came out.

Bailian did not know how to go up and ask, so she followed them from a distance, determined to hear what else they would say.

One of them asked curiously, “What about Bailian? What happened to Bailian?”

“The whole residence has been talking about it. Second Miss wanted to play a trick on Third Miss, so…” The one speaking could not help laughing midway.

The shortest one was very unwilling. “Stop laughing. I’m serious. Second Miss stripped Third Miss’s personal maid and dumped her outside.”

“Re-really?”

“Yes. They say a lot of people saw it.”

Bailian’s mind buzzed, as if lightning had struck her under a clear sky. So it was true… what those people said was true…

The maids ahead were still laughing. The short one continued, “Stop laughing. I mean it. She’s so pitiful.”

The one who had been laughing stopped, and another mumbled, “Come to think of it, Third Miss really is rather kind. Bailian had such a huge scandal, but she still didn’t drive her away.”

“She’s the First Madam’s person. If the First Madam doesn’t speak, who would dare dismiss her?”

“That’s true…”

“Hey, are there any details? Tell us more.”

“That night was really amazing. Let me tell you. They say that in the dead of night—”

The three maids’ conversation slowly turned into a ghost story. Bailian could no longer hear anything. She stopped following them and slowly crouched on the ground, beginning to cry.

No wonder people had dared insult her lately. No wonder she had felt that the people around her were treating her strangely. Not a single person had told her about this. So she had been framed by these people.

At that moment, Bailian hated Wu Jinghua the most. Wu Jinghua and Wu Sheyue were fighting, yet Wu Jinghua had cruelly dragged Bailian into it. At the same time, she also hated Wu Sheyue. If Wu Sheyue had not ordered her to fetch water in the middle of the night, she would never have suffered this humiliation.

What should she do? She was still young. How was she supposed to marry in the future? She still wanted to marry into a small family as a proper wife.

Bailian remembered what Wu Sheyue had said: the well water could not be used; she had to go to the main kitchen for water. Thinking back on it now, that had obviously been to torment her. She would not let Wu Sheyue get away with this.

At that moment, Bailian completely forgot that she herself had poured dirty water into the well. Rage had burned away her reason.

She lowered her head and looked at the food box in her hand. For now, she could not deal with Wu Sheyue in any other way, so she would use another method. Sooner or later, she would return everything they had done to her.

---

When Bailian brought back the medicine, the sky had already darkened. Ning’er came out to open the door. Seeing Bailian’s red eyes, she froze. She remembered Miss had said Bailian was a spy. Had the First Madam scolded her?

“Miss’s medicine.” Bailian’s voice was nasal as she shoved the food box to Ning’er.

Ning’er took it and nodded. “All right. You can go back.”

Seeing that no one mentioned bringing her back in to serve, Bailian grew even more furious. She murmured, “Yes,” and turned to leave.

Ning’er brought the food box back and asked, “Miss, should I pour out today’s too?”

Wu Sheyue was focused on the work in her hands and did not even lift her head. She merely gave a small sound of assent. Ning’er carried out the medicine jar, opened the window, and poured the still-warm medicine under the window root.

Ever since drinking it once in front of Bailian, Wu Sheyue had never again drunk medicine in Bailian’s presence. Each time, she had it poured away directly. Ning’er looked at today’s medicine and found something wrong with it, as if the dregs had not been strained clean.

She casually knocked the bottom of the jar and put it back. “Miss, Bailian looked like she had been crying today.”

Ever since the Nanny Wang incident, Bailian had not brought up returning to serve in the room, and since she had not mentioned it, no one else had either. Wu Sheyue had always paid little attention to Bailian, and Ning’er did not know whether Miss was fully confident or simply disdainful.